The challenge of slow birth

I spent today delivering the new Slow Birth doula cards to different practitioners' offices. One supportive physician read the words "slow birth", and laughed - "Some of our doctors won't like that...they're always talking about births that are progressing too slowly!" 


...slow...birth...


These words might prove challenging for some people. 


I am an example of Slow Birth. This is my 25th year as a doula, and I will attend my 1000th client's baby's birth this year. And I think maybe, just maybe, I'm starting to understand birth. It has been a slow gradual process. Each birth teaches me what I need to know for the next birth. Birth forces me to slow down, then stop, then really look at it. I feel like I'm just starting to fully appreciate the nuance of birth. 


It shakes me and demands my respect.


I have heard some people say that I know birth. I don't. None of us can truly know birth, because each birth is totally different.  But, I know this much - Birth takes its time. Birth is challenging in every way. Birth doesn't respond easily to control or what we want. Birth loves surprises.


...slow...birth...


So, think about it. Slow Birth is not about having a slow labour, or having a fast labour. Slow Birth is about honouring birth and surrendering to the rhythm of the body and the baby.


Slow Birth reminds me to take whatever time is needed to prepare each family for the early years of parenting. This takes time. Time on the phone. Time in person. Time texting back and forth. Time talking, laughing, crying. Every client requires a different approach. This is not a conveyor belt. It's not textbook. It is a creative process. It is bespoke. It is organic. It is slow.


As a Slow Birth doula, my job is to remain aware, to remain flexible, to read the body, to translate its messages, to listen to each woman and family, to remind each woman that she can trust her body, to help her draw on her life lessons, to help her build her own community. 


Slow Birth, as an extension of the slow movement, is my commitment to each doula client and her family to nurture stronger connections, and to discover each family's pace, each family's needs.  Slow Birth is about supporting the birth of each family with time and care. Ultimately, the aim is to help clients build their own connections within their community, slow down, and enjoy the first years of family life together. 


Whatever is needed...as long as it takes...that's what Slow Birth is about. 


- Jacquie Munro - Slow Birth, Vancouver Doula

On Surfing...and Facebook...

Googling during pregnancy can be a big bad scary activity.  For sanity's sake, I encourage clients to avoid general googling of pregnancy topics at this time.  I do, however, encourage clients to become informed about birth, breastfeeding and parenting. How can you filter all the information? My favourite books and research resources are linked on my site, so that's a great place to start.

But, another easy way to have a steady flow of current research and opinions and an overview of "best practice" is to "like" some of the great sites below on Facebook. And don't forget to bookmark the best birth and parenting websites that I have linked in the sidebar (for those burning questions at 4am!)

In no particular order, here are some recent articles/sites/videos that I recommend:

The Alpha Parent The Timeline of a Breastfed Baby
KellyMom (!!!) Sleeping Through the Night
Lakeshore Medical Breastfeeding Clinic (Dr Jen) Just One Bottle and Breastfed Newborn Weight Loss
TED Talks The Shocking Truth about your Health and What We Learn Before We're Born and The Linguistic Genius of Babies
NPR What's Behind A Temper Tantrum?
Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab Dr James McKenna
Infant Sleep as a Public Health Issue (10 parts) Dr Wendy Hall
Mothering Car Seats are for Cars

These are some great Facebook pages that you can "Like":
Power To Push (Best Birth Clinic)
Family Practice Maternity Service (BirthDocs)
Science & Sensibility

Enjoy the surf! More to come...

12 Times a Day...

I have a dilemma...after 24 years as a doula, I'm still trying to discover the best way to help pregnant women have a successful start to breastfeeding. 

Breastfeeding classes are great, La Leche League meetings are supportive, our talks over months of pregnancy provide continuity, the breastfeeding books are inspiring, kellymom.com and Dr. Jack Newman's videos are linked on my blog. But one client just nailed the problem on the head in a phone call tonight: "It feels like I'm putting the cart before the horse if I try to think about breastfeeding now! I'm trying to finish up at work! I feel like I'm not prepared to have the baby yet! I have to get the baby born! I can't think about breastfeeding now!" (Yes, I know, I'm paraphrasing, but the exclamation marks were certainly there.)

My clients say that everything flies out the window as soon as the baby is born.  In the first few days, despite my encouragement to each woman to feed her baby skin to skin, and to feed early and often (12 feeds per day gets you a gold star!), both sleep deprivation and the overwhelming nature of being a new parent can shatter prior learning and all self confidence. Add to that a stream of visitors, and you have a perfect storm. No wonder the breastfeeding relationship suffers or sputters to a halt.

So, what will work? Talk to each other. Find yourself a friend who will be your breastfeeding mentor. Put the cart before the horse. Start to build your breastfeeding community!

To start you on the right path, I've asked some of my clients to write down their words of wisdom after a year of breastfeeding. Many clients are ready and willing to offer their support and be your mentor. So, first up, let's hear from Abby!  

"When I gave birth to my daughter I, like every other new mom, was completely exhausted. I was (and still am) dedicated to breastfeeding my daughter so when the nurses in the hospital told me to breastfeed 8-12 times per day I made sure to feed her at least 8 times per day (sometimes 9) and I thought I was doing great! 3 weeks later she wasn't gaining enough weight and I was diagnosed with "low milk supply." I was devastated and I couldn't understand it -- I was doing everything right, wasn't I? 

