February 10th, 2010

When Feminists Draw a Line…

Since I have been a “member” of the feminism community, I have noticed a trend that is not seeming to change. The number of feminists that stop the fight for rights, and choice at abortion. Once a woman makes the decision to continue a pregnancy, they stop fighting for those rights. Now granted, not all feminists are like that. But this really has sparked thoughts in myself, as well as Gina, better known as The Feminist Breeder. Fitting blog title huh?

I found Gina through ICAN, but most people have stumbled upon her blog long before. But what drew me in the most was the amount of similar views that we shared. I was in instant … sistermance?  Is that kind of compatible to bromance? You get the point…

Yesterday she wrote an amazingly awesome blog about exactly what we are going to talk about tomorrow night, I encourage everyone to go over to her blog and read : I’ve Been Annoyed with Feminist This Week .  She in short articulates everything that I wanted to say. We have these giant woman’s rights organizations going to bat over the stupid 30 second Tim Tebow & Focus on the Family ad for the Super Bowl, but when it comes to an 11 minute segment on an elective cesarean section, or a 5 minute segment on water birth, both giving out horrid information to the mainstream public, screw that… it isn’t important enough.

I am so grateful for groups like The National Advocates for Pregnant Women who are truly working on this issue, and not just skimming over issues like this. We can hope that other big named groups such as NOW and NARAL will follow suit.

In light of this real issue, we decided to sit down and talk on the Momotics Radio show this Thursday Night at 10pm EST.  If you don’t know, Gina also has a kick ass radio show herself called The Feminist Breeder and Friends. Tune in Every Sunday night at 10pm CST.  I hope you tune in and join us this Thursday night.

This is not an issue that stops during pregnancy.

For some more cases on pregnant woman’s rights being violated, as well as birthing women, check out the links & video below :

NJ Case of VM
FL Case of Samantha Burton

It really all makes you think!

February 5th, 2010

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week

Sunday will mark the beginning of Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week which will run from February 7th, to Valentines day, which I find fitting considering valentines day is always represented with hearts. It makes it easier to remember, don’t ya think?

But the reason I am taking the time to post about this because most do not know that CHD, short for Congenital Heart Defect, is the #1 birth defect in the United States.  It is estimated that 25,000 babies are born with CHD every year, and that works out to 1 out of every 115-150 births.  Another shocking number is, 10,830 babies are born daily in the US, meaning around 411 of them will be born with some form of CHD.

I didn’t really know much about CHD until I got on twitter in January and really got involved. I noticed lots of people that I already followed talking about CHD and Cora’s Story. So I set out to learn more about Cora and her story, and that is when I met her mother Kristine Brite.
Cora was born with an undetected CHD and passed away on December 6th 2009 while breastfeeding in her mothers arms.

Since the loss of Cora, Kristine, her mother has been struggling with losing a child, but becoming an activist for CHD and mandatory pulse oximetry testing on all newborns, which tests for CHD, hopefully helping prevent CHD from going unnoticed or undetected in any more babies.

Because I feel that this is such an important topic, I decided to kick of CHD Awareness Week with a special Momotics Radio show on Sunday at 3:00pm EST.  I know a lot of people will be watching the Super Bowl, including my husband and children, but I feel like this is such an important subject to talk about.  Myself, and Kristine Brite will be discussing Cora’s Story and how to help prevent others from going through this.

Join us!

January 21st, 2010

10 Easy Steps to Lower your Risk for a Cesarean

Some of you may have tuned into my Momotics radio show on Tuesday afternoon, but I took a half an hour to cover a list of 10 easy ways to lower your risk for a cesarean section.
Of course the list is not a fail safe way to know you will not end up with a surgical birth, but it certainly can help you lower your risk factors in ways some do not know will help.

1) Take a Childbirth Education Class. And not one of the ones the hospital provides. IMO those are nothing more than “How to be a good Patient” classes and do not fully teach you what you need to know for your experience. Look into CAPPA, Hypnobirthing, Lamaze, The Bradley Method, or some kind of Independent Class.

2) Interview a number of different providers before you choose one. Take into consideration what hospital they have privileges at, their statistics, intervention rates, protocol for births, etc. This will help you from butting heads with a provider that is not receptive to what you want with your birth.

3) Hire a Doula! Doula’s have been shown to lower c-section, forcep use, and vacuum extraction in deliveries that they attend. Some may even be willing to attend births for free or very discounted prices while they are working on their certification.

4) Read Read Read! And I do not mean those crappy books like What to Expect while Expecting! Stay as far away from that book! Also steer clear of The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy, and Belly Laughs. While they are entertaining, they are scary and give really crappy information. A couple of my recommended birth books are…

• The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth – Henci Goer
• Birthing From Within – Pam England
• Gentle Birth Choices – Barbara Harper
• Creating Your Birthplan – Marsden Wagner
• Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth – Ina May Gaskin

5) Avoid elective labor inductions. Clearly most know what elective means, but in this case it is for no medical reason. Remember, a pregnancy can normally last up to 42 weeks gestation because due dates are know for inaccuracy even with ultrasound dating.
Also, 40% of labor inductions end in cesarean sections, and that is a huge number. By staying away from an induction, you are lowering your risk!

6) Avoid being restricted to bed during labor. Getting up, moving around and using gravity to help you is optimal!

7) Avoid a cesarean for breech presentation. Before electing for a cesarean for a breech baby, look at other options available for a baby that is breech.

• See a Chiropractor certified in The Webster Technique. This has an 86% success rate at getting your baby in an optimal position for birth.
• Check out Spinning Babies Website
• Find a provider who will deliver a breech baby
• Wait for the baby to turn. A baby can turn up until labor itself!

Avoid routine third trimester ultrasounds for sizing and measurements. These ultrasounds are notorious for being up to 20% or 2 full pounds wrong in either direction, and could label you as having a “big baby” which most providers will push for an early induction or cesarean.

9) In early labor stay active! Walk, do light housework, eat, do what you would normally do during the day!

10) Have faith in the birth process. A good portion of having a successful birth is mental!

You can also hear the 10 Easy Steps on the Momotics Radio Archive by clicking on this link!