Who Profits?

Anyone can admit that we are easily influenced and swayed by what seems to be a popular opinion. Most people would agree that it is much easier to be a PART of the masses than to be APART from them.

"What is popular is not always right,
and what is right is not always popular."

When it comes to parenting (specifically birthing and infant care) we are led to believe that our instincts are no longer necessary and that technology knows better than nature. But who profits from this philosophy? Certainly not mother and baby. Instead, there is a very large LITERAL profit to be made off of influencing you in your choices.

There is money to be made off of where you birth, how you birth and also, how you feed and treat your infant. The hospital makes a very large portion of their profit from the labor and delivery ward and let's face it, hospitals are businesses. They do NOT want to lose that money, even if it might mean safer outcomes can occur at home for low risk women. Obstetricians make thousands of dollars off your birth (and prenatal care) whereas homebirth midwives make around $4000 (for both the birth and prenatal care total). A cesarean can cost you more than $20,000 and only costs your OB 30 minutes of work (and a nice early bed time if you aren't "progressing" fast enough). Vaccinations, routine exams and procedures (episiotomy, circumcision, forcep delivery) all take just a moment to do/perform and net a nice profit.

Now, before you stop reading and get angry and tell me I hate OBs and that I think hospitals are evil, let me say, no. OBs are SPECIALISTS. They are INCREDIBLY skilled in saving what needs to be saved BUT for that, I think *most* of them have a difficult time knowing and trusting that birth is normal. If your focus of study is all that can go wrong with something, it's hard NOT to want to act in a precautionary manner. For this, I believe that most OBs truly have women's best interest at heart with certain things. However, there are a few scenarios that are indisputably self centered and dangerous, serving the woman absolutely no benefit.

To continue, it is ignorant to think that every ad or persuasion doesn't have an underlying hidden meaning. Formula companies for example want to make money. They do not care about you and your baby, they care only for the profit. At the beginning, when infant formulas were first introduced, they provided a way for the women who could truly not breastfeed or have a wet nurse a way to provide for their infant children. Again, just like the hospitals, this can be and was life saving for those infants. However, there was profit to be made, a feminist movement of choice and a desire to no longer have to feel tied down to your children...and they marketed that. Today they advertise with such sayings as "Just as good as breastmilk" or "Has all your baby needs!" Stop. Think. Who profits from promoting breastfeeding? The mother and child who nurse. Who profits from promoting formula feeding? The industry.

Am I going to lose sleep over another parents' choices? Nope. But as a parent who did things this way and that way before stepping back and evaluating the choices, I wish only to share the other side of the glass with you. I would never tell a woman what choice she should make, I can only share what I know and what I continue to learn, because I care.

To say that homebirthers are selfish or that it's dangerous, because that is what those who profit from your hospital birth tell you, well...that makes you sound not only uneducated, but silly.

Remember who profits from routine interventions in normal birth: it's not you...and it's certainly not the baby.

Just Because It's Natural, Doesn't Mean it Comes Naturally!

There are many things that we do in our day to day life that have become like second nature, but aren't necessarily "the natural thing" to do. On the other hand, there are many things that should come naturally to us that we struggle with.

I find this a lot in terms of birthing and breast-feeding. To simply say "I'm going to have a natural birth" and do nothing to prepare for that is, in most cases, just not enough. I've seen it many times in friends/family and I've heard it many times from other women. "Yea, I wanted the natural birth but I just couldn't do it in the end."

Now, I had 2 natural births after a run of the mill epidural birth. The first was completely accidental; she came quickly and I birthed her at home with only my friend (who I originally called for a ride...that wasn't happening!). For my third baby I figured I had the last one without an epidural on accident, so surely, it won't be hard to do on purpose. I was pretty naive about it all at first, still learning many things as my pregnancy progressed. In my third trimester I hired a doula to help me through labor, but she proved to be unreliable. Though this seems to be a rare thing, it was the experience I ended up having. We didn't do *a lot* of preparation during pregnancy, and perhaps that was because the intent was that she'd be there for the birth to help at that time. It didn't end up that way for me.