After many visits with lactation consultants, many hours with my pump, and many breastfeeding articles later I had a realization: I should have been feeding my baby AT LEAST 12 TIMES A DAY, or even better every hour. You're going to be tired anyways, so buy a good breast feeding pillow, sit back, watch TV, snooze, avoid visitors, and feed your baby all day! You'll be surprised how relaxing it is. Your breasts need the stimulation from your baby and your baby's brain needs nutrition constantly. It took me months to learn all this so I hope that my experience can help other new moms learn this in minutes instead of months. My daughter is now 1, and I have met many women who were diagnosed with "low milk supply." Every time we went to a baby class there was at least 1 or 2 women who had the same problem as me. That just can't be right. We were made to feed our babies to it can't be possible that so many women "can't make enough milk." Many women may be able to make enough milk with minimal stimulation (i.e. 8 times a day), but a large minority of us cannot. So PLEASE FEED YOUR BABY AT LEAST 12 TIMES A DAY!" - Abby, mum to Ellie 

(One way to keep track of those 12 feeds per 24 hours, without relying on a clock, is to have two bowls by your breastfeeding "station".  One bowl is filled with 12 pennies.  Just move a penny over to the second bowl after a feed.  At the end of 12 hours, just look and see how many of the pennies have been moved to the second bowl. How are you doing? Will you be able to make 12 feeds in the day? No worries if you're a bit low on feeds. You can just pick it up. No need to write anything down. No need to look at the clock. No need to stress! It's just a great way to feel the rhythm of breastfeeding your baby in the first few weeks.)  

Slow Birth return!

Look who's back at Vancouver Doula ...and Slow Birth! My daughter, Sarah, is returning from her maternity leave to provide doula services to clients, as well as providing additional breastfeeding services. Welcome back!

"Born and raised in Vancouver and mentored by my doula mum, Jacquie, I have always been passionate about women's health. Since the age of 4, I have watched my mum care for hundreds of families -- slipping out in the night to attend births, coaching women through breastfeeding struggles, chatting with them over tea about the life changes a baby would bring.  

As an adult, I initially (and naively) resisted the calling to support childbearing women and pursued graduate studies at the University of British Columbia, studying women's sexuality and reproductive lives in early modern literature. This work naturally evolved into more contemporary studies of childbirth and in 2007, when I completed my Master's degree, I began working actively in doula care. In 2008, to better support mums postpartum, I gained my certificate in Breastfeeding Support for Health Care Professionals from Douglas College. 

I've pursued my other passion, academic research, in parallel with my doula and breastfeeding practice. I am currently on leave from doctoral studies, in which I explore informed choice in the childbearing year. Through my work with the Rural Maternity Care New Emerging Team at UBC, I have published qualitative (interview-based) research on midwifery in Canada, decision making for caesarean delivery, and sustainable rural maternity services. Slow birth and slow parenting are also a research passion, and I weave those philosophies into my doula and breastfeeding practice. 

Since the birth of my twin boys, Jack and Finn, in 2010, my desire to support new mothers has only intensified and I am excited to return to doula care with some new experiences under my belt, including both a home birth and a hospital delivery, and nursing twins into toddlerhood (we're still going at 19 months).  

I am honoured to be part of Jacquie's practice again and to support families through birth, breastfeeding, and beyond."  - Sarah Munro, BA (Hons), MA

I'm back and ready for babies!

I'm back from the land of scarves (Paris) and gelato (Italy), art, churches, sparkling seas and rolling hills...and so many babies!

We saw babies in Paris, Tuscany and the Cinque Terre being carried in slings, Ergo carriers, and wraps (so much easier on cobblestone streets than strollers!)...children singing while skipping home for lunch...restaurants welcoming children of all ages...children being greeted and twirled around by Nonnas and Mamas...and many playgrounds tucked into tiny squares.

Birth issues seemed to be everywhere...even on Medieval streets...

One street in Volterra, Italy, was decorated with branches covered in blue ribbons. At first I thought the branches were a local custom, announcing a home birth of a baby. But, it turns out that there has been a big fight to retain birth services in Volterra.  A pilot project allowing women to give birth locally had been scheduled to end in July.  So, why were the branches on this street in September? Had a woman given birth at home recently, against local recommendation? Or were the branches part of a protest against the removal of services? I'd love it if any Italian-speaking clients would read local news articles and let me know!

But, I learned that, no matter where I am, even when I'm on holiday, my thoughts do not stray far from the focus of my passion...birth, babies, mothers...

So, please don't hesitate to contact me by phone or email now... I'm home, rested and ready for babies again!

Nine Months of Babies (or...and so we embark on a slow travel journey...)

It's been 9 months of babies...35 women, 35 births...since I last wrote a blog post.  Three sets of sparkling twins, 2 out of 2 successful and life-changing VBACs, six joyful home births (one with only 16 recorded active labour contractions!), one surprise vaginal breech birth, a few fourth babies and many first babies, eight wonderful repeat clients, more than a few speedy car rides, and many sleepless hard-labouring nights... 

These babies and their mums teach me about strength, acceptance and love daily.

In between the births, and the client phone calls (both pregnancy and postpartum), and the visits to help with breastfeeding, I get to be gran to a pretty great pair of toddlers. You can find us most days (in between some long stroller walks) at Rosemary Brown Park and Kits Beach Park. Join us if you like diggers and soccer balls!

Very early in the morning (and late at night) I try to stay current by reading as much birth/child-related research as I can, but you can also find me reading Kellymom, First the Egg and Dr. Jen as well as Paris by Mouth, Joel Henriques and Apartment Therapy. It's all about balance, right?

Ah, balance...

To that end, we're off to Europe on our annual slow travel journey. So many clients have told me that they were married in Siena (or got engaged in the Cinque Terre...or conceived their baby in Florence), that we decided we just had to find out what the fuss was all about.  So, Italy awaits! Oh, and Paris, too...

This is my only chance to take a break during the year (mine is a 24/7 on-call life), so please understand that I won't be receiving calls until the end of September (the 28th should be fine). I still have room for a few more babies in November (why is November always a slow month?), and in February (and beyond!) 

Please don't hesitate to email me at Vancouver Doula, but expect a sloooow response until my return from la dolce vita.

- Jacquie Munro, Vancouver Doula

The Sweat Lodge

This Christmas Day, I offer you the gift of a story told by a new client:

I see that going into the sweat lodge in remote northern Ontario when I was 17 is something that I can use to propel me through birth. The experience was a powerful one then and now, as I face a long pregnancy and its culminating labour, the event is taking on new significance and its power is spinning in the expanding darkness of my womb.

