Breastfeeding & Healing From Sexual Abuse

Today I read this post at Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog about breastfeeding and sexual abuse, which links to the site of Penny Simkin, a doula who has written a book about childbirth for survivors of sexual abuse. I also discovered Penny's writing about sexual abuse survivors during the postpartum period, in which she writes that one of the possible impacts past sexual absue can have on a woman during the postpartum period is "revulsion with sexual implications of breastfeeding".

Below is my journey with healing from sexual abuse and it's relevance to my experience of the breastfeeding relationship. I will include some more online resources about breastfeeding and sexual abuse at the end of this post....

When I was nineteen weeks pregnant with my daughter my breasts began leaking colostrum and at that moment, at twenty-four years of age, I discovered that I had breasts. Prior to that moment I had lived in denial about my womanly bust, ignoring it because to think, see, or touch them was to acknowledge the sexual abuse I survived as teenager.

My abuser had a particular fascination with my breasts and the more his interest grew the more I pretended they weren't there. Until I was twenty-five I never wore a bra that fitted me correctly or supported my large breasts. I stuffed them into smaller bras, at the time not realising this was what I was doing, because I could not allow myself to recognise their blossoming size.

I might have lived in this denial and carried the hand prints of my abuser on my breasts my whole life, had I not decided to have a child and read extensively about raising healthy children prior to becoming pregnant.

My daughter and I have been breastfeeding for almost 14 months. There have been challenges throughout that time, but none greater than being confronted by the sexual abuse of my past.

Sometimes her suckling at my breast, or tweaking the nipple on the other breast while feeding (which is one of her methods for prompting milk production in that breast) causes me to have flash backs and I confused her presence at my breasts with his; the abuser. There have been moments when I have cried and begged her to stop, feeling the fear and shame from a decade ago. But she doesn't stop, of course, because she knows that her life depends upon my breasts and I don't force her to stop because I am her mother and accept my responsibility to do right by her and meet her basic human needs.

I seek help to heal from the abuse, because that is the real problem, not breastfeeding. Why should I let a pervert from my past abuse my daughter through me by denying her what is her birthright?

Were it not for breastfeeding I would not have sought help. It is so easy for women to mistreat themselves as others have done and to continue abusing themselves long after their abusers are gone. Breastfeeding has brought an end to this for me, because with a hungry baby to care for, it's not just about me anymore.

A friend of mine sent me a link to an article by Kate Joester, another feminist mother who discovered the healing power of breastfeeding. Like me, this woman survived the sexual abuse of her breasts and like me she discovered the power of reclaiming her breasts through breastfeeding:

"The first thing I did for my children as babies was provide for them, all by myself. Physically, I had it in me to give them all they needed. I hate that so many women don’t believe that of themselves and bemused that handing that capacity over to someone else is seen by some as liberating...After 28 years in a culture where women’s bodies belong to pretty much anyone but them, it was only my children that showed me that my body, even mine, belongs to me to give." (Emphasis added).

As I read that exert I was struck by how easy it would have been to quit breastfeeding and tell myself I was free. Free from the pain and free from the flashbacks. And what a great reason I would have had to justify my "choice" not to breastfeed! I could have said defensively to breastfeeding mothers: "It's great that you can breastfeed, but you didn't have my problems."

There I could have sat, fattening my child up on artificial milk that increases the liklihood of her developing all kinds of allergies and diseases and other health problems later in life (that would have forced her into an unnaturally deep sleep because her body simply couldn't cope with the massive task of breaking down and digesting all those artificial chemicals while awake). All the while my breasts safely hidden away in a bra that doesn't fit, still securely the property of a sexual predator I once knew.

Related Resources

Beyond The Abuse: breastfeeding after sexual violation by Gwen Morrison

Breastfeeding After Sexual Abuse by Le Leche League

Breastfeeding and The Sexual Abuse Survivor by Penny Simkin

Breastfeeding as a Survivor of Sexual Abuse by Morgan Gallagher

Breastfeeding: radical, feminist and good for you by Kate Joester

The Long Shadow: adult survivors of childhood abuse by Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Ph.D., IBCLC

More links here at Breastfeeding Made Simple

Note: I really can't thank my lactivist friends enough for their genuine support throughout my journey.

