“I raised a concern with the obstetrician and she said we just have to play it by ear as to what’s happening with the pregnancy at that point. So I felt reassured by that.” Reassure say or do something to remove the doubts or fears Dismiss treat as unworthy of serious consideration The quote above describes an all too …
We are seeing bundle after bundle rolling out to improve care and all they seem to do is increase paperwork and scare The bundles are a bungle of tokenistic action despite well established solutions that would cost but a fraction! There are two bundles in recent times that have been cause for concern. The first …
As the sexual revolution expelled it’s sex positive culture with ‘compulsory sexuality’, devoid of morals and responsibility, all we need is a yes and anything – anything- goes. Choking, and other violent acts of violation are becoming normalised as the pornification of society screams yes…even when they want to say no.
meanwhile, in maternity, The medicalisation of birth is marching fast towards complete dehumanisation. We can do anything, so we now redefine normal and slip all too willingly into a capitalist approach to reproduction. No longer about birth and transformation, women or mothers; babies are a product of an industry so focussed on yes, they have forgotten that no is an option. Just as the sexual revolution made sexuality compulsory, modern maternity has made medicalisation compulsory.
Is there such a thing as Too Much Information? A point where overwhelm means overcome? Is it possible that blissful ignorance Protects us from being The One? The One who has a bad time, The One who gets The Lot, The One who is disappointed The one whose birth was shot. And what does it …
We have a huge problem in our society. And it is not that women need time and support to ‘recover’ from birth. The problem is we have developed a culture of segregation: where babies and mothers are not immersed in the ‘every day’ where children are sent off to school and adults to work where …
Most people hear ‘birth plan’ and think of something set in stone, something that has to be followed to the letter and has no room for error. Something that is inflexible, rigid and ultimately impossible to achieve. Birth is unpredictable, so surely it is pointless to plan.
This leaves you with two options:
1. Hand over your power and be a ‘good girl’. Don’t ask complicated questions, just do as you are told, no need to worry your pretty little head with the details.
OR
2. Create a Birth MAP.
Birth, for the modern human, is not without difficulty. Does a positive birth come down to luck,or is it a matter of Good Management? or could it be something else? We are high-level thinkers and social beings…this impacts our ability to birth. Some women experience birth without the need for assistance. And some women are …
Birth is Dangerous! or is it? ‘Danger’ and ‘Risk’ are sometimes used interchangeably, but they actually mean very different things. To use ‘danger’ when you mean ‘risk’, could be very damaging. The Nocebo Effect is a very real phenomenon, and the words we use are very powerful. Using ‘danger’ when you mean ‘risk’, and ‘risk’ when you …
You have probably heard of ‘The Cascade of Intervention’. It is the idea that once an intervention occurs, the rest shall follow. This is considered a ‘Slippery Slope’. It is, however, more nuanced than a cascade and there is more than one slope. If we think of physiological birth as a flowing river, there are …
updated postScientific Birth is birth as nature intended, without intervention. Technological Birth relates to the interventions. Understand both. Determine for yourself whether or not a technological aspect to your birth is necessary. Go with the Flow or pack a Paddle?Who you birth with (care provider and non-medical support) will influence how technical your birth will be, so if a scientific birth is important to you – align your support with the less technical care […]