I went into the sweat lodge to heal. I didn’t even know what parts of me needed healing. All I knew was that I was being offered a chance to experience something profound that might just change the course of my life. The sweat lodge itself was like a womb--dark inside but for the orange glow of rocks heated by fire until they took on their own light. The air was wet from water sprayed periodically on the burning rocks that would immediately vapourize and turn the tight dome into a small ocean that housed us all. There were perhaps ten girls and two men -- our first nations guides on this journey into the Sweat.

Once we had all gathered inside and been given instructions the animal skin flap of the sweat lodge was closed and we were cradled in primal darkness. I could feel the other girls breathing around me. I could feel the warmth of their bodies and their anxious energy. We didn’t know where we were journeying to or what sort of people we might be once we emerged from our process of rebirth. It was a moment very similar to what I have been experiencing in my state of early pregnancy, where very little has changed on the surface of things but I can feel strange ripples of energy coursing through my body and smell the electric smell of great change rolling in like a summer storm.

My memories of the Sweat are hazy. But images flash back to me like prophecies. I think there was a drum. The steady heartbeat of the world reminding us of our embodied state. The sweat has four stages each marked by one of the sacred herbs--sage, sweetgrass, cedar, and tobacco. At the end of each stage the lodge would be opened and we would have the choice to leave or to stay on for the next stage. We could decide that we had learned what we came to learn or that we needed to go deeper to reach whatever lesson was meant for us. Inside the sweat lodge I descended into the core of the earth to access the essence of myself. I imagine labour will be much like that--a spiralling downward into the most secret spaces of the soul where reserves of power you never imagined you had can be accessed and put to use.

I floated in the humid air of the sweat lodge as the ceremony commenced. It wasn’t long before I was soaked with the wet air and my own sweat that poured out of me like rain. My body slowly emptied itself of fluids and I’m sure that I became severely dehydrated. Stories poured out of us with the sweat. We told of our young lives’ greatest hurts, the things that were holding us back and torturing us. Tears began to mingle with the sweat. Girls cried out in pain or because they saw visions emerging from the blackness. Each time the flap was opened at the end of a stage some would leave, desperate for water, content that they had gleaned all they could, or simply exhausted physically and mentally.

I was becoming worn down myself. My body needed water and I was deeply aware of that. But I couldn’t bring myself to leave. I was sure that there was something at the end of all this that would be worth the suffering and somehow, amidst the agony of the Sweat I was able toembrace the experience as transformative. By the end of the Sweat I was deep within my own body and had become animalistic in my thoughts and movements. I was lying on the dirt floor of the lodge with my head in the lap of another girl. I was screaming a low animal scream that originated deep in my throat and resonated at my core. I clawed the ground like a dying creature letting the earth bury itself under my nails. I thought that I might die yet refused to leave until the flap was opened for the final time.

I find that my memories of the Sweat sound much like the experiences of labouring women who find intense beauty amidst pain, fear, and confusion. Labouring women connect to their animal selves just as I did in the suffocating final moments of the Sweat. And while I wasn’t comfortable or even fully conscious of the world around me I believed that I was safe. I believed that the guides wouldn’t let me come to harm, that the girls would hold me. This feeling of safety in the midst of chaos will be crucial to birth as well. I will need to feel that I am held in competent arms and that I will be told if there is real danger at hand. I think that if I can maintain a feeling of safety that I will be able to bear whatever pain or discomfort comes my way and hold on to the belief that bodily trial can be a gateway to spiritual truths.

When the sweat was finally over I lifted myself up off the earth and ate canned fruit that was being passed around. As liquid and sugar entered my body I felt deep relief and also a great sense of well being for having made it to the end. I drank water and water has never again tasted so pure and delicious. When I stepped out of the lodge I was given a moment that will forever be a part of my personal mythology. I emerged from the heat of that womb and into the cold fresh air of the northern summer night. The sky was spattered with stars and I walked carefully on unsteady legs to the edge of the lake where the water was black and silent. I let the air cool me and many of the girls swam in the midnight waves, coming fully alive after touching the edges of death. Time had lost all meaning. I have no sense of how long I stayed in the sweat lodge. It could have been minutes or hours. All I know is that I went in when the sun was still up and when I came out it was long past sunset.

I will hold on to the sweat lodge when I enter labour. I will let time lose meaning and surrender to the animal impulses of my body--letting it cry out when it needs to and growl deep in the throat and belly. I will let myself be cradled by my husband and the midwives, and doula who will attend me. I will remember that I am safe so that I can ride out the waves of birth without getting lost entirely. I see suddenly the the sweat lodge was a gift that I didn’t see the full value of at the time. It was a perfect preparation for birth given to me in days when I never expected to have a child. How strange that I can travel backwards now and see new aspects of the experience and new ways to apply it. I have already been both the mother and the child: The labouring woman clawing the earth in wild torment and the new baby crawling from the womb into the wide wide world under the slowly gyrating sky. May this experience give me strength and courage in the months to come and at the moment of birth.

"It doesn't get easier, it just gets different"

As part of my doula service, I provide two prenatal visits, attend my clients' births, then make a postpartum visit to debrief and hug, but that's only the tip of the iceberg.

I encourage my clients to call or email me frequently...for years (yes, I mean that). I'm often on the phone for a few hours each day, answering clients' questions, brainstorming, or providing support and encouragement. I encourage my clients to call me whenever a question arises during pregnancy or postpartum, which is SO much more helpful than asking them to store it up for visits. We're able to work through each concern in the moment.

Please don't be shy about calling! It makes everything smoother in the long run!

Recently, I checked in with a former client to see how things were going (three years after she gave birth to twins). "Any words of wisdom?" I asked.

"It doesn't get easier, it just gets different," she said.

I've been a mum for 27 years, and I've cared for over 900 families as a doula...but with those few words, she reminded me of the daily reality of mothering little ones.