Breastfeeding a Walking, Talking Tot

I recently read one woman's account of breastfeeding her son beyond 12 months. As I began reading I thought to myself how sad it is that a mother could find breastfeeding a toddler to be embarrassing and how fortunate I am to be evolved enough not to find myself in the position of caring about what others think. Then I got further into the article where she writes:

It wasn’t always this way. Nursing the first year was bliss. I loved it. We’d lie around together for hours. He’d periodically look up at me and coo, but mostly he hummed and stayed put. In public, I tossed modesty aside and whipped out my boobs if he wanted them. If anyone looked surprised or uncomfortable, I didn’t care. I was a proud breastfeeder.

My daughter is a mere 13 months of age, and it is within the realm of possibility that my feelings toward breastfeeding her may change as she grows.

After exploring some of the challenges of nursing her 17 month old (who let's face it, is still really a baby), in particular in public situations she asks:

So why am I still going through all this?

The World Health Organization recommends nursing for the first two years. And Dr. Sears advocates letting children self wean. Extended nursing is nutritionally and emotionally beneficial for young children, they say. I wholeheartedly believe that. My son strokes my cheek and stops periodically to sigh in pleasure. When he’s sick, it is often the only thing that makes him feel better. I can offer him this part of myself to stave off a tantrum, or comfort him when he’s hurt. It has benefits for me, too. When he curls up in my lap, I melt. I get to have my baby be a baby for just a little bit longer.

She goes on to share a positive encounter with her Church Pastor:

I was mortified. I was going to have to breastfeed him in front of a roomful of church ladies. “Is there a private room somewhere?” I asked. The pastor looked at me, baffled. “You could use my office, or you could nurse right here. Honestly, no one cares.” It occurred to me that my fear that other people were judging me might be imagined. Maybe no one cares but me.

This mother concludes:

One day he will stop breastfeeding altogether and then this whole phase of parenting will be over forever. As I watched him play, I thought that maybe I should try to enjoy nursing while it lasts.

You can read the full article here.

See also my article Breastfeeding Two Years And Beyond

Opening To Life Childbirth Classes

The fabulous Melbourne doula Anna Urbanski is facilitating birth classes "for the body, mind and soul". For anyone pregnant or soon to be with a birthing mama during labour the wisdom to be gained from Anna will be priceless. On her webpage about the classes, Anna writes:

For the expectant mother, being prepared to give birth means feeling confident and inspired. To me this means having a good understanding of:

• your body and the birth process
• the choices and the challenges you will meet
• your personal strength
• trust and how to generate it in yourself, your
  support people and the birth process.
  

For the father/partner it means understanding:

• and feeling confident in the birth process
• how you can support your partner
• how you might feel and your needs

My aim is to have you complete the classes feeling truly prepared. Teaming the knowledge you need with the wisdom your body already knows.

The class involves 6 sessions and a reunion after birth. It's held in Camberwell and consession rates are available.

You can find out more from Anna's website here and sending Anna an email anna_urbanski@yahoo.com.au

"1800 Mum 2 Mum Delivers Breastfeeding Advice, Mum To Mum"

This morning Australia launched it's first 24 hour, toll-free helpline for breastfeeding mothers. The following report is from the Australian Breastfeeding Association's media section:

1800 mum 2 mum (1800 686 2 686) is run by the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) and utilises the real-life experience of over 200 trained volunteer counsellors each week who help other mums with issues including the early days with a new baby, expressing and storing milk, weaning, supply and what to do when baby simply says no.

"This is such an important resource for breastfeeding mothers," says Australian Breastfeeding Association president Querida David.

"Mothers everywhere can call one toll-free number for mum-to-mum support and information from trained breastfeeding counsellors. That's good news for mothers, babies, dads and families. Getting the right help at the right time is important for breastfed babies and their mums. The Australian Breastfeeding Association's free breastfeeding helpline 1800 mum 2 mum delivers that help whenever mothers need it."

The 1800 mum 2 mum number replaces 13 different numbers that operated in different states, with different levels of service. It is proving a word-of-mouth hit even before its official launch, averaging 1214 calls per week in February, which were answered by an average of 214 volunteer counsellors each week.