By the time I was actually in full blown labor with Alex, my doula was unable to make it in time. So I was left to cope with it all myself. Is it impossible? Heavens no. After all, you will not DIE if you grin and bear it without an epidural...the pain WILL NOT kill you. So, worst case scenario for me was that I just dealt with it. Birth plan: Don't get epidural, it doesn't exist. End of story.

However, I know that it can be much more challenging for some women and I had the advantage of already having an unprepared natural birth. But what of the women who are pregnant with their first (or planning their first natural birth) and don't know what to expect? They may be surprised.

Yes, birth is natural. It is normal. Epidurals and other medications are new and our species THRIVED for centuries before their invention. Women were not dying of pain 100's of years ago.

However, even though giving birth is a natural occurrence (and for arguments sake, I'll state that I am talking about low-risk women and pregnancies) it is still something one needs to prepare for. It is called LABOR, after all. If you apply for a job and the description is "general labor", you don't assume it's going to be easy. In fact, you may avoid applying for this job if you aren't properly equipped or in the best shape to take it on. So WHY would you go in to LABOR (for birth) unequipped and unprepared...and basically, unqualified? Would you expect the same results as the woman who prepared for her natural birth and learned coping techniques? Would you expect as smooth a labor and delivery? No...just like your work would probably be sloppier had you applied for that job you hadn't prepared for.

Now, what works for one woman, may not work for another. You will have better luck if you learn to use a variance of coping tools for your labor. You may plan a water birth to find out the water makes you nauseous in labor. You may think a water birth sounds awful, only to find water is the only thing you want when in labor.

The key is to keep an open mind, and above all, listen to your body.

This becomes difficult in the hospital setting because there are many distractions interfering with your need to concentrate. You might not even notice that certain things are hindering the process. Not only are you in a foreign and somewhat "cold" environment, but there are numerous strangers, in and out, you're typically hooked up to various machines (though you have the option to have intermittent monitoring and refuse IVs) and you're often put under pressure to dilate on a schedule or continuously offered pain meds. Natural birth in a hospital is not impossible, as I can personally attest to. But it is certainly not easy. I do strongly urge women to thoroughly research their birthing choices, places, and care providers, regardless of the type of birth they choose in the end.

When a woman is in the comfort of her home, there are far fewer distractions. She is in her own peaceful place, she has chosen only those she wishes to be there to attend her in her birthing and she calls the shots. There aren't beeping machines, and clock to dilate by or a tee time that must be met by her surgeon. There is only her, and her baby (and the overseer, her midwife, if she's hired one.) This woman will have better luck, even if unprepared, because there is less interference.

But for the woman that is choosing the hospital, and wishing for a natural birth, she MUST look in to her options to help her through her journey. She must take the initiative to prepare for her laboring, unless she's not truly set on natural birth. If avoiding medications is the goal, she must believe that she can do it. And then, she must use the tools available to guarantee her success.

After all, just because it's natural, doesn't mean it comes naturally...but it's sure as hell not impossible.


For Information On Natural Birthing Techniques, Check These Out:
Birthing Naturally
Birth Ball
http://www.lamaze.org/
http://www.bradleybirth.com/
http://www.doula.com/
http://www.dona.org/
http://www.hypnobabies.com/
http://www.hypnobirthing.com/
http://www.waterbirth.org/
Find out fetal positioning and techniques: http://www.spinningbabies.com/
On Cafemom? Join some of these groups:
Birth is Normal
Birth Unhindered
Natural Pregnancy and Childbirth
The Homebirth Debate

The Importance of Nutrition in Pregnancy

I wanted to share an article on Nutrition in Pregnancy. We all have cravings during pregnancy and it's certainly not harmful to indulge occasionally, but it seems many care providers really aren't giving women the real deal on just how important eating healthy in pregnancy is. Enjoy the article below from an older issue of Midwifery Today.

Nutrition during Pregnancy
by Amy V. Haas

© 1995 Midwifery Today, Inc. All rights reserved.