Change comes in an ever widening circle. Change comes daily with a newborn, then weekly...then monthly...then yearly, as she grows. The physical and emotional challenges of raising children are dynamic. "Someone keeps moving the goal posts!" said one client. "Did they cover this prenatal class!? I can't remember anything anymore!"

Who knew that flexibility, creativity and spontaneity (along with a whole whack of family and community support) were the keys to successful parenting? In the beginning, we thought we just had to learn the basic rules of "How to Parent" and everything would be smooth sailing! Boy, were we wrong! It's all about rolling with the changes...

But you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You are not alone! Someone else is going through the same thing...right now...

So, give me a call. Whatever you're dealing with...I've probably chatted with another client about something similar, just yesterday. And maybe, you might just want to connect with her. Together, we can support each other through the daily changes and challenges of mothering.

For example...One day this week I was standing in the rain on Granville Street, discussing a woman's overabundant milk supply, then an hour later I received a call in the IGA about another baby gagging and spluttering on his mum's gushing breast milk.

Then, the next day, I was sitting in my parked car talking with another client about how to increase her low milk supply, just before receiving a call from a different client to ask about donor milk.

Various solutions, including the "Eats on Feets" Facebook group (community milk-sharing), the local Donor Milk Bank, and my favourite lactation consultant, popped into my mind. Personal connections were made...and they were off!

Yesterday, a mum called looking for some support dealing with the changes that happen around six weeks. She had found her rhythm a few weeks earlier. Feeds had been going well, sleep had become more predictable. Then...wham! the six week growth spurt had begun. Her baby had become more alert and started to sleep less. She was having to feed more to increase her milk supply. The goal posts had moved!

We talked...I made tea while we talked...and we talked some more...

I'd better call her again on Monday to check in, and encourage her to go to her local community mum's group.

Every time a client calls me with a mothering question, it increases my ability to support the next woman. Each woman teaches me something completely new. I encourage her to share her experiences at the local mum's group or La Leche League meeting. We each strengthen the chain of women helping women. We support each other through the daily changes.

I won't tell you what to do when you call. None of this parenting stuff is black and white. I'll just help you add to your mothering tool chest, share recent research, brainstorm.

But, above all, I'll just do my very best to listen.

I'll do my best to share the wisdom that I've learned from my years as a mum (oh, gosh...and now a grandma, too!) and as a doula, and learned from all my other clients.

Yes, there will be times when I won't have the experience to address your particular problem. But, at the very least, I'll know someone...maybe a professional...or maybe even another mum...who will be able to give you the tools to help yourself.

And then, I'll remind you that each day will be a mix of joy and tears and laughter. That's mothering. It's always changing, it's always challenging. It's never boring.

My client was right..."It doesn't get easier. It just gets different."

Jacquie Munro - Vancouver Doula

What have I been doing all this time?

Well, it's been 8 months! I think I must have been rather busy, to have left my blog for this long!

In addition to my doula work, "loving the grandsons" was added to my list of passions. With twins, there's a lot of room for family involvement, so we've all been chipping in daily to help our daughter and son-in-law and their brood. My memory of this past summer is long long walks by the seashore with my husband, carrying the boys in slings, allowing their parents a break at home...to sleep or eat, or just plain enjoy the peace and quiet.

It's been eight months filled with love and joy (we're not the sleepless ones).

Is there any downside? I tend to forget things more easily now, with so many things happening every day, but my iCal alerts keep me on task. So, clients...please call me before or after your prenatal visits for a chat if I haven't called you already. And when you call me, you might find that I whisper when I answer (sleeping babies!), and I might screen some prospective clients' calls if I'm rocking a tired boy while another stands holding my leg (I just can't reach my phone). Please accept my apologies in advance. BUT...the upside is that I now have a renewed and updated understanding of breastfeeding issues, sleep issues, introduction of solids, safety issues, attachment parenting...and a multitude of other topics. It's like I'm living a daily refresher course in how to support my clients through their pregnancies and postpartum experiences. You will benefit!

I'm now taking on fewer clients per month (4-5 at the most), so that I'm (hopefully) able to provide the best care to all. So, you'll need to call me early in pregnancy to book a spot. With this growing family, I'm learning to multitask all over again - and love it!

So, please don't hesitate to call or email! I'm here...just covered in babies from time to time....

Jacquie - Vancouver Doula

Dear Jacquie...

Dear Jacquie,

We've not met, but I just wanted to thank you for my daughter's birth. I live in Edinburgh, although I'm from Victoria, B.C, and I stumbled across your blog about a year ago. My son (who's now 2) was born in hospital: my flat wasn't big enough to fit a birth pool and 2 midwives, and I hoped I could have a water birth in hospital instead. In the end, I was induced due to blood pressure and got a very controlled, restricted labour: I was on my back, monitored, for the whole thing.

When I became pregnant last spring, your blog was the final inspiration I needed to plan a home birth. You and Ina May were my encouragement through 4 days of slow contractions. In the end, though, my beautiful daughter came racing into the world, one hand over her head, into an empty bathtub. (The midwife had arrived 17 minutes before and let the water out of the bath to check me over...never happened! The birthing pool was filled and waiting in the next room but into the empty bathtub she came.) I had a wonderful, wonderful birth with no one monitoring, examining, or worrying me and the difference in my two birth stories still amazes me.

I'm attaching a photo of me and Rosa with my midwife team, an hour after the birth (the one in blue was the midwife, the one in white was a student on her first week - I was her first birth!, and the one behind was the second midwife who arrived 20 minutes too late).

I have loved reading your blog, and I really can't thank you enough for the inspiration you gave me.

