The Cardiotocograph test: Absurd at best?

When I did my midwifery training in the 70's, the Cardiff Infusion pump was used to induce labour. The women were placed flat on their backs and monitored with a cardiotocograph machine. The cardiotocograph machine recorded an approximation of the fetal heart rate with an ultrasound transducer. There was also a capacity to record the uterine activity, but the uterine activity was actually monitored by the Cardiff pump machine. Women had their amniotic sac membrane broken with an instrument called a amnihook. A thin plastic tube with a pressure monitoring device was inserted into the woman's uterus through the cervix and into the sac next to the baby. The pressure monitoring device was hooked up to a machine called a Cardiff pump. The pump also provided a syntocinon (a synthetic hormone designed to induce labour) infusion into the woman's blood stream via a cannula in a vein in her arm. The rate of the infusion was set according to the pressure of the uterine contractions. The theory was that the rate of infusion of syntocinon would be governed to deliver the right amount of uterine stimulating drug and no more.

Of course there were problems with that process!

The Cardiff infusion pump has been phased out because of all the problems, but the cardiotocograph lives on, despite evidence that it is not reliable, overly useful, accurate nor does it enable women freedom of movement, known to provide the best opportunity to birth well and have optimal oxygenation of the woman and her baby.

The cardiotocograph machine has become the constant in the standard birth room and has taken the place of the midwife in the role of being 'with woman'.

An insightful honest account of the uselessness of cardiotocograph monitoring of labouring women is provided in the link below.

Test leads to needless C-sections | Philadelphia Inquirer | 04/26/2010

What's known is that the rampant use of cardiotocographs has increased the caesarean section rate with no benefit.

Dr Alex Friedman, a Fellow of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania said: 

"A 2006 analysis by the British Cochrane Collaboration, evaluating all available research, found that fetal heart monitoring failed to reduce perinatal mortality - the risk of a baby's dying late in pregnancy, during birth, or shortly after birth - and increased cesarean section rates and forceps deliveries, compared with listening to a baby's heart rate intermittently".

Steven Clark and Gary Hankins, two prominent obstetricians said

"A test leading to an unnecessary major abdominal operation in more than 99.5 percent of cases should be regarded by the medical community as absurd at best," they wrote in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. "Electronic fetal heart rate monitoring has probably done more harm than good."

and The Doctors' Channel has an excellent video explaining that C-Sections, necessary or not increase maternal morbidity and mortality.

So why are they still done so mindlessly?

The answer is best summed up by this comment:

"Why do doctors cling to continuous fetal heart monitoring? An obstetrician will most likely point to the fear of being sued, but the complete answer is more complex. Our medical culture prizes technology and tests, even if they don't work and can cause harm".

Breastfeeding helps build healthy bones

Nutrition is a key ingredient in health and wellness for every individual. Even before conception, the mother's nutritional state influences her baby's genetic and physical makeup, plus long term health and wellbeing.

Osteoporosis is a crippling and painful disease that afflicts some people as they age.

A wide variety of high impact exercise during the teenage years plus good nutrition including calcium and Vitamin D is known to set in place stable bone mass and provide a healthy bone structure for life. Weight bearing and resistance exercise, including netball, basketball, tennis, swimming and sprinting in the teenage years, means reduced risk of osteoporosis in the later years. Peak bone mass for girls is laid down by 16 years of age for girls and 20 years of age for young men.

Telegraph.co.uk

A new study by Stahl and colleagues have found that calcium intake in the neonatal period may be critical for life long bone health.

Stahl et al took two groups of newborn piglets and fed one group calcium enriched diet and the other group were fed calcium deficient diet during their first 18 days of life. The piglets were subjected to frequent blood sampling and daily weighing. At the end of the study, samples were collected from the bone marrows, livers, kidneys and small intestines of the animals. The strength and bone density of their hind legs was also tested.

Calcium deficient piglets were compromised in their bone density and strength. Many of the mesenchymal stem cells that eventually become bone forming cells were found to have been programmed to become fat cells. Reduced numbers of bone forming osteoblasts in early life means a reduced ability to repair and grow bones throughout life. The researchers conclude that lack of calcium in the neonatal period leads to programmed mesenchymal stem cells, predisposing the individual to having bones that are less mineralised and contain more fat. In this way, Stahl suggests, osteoporosis can be seen as a paediatric disease with later onset, rather than a disease of old age.

