Re: [ozmidwifery] Midwife in Canberra / area
Hi there, Would someone please email me phone numbers for Marie and Jane, I just had someone ask about independent midwives available for the Nowra area. Any more suggestions or recommendations also very welcome. Warm regards, Lea Mason, AAHCC Certified Bradley® Natural Childbirth Educator Labour Support Professional http://www.birthsteps.com.au - Original Message - From: Sonja Barry [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au Sent: Sunday, January 07, 2007 8:32 PM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Midwife in Canberra / area have you tried Marie Heath from Goulburn or Jane Collings from Bowral. Sonja -- 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.
Re: [ozmidwifery] Dr Jose Villars and pre-eclampsia
Hi Janet, I haven't heard of this man's work but here are a couple of interesting articles about pre-eclampsia if you are looking into current studies by doctors. Even though they are referring to new ways of treating with drugs, I think both these articles actually point to nutrition having a huge effect. If they are finding that Evidence suggests that the disorder is triggered when the fetus is not able to absorb sufficient amounts of oxygen from the placental blood supply... then what is it that would enable better ability to absorb oxygen from the placental blood supply?...good nutrition - which allows a healthy placenta to develop. So Dr Tom Brewer's idea that pre-eclampsia can be avoided by excellent nutrition during pregnancy still holds true as we find out more and more about the condition from studies. http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060724fa_fact http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/1123568331.html?dids=1123568331:1123568331FMT=ABSFMTS=ABS:FTtype=currentdate=Sep+7%2C+2006author=Thomas+H.+Maugh+IIpub=Los+Angeles+Timesedition=startpage=A.19desc=The+Nation (I've emailed you privately the full text of this one) Cheers, Lea Mason, AAHCC Certified Bradley® Natural Childbirth Educator Labour Support Professional http://www.birthsteps.com.au - Original Message - From: Janet Fraser To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 4:07 PM Subject: [ozmidwifery] Dr Jose Villars and pre-eclampsia Hi, I'm looking online for this man's work and can't find anything much but a mention at the US patent office. This makes me suspicious but anyway... Apparently the thrust of his work is that nutrition has no effect on pre-eclampsia, something with which I cannot agree. But I can't find his work to read! The preeclampsiafoundation.org people like him but their site is solely surgeon-driven and that too I don't like! Anyone help me? Very grateful : ) J For home birth information go to: Joyous Birth Australian home birth network and forums. http://www.joyousbirth.info/ Or email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [ozmidwifery] Mastitis question
Title: Mastitis question Vitamin C (and/or homeopathics) would be my first choice before anitbiotics. Here's how I heard about it from a friend: "A trick my midwife taught me for plugged ducts is to up your vitamin c. If you're justgetting "sore" - and not a full fledged infection just taking 1000mgfor a few days would be enough. If you get an infection take 4000mgof vit c and then 1000 every day for 7 days AFTER the infection isgone. Works beautifully." And it has worked wonderfully for me. I did take antibiotics (x2) when my 2nd daughter was a couple of weeks old and wish I had known about this then. With my 3rd daughter I used vitamin C only and it cleared it up quickly. Always would flare up on the days I had to walk daughter number 1 to school (overdoing it!). Cheers, Lea Mason, AAHCCCertified Bradley® Natural Childbirth Educator Labour Support Professionalhttp://www.birthsteps.com.au - Original Message - From: sharon To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2006 12:24 PM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Mastitis question where i work we encourage women to express on the side that they are infected and continue feeding on the other side until the infection clears, the infection should be treated by antibiotics and if severe admission to hospital for iv antibugs. if the breastmilk has blood in it we discourage any breastfeeding whatsoever and get the mother to express all feeds until the infection passes she then can resume b/feeding when she feels better but ensure that the breast is always empty after feeding. regards sharon - Original Message - From: Megan Larry To: ozmidwifery Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2006 10:03 AM Subject: [ozmidwifery] Mastitis question Can a mother pass on her infecton to her breastfeeding child when she has mastitis? Its just that I had what to me was obvious mastitis on Sat, quite a decent case of it, very sore breast, redness, fever, vomiting, quite ill. Still recovering on Monday when my breastfeeding 22 mth old developed a fever and vomiting. This morning he is quite recovered but no doubt will need a very quiet day still. So, is this a coincidence, or can the child become infected too? We were both rundown form a busy few weeks, so the rest was well needed, just wanted it without the misery. Thanks in advance Megan
[ozmidwifery] article FYI
http://society.guardian.co.uk/health/story/0,7890,1656341,00.html A British doctor is challenging convention to pioneer the 'natural' caesarean. Joanna Moorhead watched one baby's slow and gentle arrival Saturday December 3, 2005 The Guardian The scent of lavender fills the air and classical music is playing quietly. On the bed, Jax Martin-Betts, 42, is calm, focused and in control. With the birth of her second child just minutes away, the midwife, Jenny Smith, is giving her a massage. Her husband, Teady McErlean, is whispering words of encouragement: just a tiny bit longer, and our baby will be in our arms! It could be a natural birth at any maternity unit in Britain, but we are in an operating theatre at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea hospital in west London, and the birth we are about to witness sounds a contradiction in terms: a natural caesarean section. Jax has been on the theatre table for half an hour, and the obstetrician, Professor Nick Fisk, has almost completed the incisions through her abdominal wall and into her uterus. OK, the baby is about to be born, he says. Let's prop you up so you can see him coming out. Smith removes the blue drape between Jax's head and her belly, and the head of the bed is lifted to give Jax a clear view. Fisk cuts into the amniotic sac and a fountain of fluid rises into the air before he rummages around to locate the baby's head. In a few seconds it comes into view, covered with the milky-white vernix that has protected it in the womb. For the next few moments, the atmosphere in the theatre is electric: Jax and Teady gasp in wonder at their new son, who is now looking around, although his lower body and legs are still inside his mother's uterus. This groundbreaking approach to surgical delivery - Fisk calls it a skin-to-skin caesarean, or walking the baby out - has been pioneered by him partly in response to the rising caesarean rate, which according to recent