If you want to be an Angel of Birthing Families, use a few cell phone minutes to call: Wendy Saunders, Executive Deputy Commissioner for the NY State Department of Health, appointed by Governor Paterson. 518-474-8390

Home birth with midwife as safe as hospital birth
according to new Canadian study

Babies are coming into this world pre-polluted with toxic chemicals.
When EWG tested the umbilical cord blood of 10 Americans, we found nearly 300 chemicals, including BPA, perchlorate, fire retardants, lead, mercury, and PCBs.

Midwives demand global birth reform
Midwifery Today’s Birth Is a Human Rights Issue
Strasbourg, France, Sept. 29, 2010 – Oct. 3, 2010
According to the World Health Organization, 1,500 women die from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth every single day. Most of these deaths are avoidable.

Join the Bridgeclub
This is where midwives have unity and are able to work together for the good of midwifery - all midwives.

The Debate on Healthcare Policy Reform by Faith Gibson, a healthcare historian and policy theoretician
Learn about Health Care 2.0 and why "The problem with obstetrics is that it is all about obstetricians"

On Sept. 11, 2009, The Today Show aired a piece about the perils of midwifery. No studies were cited, no midwives were interviewed.  We just saw doctors who had strong opinions about homebirth, and reporters who parroted what the doctors said. Apparently not one of them knows how to use the internet to find actual scientific studies about the safety of homebirth.

You can read this excellent response from wheresmymidwife.org

The Debate on Healthcare Policy Reform by Faith Gibson, a healthcare historian and policy theoretician
Learn about Health Care 2.0 and why "The problem with obstetrics is that it is all about obstetricians"

Researchers in Sweden believe they have discovered the DNA mutations explaining why children delivered by planned Cesarean section run a higher than average risk of contracting immunological diseases. [6/29/09]

Authors' conclusions
All women should be offered midwife-led models of care and women should be encouraged to ask for this option.

An analysis of this Chicago-based medical practice points to ways to reduce these illnesses.

Support your local midwife and have fun too!
Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein will be in San Francisco on May 15th to celebrate their new book, Your Best Birth. We will have a book-signing and kick-off party at the amazing art studio of Patrick Stull. See his show, Evolve, at www.stullimages.com. All proceeds will benefit the Foundation for the Advancement of Midwifery and the Business of Being Born Educational events. Live entertainment, organic wines and light fare included. Go to www.yourbestbirth.eventbrite.com to purchase your tickets, space is limited. You will not want to miss this fun opportunity to support midwifery!

Most medical errors are still kept secret. Ten years ago, the Institute of Medicine called for immediate action to end errors like this but very little progress has been made since then. Every year our leaders ignore these errors, another 100,000 Americans needlessly die and $17 billion is spent treating them.

Sign our petition to stop the secrecy and prevent medical errors. Help us push for less talk and more action!

This includes a rare opportunity to hear Dr. Sarah Buckley from Australia: Undisturbing Birth

This is my favorite conference group: APPPAH - the Association for Pre- and Perinatal Psychology and Health

Twenty-one years of the The Journal of Prenatal & Perinatal Psychology and Health (JOPPPAH) have been converted into electronic documents and are available online!

Or sign their petition!

Birth Orgasms: Women Speak Out - Is it possible to have an orgasm during childbirth?

Women Who Prefer Home Birth - For some, delivering a healthy child doesn't involve a trip to the hospital.  [Note - the associated article says, "Modern medicine means not having to go through childbirth alone."  It's more accurate to say "Responsible modern medicine means reserving risky interventions for when the benefits outweigh the risks." I know lots of responsible women who give birth at home with the perfect birth team . . . their partner, their midwife and their doula.  They are definitely not alone, and they have all the medical assistance they need, just like a woman giving birth with a midwife in a hospital!  Savvy people know the difference between midwife-assisted homebirth and unassisted birth.]

The Orgasmic Birth web site also has a lot of great information about birth in general:
Birth by the Numbers
The Director's Blog
Birth Stories

When I was growing up, we listened to this recording of Captain Kangaroo narrating the Nutcracker Suite, along with descriptive songs.
Yes, there are WORDS to the Nutcracker Suite, although they might not have been written by Tchaikovsky.