Irrespective of what I think about this study on piglets, who are very intelligent and sensitively aware animals, I was intrigued that Stahl and his colleagues didn't also add a control group of breastfed piglets to the study. Breastmilk, also known as 'white blood' because of its alive, blood like nature and inability to be manufactured, is known to contain bio-available calcium amongst the nutrient mix. I would have thought to include breastfeeding and breastmilk to have been a foundational, sensible thing for a scientific endeavor aiming to find a reason and a cure for disease.

However, I found the following written in the article:

Stahl and his colleagues have a long-standing interest in understanding how much calcium babies need in order to optimize bone density and strength when they get older. Not only is this a worthy academic question, but it has special relevance to the infant food industry which currently fortifies most baby formulas with calcium at levels substantially above those found in breastmilk - considered the "gold standard" for infant nutrition. This differential level of fortification has been based largely on older studies suggesting that breastmilk's calcium is substantially more usable than that in baby formulas. However, more recent research has challenged this dogma, and Dr. Stahl and his group are committed to helping determine what is best in this regard.

I italicized and bolded the words in the quoted text above.

You will notice several things about this quoted piece.

1. The infant food industry would seem to be behind this study from what is written above. No wonder that a breastfeeding control group was not included!
2. the words 'gold standard' are in inverted commas leading the reader to subliminally appraise the term negatively
3. The word 'dogma' is used to degrade the idea that breastmilk is the gold standard for infant nutrition.
4. Dr Stahl and his group are committed to helping determine what is best in this regard! Yet Dr Stahl does not include breastmilk in his study!!!

I know this study was about pigs, but I smell a rat!

Who pays Dr Stahl and who funded this research???

No matter what Stahl's objective or who funded the research, the study is actually useful for promoting breastfeeding as it shows how important good calcium intake is in early life and breastmilk provides that along with all the baby needs for optimal nutrition. Now we know breastfeeding protects the individual from osteoporosis and builds bones that can last a lifetime with the right input of exercise and good nutrition in adolescence.  Thank you Dr Stahl and colleagues.



Study suggests a much earlier onset for bone problems

Flu vaccination ban goes national after fever, convulsions in children

More than 60 children around WA have had adverse reactions to the flu vaccine, Fluvax. This vaccine contains three different flu components, including swine flu. If a child has already been exposed to swine flu, experts suggest that some children may be reacting badly to receiving a second exposure. Reactions have included febrile convulsions leaving one child in a critical condition. Doctors have been advised by the department of health to stop giving the vaccine to children under five years of age.

Photo from WA News 23rd April 2010

The official response to the adverse reactions has been remarkably slow.

Chris Thompson reported in WA News that

"WA's chief public health officer Tarun Weeramanthri has defended the response time in closing down the state's juvenile flu vaccine program amid revelations that children were presenting with convulsions more than two weeks ago".

The ABC said on Friday, 23rd April, 2010, that authorities in SA and Queensland have also acknowledged a number of adverse reactions to the vaccine in young children. The AMA have agreed with the ban on Fluvax to young children, however they caution parents not to lose confidence in immunisation.

In the ABC news story on Friday, Professor Peter Collignon, from the Australian National University, whose expertise is in infectious diseases, voiced concern about wide scale vaccination with Fluvax. Professory Collignon doesn't think that we have enough data to roll out a population wide vaccination program because it might cause more harm that good.

I'm wondering if the delayed reaction to the widespread reaction to the Fluvax is the result of an inability to truly perceive what was happening because the phenomenon is so outside the belief system that has been created about vaccination.

While the authorities claim they were monitoring the situation, the reality appears otherwise. They appear to have been rationalising.

The pro- vaccination lobby has been virulent in the way that open debate and discussion about the value of vaccination has been squashed until now. Dissent has been forbidden, thought patterns about vaccination have been dictated. I was told at an immunisation nurses' update session to leave the room if I didn't agree with newborn babies being given Hep B immunisation. I was seeking honest, open discussion and information. I was told "you have to believe!!" in very strong tones. Well, I don't agree to 'just believe' I want to keep my thinking open, curious and able to critique events if and when they occur.