Each volunteer counsellor has completed 400 hours of training and has a Certificate IV in Breastfeeding Education or equivalent. The service is available to everyone, from mothers and fathers to nurses and other health care professionals, whether ABA members or not.

The major upgrade of the ABA Breastfeeding Helpline is possible through funding from the Federal Government under the Support Breastfeeding Mums initiative.

About ABA: Australian Breastfeeding Association is a voluntary organisation established in 1964 to encourage and support mothers who wish to breastfeed their babies. There are 300 ABA groups nationwide with over 17,000 members. www.breastfeeding.asn.au

It's about time!

You can read the full article here.

Breastfeeding Advocacy Images

I made the following breastfeeding advocacy images today during some free time.

Feel free to copy and share on your own blog or website.

Solace For Mothers - Birth Trauma Support

Rixa at Stand and Deliver (formally The True Face of Birth) has posted about an online community for "those who support women who have experienced birth trauma". It's called Solace for Mothers. It includes resources and forums for mothers who have experienced birth trauma and for others who support those mothers.

Thanks to Rixa for drawing my attention to Solace for Mothers (great timing too, 2009 being the Year of Birth Trauma Awareness).

"Why Freebirth?": Looking Glass Alice Answers

Looking Glass Alice is an activist, woman, mother, consumer and birthing warrior. Her latest blog entry reflects on the many reasons women choose to freebirth. Specifically, she addresses the false assumption that many people make about freebirth, which is that it is a homebirther's last resort. Here's an extract that had me nodding along while reading:

"Freebirth is thus not an attack on midwifery but for some women it is an indication that midwifery as it stands is unable to fulfil the needs of many consumers. Perhaps rather than viewing freebirthing women (and those who support them) as another enemy, it would serve some careproviders to use this information to reflect upon how to manage these issues without clients being affected."

She goes on to write:

"Increased availability of midwives, desirable as it is, will not alter every woman’s freebirth plans given the range of reasons women might choose freebirth in the first place nor should it since women’s right to choose within birth must be inviolable. However a woman arrives at the decision to pursue freebirth, it almost always boils down to a desire for autonomy. Autonomy is not available to women in the hospital system, it is not available to all women choosing independent midwifery for complex reasons, some of which are stated above. In fact it is generally not available to (nor is it pursued by many) women in our lives outside of birthing. Some women want to truly make their own decisions around their bodies, births and babies. This can only be a radical concept in a world where women are seldom supported in their basic rights to bodily integrity."

To read Looking Glass Alice's post in full click here.

Birth Week - End of May

I am very excited to announce that the date has been set for Birth Week in Kallista, Victoria (Australia). From Birth Week's website:

"Birth Week is a five-day annual event promoting conscious and empowered birth,
the sharing of stories and wisdom, creating support networks for families, and fostering community. The Birth Week Association is a group of passionate women and men committed to bringing the community together to participate in the event Birth Week.

The dates for Birth Week 2009 are Wednesday 27th – Sunday 31st May.

Birth Week brings together pregnant women/couples, mothers, fathers, doulas, midwives, and other interested persons, in a beautiful, safe and nurturing space. We share our birth experiences, our knowledge, skills and wisdom. Sessions are facilitated in circle style, with the knowledge that every woman’s body holds the wisdom and ability to birth her baby. Birth Week’s aim is to create a space to bring that innate wisdom forward.

We continue honouring the journey of birth and parenting through facilitating ongoing monthly father’s meetings and birth stories evenings which enable people to deepen relationships and create support networks."

This is an absolutely wonderful even to be a part of. Last time I attended I was heavily pregnant and gained so much wisdom from the other women (mothers, doulas and midwives). It was a very relaxed, friendly environment and the hall was decorated in wonderful birth related artworks, including photographs. I can't wait to go again!

Save Private Midwifery!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Sign Homebirth Australia's Petition Here!

Artificial Infant Milk: Voldermort of Baby Feeding!

An article in today's Age by Leo Shanahan finally dares to ask the question; why isn't artificial infant milk named for the risks it poses to human health?:

"FORMULA feeding is not being described as a health risk to children because researchers are too scared to do so, according to Australian National University academics.