All the best,

R (Edinburgh)

My Words

Wide open

Your face is soft

Your shoulders are heavy

You are safe

Your baby is safe

This is your power

You are strong

Feel your cervix melt like butter

Your muscles open

Your baby tucks chin on chest

You are wide open

Soft

Slow breathing

Your hands are soft

You are safe

You are with all the women in labour

The women are with you

You are doing this

Breathe in strength

Breathe out worry

Breathe in power

This is your power

Wide open

Wide open

Soft

Melting

Safe

- Jacquie Munro, Vancouver Doula - Slow Birth

"Around the World, Down the Prime Meridian..."

As you sleep, Finn, I stroke the world onto your forehead

cheeks

chin

Circling, drawing the lines of our planet with my fingers

Transferring the love of your great grandfather into your skin

Just as we did to your mother.

"Around the world

Down the Prime Meridian..."

You sleep, your eyes playing beneath their lids

Soaking in the words, the touch.

Are you dreaming of where you were three days ago?

You were hiding behind your brother Jack

Feet down

Ready to make a surprise entry

like a parachuter.

I can't even remember what it felt like to believe

that your mother was having only one baby.

It feels...

incomplete.

We waited that bright Saturday

waited for "the baby"

sitting outside in the sunshine

in the buffeting wind

at a cafe table

outside Capers

where your parents met

We waited

watching two men play UpWords

the same game your grandad and I played

when I was in labour.

Every movement on 4th was a sign

The woman pushing a bicycle

humming

The pregnant women heading

to Semperviva

yoga mats tucked under their arms

Heading to the noon class

where your mother was supposed to be...

...where you would have been

Child's pose

Listening to the music chosen by your mother.

But you weren't at that class

You were with your mum and dad

at home

in the tub

hidden behind Jack

waiting to be born...

...waiting to surprise everyone!

"Across the Equator

Tropic of Cancer

Tropic of Capricorn

North Pole

South Pole

Mount Everest

Mariana Trench..."

You have always been with us

and we never knew it

You have always been part of our bodies

our planet

You have always been...

"Tundra..."

...Blue Pacific"

Tomorrow I will stroke

the cartography of love

into your brother's face...

(Finn, the hidden water fairy, was only discovered a few minutes after his older brother, Jack, was joyfully born into his mother and father's arms, at home, on Saturday afternoon. Finn then declared his presence, kicking the midwife's hand... "Jack was not alone! I'm here!" Then, over an hour later, Finn, already master of the great entrance, responded to his mum's pushes and came, splash, feet first, before a large audience in the hospital...

Bright surprises can still happen in this world!)

Jacquie Munro - Grandma to Jack and Finn, Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth

Silence, s'il vous plait...

No words

as we open ourselves to birth

Close your eyes

breathe

and feel the whispers of women

past

present

future

No words

Jacquie Munro - Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth

Slow Food in labour

Remember my very first client in the 1980's? Vaginal breech? Well, you might remember that I wrote about her stopping off to pick up a hamburger on the way to the hospital. Yes, her doctor was in the car with her, encouraging her to eat. All was well...and boy, was that birth smooth! During my early years as a doula, though, I discovered that the hamburger-eating client was not the norm. Eating in labour was discouraged. "The digestive system shuts down in labour..." "If you eat and then have general anesthetic, you might vomit and then aspirate the contents..."

Way back in 1993, one of the (apparently radical) studies presented at the International Congress of Midwives in Vancouver encouraged women to eat and drink as needed in labour, and argued that it was probably detrimental to the flow of labour to starve a woman during the process. The audience applauded. We thought this would start a movement to allow all low risk women to eat in labour. But, the protocol at most hospitals in our area remained the same. Women were allowed clear fluids only...water...ice chips.

In the 1990's, despite the general recommendation of "clear fluids only" in many hospitals, older nurses (most of them midwives from overseas) would still bring in lunch trays for women in labour at St. Paul's Hospital. I remember one nurse at Lion's Gate Hospital running the bathtub, helping the labouring woman into it, then passing her a big fat sandwich. "Oh, honestly, you need to eat!" she said, hands on hips.

Then, as the years passed, more family doctors would encourage my clients to eat as much as possible before they left home. One client took her doctor's recommendation to heart, and ate 6 scones in the car while heading into the hospital (she gave birth soon after). Another client made sure her husband and I (and her) cleared our plates of roast beef, yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and loads of gravy, before dashing off to Richmond Hospital. She'd huff and puff and then eat some meat...huff and puff and eat a potato. She also gave birth soon after arrival at hospital.

But, the majority of women in hospital found it very challenging to get any food to eat during labour. One woman became so distressed when she wasn't allowed to eat during her induction. She started crying...couldn't stop...and her contractions disappeared. "I just want peanut butter on toast!" We eventually got an official "go ahead" from her obstetrician. The toast came...she ate...labour started again...and she had progressed from 2-10cm in about 15 minutes. Now, I'm sure not every woman is going to have such remarkable results after eating one piece of toast, but the emotional benefits of being able to eat and drink as needed in labour cannot be questioned.

At home births, women have always been able to freely eat and drink throughout labour. Homemade soup, papaya, omelettes, coconut water...even one client's beloved peanut butter chocolate chip muffins (eaten in the shower)...these are what sustain women. I would love to see a world where there is no difference between home and hospital (I hope I'm not a dreamer!)

So, it was heartening to see that a January 2010 Cochrane review identified no benefits or harms from restricting food and fluids during labour in women at low risk of needing anesthesia (Singata M et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010;[1]:CD003930). The authors concluded, “Since the evidence shows no benefits or harms, there is no justification for the restriction of fluids and food in labour for women at low risk of complications. No studies looked specifically at women at increased risk of complications, hence there is no evidence to support restrictions in this group of women.”

Thank you. Now, let's go eat!

Jacquie Munro - Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth

Outside of time/The whisper of water unites us

Slow Birth lives outside of time. Women in labour are often supported by caring people who are unwittingly blocking the slow birth process by writing down the time, charting, calculating, commenting on the progress of labour.