The cult like behaviour that accompanies the pro-vaccination stance reminds me of fundamentalism.

Fundamentalism in any context is dangerous. Slavish following of 'science' is no different to slavish following of 'religion'. Slavishness removes the ability to discern, debate and think clearly.

The delayed response to the childrens' vaccine reactions can be seen as a symptom of a fundamentalist, non thinking bio-behavioural state.

The Term Breech Trial and Catholic Priests paedophilia are both examples of slavishness; also recognised as cult like behaviour - (no independent thinking encouraged or allowed) with dreadful sequelae that continues to reverberate.

Programming the future

My friend came back from England yesterday.  I picked up her daughter in the early hours and we drove to the airport together to meet her mum. Her daughter is in year 12. Studying is her major activity. The sunrise was stunning. Intensely pink and orange light filled the sky over Sydney as we made our way towards the airport. We chatted about her studies and what she hoped to do in the future. I was impressed with her clarity and vision.

Next week, as part of her family and children studies, all her group are being given a 'baby' to take home. The students all have to pretend it is a real baby and do all the things that mothers do when they have a new baby.  As many new mothers have never even held  a baby until they give birth to their own, this initiative is an effective way to help address that deficit in embodied knowledge.

I asked about feeding the baby. "oh, I have to give it a bottle and make up the formula" was the answer.

The conversation that followed explored the damaging message that this very creative and innovative exercise was unwittingly sending about how babies are fed.

The well intentioned, but ill advised, baby care education promotes bottle feeding as 'normal'. Young girls get that message early, for example, when given a baby doll complete with bottle as a gift for their birthday or Christmas. Have you noticed how those dolls all have bottles?

I went to the NSW Department of Education's website and looked up the curriculum for the "Exploring Early Childhood" program. 

The syllabus is very comprehensive.

Infant feeding, including a thorough section on breastfeeding is there, but no mention about how these subjects are taught. The practical application of knowledge to behaviour by providing a baby model for each student to take care of and feed is excellent. However, teachers need to ensure that students are able to 'breastfeed' the 'baby' as a matter of course.

Then young adults will get the right message: that breastfeeding is 'normal'.

As we pulled into the airport car park, my friend's daughter said she was grateful for the conversation, because she 'hadn't thought of it like that'. 

Neither would she.

Why would she? 

People don't know something until they know there is something to know!  When all society's clues and subliminal messages point to bottle feeding as 'normal', for a counter truth to have traction, you need other experiences or input, perhaps from a breastfeeding aunt, friend, neighbour or mother to enable you to think differently to the crowd, to be able to challenge the 'status quo'.

 La Leche Materna

After the event is a terrible time to learn the truth about what you can do to give your baby the optimal start in life. 

Birth Control Drugs: Female Sexual Castration?

When I opened my inbox this morning, I found an email from Gail J. Dahl discussing birth control drugs and the way they act to sexually castrate women. This information is food for thought and something every woman should think about when she is considering her fertility and contraception. I decided when I was very young and the 'pill' was new that I was not interested in taking it. Other methods such as I used to manage my fertility are outlined at the end of Gail's explanation. I also chose to embrace the 'croning' and changes that come with menopause as the idea of HRT does not and did not appeal to me.  Reading Gail's words have made me glad that I did listen to my inner self on this one! 

Gail J. Dahl is a childbirth researcher, award winning and national bestselling author. She is the founder and Executive Director of the Canadian Childbirth Association. Dahl has received many awards, including  "The YWCA Woman of Distinction Award", "The Woman of Vision Award" and "The Great Women of the 21st Century Award" for her contributions toward women's health and education.  

Gail has written two great books  Pregnancy & Childbirth Secrets and Pregnancy and Childbirth Tips

Her websites are:

http://web.mac.com/pregnancysecrets

http://www.youtube.com/gaildahl
 

 Here is Gail's email to me, reproduced with her permission.

Secrets - Female Sexual Castration - Birth Control Drugs

Shortly after our last e-newsletter on the health dangers of the newest birth control pills, I had the opportunity to speak at length with Jody McLaughlin, who has now logged in over thirty years in the birth industry. It was wonderful to hear of her observations of women over the past thirty years. In our conversation, Judy called the birth control pill, "female castration", and she said it was causing a generation of our young women to be dumbed down intellectually, emotionally and sexually. I agree, this is exactly what is happening to our young women.