statistics reached a new high at 22.7% (of deliveries in England, 2003-04). Whatever your view on caesareans, for some women it's always going to be the safest choice, he explains. And while couples having normal deliveries have been given more and more opportunities to be fully involved in childbirth, very little has been done to see how we could make the experience more meaningful for those having caesareans. As Fisk started to examine the conventions of surgical delivery, he was struck by how easily they could be challenged. Why, for example, did they need to be done so quickly, when slowing them down would give the parents more chance to participate in their child's delivery and might give the baby a gentler experience of coming into the world? Why, too, was it so important for the parents to be screened off from the mother's abdomen? And was it really essential for the baby to be whisked off for an immediate medical examination, rather than delivered into the arms of his mother? What I realised was that caesareans were done a certain way because they've always been done a certain way, but in fact they can be done differently - and in a way that parents love, says Fisk. Other doctors are sometimes shocked when they hear what he is doing. They say, but surely you have to get the baby out fast so she can get oxygen straight away? And I say, when the baby is being born she's still attached to the umbilical cord and is still getting oxygen from the placenta. Caesarean birth can be gentle, just as vaginal birth can be gentle. Obstetricians are too hung up on getting from the point of incision to the birth of the baby as quickly as possible: that's been the benchmark of a skilled surgeon. But I'm challenging that because, from the baby's and from the parents' point of view, it's not very helpful. There's also a view that because the baby's chest hasn't been squeezed going through the birth canal, there are greater risks of breathing difficulties. But by leaving the baby's body inside the uterus for longer once the head is out, the body is squeezed and you see the lung liquid coming out of the baby's nose. Unless there are other risk factors, I've never known a baby born by my method to have problems - going straight onto the mother's chest helps regulate breathing. Smith, who works closely with Fisk, says it's a hit with parents. They feel more involved, which gives them a better start to family life. Breastfeeding is easier to establish, and you can see how much calmer the baby is. For Jax, the birth of Finn - who weighed 3kg 25g (7lbs 3oz) - was spellbinding. I had an emergency caesarean last time around. I'd wanted a natural water birth, but for some women it just doesn't work. This was every bit as magical: seeing Finn there in my tummy was a sight I'll savour for the rest of my life. How the baby Finn is born Minute by minute 09.24 Our first sight of baby Finn comes as Fisk gently lifts his head through the incision in
Re: [ozmidwifery] Men at births
As someone who facilitates couples' preparation for birth as part of a comprehensive 12 week course that essentially gives the dads training similar to a doula's, I see this article as addressing something that happens when dads are unprepared. The type of birth experience doesn't seem to determine how the dad will react to it. For example, I have a friend (no preparation that I know of) who had a straightforward, natural, 5 hour labour with a known midwife and when I asked the dad whether he enjoyed being at the birth he said, It was like being the first person at a bus crash. And then I have dads who have prepared with me and their partner ends up having a caesarean but they know they worked together as a team and he has seen her labour amazingly and thinks she is so courageous and feels good about the experience because they did everything they could but the baby's positioning made the surgery a life-saving thing. When dad's are at their children's birth and they have enough knowledge to truly advocate for their family as well as to help in very practical ways if needed (massage, counter-pressure, encouragement etc) there is a bonding opportunity that is very powerful. When the birth is safe and gentle and joyous and the dad can say in years to come, I was the first one to touch you, or I helped when you were born this is an amazing thing for a family. When dads have been prepared by watching beautiful birth videos that show how birth *can* be and also prepare them for what their partner may look like in the different stages of labour, when they know what the emotional signposts of labour are and what the physical signs are and what their partner needs at each of these, when they know to ask questions like Is this procedure really necessary for our unique situation or is it just routine and Are mum and baby healthy? What are you afraid might happen? What choices do we have? What might happen if we just wait?, when they have an understanding of possible interventions so that they can truly make an informed choice as part of the team, when they have practised with their partner so that she is able to relax to his voice and touch, when he knows to remind his partner to take one contraction at a time, when he knows how to help his partner re-focus if neededwhen he's this prepared and acting as an advocate his partner is not likely to get an episiotomy anyway, and if there are interventions he knows that they have been decided on for good reason. He has seen and inspired his partner to prepare for this birth during pregnancy, by staying healthy with excellent nutrition and exercise and learning about the birth process and he has seen her approach the birth with confidence and he has seen her labour wonderfully and he has taken part in all of this too. PTSD??? Not part of the equation. Less sexual attraction??? He is more attracted to this birthing goddess. And he has learned to make decisions for his family. And he has learned to be discerning about their medical care. And he has the support of other men who have shared this journey of preparation and realisation for the last 3 months (in the birth class). There will always be men who don't want to bother with preparation for birth - just as there will always be women who also don't want to think about the birth until they are actually in labour. But maybe if they knew the potential this experience presents for their family, for their relationship with their partner, for their own self-growth and self-esteem... often the men get dragged along to the classes and by the end of the time they are the most vocal supporters and tell everyone they know how wonderful it is to prepare. I know I'm an idealist but the article (which ran in the NY Times as well) doesn't do anything to inform men that there is an option to educate themselves and make the most of the empowering experience birth can be for women and their partners. I'm just trying to make a difference...one family at a time...one baby at a time... Lea Mason, AAHCC Certified Bradley® Natural Childbirth Educator Labour Support Professional http://www.birthsteps.com.au -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit http://www.acegraphics.com.au to subscribe or unsubscribe.