We are all guilty of this. We turn our heads to the clock. We look at the numbers on the monitor. We whisper of our own need to eat lunch, dinner, breakfast. We are stuck in time. But a labouring woman needs our help to stay out of her left brain, her 21st century mind. If we help her to labour without time constraints, her autonomy is supported. There is no pressure. She is undisturbed.

What happens to a woman who is hampered from entering her labour trance? What happens when she becomes fixated on time? The more we note the passage of time, the more she might start to calculate..."Okay...1cm per hour...and I'm at 5cm now...that could be five more hours...I can't do five hours!" She may become so anxious that her labour may stall...

But, give her a quiet, cave-like space, the sound of water, and the rhythm of swaying hips - all that will help her to labour outside of time. Add a calm, quiet voice if she likes it... "How about trying the shower again...listen to the sound of the water...listen to the sound of your breath...in...out...live with your breath...you are safe...your baby is safe..."

She steps into the shower. "Oh, this is lovely!" and she has finally left time behind. An hour later, and she is deep in a trance and her birth sounds are becoming deeper. She is progressing. Her eyes are closed. A man sits silently on the edge of the tub. Then the bathroom door opens, and someone leans into the dimly lit space. "It looks like you're doing fine right now. I'll be back in four hours," says a voice, and then it's gone.

"Four hours? Was that the doctor?" cries the woman. "I can't do four hours! That's a lifetime! Does she think I'm so early on that she has four hours to do other things?" The spell has been broken. It takes a long time to help her to regain her trance.

Hours later, a new voice whispers into the darkened shower room, "Oh, what a lovely calm space you have made here. How are you?" "Good...you stay..." It's the doctor, and she stays, silent, sitting cross-legged on the floor, totally trusting the woman. The shower sounds like a waterfall. We are all living outside of time now.

Outside of time/

The whisper of water unites us

And then she's suddenly pushing, standing, aware and present, and, as flawed humans, we are once again guilty of turning our heads to the clock. "It's now minutes, not hours! You are doing this!" And the baby tumbles out into her arms.

"8:12!!!" someone cries.

Will we ever be able to escape time? Perhaps not. We are humans, bound by time. Perhaps we should just laugh at our imperfect attempts to support women in labour, and keep trying to do our best...by turning the clocks around, keeping our words quiet and few, keeping our fears and impatience at bay, and trusting each woman to birth in her own way. Always reaching for a slow birth, outside of time...

Jacquie Munro - Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth

Slow Birth Preparation

There's so much expectation surrounding the preparation for birth in our culture. Strangers will ask, "Have you signed up for your prenatal classes? Have you prepared your baby's room?" Friends and family can press all the wrong buttons, too. "You shouldn't even think of labouring without taking the Inner Barracuda Course"...or whatever the prenatal class of the day is called.

I've had three phone calls in the past 36 hours from women whose hearts tell them that they shouldn't take any classes for this pregnancy. "I didn't need to read books before I made love for the first time, did I?" These clients are well-informed women who have chosen great teams for their birth. They are insightful, intuitive, and deeply trust their own bodies. They understand that birth is a triumph of the reptile brain over the analytical brain. And because of that, they are concerned that prenatal classes might hinder their reptile brain from being in charge on birth day. They've thought long and hard, and, for them, prenatal classes aren't the best option.

And I completely support them in their decisions.

A recent client laboured without any preparation for vaginal birth. She had chosen a cesarean for her first baby - a glorious breech baby girl. She had been anticipating a repeat cesarean for her second baby...until she decided that she would cancel her surgery, and just see what happened. After a slight panic over her lack of "vaginal birth training" ("Shouldn't I read some books?!" "Shouldn't I study up on birth?") she went into labour all on her own the next day. It was beautiful watching her labour without expectations, without the clutter of book knowledge. I talked her through each contraction, reminding her that this was something that she already knew on a deep level. She drew on her inner wisdom and breathed through each contraction. It was like watching a preschooler dive into a challenge without fear. She was strong, intuitive, capable.

When her baby was born into her arms (yes, it was a vaginal birth!) she looked awestruck by what she'd achieved. I don't think she'll ever question her own abilities ever again. And she'd done it all without studying.

We're given 9 months to prepare for our baby's birth. In that time, we have to process so much. We have to consider our changing selves, our changing relationships with our partners and families and friends. We have to draw on our past life experiences, both physically and emotionally, to gain the strength and will-power required for the transition to motherhood. We have to examine our family boundaries, understanding that the birth of a child will turn us from being a daughter...into a mother. We will weather the changing emotions of pregnancy, and watch our single girlfriends draw away from us. We will worry about our ability to maintain our core self, to maintain a loving intimate relationship with our partner... We may become overwhelmed by how we are now connected to all living things...to the entire world.

Too much.

And add to that working a five-day week, organizing finances, perhaps moving, perhaps buying a new car, attending exercise classes, yoga classes, buying baby supplies, strollers, carseats, painting, and weekly prenatal classes...

Too much!

I call on you, each of my clients, to slow down, take time to do nothing, take time to empty your brain. Walk on the beach. Sit on a log and meditate. Breathe in the wind. Connect with your baby. Connect with your partner.

If you need to do yoga, go when it pleases you. Or do it at home. Turn on music, sit still, and let it enter you and calm you.

Consider delegating jobs to your family and friends. Give them lists of things to do for you. Ask for help. Many families buy nothing until the baby is born, then have family members make all the purchases and organize the house. Think about how that could give you the joy of release - could you do that?

Read books that speak to you. Poetry, novels, essays. And, yes, it's wonderful if you read inspiring writing by Ina May (and those on my recommended list). Call me for talks on subjects close to your heart. But, don't forget to look at the big picture... watch a TED talk each day (best start with Sir Ken Robinson...then Jamie Oliver) and enjoy discussing it with your partner as you walk on the beach after dinner.

Throw away all lists. Follow your heart. Leave work as early in your pregnancy as you can. Allow your pregnancy to draw you into the reptile world, as it must do.