Since we began taking the birth control pill, we no longer have young women protesting or advocating for change. University rallies rarely last for more than a few hours. Colleges and universities know that they can easily double tuition fees and have little backlash to deal with. Wars, started and never ended because women have lost their ability to speak up, or so few are willing to. Chemical castration causes one to lose their drive and ambition in life, something that has been known for centuries. 

The pill did not provide women with freedom, instead it has muffled us and stripped us of our female sexuality and sensuality. Stealing the best out of us, our drive and ambition. I believe the pill has become a prison for the modern young woman. All doors out of this chemical prison are locked or just lead more deeply within, each room providing different formats of the same female castrating drugs.

Some our young men are complaining that today's young women have nothing to say past gossip, display little ambition, they are difficult to arouse and quite frankly, boring in bed. That is how a young woman would behave after her sex drive was chemically removed. And because the pill takes away our keen sense of scent, women are choosing the wrong partners when they are on birth control and realize this too late, once they stop the pill and their ability to smell increases. The young women then complain that now their guy smells different. Liking the scent of your partner, sweaty or clean, is what draws us sexually to our partners.  Young women are also losing their drive and ambition just at the moment that they need everything at their command to complete their higher education and begin their new career.

Taking the pill at a too young age, before the age of 25, can leave a legacy of infertility in later years. Undiscovered sexually transmitted diseases along with too early and long term use of chemical birth control is the foundation of the tremendous rise in infertility we are seeing in our North American society today. Young women taking some of the new birth control dugs are finding their period goes away and either doesn't come back for years or perhaps not at all, stealing their fertility and their future. 

Additional physical complaints from chemical birth control include depression, mood swings, frequent headaches, bloating, lack of energy, weight gain, lung clots, pancreatitis, risk of heart attacks, strokes, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, gallbladder complications and other life-threatening health problems. Don't believe that today's birth control pills are "safer" than they were when we were growing up, they are much, much more dangerous today. Does a bright young woman you know exhibit feelings of hopeless, lack of energy, depression, lack of desire to get ahead, cloudy thinking and mood swings? Is she mostly "down" instead of "up"? These are the young women also at risk for numerous addictions used in order to attempt to chemically feel better. 

Looking back I can see that I started the pill at a too young age. At that time you were on the pill whether you were actually having sex or not. If there was any sexual activity it was certainly sporadic and rarely occurred more than a few times a year. I was continually going on and off the pill and having my prescription changed to another drug due to the multitude of side effects I was experiencing. I finally gave up using all chemical birth control and began to study my personal fertility cycle and and use barrier methods during fertility only. This difference in my ability to move forward in my career and my ability to get things done increased tremendously after I stopped taking the pill. Depression lifted and life just began to look differently allowing me to take great strides forward in my life. 

Still chemical birth control free and have been since the birth of my daughter. Now, I can see what was happening to me in my twenties and why. I much prefer my sexuality intact and will not be doing anything to stop my cycles. I am happy to have my cycle to the very, very, last, last day. I recently spoke with a sexual health expert and now I understand the importance of my cycles for maintaining my optimum health as a woman. This expert had forecast long before the tremendous damage that could occur when a woman's cycle is stopped or altered chemically. 

Our daughters should not be graduating school without completing a program in Science or Health on tracking her own personal fertility cycle. The recent book, "Cycle Savvy" and "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler are excellent guides for young women for understanding their own personal body cycle and fertility pattern. Every young woman of the age of fourteen was given this book as a gift in Chicago a few years ago, what a wonderful gift to receive, free control of your fertility for the balance of their life. 

Whether you are in the public or private school system, take a moment today or tomorrow and ask your school district if they will add a Fertility Planning module to the Sexual Health programing in your area. This only takes a short email to the Superintendent of your local school system. Ask them to add Fertility Awareness Programming to their Grade 9 Science or Health Classes.  Sometimes a suggestion is all that is needed to get the ball rolling. Pick up the telephone or click on the internet and send a quick email to the leader of the school system for your city. Our young women will not have any alternatives unless we teach them. This just takes a few minutes and could have tremendously positive results for the young women in your city or town, wherever you are.  I just wrote in myself to the head of our school system in my city. It took approximately 4 minutes to locate the top boss, write a one paragraph letter and attach the following recent article and email it. If ten women happened to write in at the same time, with the same suggestion, I would imagine the school system would need to pay attention. 

