In the News: Midwife ban leaves family scrambling

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Check out this interesting article about midwifery in Missouri. It explains that MO is one of ELEVEN states where midwifery is illegal–and considered equivalent to practicing medicine without a license (a felony). Columbia physician Elizabeth Allemann, states “People have told me it would probably be easier to do a drug deal in Missouri than to find a midwife.” Now THAT makes a lot of sense.

What’s most interesting about this is the logic used by Senator Chuck Graham, an opponent of the legalization of midwives, who has in the past filibustered a law that would allow midwives to practice who had been certified by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM). So rather than allow the Congress in his state to even vote on a bill possibly legalizing the practice, he has taken it upon himself to decide that “There are so many things that can go wrong with the birthing process.” Why do politicians like to pretend they are scientists and doctors when it comes to women’s reproductive health?

(I mis-posted this last week, erroneously stating the Senator Louden, who is actually sponsoring the bill, was the Senator in opposition. That is actually Senator Chuck Graham. I apologize for the mistake.)

The Vagina Monologues and Orgasmic Birth

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I went to an awesome performance of the Vagina Monologues (the amazing play written by Eve Ensler) last night, which was a fundraiser to raise money for the NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project.

One particular monologue is written by Eve about witnessing the birth of her granddaughter. She begins the piece by admitting that her original version of the monologues had left out the subject of birth completely–something that her experience with her granddaughter helped her to reconcile.

Birth is obviously quite connected to our vaginas, but also our sexuality, a fact that I feel gets overlooked and purposely erased. Childbirth and sex? Childbirth and orgasms? Yup. You heard right. Need proof? Here it is:

The chemical that is produced when a person orgasms is called oxytocin. Both men and women release this hormone–but women also release it at another time: during labor. That’s right folks…the same chemical released during orgasm is also released during childbirth. It gives a whole new meaning to the idea of the pleasure/pain divide. Now I’m not trying to say that the majority of women, particularly in US hospitals, are orgasming during delivery. On the contrary–its probably a minority, and the women who do feel pleasure during the process probably feel ashamed or confused by these feelings, particularly in a culture where the overwhelming sentiment about childbirth is how horribly painful it is. There have even been cases of women whose children have been taken away for confessing feeling sexually aroused during breastfeeding.

Doctors, technology and medicines are also instrumental in wiping out this connection–how could anyone feel sexy in that environment? Not to mention that being numbed from the waist down by an epidural definitely isn’t going to help you cum.

The great thing about oxytocin is that it has also been shown to help with maternal/child bonding, as well as bonding between partners. “In the brain, oxytocin is involved in social recognition and bonding, and might be involved in the formation of trust between people.” Now that explains those post-coital feelings…  It is also secreted during breastfeeding and nipple stimulation.

I personally think that part of the reason that the sexuality of birth has been kept secret is that we as a society love to desexualize mothers. We cannot handle the idea of a mother as a sexual being (just think about how middle-aged women are portrayed) and are particularly frightened by any hint of a sexual connection between mother and child as it is automatically seen as incestuous.

An awesome group of midwives and doulas (including the woman who trained me!) are working on this topic, and even making a documentary about it. Check it out here.

“High on doulas”: News story highlights Pittsburgh doulas

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This story just came out in the Post-Gazette, about how awesome doulas in Pittsburgh are. Here are a few highlights:

Mothering the mother: Doulas help women with childbirth

Wednesday, February 28, 2007
By Tina Calabro 

Over the past two decades, an increasing number of mothers-to-be have arranged for a doula to be present during labor and delivery. The centuries-old role of doula — a knowledgeable, older woman who tends to a mother during childbirth — has become a contemporary sight in hospital obstetric units. Recent national surveys report that doulas participate in about five out of every hundred births, and that number is growing.
…
It’s well documented that doula-assisted births often result in shorter labors, fewer C-sections and forceps deliveries, and less medication. Those who track community doulas are discovering additional benefits, such as fewer premature births, greater commitment to breastfeeding, and healthier pregnancy behaviors.
… 
“We’re high on doulas,” says David Brewton, associate executive director of East Liberty Family Health Care Center.
… 
The realization among social service providers that community doulas could positively impact the health of the baby was a collective “aha” moment, says Hope Ruedy, director of Erie Homes for Children and Adults in Erie. The agency has run a doula program for women with mental health and other types of disabilities since 2000.

