Full-term breastfeeding has hit headlines again thanks to Time Magazine's controversial cover story about Jaime Lynn Grume breastfeeding her three year old son. Because I'm a lactivist, who happens to be breastfeeding a four year old and a one year old, people have been interested to hear my thoughts on the piece.
On the one hand I could choose to feel pleased that awareness of full-term breastfeeding is increasing. Except that for the vast majority of Westerners encountering it, full-term breastfeeding is treated like an abomination. I could choose to feel offended because a sacred part of my life is being criticised. I could be a smart-mouth and say "breastfeeding a three year old? Pfft! That is so last year". But, ultimately, after four years of judgment, rising above ignorance, and talking up the importance of a normal mammalian function, I am over it.
Not so long ago I was hugely passionate about all breastfeeding. I felt like my public breastfeeding was a revolutionary act that was changing lives for the better because it was raising awareness, opening dialogue, visually educating and encouraging other mothers to do the same. But my passion and my confidence have waned as my child has not weaned.
My eldest is approaching four and a half years of age and she loves boobee. For reasons I've blogged before, I knew before our daughter was born that I wanted her to wean naturally, at her own pace and that I was in for the long haul. Honestly, I was sure that would happen when she was three, but now I'm not even sure it will happen at five.
Now that she's four I find myself challenged by issues that I previously laughed in the face of. I didn't understand before, how a mother could feel self-conscious about feeding in public, or want to hide her baby beneath a blanket. Four years later, I find myself hiding my "baby" under a blanket during a much needed calm-down feed at a train station.
The longer she and I breastfeed, the less supporters we have. She has not yet noticed that none of her four year old peers breastfeed, but I have and I find myself starting to feel self-conscious even around breastfeeding friends. I'd love it if there were a mother's group specifically for those of us breastfeeding kindergarten and school aged children! There are so few mums to turn to who have been there before, in my world. The Internet means that I at least know some other women who have fed their children four years and beyond, but it would be brilliant to actually be in the same place at the same time, our kids seeing others their age doing what comes naturally.
So if it is as depressing as this post has thus far made it sound, WHY continue to breastfeed?! Because the social drawbacks don't outweigh all the incredible moments full-term breastfeeding provides. My breasts are like magic. Whether it's hunger, thirst, affection, pain-relief, or calming that she needs, the need can be met with a minute or so at the breast. It's so simple I wish every mum had it in her bag of tricks.
Unlike a baby she can express her gratitude for my milk in a variety of ways. If I had weaned when she could "ask for it", as is often suggested, I never would have learned that my milk tastes like "rainbow". I never would have experienced that heart-melting moment when she and her baby sister held hands and smiled at one another as they tandem fed.
It's a comfort to this mother to know that my child's health is still being safeguarded by the life-giving milk. And this safeguarding will continue to protect her body for the rest of her life.
I remember how hard it was to learn to breastfeed and how foreign it was to me as a first time mother. But my daughter, should she choose to have children, will come to breastfeeding with first-hand memories of doing it herself!
As for my new found self-consciousness when it comes to public feeding, as annoying as I find this personally, it is another gift full-term breastfeeding has given me. I have a better understanding of other women, now. I can relate where I couldn't before. This makes me a more patient and empathetic listener, for which I'm very grateful.
From the outset my approach to all parenting decisions has been a "no regrets" mantra. When faced with a parenting challenge I've asked myself "what will I regret?" I know that on my deathbed I won't regret spending lots of time with my children. Delaying other interests and pleasures for that time with my children will be the lesser regret. Likewise, when it comes to breastfeeding, there has never been a moment at which I've believed weaning would be the less regrettable choice. I see so much of the criticism, judgment and unsolicited advice thrust upon me by other parents as stemming from their own breastfeeding grief.
When I start to let the negative social aspects of breastfeeding get to me, I try to remember that it isn't about me, it's about collective grief (and it's not just about breastfeeding either, I think Western society is made-up of millions of under-parented adults desperately seeking attachment, but unaware of how that relates to their childhood experiences of birth, breastfeeding, discipline, schooling etc.). However, I do wish these grief stricken journalists, photographers and editors would find a more appropriate way of dealing with their issues.
In conclusion, what do I think about the Time Magazine piece? I think we'd all benefit from discussing full-term breastfeeding after reading Ann Sinnot's book Breastfeeding older children, or any of the links below.
After years of blogging, I am delighted to announce that Ilithyia Inspired has its first ever sponsor: Scarlet Eve! I refuse to end my ad-free-blogging on any old company, there are so many reasons I'm thrilled to start this new chapter of sponsored blogging with Scarlet Eve, a business I've privately supported for years.
Scarlet Eve is the work-from-home business of an Australian Mum named Jo. When Jo finds a spare minute from her busy days raising two beautiful boys, she can be found at a sewing machine creating the most funky, bright, beautiful cloth menstrual pads and breast pads.
Jo sources a wide variety of colourful and contemporary printed fabrics to make her eco-friendly creations. There is something for everyone and her website enables you to design your own pads inside out. In addition to a variety of choice for colours and patterns, you also have a number of different types of fabric to choose form.