The pharmaceutical companies and the physicians are not presenting birth control with the correct statistics and side effects. The statistics for birth control are skewed, only showing the stats from using the product correctly which they state, most don't. The chemicals are providing no more than a 50/50 proposition of working, the side effects are not clearly noted. No mention is made of the sexual castration leading to a woman's suppressed sexual desire, decreased drive, decreased ambition, decreased mood and energy, increased weight gain, along with the real and serious life threatening possibilities of physical damage to her body. 

I understand that mom's have enough to worry about today with young daughters, but it is really worth it to take away your daughter's drive, ambition and ability to choose a partner at the most critical time of her life, for the sake of "peace of mind"?

Many thanks to everyone who sends in their comments and thanks also to those who let me know they passed this important article along to a daughter, granddaughter, friend, family member or physician. We need to think of better alternatives to pass on to our daughters to ensure the generational line continues in our own families and that our daughter's are in optimal health.  Best wishes, Gail J. Dahl

Your Fertility Awareness and Charting References:

"Cycle Savvy" by Toni Weschler:  http://cyclesavvy.com/

"Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler : http://www.tcoyf.com/

"The Garden of Fertility" by Katie Singer : http://www.gardenoffertility.com/

"Justisse Fertility Awareness for Women":  http://www.justisse.com/default.htm

Free Online Guidebook at:  "Justisse Fertility Awareness"  http://www.justisse.com/eBook/

Free Fertility Charts at: http://www.gardenoffertility.com/fertilitycharts.shtml

Each one of these authors has created an excellent website to go along with their books and all have great free information. It only takes a few hours to learn how to work the fertility system and a few minutes daily to track your own personal fertility pattern. Some women track their ovulation and use it to schedule important business meetings and projects. 

Ovulation is a high energy and highly creative time for all women. An excellent time to write a song, paint and do some innovative thinking about life. Tracking the ebb and flow of your body's cycle can also assist you in monitoring your personal health throughout your years of fertility.  A free and drug-free way to have full control of your fertility throughout your life. Best, G

Need More Convincing on the Castration Part?

The birth control drugs being sold to your daughters, relatives and female friends is the same drug used for male sexual castration. This drug creates the same personal devastating effects such as of loss of sexual desire, loss of drive and ambition, deep depression, excessive weight gain, emotional turmoil, sexual confusion, isolating behavior and other serious mental, emotional and physical side effects. These drugs are usually reserved for sexual deviants and transexuals.  I was unaware of the depth of damage chemical birth control can do to women. I had an idea from watching what the drugs did to my own body, I am amazed now at how the effects are so all encompassing with the potential for devastating results. The type of drug used for male chemical castration is the foundation for the new types of birth control sold under the names of Yaz, Yazmin and the birth control shot Depo-Provera, any chemical that attempts to stop, re-program or delay a woman's cycle. All chemical birth control has the potential to have the same castrating effect on a woman as it does on men

Midwifery Legislation Update from Maternity Coalition

Update from Maternity Coalition about Health Care Legislation.

The Senate passed the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009 on Tuesday 16 March. This legislation should give Australian women greater access to affordable, continuity of care with a known midwife.

It marks the beginning of a new era of maternity care for Australia’s maternity consumers. It is a huge achievement; and thanks to the work of generations of women and to you.

In recent months, much of our focus in the birth community has been on the aspects of the maternity reforms we are unhappy with including the collaborative arrangement and the threat to births at home. But we should remember that this legislation is a giant step forward in the right direction to woman-centred maternity care.

What this means

We don’t know how it will all work in practice yet as Health Minister Roxon still needs to make decisions on a number of things including definitions for ‘eligible midwife’ and ‘collaborative arrangement’ and details around Medicare and prescribing are still not finalised.

