Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Renovating A Vision


I had an epiphany yesterday.  I realized that my years of work with laboring mothers and the dying have been literal.  And though the experiences of dying and giving birth are sacred, the skills I have gained in these portals of transformation are not for them alone: they are tools to accelerate transformation in any phase of life, and it is time for me to open my work to others. I invite you to join me as I deconstruct birth, death and transformation for the benefit of individuals and communities.


Thursday, June 27, 2013

Appreciating the placenta

The placenta is a part of the baby's body, a sacred organ that feeds, nourishes, and keeps babies safe. Until the cord has stopped pulsating (approximately five minutes after birth), the placenta continues to provide blood, oxygen, and other nutrients to the newborn baby.  Penny Simkin, a renowned nurse, explains the process in this short video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3RywNup2CM&feature=player_embedded

In many modern hospitals, doctors clamp and cut the cord moments after birth.  In some cases, they may wait 60 seconds at the request of the mother.  But even after a minute, the baby may not have not received all of his or her blood from the placenta. Immediate cord clamping can translate to the loss of one third of the baby's blood. This increases the risk of anemia, increases the need for resuscitation (because the baby is not receiving sufficient oxygen from their cord), and increases the likelihood of separation from the mother. Even when observation and resuscitation are needed, they are best performed beside the mother, so that the baby, attached to the placenta, can continue receiving oxygen through the cord.

A recommended delay time of 2 minutes is a good compromise that allows the baby to receive most of his or her blood, and may ease obstetrician anxiety. 

For those pursuing home birth, leaving the cord intact is another possibility: lotus birth is a traditional practice in which the baby is wrapped up with his or her placenta until they naturally separate from one another, a few days after birth. 

Enjoy this beautiful organ by making placenta prints on watercolor paper, planting it under a fruit tree, or cooking it for dinner.  It is perhaps the most nutrient-dense food in the world!

Friday, June 14, 2013

Ending circumcision

I have a friend who has struggled significantly with the trauma of his circumcision as a baby, and in the Bay Area, over half of parents are coming to the realization that circumcision is not a compassionate or necessary act of parenting.   By leaving their sons' genitals intact, they are breaking a pattern of sexual trauma that has passed through generations.

Circumcision is held sacred by some people, but we violate baby boys and young girls when we don't ask their permission.  We reduce their ability to experience pleasure, and we impact their lives in a traumatic way. 

The laws in the United States protect women from this unthinkable crime; no circumcision of any kind is permitted on girl children. But baby boys have no protection.  Please help end the violence against them by exploring other ways to welcome your child into the world. 

This site lists officiants for non-violent Jewish baby welcoming ceremonies, known as Brit Shalom: http://www.circumstitions.com/Jewish-shalom.html#CA


Thursday, June 13, 2013

Supporting homebirth

Giving birth is hard.  But when you can avoid the hospital and its many interventions, it can be easier.
Not every woman can give birth naturally at home, and perhaps not every woman can breastfeed. But these are normal things to do, and what has become normal--giving birth hooked up to machines while paralyzed from the waist down--perhaps should not be.

Through her small midwifery practice in Tennessee, Ina May Gaskin, a self-taught midwife, has documented a 1% cesarean rate for her clients, so perhaps 1% of women actually do need a c-section.  But cesarean rates are 30% nationally.  That means 99% of sectioned women probably could have birthed naturally if they were in Tennessee.  Why?

Ina May Gaskin is a medicine woman.  She believes women can give birth, and she surrounds them with love, gentleness, and support.  She encourages them to make out with their partners, leaves them alone to get sexy in labor sometimes, makes jokes about their poop, and celebrates their gigantic vaginas!  Watch some footage of Ina May's commune, which shows birth the way it can be.

Ina May Gaskin also delivers the local Amish, who are not crazy hippies.  They may deliver silently, so that their older children are not awakened.  Some Amish women don't even know about sex until they are married, and know nothing about pregnancy until they themselves become pregnant.  But they still have the same rate of success.

It comes down to believing in it.  Believing in us.  Believing that our bodies--the way we were created by God or evolved cell by cell--are perfect.  If we give ourselves time, patience, love, and encouragement.

But what does believing look like?

Having your baby at home requires deep, transformative work; casting out doubt and fear; constant recommitment to impossible and frightening truths; opening to the unknown; and acceptance of the possibilities of life and death.

