Cesarean on TV Creates Quite a Stir

Let’s help stir that pot!

I didn’t watch when the Today Show showed the cesarean, but I have read the many comments and agree that it doesn’t help moms understand the risks of cesarean.

I totally agree with what ICAN had to say!

If it upset you, feel free to join in the Mother Size Activism to let NBC know we don’t appreciate the slanted journalism.

An amazing birth story

I have a friend who had a little boy with down syndrome a few months before Bryson was born.  They didn’t know before hand, it was a surprise.  I remember when they blessed their baby at church the spirit was SO strong and you just knew this baby was meant to be in their family.

I just read an amazing birth story of Nella.    It was beautiful to read and I thought of my friend and the amazing, scary, but wonderful surprise they had when their sweet baby was born.

Have a kleenex handy if you go to read the story.   But it is a beautiful, uplifting story.

Birth Day Book Club

I got this lovely invitation from the author of a book I reviewed.  Birth Day and you are welcome to join in too!

Dear Ms. Ripley,

I just wanted to say thanks for your kind review of my book, “Birth Day”, last fall, and to invite you to participate in a book discussion coming up soon at LibraryThing.com. Hopefully it will be fun, virtually unstructured (not to say chaotic), and interactive. Just the thing for mid-winter blahs…
Where: LibraryThing.com

When: February 8-21

What to Bring: Your questions, comments, birth stories…basically, anything that comes to mind. (Snacks are okay, too. They’re kind of hard to share, though.)
How to sign in: If you’re not already a LibraryThing member:

1) Go to http://www.LibraryThing.com

2) Click on “Join Now” (there’s no obligation involved in joining)

3) Enter a new member name and password

4) Click “Join Now” again

5) Scroll down the right hand side of the page to “Author Chats”

6) Click on my name and fire away…

Hope to see you there!

Take care,

Mark Sloan

PS: Birth Day continues to get great reviews, both in press and from readers. You can read more at http://www.marksloanmd.com.PPS: Please pass this invitation along to anyone you know with an interest in birth and babies!

Ending Female Pain – Review Coming

I got this book a few weeks ago in the mail so I could read and review it.

Frankly with the holidays and traveling and another trip coming up, I haven’t found the time to read it.

I quickly looked through it today and I am now intrigued.  I am lucky in that I don’t have Female Pain (if I did, I am sure I would have read it as soon as I got it!)   But there are women out there who do suffer and this looks like a GREAT resource for them.

I am setting a goal to read it in the next few weeks and come back with a real review.

But in case any of you are suffering out there, please go and get the book
Ending Female Pain: A Woman’s Manual – The Ultimate Self-Help Guide for Women Suffering from Chronic Pelvic and Sexual Pain

New Book about VBACs!

One of my fellow Birth Bloggers has made a book called

Voices: VBAC Women Share Their Journey.

I just ordered my copy!  I am excited to read it.

Many moms who want VBACs today have to work so hard to have one.   This will be an inspirational book to help them know it is worth the fight!

Mom Breastfeeds while Pleading Guilty in Court

I love what the judge said,

“I’ve been a judge for about 35 years, and I’ve seen most everything, but this one was novel, and different.”

Judge Nettesheim thought about offering her a few minutes to give her child the meal before giving her guilty plea.

“I had considered whether I should suspend the case momentarily, to allow the woman to complete the breast-feeding, but it was a busy calendar inasmuch as the event did not interfere with my ability to conduct with the proceeding, and did not appear to interfere with the defendant’s ability to understand the ability, and raised no concern on the part of our lawyer. I simply felt that it was appropriate to go forward.”

You can read all about it here.

Wow, Comfortable Birth is hard to believe.

The comments people are leaving on the People Magazine Post

Gisele Bündchen Says Giving Birth Wasn’t Painful

demonstrate how hard it is for people to wrap their minds around the idea that un-medicated birth can be comfortable.

Well, it can be.  I have seen it many times as a doula and experienced it myself with my last birth.

This month I am posting a Hypnobabies Birth Story each day on the Hypnobabies Blog. I wish every pregnant mom would read them and take the time to look into the idea of using Hypnobabies!

Super Model using Hypnobabies?

I love it when celebrities have normal births. 

This article talks about Gisele birthing at home in a tub.

It looks like she may have used hypnosis for birth too!  How cool is that?  Maybe she used Hypnobabies!

What to Expect When You are Expecting…. Movie?

What to Expect Movie

Wow, this could be a scary film.  What message is it going to impart to women?  If it is like the book, it will not be empowering to women at all.

I think almost every pregnant woman in America owns or at least knows about this book.

I wish moms would throw this book in the Garbage!  What should they read instead? Here is my review of a perfect pair of books to replace this one.

Here are some other bloggers thoughts on WTE.

Bellies to Babies

and

The Unneccesarean

Maybe the movie will show how being an informed consumer and making choices about what is best for you is the way to go.  Maybe it will highlight moms having wonderful natural birth experiences.  Maybe one will use Hypnobabies!

Hey, a doula can dream.

How can you avoid Unnecessary interventions?

The 4th of Lamaze’s Healthy Birth Practices is

Avoid interventions that are not medically necessary.

This is wonderful advice, but how can you do this?

Choose Your Care Provider Carefully!

How can you know if your Care Provider uses unnecessary interventions?  Ask Questions!

If you don’t like their answers, then change.  It is never too late and is well worth the work.

Here is a story of Angela and how she changed care providers and hospitals 48 hours before her due date because they were pressuring her into an induction, even though she and the baby were fine!

1. Hospital Tour
2. Change Care Providers 48 hours before due date.
3. Phone Call from Head OB
4. Birth Story (was making the change worth it?)

I think that the best way to avoid unnecessary interventions is to have a care provider (and birth location) that doesn’t routinely use them!  Almost every intervention has a good time to use it in some births, but to use them routinely for all moms, can actually cause problems instead of fix them.