But what we do know is that:
• Consumers, from November 2010, will be able to choose (in theory) their own midwife for their pregnancy, birth care in a hospital and post-natal care. How intrapartum care in hospital will work still needs to be sorted with visiting/admitting rights. This care will be more affordable as they can get Medicare rebates for it. This has the potential of increasing the numbers of Australian women who can access continuity of care with a known midwife from less than 5% to a New Zealand figure of around 80% or higher.
• Midwives will have access to
o Medical Benefits Scheme
o Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
o Professional Indemnity Insurance (excluding birth at home) and the Government will also pay any insurance claims that exceed $1 million. Note: The need for a collaborative arrangement to be in place before a midwife could access this indemnity was dropped in the Bills.

What MC is doing?
MC is working hard. We have:
• representatives at all working groups of the Department of Health and Ageing involved in implementing these reforms.
• given evidence at two Senate enquiries.
• attended consultations and made submissions to provide the consumer perspective on maternity issues.
• engaged in strategic conversations with other stakeholders.

MC and a range of midwifery and nursing organisations have agreed on a consensus for collaborative arrangements and took this proposal to the Minister’s office. We’re feeling optimistic about this. Senator Joe Ludwig (ALP) clearly stated in the Senate it was not the Government’s intention in the legislation to give one professional group control over another. We need to keep the Government accountable to this.

What about homebirth?
There is nothing in the Bills for homebirth – the Bills neither support nor outlaw homebirth. However Health Minister Roxon has made it clear that she intends women to be able to continue to access midwifery care for homebirths. To hear it straight from the Minister, see this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK_Vt18eq0s

MC, along with the Australian College of Midwives, has developed an alternative proposal for the Quality and Safety Framework midwives will need to work to in order to qualify for the two year exemption from professional indemnity insurance. As the whole purpose of this exemption was to secure women’s access to homebirth care, MC expects an outcome which will work.

We have asked that this framework be finalised by 1 April 2010 giving women and midwives 3 months in which to make plans. The final version of the framework will be released in the next few days. Look to the website for a link to it shortly.


MC’s perspective of an ideal outcome for homebirth (in terms of what’s going on at the moment) is that midwives providing homebirth care will be:
• registered as a midwife and able to practice
• exempt from professional indemnity insurance for the first two years of national registration (from July 2010)
• working in much the same way they do now.

Some homebirth midwives might also choose to become an ‘eligible midwife’ with access to MBS and PBS. In which case they will need to have a collaborative arrangement in place so that their clients can receive Medicare rebates for their pregnancy and post-natal care.


What you can do right now?

• The National Health and Medical Research Council has released its draft ‘Guidance on Collaborative Maternity Care’. This is a very important document. They are asking for feedback on this document and want it by Friday 27 April. For more information go here: http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines/consult/consultations/ngcmc.htm. When you read it, ask yourself how these arrangements would work for you as a consumer. SEND YOUR COMMENTS TO l.metcalfe@tpg.com.au for incorporation into a response to the NHMRC.

• If you haven’t written/visited your Federal MP for awhile, get back in touch and tell him/her that birth and birth care really matter to women and families, and we expect governments to take responsibility for the quality of care and choices available to women [how do you see this yourself?]. Remind them that they need to find a long-term solution for indemnity for midwives providing homebirth by June 2012 and that the clock is ticking.

• Keep up your membership to Maternity Coalition and other consumer and midwifery groups. In numbers we have strength. Without you, we are nothing. To renew your membership with MC and find out when and where the next meeting is close to you, go to our website www.maternitycoalition.org.au



Lisa Metcalfe
President Maternity Coalition
Em: president@maternitycoalition.org.au
Web: www.maternitycoalition.org.au

Optimal Environmental Conditions for Childbearing

The shocking deaths within the last six months of two child brides from the Yemmen ,one from sexual intercourse related haemorrhage five days after her forced marriage and one from childbirth, provide a graphic and tragic illustration of the disastrous circumstances that can accompany female reproductive lives. Their stories are testimony to the difficulties that girls and women face in living their lives in ways that are empowered and valued.

Thinking about these young girls and their lack of choices, driven by culture,  religion, standard of education, political will and misogyny, led me to consider what is the optimal environment for childbearing?