[Editor's Note: This article first appeared in Having a Baby Today Issue 5, Spring 1995.]
Photos by Jennifer Rosenberg

The single most important thing that you can do for your baby is to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. A well-balanced diet is one that includes foods from all food groups in appropriate amounts, so as to ensure proper nutrition. Proper nutrition ensures that all essential nutrients (carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, minerals and water) are supplied to the body to maintain optimal health and well-being. Good nutrition is essential for normal organ development and functioning; normal reproduction, growth and maintenance; for optimum activity level and working efficiency; for resistance to infection and disease; and for the ability to repair bodily damage or injury. While pregnancy is a normal alternative condition for the female body, it is stressful, and all nutritional needs are increased in order to meet the needs of the pregnancy.

Dr. Tom Brewer found through more than 30 years of research that each day, pregnant women need a well-balanced, high-quality diet that includes 80 to 100 grams of protein, adequate salt (to taste), and water (to thirst), as well as calories from all of the food groups. The World Health Organization recommends that a pregnant woman eat a minimum of 75 grams of protein per day, but protein is just a marker for a nutritious diet. It must be obtained from a wide variety of whole food sources in order to get all of the important nutrients a woman needs during pregnancy. While the government's food pyramid is a good example of a well-balanced diet, pregnant women need more protein and calories in general.

This means including:

• 2 to 3 servings of meat, fish, nuts or legumes, and tofu
• 2 to 3 servings of dairy (milk, eggs, yogurt, cheese)
• 2 servings of green vegetables; 1 serving of a yellow vegetable
• 3 servings of fruit
• 3 servings of whole grain breads, cereals, or other high-complex carbohydrates
• salt to taste
• 6 to 8 glasses of clean, filtered water each day.

While this may seem like a lot of food, it will supply the 2000 to 3000 calories needed per day to make a healthy baby.

A study conducted at Harvard University found that by eating at least 75 grams of protein per day, pregnant women could prevent diseases of pregnancy such as preeclampsia (metabolic toxemia of late pregnancy). During pregnancy a woman's blood volume increases as much as 40 to 60 percent, and in order to reach this necessary level and maintain it, a woman's body needs adequate protein, salt, calcium, potassium and water from her diet. In April of 1996 the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article indicating that calcium may also help reduce the incidence of preeclampsia. Other recent research indicates that pregnant women need adequate folic acid (a B vitamin) to prevent neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida. The Food and Drug Administration now recommends that breads and pastas be fortified with folic acid to ensure that all women of childbearing age get enough of it. Four hundred micrograms of folic acid a day is recommended. This can be obtained by eating whole grain breads, citrus fruits and dark green leafy vegetables.

As long as junk food and excessive sweets (sugar) are avoided, or kept to a minimum, weight gain should not be an issue. The diet listed above (or something similar) should provide all of the necessary nutrients, and a woman should have little problem obtaining everything she needs. A "whole food" is one that is unprocessed and is as close to its natural state as possible. While vitamin supplements are very popular these days, there are risks to taking supplements of certain vitamins while pregnant (i.e., vitamin A), and others are simply poorly assimilated (i.e., calcium or iron). The B vitamins, for example, must be taken in congress (B complex supplement), as absences, insufficiencies or excesses of one or another can cause problems. Check with your care provider before taking anything while pregnant. Vitamins and minerals should be obtained from natural, whole sources whenever possible, to ensure quality and proper assimilation by the body. A qualified nutritional expert should assess special dietary needs.

Cravings for foods are common in pregnancy and, in theory, can indicate a need or deficit in a diet. Cravings for healthy foods can be indulged, but cravings for non-food substances such as clay or laundry starch, a condition known as "pica," can be harmful and should be reported to your care provider.

Milk, eggs and other dairy products are inexpensive sources of calcium and protein. For those who are vegetarian, or simply to provide variety in an omnivorous diet, soy products, beans and nuts can be substituted. Dark green vegetables provide carbohydrates, water, bulk fiber, vitamins A, C, and B, calcium, iron, and magnesium; the darker green, the better. It is best to eat these vegetables raw whenever possible, but steaming or baking will also retain most of the nutrients. Citrus and berry fruits provide a great deal of vitamin C, and yellow fruits and vegetables such as cantaloupe, sweet potato, carrots and mango are good sources of vitamin A. Both of these vitamins are important for fighting infection, boosting the immune system, cell structure development and preventing placental detachment (abruption). Zinc is another important mineral for pregnant women, as it aids in supporting the immune system. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, zinc also helps to improve birth weight and certain aspects of fetal development.