A new paper from the Centre for Economics Research on Health argues that despite weighty evidence that breast-fed children are less likely to suffer from type 1 diabetes, allergies, infections, die of infant death syndrome or develop certain cancers, researchers are not willing to name formula as a danger in the titles or summaries of studies [note from sarah@ilithyia inspired: this should read "weighty evidence that children fed artificial milk are more likely to suffer from type 1 diabetes, allergies, infections, die of infant death syndrome or develop certain cancers"].

The report's author, Dr Julie Smith, compared the fear to naming formula to the way the evil overlord Voldemort is treated in the Harry Potter novels.

"We looked at the findings of nearly 80 authoritative studies, all of which highlighted that formula-fed babies tend to be at higher risk of poor health than children fed on breast milk," she said.

"Yet the vast majority of these studies did not mention formula feeding in the places that matter most for lasting impressions: headlines and abstracts.

"Rather than naming formula feeding as a significant risk factor, researchers seem to be treating this subject like Voldemort in the Harry Potter novels, as He Who Shall Not Be Named," Dr Smith said.

Dr Smith said despite American Academy of Pediatrics citing stating that breast feeding should always be used over bottle feeding where possible, mothers and doctors were left confused by studies that associated breastfeeding not formula with health problems..."

Why aren't the dangers of artificial infant milk being named openly? Because the companies who profit from the consumption of artificial milk have done a fantastic job of marketing their product for decades! They've got it to a point where the consumers they have won do most of their marketing for them. We live in a culture of "don't say anything bad about artificial feeding or you'll make a mother feel guilty". As with any war, truth was the first causality of the war between artificial milk and breastfeeding.

What upsets me far more than this, is that even some breastfeeding advocates refuse to participate in this war, often prioritising "being nice" (to the large coprorations that make money from selling a product that is inferior, poses health risks and is completely unnecessary in a world full of lactating breasts!) over their advocacy and support of other women! Every time breastfeeding makes it into the media some breastfeeding advocate feels the need to say "but if you can't breastfeed, that's okay". The decision to play nice and preface their advocacy for breastfeeding with mentions of not breastfeeding also help those big companies market their powder.

This is unacceptable. Families should know the truth about artificial milk because none of them are making informed choices otherwise. Feeding your child artificial milk is HIGHLY inferior to breastfeeding. Artificial milk does pose helath risks - it is man made and with that comes a lot of risks of human error and contamination. This is not to mention the fact that by breastfeeding you decrease many health risks that otherwise might have been posed to mother and baby!

The health of babies and young children should be the number one priority, it should be prioritiesed over and above not offending other adults and it should definitely be prioritised over being nice to large coporations!

You can read the whole article from The Age here.

Skin to Skin!
Plastic to Plastic

For information about the importance of breastfeeding and dangers of artificial breast milk read:

Bottle Feeding

101 Reasons to Breastfeed Your Child

Artificial Feeding – Nothing To Do With Breastfeeding

Consumer Research on Infant Formual and Infant Feeding

Formula for Disaster

Genetic Engineering and Infant Foods

Hot Milk - The Unbottled Truth About Formula

IBFAN

International Breastfeeding Journal

Just One Bottle

Misinformation: Redefining Baby Feeding

Myths

Suck on This

Toxic Phthalates in Infant Formulas

The Case of The Virgin Gut

The Language of Breastfeeding

The Risks of Infant Formula Feeding

What Should I Know About Infant Formula

Yes! Just One Bottle Will Hurt!

Ilithyia Inspired Icon

Yesterday a friend of mine asked for an Ilithyia Inspired icon she could put on her blog to link to the site. I made her one and then learned how to share it with the world:

<a href="http://ilithyiainspired.com"><img border="0" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3326/3340803326_7b085f6b06_m.jpg" /></a>

Copy the text in the box above to share this button on your own blog or website and paste where you would like it to appear.
Voila!

Breast Milk May Prevent Spread Of HIV/AIDS

An article in The Australian reports that breast milk may contain an agent that can prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Leigh Dayton writes:

A CHEAP natural compound widely used in foods and cosmetics and contained in healthy human breast milk has opened the door to a new wayto prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The good news comes from US researchers who found that, when used as a topical gel, or microbicide, the antimicrobial compound glycerol monolaurate (GML) prevented infection in animals.