Optimal Environmental Conditions For Childbearing

In an optimal social environment, childbearing women, babies and children are highly valued in ways that are quite tangible. The vital contribution that mothers and babies make to society is recognised as fundamental to the health and wellbeing and indeed the future of society. The needs of mothers and babies needs are at the heart of government policies and social considerations. The society as a whole expects every workplace to be family friendly and therefore it is the norm. To be considered family friendly, a workplace has on-site childcare, flexible working hours and breastfeeding facilities as a matter of course. Breastfeeding is a normal, accepted part of childbearing. Breastfeeding in public is normal and there are easily accessible facilities in every large department store, recreational and public utility for breastfeeding women and their babies. All children are educated at school about child development, contraception, maternity care, pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. In our optimal social environment, women have true choice about pregnancy. If a woman chooses to stay childless, that is accepted as a valid choice. Women are not pressured in any way by the media or their social network. Women have access to the contraceptive that suits their needs. There is general agreement that no women should have to bear a child that is unwanted. There is an appreciation that an unwanted pregnancy creates unacceptably high levels of suffering for the woman and for the individual who is born unwanted. Women’s self determination is valued and encouraged. Every pregnant woman is in a stable and loving relationship and has at least five people that she knows, love and support her in emotional and in practical ways. 

Every woman who wants to become pregnant is financially secure. She is at her best nutritionally, physically and emotionally with the help of free and easily accessible holistic pre-conceptual health care. A visit to the pre-conceptual health centre is a normal thing to do for a couple planning a pregnancy. At these centres, couples build on their knowledge gained from their school education and learn more about prenatal and infant development. The role of nutrition, stress management and exercise in optimising the prenatal environment for their future pregnancy is explored. A conscious approach to conception, pregnancy, birth and childrearing is treasured. Couples go to courses about relationships and parenting to ensure they are well equipped to provide a loving environment for their own growth and development as partners and parents. Families are encouraged to be supportive of one another as family friendly practices are part of the educational process in schools and work places.

There are women centred health services in neighbourhood centres where pregnant women can access relationship based midwifery care and an integrated perinatal service. The integrated perinatal service includes midwives, doctors, social workers, psychologists, mental health nurses, psychiatrists, dieticians, early childhood nurses and paediatricians. According to the individual woman’s needs, members of the health care service work with the women as an integral part of the team. Women can choose to give birth at these centres or at home. If there is some condition requiring close medical attention and care in labour, the woman can birth at the tertiary referral centre with her midwife and other team members support. 

The woman and her partner are supported by their midwife and a home help person for up to six weeks after their baby is born.

Of course the optimal environment for childbearing that I have described can be seen as a 'pipe dream' a fanciful idea that is unattainable. I suggest that for our species to become all it can be, humanity needs to look seriously at how women and children are treated in this world.  We will only fulfill our potential if we start taking  proper care of women and children and ensuring there is an optimal environment for childbearing.  The plight of young girls in the Yemmen is a blight upon humanity.  However, the Yemmen is not the only place where being female is a liability.

Everyone needs to take responsibility for the position of females in society.  Everyone has to do their bit to improve the social structure. Nothing changes until we change.

24 Hour Virtual International Day of the Midwife Conference

An exciting event has been planned to celebrate International Day of the Midwife. Dr Deborah Davis from the University of Technology (UTS) in Sydney and Sarah Stewart Otago Polytechnic Education Development Centre in NZ have planned and coordinated a fabulous, innovative virtual conference.

 

International Midwives Day Virtual Conference

Presentations, discussions, chat room and webpage discussions, videos and podcasts are all planned to occur on the day.

Conference program

You can have a look at last year's event and explore the presentations there to get a sense of what you can expect this year.

You will learn all about working with a Wiki which is a website where people can create and edit pages about topics/areas that interest them together. Links can be made to resources and further pages.  People can work cooperatively on policy and guidelines development, research and networking on a Wiki. The 24 hour virtual International Day of the Midwife Celebration and Conference is all on a Wiki, with links to events, tools, videos and podcasts provided within the Wiki.

Going to conferences is always fun. I love them, but geography, finances and time zones prevent many midwives meeting on an international level. Online resources and tools such as Second Life, Elluminate and Skype overcome those limitations and enable midwives to meet, communicate, share information and resources in a far more flexible way than face-to-face meetings. This 24 hour virtual celebration of midwifery is a means of providing us with an opportunity to meet at some stage during the day either 'live' in real time meetings or at recorded events at a time that suits us individually.