This inspirational story is particularly appropriate at this season of good cheer and good will.
As Clara proclaims in the closing song, "Why don't we all devote our hours to making other people happy, too? "

These words were part of my motivation in creating The Midwife Archives, and I imagine they also inspired my sister, Linda Falcao,
to write the book, America Serves (TM), an excellent guidebook for student-focused service projects.
What a great idea for a holiday gift!  A gift that focuses on GIVING!

Her book has already had such an impact that the slogan America Serves has been picked up by the Obama campaign.
See what a little fun music can do!  :-)

[In case there's any confusion about the origin of the phrase "America Serves", you can check the copyright office records.]

If you're pregnant or you know someone who's pregnant, you'll love
watching Orgasmic Birth, scheduled to air on ABC 20-20 Friday, December 12

Their web site also has a lot of great information about birth in general:
Birth by the Numbers
The Director's Blog
Birth Stories

If so, take The Birth Survey and provide feedback on your experience, your doctor, midwife, birth center, or hospital at www.TheBirthSurvey.com

Women providing women with insight into maternity care practices in their communities.

It has been easier to get consumer satisfaction information about a camera than about maternity care services – but no longer. The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) has developed www.TheBirthSurvey.com a consumer feedback website where women provide information about the maternity care they received - with specific doctors, midwives, hospitals, and birth centers. Families choosing where and with whom to birth can utilize this consumer feedback, along with data on hospital and birth center intervention rates and practices, to make informed health care choices.

I just had my mind expanded this morning by Laureen Hudson's hour long online session on how to use the internet to get a message out. Laureen's session “Creating an Online Presence," gave me a wealth of information in a short time and impressed me with how many people are out there who completely rely on the internet for their information. I needed that, and maybe you do, too. 

  - Ina May Gaskin 

 I just hung up the phone from doing the hour long session with Laureen Hudson on “Creating an Online Presence”.  Laureen’s know-how and expertise were enough to wake up even the birth oldtimers like me and Ina May to the many unused opportunities of the internet.  Laureen’s engaging and easygoing teaching style made even those scary (to me) terms like “hypertext, streaming, wordpress, technorati, feedreader and trackback” start to make sense.  Her passion is to reach the generation of young women who have not yet given birth BEFORE they fall into the black hole of aggressive obstetrics.  I came away from the class today with lots of ways to improve my website and make it more modern, usable and interesting for readers.  This class will run again this coming Friday (August 22) and I heartily recommend it. 
- Gloria Lemay
 
 

REGISTER NOW! SPACE IS LIMITED! 

Cost: $35 per session 

Each session will be 60 minutes in length 

Creating An Online Presence
Friday, August 22 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific / 3:00 p.m. Eastern 

Create Your Blog
Sunday, September 7 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific / 8:00 p.m. Eastern
Friday, September 19 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific / 3:00 p.m. Eastern
Monday, September 22 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific / 12:00 p.m. Eastern 

Search!
This session will include a case study of Dr. Amy and how we shoot ourselves in the collective feet by visiting and commenting on her website.  (PS Hope you enjoyed the Gotcha! page from our last email!)
Sunday, October 5 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific / 8:00 p.m. Eastern
Friday, October 24 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific / 3:00 p.m. Eastern
Monday, October 27 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific / 12:00 p.m. Eastern 

The AMA wants to make birth centers illegal, along with homebirths, even though
hospital births are causing more mothers and babies to die and suffer lifelong injury.

Read more about the ACOG 2008 Press Release from The Big Push for Midwives and Childbirth Connections

You can also educate yourself week-by-week in your pregnancy with theLamaze Weekly Pregnancy Newsletter for Parents

This excellent DVD has some wonderfully honest discussions of homebirth from the dad's point of view.
This would be a great addition to any midwife's library, and curious families would get more of the information they need to know whether homebirth is right for them or not.