Although the work was done with female rhesus macaque monkeys infected with SIV, the primate version of the human immunodeficiency virus, the team predicts GML will protect women who apply it vaginally before having sex, because HIV and SIV act almost identically in their living hosts...

If GML works in people as hoped, Dr Anderson said it would be invaluable where women were discouraged or prevented from using condoms, the most effective means of blocking HIV.

Until now, trials of microbicides -- such as HIV vaccines -- have been disappointing. Some have even increased the risk of HIV infection.

In their report in the journal Nature, Dr Haase and his colleagues said what made GML different was that it did not target the virus itself. Instead, it altered a naturally occurring immune response that, perversely, helped the virus spread.

The wonders of breast milk never cease to amaze me. I am, however, disappointed that this article focused on how women can apply the agent to their vaginas before sex (as if women don't shoulder enough responsibility when it comes to heterosexual sexual relations) and yet there is no mention of how exclusive and extended breastfeeding is important to the health of the entire human population.

You can read the full article here: Breast milk agent may thwart HIV

Marsden Wagner M.D. M.S. on Australia's Maternity Services Review

When I was working on my PhD and my passion for unhindered birth was just beginning to blossom I read the work of Marsden Wagner M.D. M.S. Wagner was one of the first people to convince me that birth was safe and women's bodies work perfectly during birth! Who is Marsden Wagner? I refer to his webpage:

Marsden Wagner, born in San Francisco, his education at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) included an M.D., clinical specialty training in pediatrics, then in perinatology (neonatology and obstetrics) followed by two years post-graduate study with an advanced scientific degree in perinatal science. Following several years of full time clinical practice and some years as a full time faculty member at UCLA, he was a Director of Maternal and Child Health for the California State Health Department. After six years as Director of the University of Copenhagen-UCLA Health Research Center, he was for 15 years Director of Womens and Childrens Health for the World Health Organization. He is now an independent consultant.

With extensive experience in maternity care in industrialized countries, including midwifery and the appropriate use of technology during pregnancy and birth, he has consulted and lectured in over 50 countries and given testimony before the US Congress, British Parliament, French National Assembly, Italian Parliament, Russian Parliament and others. His publications, in 11 different languages, include 131 scientific papers, 20 book chapters and 14 books.

When the results of Australia's latest Maternity Services Review were published and the Australian government's discrimination against homebirth and midwives in private practice became ever clear I contacted Dr Wagner and asked him if he would be interested in writing a letter to the relevant power-holders in Australia. Within 24 hours I received the following letter along with his permission to forward it to "all those in Australia who need to see it" and to publish it here:

To all those in Australia concerned with maternity services:

Childbirth is not a medical procedure, it is a normal part of the life cycle and belongs to women and their families, not to doctors nor hospitals nor the government. There is overwhelming scientific evidence that planned out-of-hospital birth attended by a midwife is an absolutely safe choice for all low-risk pregnant women---women without any serious medical problems. To in any way limit or forbid the choice of out-of-hospital birth or the training and ability to practice of midwives willing to attend out-of-hospital births is to deny Australians the freedom to control their own lives and is to fail to honor the central importance of family values in Australia.

In the 1980’s the German organization of obstetricians and gynecologists tried to get a national law forbidding planned out-of-hospital birth. The German women rose up and fought against it, there was an international outcry and the effort of the doctors failed and since then there has been a vast effort to promote out-of-hospital birth centers, increasing from one to the present over 100 such centers, all using midwives.

In the 1990’s the Hungarian organization of obstetricians and gynecologists tried to get their government to forbid planned out-of-hospital birth. The Hungarian women rose up and there was an international outcry and the effort of the doctors failed.

In the last decade, the government of Brazil tried to lower their very high caesarean section rate through working with the doctors and hospitals. When this did not succeed, the government of Brazil started up a national network of out-of-hospital birth centers staffed by midwives which are very popular and have quite reasonable caesarean section rates.

Efforts by doctors in Australia to prevent or limit in any way the option of planned home birth attended by midwives by completely falsely claiming, without any scientific evidence, that planned out-of-hospital is unsafe, will ultimately fail as the people of Australia cannot be fooled all the time and value their freedom too highly and Australia does not want an international outcry against them and to be seen as unable to prevent unjustified medical dominance of normal family life.

