I met Akemi only a week before she gave birth but her birth was one of the most transformative births I have attended as a doula. Here’s her story from my perspective as her [...]
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As parents, it can be really difficult to sift through all the advice that is out there. Everyone, from the expert on Youtube to the childless neighbour across the road, has an opinion on how we should parent and these days mother-guilt starts way before a child is even born. So, you can imagine my joy at finding The Ultimate Parenting Course. [...] Women put themselves last in the birthroom. They can be made to feel like they are the poor cousins visiting the luxury mansion of distant relatives. The message is loud and clear: “This is our turf. Don’t even think about running a bath without our say so, but you are more than welcome to partake of our smorgasbord of interventions that may or may not be evidence-based.” Most midwives seem to spend the vast majority of their time doing paperwork and don’t even try to connect with the birthing woman. Some may think this sounds harsh but when you understand what makes it easy for a woman to birth, it seems like nothing short of [...] One of the reasons I started Mumatopia as a social enterprise was because I can see the wisdom behind the saying “gentle birth heals mother earth” (coined by humanitarian and midwife Robin Lim from Gentle Birth Bali). My birth experiences and my experience of losing a much wanted baby and nearly losing my life in the process, have taught me how gentle beginnings can nurture a mother’s love for her baby, can create a sense of empathy and patience and a strong sense of [...] Moving your body in labour is also part of the process of moving into and accepting the labour journey. It’s an amazing transition, that moment where a woman walks up and down stairs in early labour and notices that the activity makes the contractions longer and more intense. She may resist doing this knowing what it brings, but then I gently remind her that the longer the contraction, the more effectively it is working to open her up to give birth to her baby. She has a moment where she realises that she has to move through and into the intensity in order to meet her baby. Avoiding that intensity or distracting oneself from it, can make labour longer and [...] I’m always a tad nervous calling people out of the blue but it was nice to be the bearer of good news. I was calling a new client to let her know that her work had gifted her a postnatal care package. She looked through the options on the website and decided on 3 visits from me to cook meals and do some light housework and 2 visits from my partner Julie Williams, from Live Organic Health to meet her postnatal therapy needs. Julie and I had only just recently started offering a combined postnatal therapy and support package so we were really excited to have our first client together. [...] I find it hard to let go much of the time but am learning to be less paranoid as the years go by. I try not to hold my breath when my five year old climbs high into a tree and I try to trust that my children know how to get to the loo and back in the shopping centre without talking to a bunch of strangers. I can’t help but wonder how I got this way, when I had so much freedom as [...] Most people do not take into consideration how different models of care may impact on their perceived needs let alone their physiological needs in birth. Decisions about where to have a baby are often influenced by what friends and family feel safe with before a couple looks into further information about birth. [...] During pregnancy, women undergo a number of prenatal screening and diagnostic tests including blood tests, urine tests and ultrasound. These tests are designed to provide information on the condition of the woman and her baby during pregnancy and to determine if the baby may have any major medical conditions. A very small percentage of mothers have babies that end up being diagnosed with a major medical condition but these days, screening tests are routine for every woman, even if they have no risk factors. [...] If you see a consultant obstetrician or registrar just prior to or on your due date the chances are you may hear these words: “I’ll just run my finger around the cervix to help get things moving.” Ever wonder what that means? Well, basically, what has become a routine procedure is effectively an intervention that may, as the clinicians say, “get things moving” but it may also cause unwanted side effects that may set off a chain of events you weren’t expecting and it is important to know what this may mean for [...] |
   
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