Initially I was overwhelmed by all the choice Scarlet Eve provides to consumers. Thankfully Jo is always around to provide tech support, answering any questions you might have about her materials and how to place your order.
My 1st three Scarlet Eve purchases from 2010
I have been using Scarlet Eve pads for over a year. They were my best friends during my postpartum days and continue to provide comfortable support now that my monthly cycle has returned. For some readers the idea of reusable menstrual pads might seem like a step back for modern women, but nothing could be further from the truth. As well as being made from awesome fabrics, I have found Jo's pads to be more absorbent than the popular disposable brands I used to purchase. Jo's design ensures less uncomfortable bunching and more stable security during your bleed. Her cloth pads even have wings, held together by snaps instead of the chemical adhesive found on disposables.
A feature I find particularly great
about Scarlet Eve pads is that they are "pocket" pads. This means that
there is an opening at one end of the pads. Inside the pocket Jo has
sewn in layers of absorbent fabrics (my personal favourite being bamboo
fleece). The great thing about the pocket system is that after washing
the pads can dry quicker than other brands because you can pull out the
inner layers. Once dry you put them back in and they're good to go.
With the absorbent inner layers out of the pocket
As
you can see from the photo above you can opt to have multiple layers of
absorbent fabric inside the pocket. Jo makes sure they don't bunch up
or move around uncomfortably while you're wearing them but providing
snaps to keep the additional layers still, as well as sewing one end
into the opening of the pocket. Theoretically the pocket design means you could stuff extra layers of your own fabrics into the pad for added absorbency, but this is not something I have ever felt the need to do
Since making the switch to cloth, I have not looked back. My monthly bleeds have become lighter, shorter and less riddled with cramps than they have ever been in my life. My workload has barely been increased, too. You might think going cloth means a lot of domestic work, but all I do is throw the freshly used pads into a bucket of luke warm water, soak, and then toss into the machine with the rest of my load. My garden is also grateful for my switch to cloth as it now receives the nourishing water left after soaking.
Scarlet Eve offer 5 different sized cloth pads. Their prices range from $6 to $19 (custom orders can cost more). Initial start-up costs of switching to cloth can be off-putting, but it's worth considering the long-term savings. It is estimated that in her life-time, one woman will spend $3000 on disposable menstrual products. Scarlet Eve pads will cost you once, and serve you every cycle. I have slowly built my stash over the years, watched for sales and give-aways Jo runs through her Facebook page, and I now have more than enough pads to meet my needs (but that doesn't mean I have one in every colour yet ;P). When I first switched to cloth I started with three pads and was quick about washing them and having disposable as back-up if need be. With my lightened flow thanks to cloth, I find that I can now get through a cycle comfortably with maybe 5 pads.
It's worth noting that I recommend Scarlet Eve pads as a seamstress who can whip up her own pads any time it pleases me. You can definitely learn how to make your own, they make a great beginners sewing project. It is a thrill to use my own creations, but I haven't found another design that sits as comfortably, dries as fast, or provides as much protection and support as a Scarlet Eve pad.
In addition to making these beautiful, eco-friendly products, Jo sells menstrual cups, wet bags, storage bags, boosters, baby mats and great smelling washing powder from the Scarlet Eve webpage. She even has a few books about feeding kids additive free diets, even at birthday parties.
For any questions about making the switch to cloth, how to order or more information about her pads, feel free to contact Jo. I'm sure you will find her to be as helpful and patient with your queries as I have!
I am giving away one size 2 Diva Cup to one of my Facebook likers, to review. To win this cup click this link, like the photo and share on your Facebook wall. I will draw the winning name and announce on Thursday.
What's the catch? The winner will be required to write a review of the cup, which will be posted on this blog.
This is my final give-away and a chance for you to say goodbye to tampons forever, at no cost to yourself! So get liking and sharing ;)
Feeling slightly Oprah-ish this week, hosting my first online give-away. I invited a handful of cup companies to help me spread the cup love and was delighted to receive positive responses from JuJu, Lunette and Diva. As previously mentioned the first give away is a JuJu menstrual cup, for one lucky reader/Facebook fan to review. That lucky "liker" was announced at midnight: congratulations Melissa McFarlane! 115 people entered the draw to win the JuJu, the good news for the other 114 entrants is that a couple of days ago a Lunette Selene arrived for my second give-away. Lunette offer a range of colours, the Selene being the blue option. The winner of the Lunette will be drawn Wednesday April 4. And yesterday a Diva cup arrived.
To win the Lunette Selene click here. Simply "like"the photo of Lunette cups and "share" it on your own Facebook wall.
To win the Diva stay tuned! Details will be announced next week for this third and final give-away.
Winners are required to write a review of the cup they receive, which will be posted on this blog. Other than that, there is no catch. These cups are valued at over $50aud, usually a one hit, initial cost for what ends up being a long-term, very cost effective and environmentally friendly choice for your menstrual health. But for 3 lucky Ilithyia Inspired fans, it won't cost a cent. And for those of you who already have a cup of your own, you're still welcome to enter, perhaps you'd like to try another brand? Or just have a spare!