Marsden Wagner, M.D., M.S., for 15 years a Director of Women’s and Children’s Health, World Health Organization.

In such dark times for women and for birth it is reassuring to know there is at least one medical expert in our corner.

To read some of Wagner's well-researched articles about birth take a look at these:

Fish Can't See Water - The Need to Humanize Birth

Marsden Wagner explores the rates of technological intervention in birth and the treatment of women during birth arguing that birth has been dehumanised. He notes that many people within the medical model of birth are so used to this model that they cannot see how inhumane the treatment of birth can be - just as a fish doesn't see the water he or she is immersed in.

Technology in Birth - First Do No Harm

Marsden Wagner offers a timely reminder that just because we have the technology doesn't mean we need to use it, and that just because technology is said to help birthing women doesn't mean it is without risks. The best way to stay unharmed in birth, argues Wagner, is to be informed.

The Active Management of Labour
Marsden Wagner critiques the pathologising of birth. He looks at the issues of control and arrogance within the maternity system, the lack of medical evidence to suggest the benefits of the active management of labour outweigh the risks, and how birthing women are kept in the dark about those risks.

Choosing Caesarean Section
Marsden Wagner takes a look at the arguments in favour of women's freedom to choose to have their babies surgically removed instead of born normally.

Australian Government , Violating The Fortelesa Declaration

The Australian Government is in the process of violating the human rights of Australian women. They are doing this through the latest Maternity Services Review which stands to extensively restrict the choices women have with regard to where they give birth and who they can hire to be their medical care provider. The recommendations of the Maternity Services Review stand in violation of The World Health Organisation's Fortelesa Declaration. In particular, article one which states:

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.

And the opening statement of the delcaration which states:

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.

The latest Maternity Services Review in Australia is removing the rights of Australian women by refusing to publically fund home births, thus restricting the availability of home birth to many Australian families. And forcing independent midwives to be part of a national registration scheme. This registration will include mandatory professional indemnity insurance for all midwives, the alternative is to practice midwifery unlawfully.

In order for midwives to access professional indemnity insurance they must work within a "collaborative team", however no definition of "collaborative team" has been provided. It is possible that "collaborative team" could mean not working independently (as many homebirth midwives do) in which case insurance would not be available to these midwives and their decision to attend homebirths could lead to prosecution and incaceration.

The Materntiy Services Review clearly states that these decisions were based on presumptions of risk for homebirth. No medical evidence was consulted regarding homebirth and the review goes as far as to make the outlandish claim that there is no medical evidence which they could base their judgments on.

Ultimately The Australian Government has furthered obstetricians' monopoly over maternity care and has prioritised the medical model of maternity care over the midwifery model, despite the fact that the midwifery model is the safer model for the majority of women. By further empowering the already powerful players in Australia's maternity system, The Australian Government has aggressively restricted the rights and freedoms of birthing women. Perplexing behaviour for a government committed to raising the national birth rate!

For Those Of You Who Don't Homebirth

At this time I refer to the author of Empowering Birth Blog's reinterpretation of "First They Came For The Jews":

"First they came for the unassisted birthers,
but I did not speak out, because I do not free-birth.
Then they came for those who birth at home with lay midwives,
but I would would not speak out, because I would not have a home-birth with a lay midwife.
Then they came for those who birthed with Certified Professional Midwives,
and I would not speak out, because I would not have a home-birth with a CPM.
And then they came for those who birthed in birth centers and with Certified Nurse Midwives,
but I would not speak out because I would not have a birth in a birth center or with a CNM.
And then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me."

When one woman's human rights are attacked, all human rights are attacked! No one is safe when a government takes to such heavy regulation of the choices women make with regard to their bodies, their babies and their birth experiences!

What Can You Do?