Rather than following the crowd and doing what everyone else tells you what you should do, think about what really matters to you, to you and your partner, then decide what you need and what you want. What is essential for your new family? Remember, "do nothing" is an option.

Be slow,

Be conscious and conscientious,

Meditatively knit a baby blanket,

Breathe,

Then see if you still need prenatal classes.

Jacquie Munro - Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth

Slow Rainbow

I've been on a journey of slowness during the past few months. Reflection, recovery, rebirth. Every free moment has been filled with cycling, running, long walks. I needed to be incredibly fit to face the births this winter. I was fit and well, but I just couldn't write.

I needed to be totally private this winter, in order to grieve for my dad, help my mum, support my family, and have the strength to help other families walk through their searing life struggles or challenging pregnancies and labours.

We're told that life never gives us more than we can bear. After 23 years of being a doula, and recently dealing with loss at a personal level, I think the gods thought I finally had enough experience to support a large number of clients dancing with great challenges - a client whose husband has been battling inoperable cancer, another whose baby is still in NICU, another whose mum has recently died, and so many clients whose pregnancies ended far too early.

I just couldn't write. These women's stories were too fragile to write about immediately.

Don't think that it's only been a winter of unusual loss. We've just seen a slow rainbow of birth experiences. In between the losses, there have been groups, or should I call them "clumps", of babies speeding through the gate like downhill skiiers. I've expected some of these babies to pump their fists into the air and scream, "Yeahhhhhh!" One was born so quickly into her mothers arms, born at home 25 minutes after her mum called me to say, "I think the baby might come today." Born with mum kneeling alone in her bathtub, husband careening around the corner - "A baby!" When I arrived, mum was nestling her baby in her arms in bed, laughing.

And then there were the amazingly triumphant VBACs. Three women this winter whose first babies had been born by cesarean. The emotional challenges in the last few days were hard to bear for one woman - "Oh, they say that you have an 80% chance of it working, but it's really only 30%." (Booking clerk) "Decide whether you're having your cesarean within 5 minutes." But with strong support, all women successfully pushed out their second babies "the old-fashioned way" (OB quote). What joy! These births will truly change lives.

And there have been so many women who have accepted the unexpected with such grace. They have been so calm. The woman who had to take an ambulance ride at 10cm when her baby pooped in the water...the woman who had to move down from the sweet Cedar rooms to the higher risk area at hospital when her baby's heartrate demanded action...the woman who had to make a decision to have a cesarean because her baby's knees were in the pelvis. These women listened to their babies and made their decisions with slow grace.

I've been able to live in the moment with these women and those they love, helping them to honour their bodies, honour their babies, and cross over to being parents...no matter what. The joys have been so great. Isn't it always the way when you are walking beside sorrow.

Just as one client vowed to "smash" cancer, these clients have all been strong, powerful, determined, and amazing.

And now maybe I'm ready to tell you more about them...Spring is here!

- Jacquie Munro, Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth

Pauline's Words

We had a beautiful nurse for the birth yesterday.

Pauline, originally from Togo, is a mother of five, and a grandmother of two. Her last child was born on her own bed, birthed into her own hands. She birthed this baby on her own, with joy.

Our time with Pauline was magical. She spoke to us like she was taking us on a spiritual journey. She spoke low and slow, rolling her R's. Her words were like poetry...or a prayer...

As she was speaking, I copied her words onto paper...hear her...

The woman's body is so unique

It is well made.

Birth

the body knows this story

I don't write this story

That's how it is.

I will hold you in my heart all the time

I speak to your baby in my tongue

Your baby speaks my language

That's how it is.

Baby Zoe came into this world with grace, full of life. That's how it is.

- Jacquie Munro, Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth

Slowly...While Waiting for Baby...

My daughter just asked me why I haven't been posting to my blog for some time. Well, like my mum, who just can't seem to read an entire book since dad died, I seem to be having trouble writing. Oh, I could write and write about all the amazing encounters that I've had with my father's spirit, especially in France (that time in Shakespeare and Company in Paris was extraordinary!)... But, write about birth? There's been a block...

So, I thought that I'd best just sit down and start writing while I'm waiting for another baby to come - a baby girl. Her mum and dad were supposed to be moving today, and were feeling quite stressed about it...so baby girl decided she would make things easy for them. She's coming early and now mum and dad get to cancel the movers! Babies can make magic happen!

I was at another birth this morning. A shiny birth... "Oh, this is fast!" "Good baby," says mum. "Great vocabulary!" says dad. "Can you say vocabulary?" "Vocabulary!" says mum after arriving at the hospital at 7cm, already feeling the first signs of wanting to push... Marcello came quickly, so that his mum wouldn't have to miss a meal. "Good baby!"

Then there were the other first babies this week... Two were both born on the same day (no overlaps!) How does this happen? First babies...under 12 hours? Yes, it happens. Marvelous denial of prelabour, I think! One woman called me to say she was already 2-3cm at her weekly checkup, but was still planning to complete her day's errands. She knew she could trust her body to tell her when it was serious about labour. But, things quickly changed, and I drove over to her house soon afterwards. Ten hours later...after dancing and lunging in the unlimited hot shower...out spun her over-eight-pound beauty!

Soon after, another baby decided to come at 37 weeks. Mum worked hard to deny the early contractions - "It must be pre-pre-labour!" She made it almost through the night, lying on her side, really not enjoying this at all! But she did it! And I did back circles, whispered calm words, while dad ran about, gathering everything possible. "Nuts!" I heard him cry. I thought it was an exclamation. But, he'd been toasting nuts for snacking... So great! We managed to make it through rush hour traffic - construction traffic - back-lane detours - phew! "Smooth and slow. Smooth and slow." I chanted. Fully dilated on arrival. "He's an angel!" said the mum over and over and over again when baby arrived. Dad stayed awake to watch him sleep all day...