In the meantime become a "liker" of the Facebook pages of JuJu, Lunette and Diva for ongoing education and support for all things menstrual. And join the Ilithyia Inspired page to chat about your experiences or ask the questions that have kept you from trying alternatives to disposable pads and tampons
'The value we place on menstruation has a direct correlation with the value we place on ourselves as women' - Lara Owen
My cycle is slowly sorting herself out since returning in November, almost eleven months after my baby's birth. I'm having long cycles and missing my former "clockwork" glory. I've increased my intake of fat soluble vitamins on the advice of a foodie, and started taking "balanced woman herbal tea" made by a local doula, which comes highly recommended for aiding hormonal balance. I know there are many who would read this and think me crazy: why on earth wouldn't you enjoy less regular menses?! Well, aside from the fact that I have brand new menstrual cups to try and review, I have always seen menstruation as a blessing.
I discovered that I was not alone in seeing a connection between menstruation and blessings. In her text The Wild Genie, Alexandra Pope reveals that: 'the word "blessing originates from the old English "bloedsen" which means bleeding' (Pope 2001: 18). The term menstruation, likewise, has interesting and little known associations:
'The power is present even in the word menstruation which, from the earliest cultures, also meant "incomprehensible", "supernatural", "sacred", "spirit", "deity". In German, French and Spanish the word for menstruation also means "measure" or "rule" and conects with the terms regulate, regal, regalia, and rex (king). Terms that link menstruation to orderliness, ceremony, law, leadership, royalty, and measurement." (Pope 2001: 18)
As for how I came to see menstruation as something positive: it started in 1997. In my year level at school every girl was a woman, but not I. I was desperate to join my peers in change room discussions about all things menstrual. I felt I was missing out on a fundamental experience of being female. There was bonding to be had over menstruating, even if much of it came from a place of discomfort and taboo. I was delighted, when two months shy of 15 I finally bled (at a swimming competition, but of course!). I was thrilled by the symbolic and poetic power of being a mortal who can bleed without dying. As I matured I also came to thank my monthly bleeds for the fertility and robust health it signaled I had as a young woman. In my early 20s I discovered that my appreciation for menstruation was not unique to me. There was a subculture of women reclaiming their cycles from a society that despises all that is female:
'We're not meant to suffer when we bleed. Our menstrual suffering, that's so often passed off as "normal", is neither normal nor our lot. The menstrual cycle is the stress sensitive system in women. When we experience distressing symptoms, it's a signal to attend to our overall health and place in the world...Menstrual distress is like a wild disturbing genie that has come to shake up this "adapted mediocrity"'. (p.23)
...
Our collective discomfort around menstrual blood has its source partly in the excellent tutoring we've received in devaluing all that is female. But our loathing of the blood also speaks volumes about the fear of entering the deep world of female knowledge that lies in the experiences of the female body.' (Pope 2001: 59
...
'The word "taboo" comes from the Polynesian tapua, meaning both sacred and menstruation. Besides sacred, "taboo" also means forbidding, valuable, wonderful, magic, terrible, frightening, and immutable law.' (p. 66)
I learned new ways to treat my cycle with the respect she deserves. I stopped using disposable "sanitary napkins"and tampons and replaced them with gorgeous cloth creations. My cycle changed dramatically: my bleed was lighter and shorter, cramping ceased. I realised how uncomfortable and useless the disposables had been, how they itched and chaffed, but tolerated it while unaware of alternatives. After soaking my used pads in a bucket of water I gave the nutrient rich, red water to the earth, helping my garden to grow. I read Pope's book and learned about the incredible usefulness of menstruation. I learnt that the heightened sensitivity/senses that come with menstruation need not be seen as a burden, but as a source of great power if we know how to use the time:
'There are many stories from different cultures that tell of girls having extreme power at this time. Those women who become shamans, or healers, assume their religious and medical functions at the menarche. They become wedded to the supernatural and "acquire the conversation" of the deities and guardian spirits. The Mojave girls are told that whatever they do or dream at this time has significance for their futures' (p.45)
...
'I believe at menstruation, when our guard is down, we catch a glimpse of an olde knowing, the power of the feminine...The strength of menstruation lies in what we typically condemn in ourselves - our sensitivity. The amplification of our senses, amplifying our sense of the world.' (p.61 & 62)
...
'What some people call PMS I would call an amplification of their ongoing social or health issues. The menstrual cycle isn't causing the problem it's revealing it through increased psychological and physical sensitivity.' (p.81-2).