Elluminate is a virtual meeting room. You can listen, watch, interact in the Elluminate meeting room. You will need to get familiar with Elluminate before the sessions you want to take part in. Sarah Stewart has kindly offered to take you through Elluminate and show you how it functions. Contact Sarah to book a time to do so if you would like that help. I'm certainly going to take her up on her generous offer.

Revamping the Blog

I've had a such a great time tonight, working with Sarah Stewart, the queen of using social media for updating about midwifery and education. Sarah has been wonderful, coaching me on getting the twitter link, the 24 hour virtual International day of the midwife link and putting the tags of my posts on the page.

Sarah's blog is well worth exploring as there are some great tips for anyone who wants to use this medium to get their message across. Sarah Stewart's blog  Sarah also has some timely advice for those of us who use Facebook and Twitter in terms of our professional responsibilities.  I think you will find what she has to say very thought provoking and useful.

I would love your feedback about the new look and any other suggestions you may have for my blog.

Writing Birth: Rainbows in the heart and other matters of importance

When Vicki Chan of Better Birth Workshops put a quote by Carl Sandburg on Facebook, followed up by this beautiful poem (below) written by Sandburg on their discussion page, my thoughts turned to the way that artists and mothers write about birth. 

Being born is important.
You who have stood at the bedposts
and seen a mother on her high harvest day,
the day of the most golden of harvest moons for her.
You who have seen the new wet child dried behind the ears,
swaddled in soft fresh garments,
pursing its lips and sending a groping mouth
toward the nipples where white milk is ready

You who have seen this love's payday of wild toil and sweet agonizing
You know being born is important.
You know nothing else was ever so important to you.
You understand the payday of love is so old,
So involved, so traced with the circles of the moon,
So cunning with the secrets of the salts of the blood
It must be older than the moon, older than the salt.

 

Carl Sandburg at 55 years of age

What an amazing poem and what an amazing man to write so eloquently about birth and how important birth is, not only to women, not only to babies, but all of us.

My thoughts then moved to "Harvest Day" a brilliant piece where writer and journalist, Anna Maria Dell'Oso explored her feelings and experiences about birth and mothering in a column for the Good Weekend Section of the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. Anna Maria's column and others was published as a book called Cats, Cradles and Chamomile Tea in 1989. I highly recommend the book and in particular this chapter, for mothers, midwives, doulas, fathers, students, everyone.

Anna Maria wrote:

"Being with someone, murmuring along with their heartbeat, breathing with them is a lost art. The true midwives of birth and death, those who keep vigil at the bedposts are rare. They are people whose eyes are accustomed to darkness and light, who stand waiting by  night and by dawn, holding cloaks and soft wrappings at the cross roads and gateways; they stand at the threshold, at the breaking of the paths, watching the lights, the rain and the winds, welcoming and farewelling our journeying souls. The price of such people is above rubies. No machines that go ping can stand in their place. Yet so often that is all we have. Thank God it doesn't happen to me".

Poets and writers show us what's real, what's missing and what's possible. Their words and the images they evoke go straight to our heart and let us know if we are on track or need to change. They teach us if we are willing to listen and see with new eyes those things we adapt to and take for granted. 

A lovely quote by Sandburg, is to be found in engraved lengthwise horizontally in a finished split tree trunk in the lobby of Carl Sandburg Middle School, Neshaminy School District of lower Bucks County.

"MAN IS BORN WITH RAINBOWS IN HIS HEART AND YOU'LL NEVER READ HIM UNLESS YOU CONSIDER RAINBOWS"

As you would be aware, the word "man" was used at the time as the generic term for a human being. Carl Sandburg was obviously referring to all people when he wrote that statement. What does being born with rainbows in our hearts mean? What does it take to consider rainbows?  Our human spirit is ignored in what passes for maternity and newborn 'care' in this country and in most of the so called developed world. Indigenous people understand the rainbow in a person's heart, they consider rainbows and read each other well. 

What will make us wake up to the rainbows?

We are blessed to have the poets, artists and writers. They help us learn to consider rainbows and other signs of real life. They show us why birth is important when we have forgotten.