Re: [ozmidwifery] singing in labour
Here is a lovely birth story I read on theMDC forums...it has inspired me to start singing sessions(along with reading about this idea in Birth Reborn)... "I recently attended a birth that was one of the highlights of my career so far. It has really affected me deeply.Mum was having her second baby. Her partner and she believed in birth, believed it would happen, believed she could do it. They wanted fairly minimal care, declined U/S, and took an approach that her body knew best. Those beliefs in themselves were awesome to witness. This family listened and asked really enlightening questions, and for the most part let nature take its path When I was called for labour, things were gentle and sweet. Her first labour was fairly swift, so I called her second midwife to come too. We also had a student whose role was to be a fly on the wall, as the parents wanted an intimate feeling. She laboured beautifully, and every time a contraction came her partner made this amazing sound. He sings operatic bass and so his voice was like a didgeridoo -- low and modulating. She would join his voice with a higher octave, sometimes copying him, sometimes moving up or down. Her contraction would finish, and she'd breathe a nice deep breath, and then she would turn back to us and be PRESENT in the moment ...We did choose to do a vaginal exam at this point because she was feeling that it was different than last time, and felt that she wasn't entering 'labourland'. She was a good 5-6 cm with her cervix totally effaced, and the bag of waters bulging on her cervix. We waited for it to go on its own, knowing that once it did, the baby would be right there. She didn't have any other exams in the labour and birth. A couple of hours later she moved from hands and knees to standing up. She started swaying and wiggling her hips with the contractions, all the while singing her beautiful labour song with her partner. The baby sounded stellar, she was drinking labourade, and all was well. Around 3 we woke up her son, who was almost 2. At first he was stunned and sleepy, not making a peep. Then he started to cry and ask for the comfort of his mum. The mum would finish her contraction, and smile broadly down at him, and lean down to comfort him. We distracted him with some trains, and after awhile he started to laugh at her every time she had a contraction! He would start a big belly laugh every time she had a contraction because she was vocalizing. It really helped to bring him into the birth, and make it happy and joyous instead of totally solemn. At this point in her labour she was starting to sound like she was making love with her partner. I wondered what the neighbour upstairs was thinking because it was obvious they were up -- we could hear their pacing. I hoped the holy feeling would waft up there and soothe them from complaining or something worse. The mum was so strong, so goddess-like, and her voice was an embodiment of her strength. We were in awe just watching her. She was working very hard, she was so strong. She didn't ever complain, or say she couldn't do it. She accepted every contraction and worked through them calmly and with such strength and grace.At once, her water broke. She was standing up being supported by her partner. I reached around her from behind, while the second midwife held a hand at the front. The baby was crowning. Her vocalizations were at a peak now, no stopping, just loud and strong. The baby inched its way out quite slowly. That's what those hip wiggles were about -- those shoulders were big and she wiggled them into place! Her body knew so well what to do. The baby slid out, vigorous and pinking up, with quiet cries. Mum turned around and the baby was passed through her legs -- she was literally hanging from her partner. They sat down and she snuggled that baby close to her, and the baby was transforming beautifully. The older one came over and talked to the baby. Later we weighed the baby: 10 pounds even, and over an intact perineum to boot!Later we heard that the birth was recorded - audio only. I listened to it on our day one visit-- so amazing! You can hear her singing with the contractions, then just quiet murmurings in between, with quiet encouragement from us and her partner, and the lovely laughs from her son as the contraction started again " Lea Mason, AAHCCCertified Bradley® Natural Childbirth Educator Labour Support Professionalhttp://www.birthsteps.com.au - Original Message - From: Honey Acharya To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au Sent: Friday, August 19, 2005 10:19 PM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] noises woman make in labour Some people also suggest singing!