Pope asked readers:
'What if the disturbing mood swings, pain and other complicated symptoms were the result of not understanding the nature and usefulness of the menstrual cycle beyond its baby making function?' (p.67)
In the years that followed I came to appreciate the time that I bled as time for shedding. Menses gave me a regular period in my everyday life where I was forced to change the way that I live, which I turned into a reminder to reflect upon who I was at the start of that cycle and who I had grown into since. During my bleeds I would focus on shedding the parts of myself that no longer served, the hurts and the frustrations of the month just passed. I visualised the lining of my uterus leaving my body and taking anything negative with it: 'We are of course literally shedding the lining of the womb and it's a great metaphor for a psychological shedding.' (Pope 2001: 73). Bearing this in mind, perhaps you can understand why I'm anxious to return to 29 day cycles?
I write this on day 41 of an intense, life-changing, heart-breaking, stressful, messed-with-my-mind kind of a cycle. I want to let it go, but I have no doubt the stress is part of what keeps this period clinging to the walls of my uterus. And I want to try out my new JuJu cup and Lunette Diana! So, I drink my herbal tea and reflect on what it is I have not fully understood, which this cycle is bent on me grasping before she will let me move on to the next. I implore you to reimagine your own menstrual cycle. There is incredible wisdom, liberation and self-acceptance to be gained from learning to appreciate your bleeds.
If not, now might be a good time to jump on and click "like" because...
I'm having a giveaway! JuJu are sending me two menstrual cups for review. JuJu are the only company I know of who provide an Australian made menstrual cup, so for Aussie consumers who like to support Aussie brands, this is the cup for you. For more info check out their website and stay tuned for my review and one of my "liker's" reviews.
I'll be selecting one of the likers of the above Facebook status at random to win the JuJu cup as soon as I have the cup to send them (expected to arrive Tuesday or Wednesday). And for those who miss this one, stay tuned, I may have more exciting news in the near future ;)
I realise in my previous post I gave an account of some of the stand out moments and themes of the Face of Birth documentary that stayed with me after its first viewing and in so doing I neglected to cover some of the pitfalls of the film. I've since had a second viewing. I maintain that it's a great film and one that every Australian about to welcome a new family member should see. On the whole it's very accurate, very insightful, essential viewing. But it is an introduction to the issues surrounding maternity care in Australia and choosing homebirth: a first step that raises questions as well as answers some.
Face of Birth
Some of the minor pitfalls of the documentary stem from a lack of time and space to cover every issue. For example, while the facilitators of pilot homebirth programs from Casey and Sunshine Hospitals spoke very well and demonstrated a great understanding of: women's needs, the value of homebirth and the importance of normal physiological birth, it would have been great to see more about the pilot programs and what is happening to women in these programs. For example: which women get into these programs, who doesn't and why, which women get kicked out and at what point in their pregnancies and why?
In a similar vein a better understanding of maternity care in Australia could have been gained from exploring the birth centre issue. There is mention of a birth centre, but nothing more. Do we have any birth centres left? Are they freestanding or bound to hospital protocols and definitions of "risk"? And this brings me to the biggest disappointment of Face of Birth: the repeated use of the term "low risk" with no critical examination of what that terms means or who defines it.
The emphasis of the film was definitely on the safety of homebirth WITH A MIDWIFE, for LOW RISK women. Breech positioned babies, older mothers and larger mothers were thrown onto the high-risk list. There was also some uncomfortable discussion about "cervical lips" as a complication of birth, which was presented as a situation care providers must actively save a woman from, when there is reason to believe that cervical lips are in fact normal cervixes in the process of dilating rather than problems (see here). Thankfully homebirth after caesarean was not pathologised in Face of Birth. Hannah Dahlen touched on the issue of choice even in "high risk" cases. But it would have been better had the issue of defining risk been explored in greater length and the fact that so-called high risk women have greater cause to birth at home because their safety is even more compromised in hospital on account of the label put on their heads.
Since sharing these thoughts on my birthwork facebook page a couple of my 'likers' expressed concern that maybe Face of Birth isn't worth seeing, for those of us already "converted" to homebirth. I don't share this opinion. Face of Birth is absolutely, 100% worth taking the time to view for yourself! It is a fantastic introduction to choosing homebirth and the problems inherent to Australia's maternity wards. The fantastic insight and wisdom shared in this film through the women's birth stories and images of birth, alone, makes this film worth seeing, even for the long-time homebirth converts.
Perhaps the biggest question Face of Birth leaves unanswered is: can Australians trust birth? Rather a perfect opening to leave given another team of Australian film makers are working on their own birth documentary entitled: Trusting Birth.
Trusting Birth
This film is being made by two mothers with a passion for birth and quite a collection of children between them. The focus of this Australian documentary is trust in birth. They've explored this issue with childbirth educators, midwives and birthing women and got some beautiful homebirth footage. They even spoke to me at a Gloria Lemay talk in 2009*. They have finished filming and are now fundraising to have their work professionally edited before we can all see it. Here's a sneak preview:
Face of Birth has got me primed, I'm desperate for Trusting Birth to get out there so I can see another take on birth in Australia. But it may be some time before we get that chance, depending on the generosity of donators. Here's a message from the film makers:
Their fundraising campaign website reads: " It's been a long labour, help us birth this film". If you would like to donate to the poject head to: http://www.indiegogo.com/Trusting-Birth-Film they're halfway to their goal. Please consider helping this project get finished and out into the community.