And, yes, vaccines are mostly safe, but if your child is one of the vulnerable ones, the next vaccination could ruin their health.
It's your responsibility to protect your children by educating yourself about this critical issue.
Don't let your pediatrician cow you into docile acceptance of a damaging vaccination schedule.

If you're near Chicago, you can attend the Autism One Conference, May 21-25

ABC's 20/20 will be airing a segment about Orgasmic Birth on May 16th for their special Mother's Day show.
Now THERE's a gift that mothers will really appreciate!

Interviews with Christiane Northrup, MD, Ina May Gaskin, MA, CPM, Sarah J Buckley, MD, Marsden Wagner, MD 

Joyous, sensuous and revolutionary, this pioneering film will compel many to reexamine their perceptions about childbirth. Viewers will understand how the use of normal, undisturbed birthing methods can aid the health and well-being of future generations.

Dangers of Hospital Birth - Why Birthing in a Hospital Causes More Problems Than It Solves for Normal Birth

. . . was launched Jan. 24, 2008.  It's a nationally coordinated campaign to advocate for regulation and licensure of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and to push back against the attempts of the American Medical Association Scope of Practice Partnership to deny American families access to legal midwifery care.

You can read what Ricki Lake says and check out her new movie, The Business of Being Born.

Trade Union claims out-of-hospital birth is “trendy;”
tries to play the “bad mother” card

The Big Push for Midwives is a nationally coordinated campaign to advocate for regulation and licensure of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and to push back against the attempts of the American Medical Association Scope of Practice Partnership to deny American families access to legal midwifery care.

You can read what Ricki Lake says and check out her new movie, The Business of Being Born.

Does it bother you that someone who trades on her title as "Doctor" hasn't actually been licensed since 2003?!?
Read Henci Goer's suspicions about Dr. Amy's true backers.

If you feel like Dr. Amy is a splotch on the blogosphere, you can read the comments of others and
vote for her as Worst Blog of All Time

The best way to donate is to send a check to Waterbirth International
PO Box 1400    Wilsonville, OR 97070    USA

or Donate online today so they can continue to advocate for safe, gentle birth for mothers and babies everywhere.

  ~DONATE any amount you can
  ~Become a MEMBER of Waterbirth International
  ~Buy a birth pool for your local midwives
  ~Buy a birth pool for yourself
  ~Buy a birth video and donate it to your local library

THANK YOU! from all those lucky waterbirth moms and babies, past, present and future.

Read about the “Unexpected Birthgasm” and “Passionate Birth”

 Listening to Mothers II (LM 2)

Your Body, Your Birth is one of the best resources for a pregnant woman today.
Childbirth author Lynn M. Griesemer provides encouragement and inspiration for pregnant women
to help them have safe and happy birth experiences.

Tell your U.S. Representative to support Healthy Hospitals Act!
Consumers Union / Consumer Reports is spearheading this campaign to Stop Hospital Infections!

About 100,000 people die each year from hospital-acquired infections, more than deaths from auto accidents and homicides combined. You may not know much about this deadly public health threat because hospital infection rates are secret in most of the country.

Rep. Tim Murphy (PA) is sponsoring the "Healthy Hospitals Act of 2007" (HR1174). The bill will make you safer during a hospital stay by requiring public disclosure of hospital-acquired infection rates. If hospitals must tell you about their infections, they will work harder to reduce them. Please ask your representative to co-sponsor this bill!
This is a public-service announcement, not a paid advertisement.

Call 800-913-TIPS Toll-Free or E-mail TIPS@ucsf.edu

Ask your elected officials to co-sponsor the Breastfeeding Promotion Act

then,

Tell your U.S. Representative to support Healthy Hospitals Act!
Consumers Union / Consumer Reports is spearheading this campaign to Stop Hospital Infections!

About 100,000 people die each year from hospital-acquired infections, more than deaths from auto accidents and homicides combined. You may not know much about this deadly public health threat because hospital infection rates are secret in most of the country.

Rep. Tim Murphy (PA) is sponsoring the "Healthy Hospitals Act of 2007" (HR1174). The bill will make you safer during a hospital stay by requiring public disclosure of hospital-acquired infection rates. If hospitals must tell you about their infections, they will work harder to reduce them. Please ask your representative to co-sponsor this bill!
This is a public-service announcement, not a paid advertisement.

