Dear All Similalry when midwves who have only worked in hospitals say I am brave to want to do homebirths. Having worked in both I feel in the majority of cases it is they (unbeknown to themselves 0who are follhardy and brave. To every day deal with emotionally vulnerable people who have been peice meal handled by so many different people with so many , often scary attitudes to birth, its safety and beauty! I find there are so many people infraying states and that is the majaority of who they deal with let alone what they deal with. Pregnancies and births which are sad and frightening. Where as to have and make time to try to establish a relationship and a positive attitude of nurtuuring the woman her pregnancy birth and mostly be thanked and nurtured. To be greeted and introduced proudly as this is my midwife even when things have not gone natural, but we allaccept we did our best and we will learn from this.............
Midwives who say they could not consider it have frightened closed minds As the poem says You learn what you live. I am so thankful I have lived birth is amazing and different, intimate!! I am loathe to go back to the other expereince of hospital birth, it hurts too much for me as well as the woman to see everyone saying we can not change it!! We must I want my son and his children to not know birth as a medical disaster waiting to happen! I want all of us to know how wonderous and special it can be when we work in respect and awe not fear! . Denise ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rob and Claire Leslie-Carter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 7:07 AM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] I've had a baby (long) > Similar to Jo, I get very narked when people tell me how lucky and brave I > am. I believed them after my first baby, and thought that I was just one of > those people (because that's what I was being told), but after my second I > realised that being at home was a freedom from intervention and that things > would have gone decidedly differently in hospital. > > With all the homebirth groups I've been to I am constantly amazed at the > positivity that women put on even the hardest labour stories because they > owned their births, and it is not something I have ever come across in women > who have been on labour wards. I know that I say my bit in playgroups etc. > not just to spread the word but to try to counter the > tit-for-tat-I've-had-the-worst-time type mentality. > > Doesn't stop me feeling like a freak though, and that is why I love being > involved with HAS and my homebirth support group in the Eastern Suburbs, > it's wonderful to be around others who think the same way, and know where > you are coming from. > > Claire Saxby > > > >From: "jo hunter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] I've had a baby (long) > >Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 00:00:55 +1100 > > > >Re: [ozmidwifery] I've had a baby (long)It really p#%*$*s me off when > >another woman says "wow, you're brave having homebirths" when I say I had > >my babies at home. I wouldn't be so rude and disrespectful as to say to > >them "wow, you're brave having hospital births" even though that is what > >I'm thinking. > >I'm as equally p*%$#*d off when they say "Oh you're one of the lucky ones > >who has easy births" I want to scream that it has nothing at all to do with > >luck and they certainly weren't easy. > >The exhilaration of natural birth (at home) is like nothing else I have > >ever, nor will ever experience again, in my eyes nothing else will ever > >beat it and as Margie Perkins said at the recent homebirth conference > >(something along these lines) it is like all homebirthers have a secret > >that we can't explain to anyone else who hasn't experienced it. > >It has nothing to do with feeling superior to anyone else and for along > >time I'd keep my mouth shut at playgroup etc about my birth experiences > >because it seemed to become a competition on who had the worst time of it. > >Some have called me lucky, weird, crazy, a purist, mad homebirther etc etc. > >I no longer keep my mouth shut because I know a different way and I want to > >spread the word! > >Jo > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: Justine Caines > > To: OzMid List > > Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 6:09 PM > > Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] I've had a baby (long) > > > > > > I agree Jayne, and BLOODY GREAT job Jackie. Remember our chat in > >Darwin. I have 'borrowed' your marathon analogy re being rescued from > >natural birth! Thanks > > > > Also Sylvia. I think you need to consider a few factors of current > >maternity services in Australia. > > > > To have a natural birth today is hard enough, to secure a homebirth > >is near impossible and the resultant exhilaration is shared by so few. I > >found this when I (naively) referred to the birth (at a local mother's > >group) of my first (HB) as the most beautiful, sacred thing I had ever done > >and that I later felt like Xena, Warrior Woman! I was greeted with "give > >me an epidural any day" Gawd I was so out of it for 2 days after etc etc. I > >was totally ostracised as a zealot and made very unwelcome. > > > > Re the C/s stuff. Women who genuinely need a C/s have my upmost > >respect and sympathy, but these are so fewer than the numbers performed. I > >also really admire the women who realise they were dudded and make > >different choices for subsequent babes, they have achieved real personal > >growth. I never make women feel bad for having a C/s, but the same respect > >is not afforded homebirthers who are often made feel very guilty for > >indulging and putting their babe at risk etc. But what I AM SO ANGRY ABOUT > >is that it is the fear and lack of information sought from so many women > >continues the misinformation and the very real public perception that C/S > >is the safest, nicest way to give birth and that women like me are zealots. > >With so many women researching more about the purchase of a car or major > >appliance than the birth of their child the perception and lack of evidence > >and subsequent high morbidity continues. What we know is around 1% of > >women actually choose an elective C/s for no medical reason and yet there > >has been so much media around this being the 'new way' the majority of > >women are lied to and scared half to death and then believe they "had to > >have a C/S". > > > > Women like me are denied their basic right, unlike the woman who > >schedules her C/s to suit her diary (remember as a taxpayer I pay for the > >unnecessary C/S then I go and fully fund my homebirth). To make midwifery > >care and homebirth a real option is not to deny women the choice of C/S or > >Obs or anything else and yet the polarity of the debate continues to be > >down on those with little or no rights/choices! > > > > For the few women that have experienced the amazing high of natural > >birth (esp at home when a woman is totally in her domain) the high is like > >no other. I defy any woman on the planet who has experienced this to say > >she would choose another way. Welcome to the club Jackie, and so glad you > >had a soft landing Ena! Bet Dad is also grinning!! > > > > Justine > > > > > > > > Oh Sylvia, you are right but I honestly don't think that Jackie meant > >to imply