I had the pleasure of attending a screening of a new Australian made documentary about maternity services and childbirth:Face of Birth. This documentary is fantastic. It is similar to The Business of Being Born in that it looks at the lack of "evidence based care" in contemporary maternity services in "The West." And it likewise identifies homebirth as the last bastion of normal philological childbirth. The major difference between the two is that Face of Birth focuses on the Australian context, opening and closing with reminders of the ongoing political battle for birth, which Australians are currently facing.
Before the screening the woman who organised our local screening, Suellen gave a short speech. She reminded the audience to "never ever become complacent about the impact a woman's birth can have on her and her family." I got the impression that the majority of audience members were young nursing and/or midwifery students or currently registered hospital midwives, so am optimistic that this film has made a difference for all the women and babies who end up in their care in the future.
After the film we also heard childbirth educator and birth attendant Rhea Dempsey speak about normal physiological birth in the "labour bypass era". Rhea reflected on her personal highlights of the film, including: an Indigenous Australian midwife talking about how they ensure babies are head down and ready to come out at full-term (50 years of practice and not once have they had a breech baby!) and an Indigenous mother talking about how women are "holy" in birth and how disappointing it is that few women feel their holiness in birth today. Another highlight for Rhea was the discussion of midwifery research and academia. She finished her talk urging the young midwives and students present to take up the challenge to produce more midwifery based academia to contribute to change beyond the grassroots level.
Bumi Sehat
The screening in my town was also a fundraising event for a charitable organisation in Bali. A midwife named Wendy said a few words about the charity and the woman who founded it. Wendy spoke of an American trained midwife named Robin Lim, aged 56, mother of 7 and grandmother of 2 who started a new life in Bali after her sister died in childbirth. In Bali she witnessed horrific abuses of maternal rights, including women being kicked out of hospital after birth, forced to leave without their babies if they could not pay the hospital for their pre and postnatal "care". The mothers were permitted to see their babies twice a day for feeding until they could pay their bills. Robin set up Bumi Sehat, a birth centre where women can receive pregnancy, birth and postpartum care without having to pay. Robin has been awarded CNN hero of the year for her work in Bali. Robin's daughter created the film Guerilla Midwife about her mother's work and we were shown a small extract of the film, which hopefully will be screened in the same lecture theater in the not too distant future.
In the few minutes of Guerrilla Midwife we were privileged to see Robin spoke about her family, her lineage of healers and the teachings of midwifery she is sharing with her descendants. She mentioned that her daughter and granddaughter attend births with her. And that good birth experiences lay the "foundation for a beautiful life". I've discovered that you can purhcase the DVD for $24 (US I would imagine) from this site or you can rent it for 72 hours for $3.
The Screening
The film included interviews with nine women and eight "childbirth experts". These interviewees included: families who had birthed at home, in birth centres, at hospital and one woman who had elected to have caesareans both times. The "experts" included obstetricians, practicing midwives, academic midwives, cultural anthropologists, birth attendants and activists. While the birthing women were Australian, there were international "experts" as well as Australians, including: Ina May Gaskin, Michel Odent, Robbie Floyd-Davis, and Sheila Kitzinger. The filmmakers had over 400 hours worth of material to cut down into this 90 minute documentary. Thankfully they decided to make the film one of a series of three. You can also purchase a DVD of birth stories, told by the women interviewed and another DVD of the interviews with the "experts", as well as the documentary itself.
Of all the birthing mothers interviewed I enjoyed Noni Hazlehurst's comments the most. For international readers, Noni is an Australian actress, best known for her work as a presenter on the beloved Australian children's show: Playschool. Noni articulated the homebirther's position on risk perfectly, when she said "the proximity to a hospital is all the insurance I need." She provided many warm, laugh out loud moments as she spoke about her two homebirths including: "it's not all mung-beans and incense!"
Of the experts interviewed I was particularly interested in what Hannah Dahlen, Associate Professor of Midwifery at the University of Western Sydney had to say. She spoke about the safety of one on one continuity of care at homebirths, and how safe focused attention from a single care prodivder is. Without having to worry about other patients in other rooms or any other tasks, but simply being there for the mother as she labours, Dahlen states: "you see the ripple and transfer before it becomes a tsunami". But she specified that this one on one continuity of care is simply not the same if the care provider is working within the obstetric or "medical" framework rather than the holistic "social" framework which sees women as whole persons and birth as a much more all-encompassing experience than simply the period from established labour to placenta delivery.
I also enjoyed Dahlen's insights about the importance of homebirth as the pioneer of and last bastion of normal physiological birth. She notes that homebirth is the "the reason that anything good is happening in maternity [care] today" citing active birth/freedom of movement and alternative pain relief measures as examples. These practices: standard in homebirths, are now "choices" some hospital birthers are aware of thanks to homebirth. Dahlen mentions the fact that birth was ignored by feminists for fear of pulling women back into the home after the struggle to be liberated from domesticity. But she goes on to illustrate how political and feminist an issue birth is by making the very insightful comment that homebirth is such a "threatening" subject because it is not merely about babies exiting their mother's wombs, but cuts to the truly contested issues of our society such as women's agency.
