Ilithyia Inspired Birth Servant: October 2012

Monday, October 1, 2012

Blessed & Birthy Weekend

I'm feeling particularly clucky this fine Monday, after what was a very blessed and birth-themed weekend. On Saturday I attended a blessingway for a lovely first time Mumma, readying herself for a homebirth. It was an intimate circle, with 4 generations of the baby's family present, including her homeborn great grandmother.

It was an honour to bless this woman's way forward with henna belly art, a unique beaded necklace, herbal foot bath, massage, and special foods including crowning baby cupcakes made by moi:

Everyone was so enjoying this particular birth circle that by the time guests were ready to leave we had crossed over into dinnertime. For three of us it turned into a slumber party with birth themed discussions until 4AM.

As if a blessingway with a gorgeous belly was not enough to make me clucky, while I was there I got word that my sister in law had birthed her own little lass :D I had a giggle when I realised that at the time my newest niece was making her move earthside I would have been crafting crowning baby cupcakes.

The World Health Organisation Says

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.

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Monday, October 1, 2012

Blessed & Birthy Weekend

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The World Health Organisation Says

World Health Organisation Says