You can send your letters of disgust and demand to The Department of Health and Aging:

Central Office postal address
GPO Box 9848,
Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

And your feedback to Maternity.Services.Review@health.gov.au

And The Office For Women:

Australian Government Office for Women
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
PO Box 7576
Canberra Business Centre
ACT 2610

Telephone 1300 653 227
Facsimile +61 6212 9572
Email women@fahcsia.gov.au

You can also send them to the parties in opposition to the current government as well:

The Liberal Party

The Greens

The Democrats

Family First

What Women Want

(I do not endorse any of these parties. I provide links to them so that readers have access to the information required to contact political power holders in Australia in order to apply pressure to these groups and individuals to do something to change this unacceptable position Australian women and indpendent midwives find themselves in).

Join the Facebook group "Home Birth should NOT be illegal in Australia" and find out more ideas for how to help!

Sign Homebirth Australia's online petition to Save Private Midwifery and Homebirth Choices!

Watch this space for more ideas and for information about various protests and talks you can support.

Australian Maternity Servies Review: Maintaining the Status Quo & Then Some!

The results of Australia's latest Maternity Services Review are in and sadly it is doom and gloom for those of us who care about the health and safety of low risk mothers and babies. Giant steps backwards have been taken for homebirth in Australia and midwives in private practice have been put in an unnecessarily difficult position. In short; obstetricians' medical monopoly over birth has been further solidified thanks to this latest review of maternity services.

The following is an analysis of the review from a dear friend of mine who has graciously permitted me to share it here:

There were over 900 submissions to the review committee. 407 of them were the personal stories of women, and 53% of those were from women who'd had homebirths. In other words, over 20% of the submissions to this review were from homebirthing women, despite the fact that only about 0.26% of all births in Australia are homebirths. (I daresay there was a significant number of women who haven't had a homebirth who also made submissions in favour of homebirth. I did.)

Of the 886 planned homebirths in Australia in 2006, "only" 706 actually occurred at home. An 80% success rate. Of the 9368 planned birth centre births in Australia in 2006, only 5460 births actually occurred in a birth centre. A 58% success rate...[note from sarah@ilithyiainspired; this means that actual home birth settings have greater success than so-called home-like birth settings].

As of the 1st of July, 2010, it will effectively be made illegal to practice as an independent midwife in Australia. This is because national registration requirements for all midwives will include having professional indemnity insurance, and this is not available to independent midwives. (It used to be, until 2001 when the AMA and RANZCOG lobbied hard enough to have it removed.) Because, basically, homebirth is perceived to be so dangerous. What were those stats I just quoted you?

The politics of birthwork have never been so obvious for all to see. But they're just statistics. I would like to highlight a few extracts from the review concerning homebirth, which struck me. These come directly from the review and do not leave much to the imagination with regard to the politics at play against homebirth and midwives in private practice:

1. "No adequate and reliable data is available to develop an accurate risk profile for privately practising midwives who provide birthing services".
This is incorrect. There are many studies attesting to the safety of homebirth attended by midwives in private practice, one of them was published in The British Journal of Medicine in 2005. This shows that those who made the final decisions on the review are not properly educated or familiar with the medical evidence concerning birth. This is very troubling considering they hold the power in making decisions regarding birth choices in Australia.

2. "It is difficult for insurers to come up with a suitable premium for midwives because the provision of birthing services by privately practising midwives is perceived to be a high-risk activity" (emphasis added).
This demonstrates that the power holders on this review committee based their decisions regarding homebirth on nothing more than their uneducated opinions. Rather than researching the medical literature on homebirth, they decided to accept the perception that homebirth is risky.

3. "The Review concluded that, while homebirth is the preferred choice for some women, they represent a very small proportion of the total."
One of the reasons homebirth rates are so low in Australia is a lack of government funding for homebirth, a lack of accurate information of homebith being readily available to Australian families and the misconception that homebirth is more dangerous than hospital birth, which is owed to cultural propaganda. The review chose to base it's recommendations concerning homebirth on this propaganda and essentially make the review itself another piece of propaganda.

4. "Lack of professional indemnity cover for midwives is a barrier to the development of collaborative models of maternity care involving privately practising midwives...while a risk profile for midwife professional indemnity insurance premiums is being developed, consideration be given to Commonwealth support to ensure that suitable professional indemnity insurance is available for appropriately qualified and skilled midwives operating in collaborative team-based models."
Midwives in private practice can't work with obstetricians because they can't get insurance for their work and they can't get insurance for their work because they can't work with obstetricians. Midwives in private practice in Australia are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Ultimately obstetricians don't want them working at all and this services review has given them the solution; rendering independent midwifery illegal in the near future.