Homebirth Elsewhere in the world
The homebirth situtation in Australian was accurately represented as abysmal. Reference was made to The Netherlands and New Zealand as the top two countries in the world for maternity services and the UK was also painted as a homebirth friendly region. On the lack of support for homebirth in Australia, one Obstetrician was very frank. Euan Wallace, initiator of the pilot homebirth program run by Casey hospital stated that in Australia healthy low risk birthers are "bread and butter" for Obstetricians. This is apparently not the case in the UK, where Obstetricians are happy to work exclusively on complicated pregnancies and births, leaving normal births to midwives, which Wallace said is in the best interests of women.
Ina May Gaskin spoke about her disappointment that there were countries in the world, like Australia who were actively trying to create a maternity system like the USA's. She said "you can like blue jeans and jazz, but not our maternity care!"
One issue which seems to be Australian-specific is the myth surrounding private health care. A few women in the film spoke about the belief that they would get what they paid for and therefore private health cover would ensure better choice and more agency for birthing mothers. It is the exact opposite. Robbie Floyd-Davis stated that this issue comes up each time she visits Australia: the anger of Australian women that private care does not mean personalised care.
Robbie Floyd-Davis dubbed New Zealand the number one place for maternity care worldwide. It was revealed that part of the reason the maternity system in NZ is so brilliant is that when it was changed the Obstetricians were supportive, believing that women feared birth enough that they would still choose to hire them. As it turned out 80% of women choose midwives. Sadly, Australian OBs have learned from their neighbours and this background helped me understand why it is Australian OBs have been so militantly opposed to any support for homebirth. It seems they realise what is currently 1% could cut off their 'bread and butter' supply, as Wallace had earlier suggested:
"One of the challenges in Australia is that looking after healthy pregnancies is the bread and butter for a large section of the obstetric workforce. It's difficult to relinquish that, it's nor something you can give up overnight, it's a massive industrial change."
"Healthy"
Rupert Sherwood, president of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) made the comment that "the baby doesn't get a voice in the decision making process", painting homebirth mothers as selfish, ignorant women with no regard for their unborn child's safety. Thankfully institutions like RANZCOG exist for "the other patient" which in his view is the forgotten patient in homebirths. Stats about the low rates of maternal and infant mortality rates were quoted. Midwife Jan Ireland spoke about the great statistics relating to good nutrition and overall health, but challenged viewers to look beyond mortality as a way of determining health. She stated that while we don't lose a lot of women or babies "we lose a lot of marriages...and mental health".
Hanna Dahlen revealed that the number one cause of maternal death in Australia is in fact suicide. Apparently 1 in 6 women experience mental health issues as a result of childbirth. Justine Caines, a birth activist heavily involved in Maternity Coalition and Homebirth Australia, spoke about high rates of post traumatic stress disorder following childbirth (or birth trauma). Justine drew a parallel between PTSD and soliders returning from war and asked "is birth a battlefield?!"
Sheila Kitzinger spoke about how birth trauma affects more than a woman's memories of her birth. She spoke about "giving up" and how the "helplessness" a woman can experience in a traumatic birth when her power has been taken from her by medical experts: "flows into other areas of her life" after birth. Kitzinger stated that she has women in their 60s and 70s contact her, in need of counseling and debriefing from births that happened 40 or 50 years ago. As Suellen stated at the start of the night: never be complacent about the impact a birth can have on a woman or her family!
Birth For The First Australians
For First Australian women living in remote parts of the country, standard practice is for mothers to be displaced from their home and families from 36 weeks gestation. They stay in hostels until labour, give birth in hospital and then are flown back to their families. This is known as birthing "off country". The interviews conducted with The First Australian mothers and their midwives were a real treasure: a very marginalised set of voices in maternity service debates. The women spoke about the importance of birthing "on country" and the sacred connection between First Australians and their land. Viewers were also privileged to see some of the rituals a group of First Australian mothers and healers conduct postpartum, as well as learning some tricks of the midwifery trade from a midwife who has been attending the births of her peoples for some fifty years. I can't do this section of the film justice. You simply have to see it.
Fear & Culture
Sunshine Hospital midwife, Patricia Hickey, who is facilitator of their pilot homebirth program, stated: "we say 'evidence based practices' but hten we have culturally based practices, everywhere!" The Western (white) birth culture in Australia is one of fear. This fear is inaccurately blamed on women: women fear birth, women fear pain, women want elective caesareans, women want to avoid the terrifying prospect of natural birth. Hannah Dahlen addresses this issue brilliantly by calling on us to put it back on health care providers and ask how are they "generating fear".