Full story here

I love the good publicity.

my first birth story

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It’s a tradition among the midwifery/birth/doula community to share birth stories, usually not long after you have participated in a birth. Everyone has their own process for sharing these stories, and the doula group I used to be a part of would have monthly meetings where doulas were invited to share. This process can be really cathartic for people, allowing them to process the experience and their feelings about it. Moms are also encouraged to share their birth stories with friends, family and their practitioners.

So I hadn’t planned on sharing a birth story just yet, but due to the cosmic nature of the universe and serendipity, I received an email this morning (only one day after starting this blog) from the father from my first ever official birth as a doula. He sent me a picture of their now 2 year old son, and told me they are expecting a sixth. I received this email with mixed feelings, because after a difficult 24 hours of labor, which ended with the midwife bringing in the obstretrical team to deliver the baby using forceps, the midwife disclosed to me that she did not think Barbara wanted to be having the baby. She felt that her mixed feelings about the pregnancy were demonstrated in her failure to progress in the labor, and that many of these feelings stemmed from her relationship with her husband.

So now they are pregnant again? I wish I could know more about how she is feeling about it. I also wish I could post the picture of their son here, because he is adorable (I even have a picture with me and the parents right after the birth) but that would be inappropriate and would be violating their confidentiality.

Read on for more of the birth story.

Continue reading →

Feministing guest post: On Being a Radical Doula

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I’m re-posting my feministing guest blog here, because it does a good job of explaining why I use the term radical doula, and why NAPW‘s recent Summit to Ensure the Health and Humanity of Pregnant and Birthing Women was so amazing–and fit very well with the essence of what it means to be a radical doula. Thanks to Jessica Valenti for giving me the opportunity to guest blog, and as a result deciding to create my own.

During the pre-conference training organized by Be Present, Inc, I stood up and introduced myself as a radical doula. This was a designation that I came to assume for myself through an understanding that my beliefs (which seemed to me completely logical and altogether natural) placed me apart from a large part of what I have come to call the “birth activist” community (midwives, doulas and advocates who work toward changing the standards of care for birthing women in the US). This conference highlighted many of the ways my politics are a seeming contradiction: I’m a doula and I’m a pro-choice abortion advocate. I’m a doula and I’m a lesbian. I’m a doula and I may never have children. I’m a doula and I’m Latina. I’m doula and I’m not entirely comfortable with the gender/sex binary.

What was so groundbreaking about this conference was that it brought together two of my worlds, the birth activists (midwives, doulas, academics) and the pro-choice activists (policy people, advocates, organizers). I can see now how these two groups, the former of which dedicates its time to supporting women as they bring children into the world, and the latter that fights for women’s rights to not bring children into the world, don’t necessarily go together. The irony is that I never understood the contradictions that exist between them until Lynn Paltrow pointed it out to me—precisely because the two are really good about not mentioning the others issues. The midwifery conferences I have been to in the past never mentioned the issue of abortion—allowing me to erroneously assume that they were all pro-choice just like me. Likewise, the pro-choice conferences rarely mentioned the issues that face birthing women—so focused as they are on the rights of women fighting not to birth. So congratulations NAPW, you succeeded in beginning a dialogue between the two movements (as stilted and precarious as it may have been at times)—even just by creating a space where that dialogue was possible.

What this conference made entirely clear to me is that the activists from these two camps need to be in the same room, if not simply because the people whom we are fighting are one and the same. The people who want to take away women’s rights to abortion, contraception, and comprehensive sex education are the same ones who aren’t afraid to forcibly subject women to c-sections, limit the scope of women’s choices about how they birth or place the rights of an unborn fetus above the rights of a woman.

Check out the original and complete post here.

a new blog is born…

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Hello everyone! After immense amounts of thought and consideration, as well as some peer pressure from awesome fellow feminist bloggers recently (special thanks to Julie and Milbydaniel) I have decided to enter into the feminist blogosphere.

I want to acknowledge the awesome bloggers who have paved the way and really made this medium something that matters politically, socially and intellectually. You all rock, and we amateurs could only hope to live up to the high standards you have set for us. Particular shout out to feministing, who was the first blog I ever read diligently.

So what is this blog going to be about? That presumably will develop as I do, but my initial idea (and dare I say niche) is to focus on the politics of reproductive justice activism from the perspective of a radical doula.

I just threw out a lot of terms that necessitate defining, which I will do here, with the caveat that some of these terms are new and developing, and I welcome the input of others to help broaden and refine their definitions. This blog is meant to be a conversation about what these terms mean, how we can actually live out our politics, and what are the relevant issues at hand.

PS I promise not to overuse the cheesy birth puns