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Written by Rebecca Gower, B.A., M.A., DSHM (hons)
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 If you are pregnant, it is hard not to think about the pain that
is associated with labour at some point
during pregnancy. This is especially true if you are pregnant
with your first child. The good news is that the pain won't last
forever and you get the precious gift of your baby as the best present
of having had to deal with that pain. It is also very possible
that you could have a very different experience of labour with each
child. For example, you may have a very quick labour with your
first child and a slower, irregular labour with your second one- or vice-versa...
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Written by Pam Udy
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 Every 30 seconds in the US, a cesarean is performed.(1) This overuse
of cesarean surgery puts moms and babies at risk—not just physically,
but emotionally. My intent with this article is to show the emotional
impact that cesareans can have on the family. A cesarean can reach far
beneath the bogus smile on mom‘s face. It can scar her heart, as well
as her uterus. |
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Written by Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC
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There are now a multitude of studies that show that mothers and babies should be together, skin to skin (baby naked, not wrapped in a blanket) immediately after birth, as well as later. The baby is happier, the baby’s temperature is more stable and more normal, the baby’s heart and breathing rates are more stable and more normal, and the baby’s blood sugar is more elevated. Not only that, skin to skin contact immediately after birth allows the baby to be colonized by the same bacteria as the mother. This, plus breastfeeding, are thought to be important in the prevention of allergic diseases. When a baby is put into an incubator, his skin and gut are often colonized by bacteria different from his mother’s. |
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Written by Viv Groskop
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 Viv Groskop meets a 'far-out' midwife who has become a guru to celebrities. But is delivering a breech baby feet first without pain relief really a good idea?
Ina May Gaskin drives cautiously round the winding dirt tracks of the Farm, an eco-community buried deep in a 100-acre backwood south of Nashville. She slows down to wave to a young woman with her two children: "Both those were born at home," she murmurs, "as was the mother." A deer ambles across the road. Every so often, a clearing reveals a ramshackle house with a rusting 70s school bus in the driveway. We overtake a large, bearded teenager on a bicycle. "That guy just fell into my hands," she chuckles. "He was enormous." |
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Written by Linda J. Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC
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Winning at birth - what an odd concept. Birth isn’t a contest. Or is
it? We call fathers “birth coaches.” Birth is a very physical event,
one in which our bodies have to exert themselves, perform. Birthing
requires muscle control, determination, and grit. We even urge women to
sign up for classes and practice. Women often grunt, groan, and make
noise during birth just as athletes do. And because there is risk and a
possibility for injury, the athlete is surrounded by skilled attendants. |
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