Part of the cultural myths about birth in Australia is that to be a "good mother" you have to sacrifice yourself for the baby. Our culture tells us that women must sacrifice in order to have a baby and this is part of the reason why notions of "strength", "joy" and "empowerment" are not taking root in the maternity world here. The idea that a woman can be strong and empowered in birth goes against our cultural obsession with women suffering and sacrificing in order to get a healthy baby. This is what the film is ultimately about, why it needs to exist. Until Australians can understand the strength and power in normal physiological birth, women are not going to call for better options or fight for homebirth, or experience joyous births. While the dominant cultural story is that: women must sacrifice for a healthy baby, we can expect to continue to hear "horror stories" of how women suffered in childbirth drowning out the few stories of true triumph and empowerment.
ETA:
Criticisms
In my haste to provide an overview of Face of Birth and the discussion at my local screening, I failed to provide a critique of the film. In short: "low risk homebirth" has become somewhat irksome to me, pathologising normal birth continues to be a challenge in homebirth circles and there was no discussion of this in the film. Breech was listed as high risk. An OB mentioned older and fatter mothers as justifications for hospital control of all birthing women. There was also some cringe-worthy talk of "cervical lips" as complications for care providers to do something about. Facilitators of hospital homebirth programs spoke very well but there was no look into how those programs are succeeding or failing (or their own very limited definition of "low risk") and there was mention of a birth centre being used by one mother for her first baby, but no discussion about the situation regarding birth centres in Australia.
Discussion
After Rhea reflected on the highlights of the film for her, she opened up the floor to receive questions. I have to say that this part of the night was quite disappointing. The majority of discussion ended up being about "waterbirth training" for midwives. It really stood in opposition of what the film itself had been about, in my opinion, which was women's empowerment in birth. Thankfully an Italian midwife present interjected to voice an opinion I share with her which is: What training could possibly be necessary for attending a waterbirth?
I was also disappointed to hear a local midwife claim that the "silver lining" of our birth centre closing in 2007 is that now women at our local hospital have the waterbirth facilities. Honestly, it showed a great lack of understanding of the power struggle (or rather abuse of power) which takes place around these tubs in our local hospital. It also showed great insensitivity to members of the audience who were robbed of waterbirths at this very hospital and instead got birth trauma (see here for one story).
Rhea spoke about the need for women who are willing to say "fuck off!" to any attendants who try to talk them out of the tub to stop a waterbirth from happening. But really, women shouldn't have to do that! The suggestion that all a woman need do is tell a care provider to "fuck off" to get her choices respected in birth made me uncomfortable. It erred on the side of victim blaming. I'm sure this was not Rhea's intent and I understand her point that women have to fight for their rights and conquer their inner good girls in order to become powerful birthing women. But when it comes to a single woman, in labour, in an institution, it's unreasonable to suggest "fuck off" is a simple solution. The reality is that if you want a waterbirth in this town, do not be fooled by the tubs at our hospital: they will find a way to rob you of it if that's what suits them. If you want a waterbirth, just like if you want a normal physiological birth, your safest bet is to stay home!
There was also some discussion about the situation in Holland changing (for the worse), and the disappearance of breech births. I leave you with the trailer for the film. And suggest heading over to the Face of Birth website to order your own copy (you can download it straight to your computer for just &14.95!)
On the weekend I attended the launch of A modern woman's guide to a natural empowering birth, a new book by an Australian author. The author, Katrina Zaslavsky opened the launch by talking about why there was a need for her book: the need to counter negative representations of birth and the overwhelming fear (or "terror" as she reported most women stated) Western women hold for birth. Then she handed over to guest speaker Shivam Rachana, a birth worker who has been attending births, training other birth workers and tirelessly fighting for maternal and infant health for thirty years.
Rachana spoke about why birth matters, that birth is about more than just "healthy mum/healthy baby", why fully informed choices are the only choices, how modern women give away their power when it comes to birth and motherhood, the need for a new paradigm of birth and the centrality of doulas to this new paradigm.
I particularly enjoyed Rachana's insight into the link between medicalised, abnormal births and rates of mental health issues, allergies, diabetes, autism and general lack of community. She spoke about the focus of Australia's medical system being on ill health, rather than health: "we don't have health, we have illth!" She posed the rhetorical question: "what mammal herds their females into the same space as the sick and dying to birth their young, I ask you?"
Rachana talking about how our society has "illlth" not "health"
Rachana spoke about limited definitions of health and when it comes to obstetrics "healthy" is merely defined as "live mother" and "live baby". Health, she argued, is far more encompassing and holistic than this, and quite often what an Obstetrician will call "healthy mother and healthy baby" is actually a severely traumatised mother and a baby whose health has been compromised. She stated that it is very important for mothers and babies to feel transition and the baby being squeezed out the vagina because these experiences act as a blueprint for that child's life. She spoke about a generation of women subjected to drugs in labour at the point when the babies were engaging with their mother's vaginas, and this leading to a generation of people who have struggled to engage with life.
Birth trauma was central to her talk and the discussion which followed. Rachana spoke about her own expreinces stating that while she was an informed woman the first time round, prepared to have a natural birth, what she was not prepared for was how her own birth would come up psychologically and energetically, triggering her as she tried to birth her first child. As she spoke I could feel my own stuff bubbling up from my very drug-addled "delivery" in which my mother's genitals were mutilated in the name of creating space for me.