There is no reason why home birth should not be offered to women at low risk of complications and it 
may confer considerable benefits for them and their families. There is ample evidence showing that
labouring at home increases a woman’s likelihood of a birth that is both satisfying and safe, with 
implications for her health and that of her baby.

CALMS - A Guide to Soothing Your Baby
The title, CALMS, is an acronym standing for an indispensable 5-step process which parents can use to maintain composure
during the inevitable stresses and strains encountered in the first weeks of parenting after the birth. 

This easy-to-read book is a companion to What Babies Want, the award-winning documentary film that
explores the profoundly important and sacred opportunity we have in bringing children into the world.

This is a public-service announcement, not a paid advertisement.

CALMS - A Guide to Soothing Your Baby
The title, CALMS, is an acronym standing for an indispensable 5-step process which parents can use to maintain composure
during the inevitable stresses and strains encountered in the first weeks of parenting after the birth. 

This easy-to-read book is a companion to What Babies Want, the award-winning documentary film that
explores the profoundly important and sacred opportunity we have in bringing children into the world.

This is a public-service announcement, not a paid advertisement.

In New Hampshire, a low-risk hospital birth costs: $24,315.
Same low-risk birth at home with a certified midwife: $3,000
The feeling for a new mom cuddling her new baby in her own bed: PRICELESS!

Mandating insurance coverage for homebirth is good for everyone.

It's the Meet BABI Fair from Bay Area Birth Information

I'll have a table at this event - please stop by to meet me

Seeing is Believing - Birth As We Know It / Birth Into Being

Download the 3-minute trailer or 10-minute promo for free
Or you can download the whole movie for just $3.99

We Want Waterbirth to be OPTIONAL! - Keep Our Planet Livable for our Babies

This is a public-service announcement, not a paid advertisement.

Alabama Mothers Deserve Midwives
Learn more from Alabama Birth
or just send a quick e-mail to Alabama's governor, Bob Riley, and encourage him to support HB199

Kris Bagiu has a great set of videos at Home Birth Talk

In this 8-minute audio file (MP3), Marsden Wagner, MD, explains why midwifery can help with
the troubling infant and maternal mortality rates in the United States.  He's written a new book, Born in the U.S.A
[You can also read the transcript of the interview or stream it.]

This is a public-service announcement, not a paid advertisement.

Where can you hear BIRTH?
BIRTH can be streamed live from the following stations (unless marked by an *)
NHPR-Concord, New Hampshire Saturday March 3rd at 8 a.m. (EST)
KUNM-Albuquerque, New Mexico Sunday March 4th at 11 a.m. (MST)
WBOI-Fort Wayne, Indiana Sunday March 4th at 6 p.m. (CST)
WBEZ-Chicago, Illinois Sunday March 4th at 9 p.m. (CST)
WSKG-Binghamton, New York Thursday March 8th at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.* (EST)
WVPE-Elkhart, Indiana Friday March 9th at 7 p.m.*(CST)
KUMR-Rolla, Missouri Friday March 23rd at 8 a.m. (CST)
KQED-San Francisco, California Wednesday April 4th at 8 p.m. and Saturday April 7th at 1 p.m. (PST)

This is a public-service announcement, not a paid advertisement.

  the third triennial Waterbirth Conference
 Gentle Birth World Congress

  Portland, Oregon, September 27-30, 2007
Sponsored by Waterbirth International, featuring Barbara Harper RN Midwife

or Creating Gentle Birth in a High Tech World, featuring Barbara Harper RN Midwife
Calgary, Alberta, May 4th and 5th, 2007

This is a public-service announcement, not a paid advertisement.

A Must-Watch for Obstetricians and Midwives
  This video will present a perspective of birth unlike anything you have ever seen! You need to watch this to see what birth can be. Then imagine adding the minimal level of medical observation and only NECESSARY intervention, and you'll have a new vision of birth that will be a gift to birthing women and babies.

