Yay!
The New York Times reported that although home births still represent a small majority of overall deliveries, by the 2008 numbers they are up 20% since 2004. I’m sure we will see an even bigger increase once we get 2011 numbers.
This demonstrates that people are really getting the message that there are safe and viable alternatives to hospital birth.
You can share your home birth story in their comments section.
Every month, the Oxford English Dictionary adds new words. In June, doula (noun) was one of the new words added.
In case you are curious how they decide what to add:
The OED requires several independent examples of the word being used, and also evidence that the word has been in use for a reasonable amount of time. The exact time-span and number of examples may vary: for instance, one word may be included on the evidence of only a few examples, spread out over a long period of time, while another may gather momentum very quickly, resulting in a wide range of evidence in a shorter space of time. We also look for the word to reach a level of general currency where it is unselfconsciously used with the expectation of being understood: that is, we look for examples of uses of a word that are not immediately followed by an explanation of its meaning for the benefit of the reader. We have a large range of words under constant review, and as items are assessed for inclusion in the dictionary, words which have not yet accumulated enough evidence are kept on file, so that we can refer back to them if further evidence comes to light.
Just goes to show that the role of doulas is gaining popularity and prevalence!
h/t Vincent
I often use the example of bowel movements when talking about why it makes little sense that women are forced to labor on their backs. Imagine taking a s–t lying down?! I say for emphasis. (Gravity, of course, is the missing element).
Well this new short film from the folks at the Future of Birth demonstrates how that analogy goes even further.
“Failure to progress” is one of the more common reasons cited for c-sections. It’s a vague diagnosis, and one based on a time table for birth that is overly standardized and limited. Pressure to progress, coupled with hospital environments that don’t encourage relaxation (think lots of staff in and out, harsh lights and machinery) can have serious impacts on the labor itself.
I’ve seen this first hand with women whose labor is progressing fine at home, but once they get to the hospital, survive the intake process and are settled into a room, stop having contractions altogether. What follows is usually lots of interventions and often a c-section.
We need to challenge these practices and highlight how they themselves interrupt the flow and progression of birth.
Every shift I work at the hospital leaves me with many reflections on the experience of supporting women through abortions, the things I learn about their lives in the short time we spend together, the twisted way politics interferes with what happens there.
Every woman responds differently to the experience, brings a different level of energy, nervousness, calm.
This afternoon I’m thinking about one of the two women I supported this morning. She reminded me a lot of one of the first women I worked with. Both were emotional during the procedure, and when we talked afterwards, they explained how isolated and alone they felt. Both were Spanish-speaking immigrant women, both lived in close vicinity to extended family. Both talked about their partners, how unsupported and alone they felt as women–how they weren’t treated well. Me siento tan solita (I feel so alone) she told me this morning.
Often in the Latino community, we get stereotyped for being very family centered. Big families where everyone lives really close by, is very involved in each others lives. Often this is juxtaposed with the more American or Anglo family style–fewer kids, more distance between everyone, less involvement. Obviously these are generalizations, stereotypes, but I have felt the impact of American family culture in my own family–as a kid I remember spending much more time with cousins and Uncles and Aunts, grandparents, all of us together in summers and Christmas’s. Now as we’ve grown, this first generation of truly American children, we’ve scattered across the country, hundreds of miles from one another.
Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be closer to everyone, to feel the warmth and stress and love of my blood relatives. Sometimes I wonder if we wouldn’t be better off, staying close, being more involved.
But then I’m reminded that it’s not always so simple, that it’s not always so black and white. Then I meet women like those I’ve met at the clinic, and I remember that family doesn’t always equal companionship. That sometimes, family relationships can be damaging, unhealthy, harmful. Both of these women hinted at abuse, neglect, mistreatment from their own family. This is how you come to feel so alone amongst many people.
The more I do this work, the more I think that most of my value as a doula in these moments is simply being a kind stranger who listens. I never feel like I’m doing very much, usually just making conversation, reassuring, holding hands and caressing shoulders. I’m a smiling face at the bedside without any other tasks than to just be present.
Today one of the women looked up at me during the procedure and smiled: Que bueno que estas aqui (How good that you are here). I responded: Mi placer (My pleasure). And it really is my pleasure, my delight that such a simple act might have an impact. Might make someone feel less alone and more resilient.
Before we parted ways she said to me Este trabajo que tu haces es muy lindo (This work that you do is very lovely).
Radical Doula 