5. "Currently, privately practising midwives who provide birthing services independently of a medical practitioner."
This illustrates that the review does not recognise midwives in private practice as medical practitioners, despite the fact that midwives are the medical experts on normal physiological birth!

6. "The Review also considers that moving prematurely to a mainstream private model of care incorporating homebirthing risks polarising the professions rather than allowing the expansion of collaborative approaches to improving choice and services for Australian women and their babies."
Basically, homebirth is serviced by professionals who aren't obstetricians and by giving independent midwives government support it would enable Australian women to more easily access homebirth and therefore take away business from obstetricians. Ultimately pleasing the obstetricians and maintaing the status quo is of more importance to the maternity services reviewers than meeting the needs of birthing women and giving them choice and control over their own bodies at birth.

Finally, I would like to return to my friend's analysis of the review because she summarises the situation so aptly:

"The Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists are a filthy stinking lot of evil, power and money hungry parasites intent on making their near-monopoly on birth in Australia complete...Let's just get this in perspective. Homebirths with independent midwives represent ZERO POINT TWO SIX PER CENT of ALL births in Australia. Why are these doctors running so scared? Because homebirth is actually SAFE. Because if homebirth was government funded, if independent midwives weren't having to operate with nooses around their necks, and if more women caught on that homebirth is the best option, that it has the best outcomes, is the easiest and most convenient option and has the priceless, invaluable advantage of EMPOWERING WOMEN TO TAKE BACK SOME CONTROL OVER THEIR LIVES and BOOSTING THEIR CONFIDENCE AS MOTHERS, well! More women would go for it! Maybe even LOTS of women would go for it -- eventually, anyway. Now THAT is a worry for the surgeons and other powers that be who run birth (and health) in Australia, isn't it?

...So here's the state of affairs: You can have a free and unnecessary C-section in a public hospital which costs the public $8000 and the government and everybody else claps and cheers and tells you not to worry because at least you got a healthy baby. About 20% of births in Australia occur like this (the C-section rate is 31% but let's be generous and say 11% of them are actually necessary)[note from sarah@ilithyiainspired: the world health organization recommends that anything above 10-15% of caesareans in any one region is medially unjustifiable, so approximately half of all caesareans performed in Australia are unnecessary] . Or you can have a beautiful, empowering homebirth with a midwife risking her integrity, livelihood and possibly even freedom to attend you, which costs you somewhere between $2500 and $4000 and everyone tells you you're a crazy risk-taker endangering the life of yourself and your baby and if you get up someone powerful's nose they might even get the Department of Child Services onto you."

See also:
Australian Government, Violating The Fortelesa Declaraion

More on this
Homebirth Underground
Maternity Review part one
Maternity Review there's more
Homebirth Ban
Medicare payments to OBs up from $77m to $211m...

Join the Facebook group "Home Birth should NOT be illegal in Australia" and find out more ideas for how to help!

Sign Homebirth Australia's online Petition to Save Private Midwifery & Homebirth Choices!

Natural Childbirth of Twins & Triplets

Here is a slideshow of photographs of mothers pregnant with twins and triplets who gave birth vaginally, many of them at home and in water. It also includes adorable pics of the babies. A wonderful reminder that multiples is not necessarily a medical emergency:

Below is another slideshow of photographs that tell the story of one woman's home birth of her twins after a previous caesarean section:

Here is another slideshow of photographs that tell the story of a woman's twin home birth:

Special thanks to Janet at Joyous Birth and Rixa at Stand and Deliver for drawing my attention to the slideshows above.

Here is another woman's twin homebirth after caesarean story. Her twins were her fourth pregnancy:

For more information about normal multiple births see:

Having Twins and More (book)

Twin Birth Information Index at Birth Love

Twins - a homebirth

Birth Story (Twins): Faith

The Home Water Birth of Majella and Rosie

Lotus Birth

Why Hide?? (home birth twin story)

Twin Home Birth by Midwife

The Lotus Birth of Psalm and Zoya (dvd for purchase)

The Water Birth of The Malcolm Twins (video or dvd for purchase)