While a vegetarian diet is a good, healthy choice when well balanced, vegetarians do have to work harder to obtain all the protein needed to increase their blood supply. If a woman follows a strict vegan diet, it may be even more difficult to get the necessary protein, but it is possible with diligence. See the supplemental reading list for sources of information on this subject.

Good Sources

Protein: chicken, fish, beef, pork, turkey, tofu, nuts, legumes (beans), milk, eggs, cottage cheese, whole grains, wheat gluten, soy cheese

Whole grains: brown rice, kasha (buckwheat groats), whole oats, whole wheat bread, whole grain cereals, quinoa, wild rice, wheat gluten, wheat germ, whole wheat pastas

Fruits: strawberries, kiwi fruit, apples, oranges, bananas, mangos, cantaloupe, pears, grapefruit, plums, nectarines, and peaches

Green vegetables: spinach, broccoli, zucchini, dark green lettuces, kale, Swiss chard, green beans, asparagus, arugula, lambs lettuce

Dairy: milk, yogurt, hard cheese, cottage cheese, egg

Other good whole foods: baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, green peas, soy products, corn

Iron: red meats, organ meats, eggs, fish poultry, blackstrap molasses, cherry juice, green leafy vegetables, dried fruits (raisins, apricots, etc.)

Zinc: pumpkin seeds, squash seeds, sunflower seeds, seafood, organ meats, mushrooms, brewer's yeast, soybeans, eggs, wheat germ, meats, turkey

Folic acid: spinach, asparagus, turnip greens, Brussels sprouts, lima beans, soybeans, organ meats, brewer's yeast, root vegetables, whole grains, wheat germ, bulger wheat, kidney beans, white beans, salmon, orange juice, avocado, milk

Trained and certified as a Bradley® Method Childbirth Educator in 1995, Amy Haas' educational history includes a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Plattsburgh State University of New York. For the past six years she has taught Bradley® classes to pregnant families, empowering them to make healthful decisions. Amy's article, "How to Stay Healthy and Low Risk during Pregnancy and Birth" appeared in the Winter 2001 issue of Having a Baby Today. The original version of this article was shared through The Rochester Birth Network.

Sources:

• Dunne, Lavon J., ed. 1990. The Nutrition Almanac. 3rd ed. New York: Nutrition Search, Inc., McGraw-Hill Publishing.
• Brewer, Gail Sforza and Tom Brewer. 1985. What Every Pregnant Woman Should Know: The Truth about Diet and Drugs in Pregnancy. New York: Penguin Books.
• Frye, Anne. 1993. Understanding Diagnostic Testing in the Childbearing Year. 5th ed. Portland, OR: Labrys Press.
• Frye, Anne. 1995 Summer. Unraveling Toxemia. Midwifery Today 34: 22–24.
• Frye, Anne. 1995. Holistic Midwifery, Vol. 1. Portland, OR: Labrys Press.
• American Medical Association. 1996 Apr 10. JAMA. 275(14).
• American Medical Association. 1995 Aug 9. JAMA. 274(6).

Other Recommended Reading:

• The Brewer Pregnancy Hotline by Gail Sforza Krebs and Dr. Tom Brewer (http://ebooks.kalico.net/)
• Pregnancy, Children, and the Vegan Diet, by Michael Klaper, MD
• Diet for a Small Planet, by Frances Moore Lappé
• The Birth Book, by William Sears, MD, and Martha Sears, RN
• The Pregnancy Book, by William Sears, MD, Martha Sears, RN, and Linda Holt, MD

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/nutritionpreg.asp

ttp://www.blueribbonbaby.org/

http://www.blueribbonbaby.org/mainindex.shtml

Maternity Photography

Photograph property of Kathleen Holt of K. Holt Photography (aka myself)

This is something I really wish I had done with ALL of my pregnancies. However, during my first I didn't want ANY pictures of my belly. I wasn't a fan of the bump at all...interesting how things change! With Iris, other than a few snapshots (not at all intended to capture pregnancy) I have no pictures either. I finally decided I wanted professional maternity portraits with Alexander, but then we didn't have the money. Thankfully, we were offered a complimentary shoot to help build a local photographer's portfolio. I was taking photos at that time, but wasn't serious about it yet, or I'd have done my own.