One of the attendants asked Rachana what women can do to heal from birth trauma. And thank heavens we do have routes to take for healing, because it's safe to say that everyone alive today in Western culture has been touched by birth trauma in some way, whether that be their own entry into the world, witnessing assaults upon loved ones giving birth, or surviving "horror story" births first hand. Rachana mentioned breathwork/rebirthing (a method of healing I've witnessed and is phenomenal!) and bodywork, which I have had first hand and it changed my life. These two methods of healing are part of the training doulas with ICSM complete.
Discussion time
After the talks Zaslavsky signed purchased copies of her new book and attendants had the delicious pleasure of sampling her birth book cake:
Yes, that is chocolate cake!
There was also a draw for a few free prizes and I was fortunate enough to win the latest copy of Lotus Birth, a collection of articles about lotus birth edited by Rachana.
Now, it's time for me to read this new Aussie birth book, which according to the website is "[m]ore than just a random collection of stories, the author Katrina Zaslavsky, takes you on a powerful journey of discovery and gives you the keys to transforming your birth experience."
All opinions expressed on Ilithyia Inspired belong to the author, unless otherwise stated and should not be confused with the official views of any of the organisations with which the author is associated, including but not limited to: Australian Breastfeeding Association, International College of Spiritual Midwifery, and Maternity Coalition.
Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers. As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health. Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond . Exclusive breastfeeding from birth is possible except for a few medical conditions, and unrestricted exclusive breastfeeding results in ample milk production.”
World Health Organisation Says
Birth Is Not An Illness
These 16 recommendations are based on the principle that each woman has a fundamental right to receive proper prenatal care: that the woman has a central role in all aspects of this care, including participation in the planning, carrying out and evaluation of the care: and that social, emotional and psychological factors are decisive in the understanding and implementation of proper prenatal care.
1. The whole community should be informed about the various procedures in birth care, to enable each woman to choose the type of birth care she prefers.
2. The training of professional midwives or birth attendants should be promoted. Care during normal pregnancy and birth and following birth should be the duty of this profession.
3. Information about birth practices in hospitals (rates of cesarean sections, etc.) should be given to the public served by the hospitals.
4. There is no justification in any specific geographic region to have more than 10-15% cesarean section births.
5. There is no evidence that a cesarean section is required after a previous transverse low segment cesarean section birth. Vaginal deliveries after a cesarean should normally be encouraged wherever emergency surgical capacity is available.
6. There is no evidence that routine electronic fetal monitoring during labor has a positive effect on the outcome of pregnancy.
7. There is no indication for pubic shaving or a pre-delivery enema.
8. Pregnant women should not be put in a lithotomy (flat on the back) position during labor or delivery. They should be encouraged to walk during labor and each woman must freely decide which position to adopt during delivery.
9. The systematic use of episiotomy (incision to enlarge the vaginal opening) is not justified.
10. Birth should not be induced(started artificially) for convenience and the induction of labor should be reserved for specific medical indications. No geographic region should have rates of induced labor over 10%.
11. During delivery, the routine administration of analgesic or anesthetic drugs, that are not specifically required to correct or prevent a complication in delivery, should be avoided.
12. Artificial early rupture of the membranes, as a routine process, is not scientifically justified.
13. The healthy newborn must remain with the mother whenever both their conditions permit it. No process of observation of the healthy newborn justifies a separation from the mother.
14. The immediate beginning of breastfeeding should be promoted, even before the mother leaves the delivery room.
15. Obstetric care services that have critical attitudes towards technology and that have adopted an attitude of respect for the emotional, psychological and social aspects of birth should be identified. Such services should be encouraged and the processes that have led them to their position must be studied so that they can be used as models to foster similar attitudes in other centers and to influence obstetrical views nationwide.
16. Governments should consider developing regulations to permit the use of new birth technology only after adequate evaluation.
All the opinions expressed on this site are the author's, unless otherwise stated, and are independent from the Australian Breastfeeding Association and International College of Spiritual Midwifery | Any information provided on this site should be used as an introduction to ideas that hopefully inspire further research and education elsewhere. Information and opinions provided on this site should not used in place of professional medical advice.
Full-term breastfeeding has hit headlines again thanks to Time Magazine's controversial cover story about Jaime Lynn Grume breastfeeding her three year old son. Because I'm a lactivist, who happens to be breastfeeding a four year old and a one year old, people have been interested to hear my thoughts on the piece. 
The longer she and I breastfeed, the less supporters we have. She has not yet noticed that none of her four year old peers breastfeed, but I have and I find myself starting to feel self-conscious even around breastfeeding friends. I'd love it if there were a mother's group specifically for those of us breastfeeding kindergarten and school aged children! There are so few mums to turn to who have been there before, in my world. The Internet means that I at least know some other women who have fed their children four years and beyond, but it would be brilliant to actually be in the same place at the same time, our kids seeing others their age doing what comes naturally. 