Birth is crossing over from one world to another.  From the inner to the outer.  It is a leap from dependence to independence, and that is precarious.  The crevasse is wide and some don't make it across.  Because we are afraid, we pretend that if we surround ourselves with walls and lights and machines in the hospital, the crevasse won't be as deep: but it is, it is always there waiting to return us to the next world.

Women love their babies, and they want to protect them.  But we built up a system that treats women and babies as if their lives were at stake in the labor room, when mortality rates no longer support that level of vigilance.  In fact our mortality rates have risen because of the system we've created.  Women and babies are suffering from the interventions we've come to believe are necessary.

Giving birth at home requires accepting that the fragility of life is beyond our control.  It requires realizing that babies do die in the hospital, in spite of the technology, and that a midwife is well qualified to deliver a healthy baby.  In fact she will know you better, longer, and keep you safer by trusting you and your instincts to give birth.

Giving birth at home requires a love and a power greater than fear.  It requires the urge to bring a baby into the world in a way that is loving and kind and beautiful even if it is scary.  It requires a commitment to welcome him or her into the bed that he or she was made in, feeling safe, held, and protected by the people that love them.  And it requires a firm disregard for what your insurance policy says!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Facing the questions

My words are radical because they are my truth, and few people choose to speak truth anymore.

Today I was in a circle of doulas, and an unsuspecting client walked in.  There was a bit of back and forth as the doulas figured out what to do.  Finally someone mumbled, "It might scare you...we talk about things that haven't gone well, or things that were difficult, and we wouldn't want you to be thinking about that."  The woman left without pause, as if hearing a sad story could cause her birth to go awry.  As if knowing the possibilities could jinx it.

I don't believe there should be a protective barrier between birth workers and birth mamas.  I believe birth mamas have the right to all the information out there, and if they can stand to listen in on one of our doula meetings, they by all means should.  It might help them to know what we have witnessed.

I've witnessed the way doctors use testing to make women doubt the ability of their own bodies. I've seen induction, fetal heart monitoring, artificial rupture of membranes, epidurals, vacuum extractions, and c-sections. I've seen Foley bulbs used to manually dilate women.  I've seen time limits given to women who needed time.  I've seen coercion used to keep women in bed when they wanted to move.  I've seen enough things to make me cry many times when I got back to my car.

Which brings me to an important question. Do women know that they can conceive a child, carry it to term, and give birth without stepping foot in a doctor's office?  Trained midwives, licensed, practicing midwives, are the experts in normal childbirth, and they will come right to your home.

Doctors are important and some of them are wonderful people, trained to intervene when something goes awry.  If your midwife is concerned about you or your baby's safety, she may refer you or transfer you to a doctor for additional care.  But a healthy woman having a healthy baby may never have to meet one!

Unless you prefer the hospital for some reason, or your doctor has a sincere concern about your health, your doctor's job is to refer you to a qualified specialist: a midwife.  Oncologists are for cancer, chiropractors are for spinal adjustments, and midwives are for normal, healthy birth.

Forget about your insurance.  If you had cancer, would you give up seeing an oncologist because your insurance made you pay out of pocket?

It is radical to ask questions and remember that we have options.  If pregnant women sat in on doula meetings, they might have questions, like "What are all these different drugs and procedures?  Why do all these things occur?  And how do I avoid them in my own birth?"

It is radical to answer those questions truthfully and take responsibility for our choices.  It is a radical invitation to face what is.  What does having this baby really mean to you?  And what are you willing to do to get it?

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Invitation

Birthing a revolution

Presenting Radical Birth in Wildcat Canyon


A culmination of years of work in birth,
health care,
and
social-change.

Highlighting liberation that takes place
through childbirth, and the profoundly
positive
impact on families, 
                           communities, and the world.

An invitation to teen girls coming of age,  
  crones polishing their wisdom,
birthing
women on the threshold of life.

Facilitated by Moana Meadow, MDiv; all attendants called
to
share their voice.


Wildcat Retreat Center: cozy fireplace; gardens and trees; rolling hills. Come early
to
picnic; stay late to stretch and stroll.

Share this with
every woman.  Let her voice be heard.

Request address or directions:

moana.minton@gmail.com
510-866-6898