Now I'm happy to offer the same to my own clients, and I have done a few complimentary shoots to build my own maternity portfolio. It is something that is so much fun, not only for a birth junkie like me, but for the mama herself. At a time when you are starting to wonder if this is all really worth the baby at the other end, you get to feel sexy, beautiful, glowing again...for some, even more than you ever did before. AND YOU ARE! A pregnant mama is one of the most beautiful things on earth (other than newborn babes, of course!).

Did you have maternity pictures taken for any of your pregnancies? Did you enjoy them or regret them? If you didn't have them done, was it a money issue or a personal preference? How bare would you go? Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences with us!

This was one of my favorites from our shoot, Iris's hand on my belly.

Photo copyright Ashley Edwards of Focused Creations photography.

The mind is a powerful thing!

It may sounds absurd or nutty to say that you can actually think yourself into the pains of labor, but it is true. Fear creates pain and tension, pain and tension create fear and thus, if you fear your labor you can be stuck in a vicious fear/pain cycle.

So, how do we break this cycle, especially for new moms and how on earth do we not fear something we do not know?

Well, you start by telling yourself just how well you can do this because, of course, as a woman and mother you are amazing. There are many different birth affirmations, you can do a quick google search and find many listings. Some are corny as you can get while others are so very powerful. My personal favorite is:

"My contractions cannot be bigger than me for they come from me."

Oh how mighty and true!

If you begin as early in your pregnancy as you like, saying positive things to yourself everyday about how your body knows to grow your baby perfectly, knows how to birth your baby perfectly, knows how and when to be born...you can really have a strong and powerful effect on your labor and delivery. Woman have sworn that they've turned breech babies, changed malpositioned babies, and sped up labor simply by speaking to their baby and themselves. Our minds are powerful things, if we let them they can rule us. However, there is no reason why we cannot be stronger than our negative thoughts, after all, they come from inside our very own head, so there is no reason we cannot will them away with more powerful thoughts of the positive variety.

So if you are feeling anxious, nervous, inadequate about birthing because you're "such a big baby" about everything else or you've heard it's "the worst pain in the world" tell yourself just the opposite. Why let others talk you down because of their own failures in birth or their own insecurities with their hidden strengths? Instead, tell them that you appreciate their concern buy you are confident in your body's ability to work through this safely and strongly.

You are woman, you will birth!

Please, know your rights!

The concepts of informed consent and the right to refuse treatment are supported by constitutional law (the right to privacy and self-determination protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments); federal law (the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act and the Patient Self-Determination Act); international tort law; as well as state laws and stated-mandated medical ethics. They are also covered in the ethical guidelines of the American Medical Association(AMA) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

These laws provide all patients, pregnant or not, with certain fundamental rights:

The right to exercise self-determination and autonomy in making all medical decisions, including the decision to refuse treatment.

The right to bodily integrity. Any form of non-consensual touching or treatment that occurs in a medical setting constitutes battery.

The right to be provided with the necessary information on which to base medical decisions, including a diagnosis; recommended treatments and alternatives; the risks, benefits, discomforts and potential disabilities of proposed medical treatments; realistic expectation of outcomes; a second opinion; and any financial or research interests a physician may have in proposing certain treatments.

The right to be informed of any potentially life-threatening consequences of a proposed treatment, even if the likelihood of experiencing such and an outcome is rare.

The right to make medical decisions free from coercion or undue influence from physicians.

The right to have informed medical decisions witnessed, signed, and documented by the attending physician and another adult.

The right to revoke consent to treatment at any time, either verbally or in writing.

Source: Born in the USA by Marsden Wagner