 Making Birth Safe in the US. (aka Hospital Birth Debate)

Did you know that 14 babies died in Marion County just last year from hospital-acquired infection?

Do you know a family in Marion County or anywhere in central Indiana whose
baby died or became ill from a hospital-acquired infection?

 Please send e-mail to khensel@wishtv.com to help make Marion County safer for newborns!

Did you know that 14 babies died in Marion County just last year from hospital-acquired infection?

Do you know a family in Marion County or anywhere in central Indiana whose
baby died or became ill from a hospital-acquired infection?

 Please send e-mail to khensel@wishtv.com to help make Marion County safer for newborns!

From ICAN of Massachusetts comes an article in Boston Magazine.

APPPAH - The Association for Pre- & Perinatal Psychology & Health

Feb. 21 - 26, 2007
Los Angeles, CA

This Oprah clip is a must see!

The secret language of babies from Priscilla Dunstan

Happy New Year!

    Jacquie Munro is a doula in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 

Her birth blog will remind you of everything that's right about birth!

Then send e-mail to the editor of the New Yorker Magazine, and tell them you want your truth about
normal birth to be included in a future article.  If you've already got your birth story written up, this
will take you just a minute or two.

They're up to their old tricks again!
The New Yorker Magazine's article, "The Score" once again tries to sell us on the lie that if the mother and baby are alive,
then it was a great birth.

This article starts with a birth story where the OBs fail to facilitate the baby's proper positioning, and then hold themselves out as heroes for cutting out the baby.  It boggles the mind that this is presented as a success story, rather than the abject failure it is.
American obstetrics is failing to support women in having the birth experience that will best prepare them for motherhood,
and they are failing to help babies to have the best possible start in life.
After recounting the horrible evolution of obstetrics, with its increase in maternal and newborn deaths as birth
was moved into the hospital, this article tries to convince us that everything is fine because their statistics got better again,
once antibiotics and anti-hemorrhagic pharmaceuticals became more readily available to bail out their failures.

They lie in implying that a cesarean birth is safer for the baby than a vaginal birth.
They forget to compare American statistics with those of other countries, which have better outcomes.
Those countries use the model of maternity care that has proven the safest ever - routine midwifery care
with appropriate use of obstetricians when necessary for surgical intervention.

Critique of New Yorker article on the Industrialization of Childbirth
by Faith Gibson, LM CPM, one of the pre-eminent midwifery experts in the U.S.
[and if you like a good mystery, don't miss Faith's scholarly treatise, "The Official Plan to Eliminate the Midwife: 1900 -- 1930"

Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Sarah J. Buckley, MD
The wisdom and science of gentle choices in pregnancy, birth, and parenting 

We all deserve the best possible start!
This book provides a scientific basis for sound recommendations for the best care for mothers and babies.

Have you had an orgasmic birth?  Did you experience sexual arousal during birth?
Danielle Harel, a Childbirth Educator and a PhD candidate in the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality
in San Francisco, is conducting a PhD dissertation research where she aims to learn and understand in depth
the phenomenon of women who experienced sexual arousal and/or orgasm during childbirth. 
To volunteer to be interviewed by phone from anywhere in the world,
please contact Danielle via email at Danielle@DanielleHarel.com or call her at 1-408-469-1989.

Have you had an orgasmic birth?  Did you film your birth?
The filmmakers of the documentary "Orgasmic Birth" are looking for video of ecstatic/orgasmic birth.
Please contact Debra Pascali-Bonaro at info@orgasmicbirth.com. 

Would you like to have an orgasmic birth?
Women are birthing safely and ecstatically in their own homes, without the interference of hospital protocols.
Read about homebirth safety or overall homebirth benefits.

Orgasmic Birth is a documentary that examines the sexual and intimate nature of birth
and the powerful role it plays in women's lives when they are permitted to experience it.

You can donate now to support production

Have you had an orgasmic birth?  Did you film your birth?
The filmmakers of the documentary "Orgasmic Birth" are looking for video of ecstatic/orgasmic birth.
Please contact Debra Pascali-Bonaro at info@orgasmicbirth.com. 