anything :( She is obviously on a wonderful high after the birth > >of her baby. > > > > Jayne > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > > From: Sylvia <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 11:04 AM > > Subject: RE: [ozmidwifery] I've had a baby (long) > > > > Congratulations on the birth of your daughter. What a happy story > >that was. > > However, whilst I in no way support the Today show story and a > >'live' caesarean was just terrible and sensationalist television you finish > >your letter with the comment 'that's not childbirth'. And I agree with > >this - it's not vaginal birth, but an operative 'delivery'. > > > > What upset me was your closing comments which I felt smacked of a > >superiority in having done it 'naturally' . This type of belief only adds > >to the pain and confusion of those women who have been subjected to > >caesareans. As a neonatal nurse and a midwife I often see mothers who, > >rightly or wrongly, have had an operative delivery followed by their baby > >requiring admission to a tertiary neonatal unit. Not only as these women > >having to cope with the stress of a sick newborn but they must also cope > >with their perceived 'failure' to deliver naturally. It's devastating to > >witness and I would like to remind those of us fortunate enough to have > >experienced a wonderful birth such as described here that women whose > >children are born via LUSCS are already mourning, and do not need others > >implying that they are somehow lesser mothers because of this operation. > > Thank you. > > > > > > Vance & Edwina <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > @font-face { font-family: Wingdings; } @font-face { font-family: > >Tahoma; } @page Section1 {size: 8.5in 11.0in; margin: 1.0in 1.25in 1.0in > >1.25in; mso-header-margin: .5in; mso-footer-margin: .5in; mso-paper-source: > >0; } P.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: > >"Times New Roman"; mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; > >mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } LI.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: > >12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; > >mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; > >mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } DIV.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: > >12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; > >mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; > >mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } A:link { COLOR: blue; > >TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline: single } SPAN.MsoHyperlink { > >COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline: single } A:visited > >{ COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline: single } > >SPAN.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; > >text-underline: single } SPAN.EmailStyle17 { COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: > >Arial; mso-style-type: personal-reply; mso-style-noshow: yes; > >mso-ansi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; > >mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; > >mso-bidi-font-family: Arial } SPAN.GramE { mso-style-name: ""; mso-gram-e: > >yes } DIV.Section1 { page: Section1 } > > > > Dear Jackie, Andrew and Ena, > > > > > > > > Congratulations to you all! What a wonderful birth story, I can > >see the smile on your face from here!!. I am so happy for you, especially > >Jackie whom I have met and always admired as a midwifery role model and a > >mentor during my grad program. Lots of love Edwina J > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jackie Kitschke > > Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 12:05 AM > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: [ozmidwifery] I've had a baby (long) > > > > > > > > Dear all, > > > > I have been lurking on and off over the last few months with a > >midwife and consumer view as I have given birth myself to a girl, Ena, on > >the 19.11.03. Having loosely followed the thread of fetal hearts, Today > >show etc along with my own experience I have a couple of comments. > > > > We had Ena at home and employed the services of the wonderful Roz > >Donnellan-Fernandez. She came and saw me about 5 times antenatally and > >would be here for a couple of hours so that even though I didn't see her > >lots of times (the frequency was my choice) I had plenty of time to convey > >to her how I felt, what outside factors may influence me etc and my husband > >Andrew had plenty of time to ask questions etc. > > > > We also invited a midwifery student, Jessica, to share our > >experience and so the four of us welcomed Ena into the world on a stormy > >evening. > > > > I used the lessons taught to me by the many women I have met over > >the years including telling no-one our due date (handy as we went a week > >over), restricting visitors till 2 weeks, (handy as we had some postnatal > >issues), preparing lots of food before hand and taking plenty of time off > >before hand (well I am an elderly (38) primagravida!!). > > > > The birth was the hardest, bestest, most overpowering thing I have > >ever done and gave us a girl (first one in Andrew's family for 48 years) in > >our bathroom. We needed to transfer to hospital for Ena which was > >fortuitous as we discovered her platelets were 20,000 as I have an antibody > >on my platelets which were destroying hers and my platelets were 50,000 as > >I have a lupus anti-coagulant on mine (very unusual to have both or even > >one but it was a week where everything was unusual!!). So it was lucky I > >had a normal birth as an operative birth would have been dangerous for both > >of us and as it was a 6 hour ROP labour I am not sure if wouldn't have > >elected to have pain relief or what heaps of monitoring would have done. I > >am now at home with a baby who is wondering what all of the fuss was about > >(there were a few other issues which I won't go into but were all resolved! > >). I used the maternity services as necessity required and my birth > >experience was great. I am so glad I didn't have to recover from a LUSCS as > >I was pumping etc as Ena spent some time in the nursery asleep from > >phenebarb due to some twitching. I wanted there to be lots of milk for her > >when she woke up, which there was (not bad considering my Hb was 7.4 due to > >a retained placenta and PPH) all thanks to the LW staff at the WCH keeping > >all visitors out, keeping me in LW and having Andrew stay with me. (I was > >treated like the Queen of Sheba by everyone and I don't know how Ican ever > >thank all of my friends and colleuges for what they did for us). > > > > Watching part of the Today show really angered me as that is not > >childbirth. Mess in the bathroom, exhilarated mother, exhausted and > >relieved support people and beautiful, 4.230kgs, caput and moulded head > >daughter is childbirth!!!!! > > > > Jackie > > > > > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > Yahoo! Personals > > - New people, new possibilities. FREE for a limited time! > > > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > It's fast, it's easy and it's free. Get MSN Messenger today! > http://www.msn.co.uk/messenger > > -- > This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. > -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