Would you like to have an orgasmic birth?
Women are birthing safely and ecstatically in their own homes, without the interference of hospital protocols.
Read about homebirth safety or overall homebirth benefits.

Orgasmic Birth is a documentary that examines the sexual and intimate nature of birth
and the powerful role it plays in women's lives when they are permitted to experience it.

You can donate now to support production

The risk of death is more than double for babies born by c-section.
[PubMed abstract of the study]

Out-Of-Hospital Midwifery Care: Much Lower Rates of Cesarean Sections for Low-Risk Women

This article discusses the recent BMJ article concluding that homebirth is superior to hospital birth.

"Asked to provide any statistical evidence contradicting such studies, for the sake of this story, ACOG sent none but e-mailed two policy statements further explaining the organization’s position on the certification of midwives."
[Interpretation - OB/GYNs have no basis for their opposition to midwives and homebirth.]

Support the National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign
(It is easy to send an email using their form letter, and you just put in your name. )

More info about the campaign: Babies were Born to be Breastfed

Death by Medicine 

Causes of death attributable to medical care include:
Errors in prescription and administration of pharmaceuticals
Adverse drug reactions
Unnecessary surgeries
Hospital-acquired infections and Antibiotic-resistant infections

Obviously, many lives also are saved or improved by beneficial medical care, but Americans need
to educate themselves about potential problems so they can make informed healthcare choices.

Midwifery care reduces interventions and so avoids many of the hazards of medical care.
Homebirth midwifery further increases safety by avoiding the hazards of hospital-acquired infections.

 Ref: Death by Medicine
Gary Null PhD, Carolyn Dean MD ND, Martin Feldman MD
Debora Rasio MD, Dorothy Smith PhD
November 2003

Spontaneous Creation:
101 Reasons Not to Have Your Baby in a Hospital, Vol. 1

Jock Doubleday's seven-year book project
is now available -- by tax-deductible donation only (no minimum!).

This special story is about two siblings, at the time ages five and seven, as they witness and participate in the birth of their brother.
It chronicles a gentle home water birth that focuses on the children. 

 This DVD will be a tremendous resource to families planning to include children in their birth.

Mothers and babies deserve the best care available.

In 2006, the  U.S. has the second worst newborn death rate in modern world.

Join with the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS), and their Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative (MFCI)

 Still looking for a Mother's Day Gift?  Consider supporting CIMS in honor of a mother you know.

I'll have a table at this event - please stop by to meet me
and pick up your free "Trust Birth" wrist band

This video is stunningly beautiful - thoroughly mesmerizing.

From Elena, one of the Russian waterbirth midwives

May 6-8 in Washington, DC

outside the ACOG Annual Convention.

organized by WECAN - WOMEN EDUCATING CYTOTEC AWARENESS NATIONWIDE

Indiana mothers want midwife-attended homebirths.
Homebirth is as safe as hospital birth.  (British Medical Journal reference)
Indiana does not offer licenses to midwives trained to attend homebirth.
Indiana is prosecuting a midwife for attending homebirth without a license.

Q: What's wrong with this picture?
A: Indiana needs to provide a licensing process for homebirth midwives!

Q: What can you do to help?
A: Join the Indiana Midwives Association, 
or Citizens for Midwifery to support women's choices in birthing.

Fabulous Birth Video Now Available from "Birth Into Being" Midw ife

Knowledge is Power - Raise Your Birth IQ

In 2003, approximately 100 women died from complications of an elective cesarean surgery.
[Reference]
This information is not getting out to women who are considering elective cesareans.
If you or someone you love is considering an elective cesarean, you need to read this.
Oddly, ACOG supports women's choice when it comes to choosing a cesarean, but not when it comes to avoiding a cesarean.

Knowledge is Power - now you've got more!

Thank you for your support of Licensed Midwifery!

This document acknowledges and preserves the  right of self-determination for healthy, mentally competent childbearing women, even those with 'special circumstances', including  breech, twin and previous Cesarean mothers planning a VBAC. 

See Faith Gibson's web pages for more information

Thank you!!!