And last weekend...a 2-3 day epic birth made me lose my ability to think in complete sentences. This birth taught us so much about surrendering to baby's cues, always trusting mum's instincts. This birth was so joyful...not that the others weren't joyful. But, there was ample time during this long birth for mum to contemplate the utter joy of labouring slowly. She truly had the time to think deeply about what she needed to learn in order to be the best mother for her baby. She decided to decide - and her baby came beautifully into the world by cesarean. What a triumph in so many ways!

You might think that only the long birth was a Slow Birth. But, I consider all these births to be "Slow Births." Don't be confused by the word "slow." It doesn't have much to do with time. It has more to do with giving each birth the time and attention that it deserves. It means not rushing through the experience. It might naturally be fast. It might naturally be slow. But it just needs to be what your body and the baby intend for it to be. And while it is happening...we are all listening to the body's lessons. We become connected.

Slow Birth is not hurried, not forced. It is calm, intuitive, patient, receptive. Slow Birth is about seeing the big picture and trusting each body's own rhythm. Fast or slow...

Now...I'm off to another Slow Birth...

- Jacquie Munro, Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth

Slow return from madonnas, pilgrims, sunshine, walking...

Six weeks in England, Scotland, and France...walking miles to ruined castles, riding bikes through Paris, climbing Munros, hiking through hidden valleys, reading good books, exploring pilgrim's paths and spiral staircases, swimming in the sparkling Mediterranean...then returning to our own cottage to create wonderful thoughtful meals (and eat those French pastries!)...now that was slow travel at its best!

The families in France gave us such joy. New fathers with babies in buddha wraps, toddler in hand...laughing. Families standing by the trunk of the car, then pulling out (Mary Poppins style) tables, chairs, cookers, and setting up a full dining space in a field. Two hours later, seeing the same family, children still sitting with their parents at the table in the field, chattering together, laughing, eating, sharing...

Seeing madonnas, mothers, babies everywhere - sculptures, watercolours, Renaissance oils, tapestries, Iron Age figurines...

I am home, but I will be sifting through all these experiences for a long time...you'll be hearing about it in coming posts...

Now... I'm recharged, and ready for babies and mums and birthing...

Call me!

- Jacquie Munro, Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth

Slow Travel to the Goyt Valley, Schiehallion, Dordogne, Mediterranean, Mont Ventoux, Paris...

On Friday, we're off for six weeks of slow travel in England, Scotland, and France...and I won't be back attending births until mid-September (try calling me on September 14th!)

I'm leaving all current clients in the capable hands of my brilliant backup doulas, who will be providing expert chats and doula support while I'm away.

For any potential clients looking to hire me while I'm away, I will still answer your email requests...but very slooowwly. We're staying in remote places - a hillside cottage, a farm, a former monastery, a restored convent, and a former weaver's stone cottage...very few of which have wifi! This is my only chance to be "off-call" during the year, so thanks for understanding my need to cherish my privacy during this time. So, please just send me an email to vancouverdoula@gmail.com and be very, very patient. I think the majority of my former clients would say it will be worth the wait!

Just so you know...I am fully booked for September, October, and November. I have one or two remaining spots for December and January...and am open to new clients for February and March and beyond!

Cheers!

Jacquie - Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth

Slow Birth...Slow Medicine

It's been a long time since I wrote a new post...but so much has happened. The greatest joys and the greatest sorrows.

I took this photo while sitting and crying in a bathroom stall at the hospital, while my dad was in Emergency with a subdural hematoma caused by Acute Myeloid Leukemia, just ten days before his death. So much to take in...so little time. The positive graffiti really helped me.

We sprung my dad from the hospital after a few days, with the support of his doctors - he really wanted to be home in his artist's studio. With 24/7 nursing care from the Palliative Home Service (angels all, those who practice Slow Medicine!) we helped dad make the transition to whatever plane of existence is on the other side.

I say "plane of existence" because that's a quote that my son made when he was about four years old. He sat in the back seat of our car, and chattered on about life and death. "Why do people get so sad when others die? They just go to another plane of existence. It's the same place that I was before I was born. And you didn't cry about me before I came, did you?"

So, my dad sailed away on a journey to another world...the world where babies come from...

And since dad died, I've mostly attended home births...Slow Births. Interesting. Dad's home death was peaceful, sad, happy, tearful, full of laughter, mystery, questions. It felt like I was at a long home birth. How fitting that the majority of births that I've attended in the past six weeks have been pretty much the same. All the babies came into the world as they should, with grace.

We help them come in...slowly...

We help them go out...slowly...

With dignity, with love and light.

- Jacquie Munro, Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth

How NOT to tear...

Just make a sign like this (the red crepe paper heart will take a long time to make!) and put it up above the head of the bed in the birthing room...and everyone will make darn sure that you don't tear!!!

Then, the nurses will put it up in their staff room to make sure that they never forget and pass it on to all the other wonderful women who pass through their doors...

Thanks to Lisa for her strength, determination, and love of glue-stick and crepe paper! (more on her amazing birth later...)

- Jacquie Munro, Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth, Slow Planet

My dysfunctional love of statistics

I loved statistics so much in university. Honestly! I'm still such a geek, that I love to look at my client's stats...not at regular times of the year (like December 31st), mind you. I like to do it when the spirit moves me (the happy convergence of left and right brain.) Or might it be tax-procrastination time?

So, here's this past 12 month's basic statistics...

Of 62 clients, 43 (69%) had spontaneous vaginal births without any major pain medications (epidural or narcotics), 10 (16%) had spontaneous vaginal births WITH an epidural, 2 (3%) clients had assisted births (1 vacuum, 1 forceps), and 7 (11%) clients had cesareans (2 breech, 1 face presentation, 3 dystocia, 1 fetal distress). Take some time to think about that. Only 5 clients (8%) had unplanned cesareans. What's the average in BC?

The majority of hospital births were at BC Women's (46, 74%), followed by St. Pauls (9, 14.5%), Lion's Gate (2, 3%) and Royal Columbian (1, 2%). Five clients planned for a home birth. Of those, 4 were successful (one had to transfer to hospital for meconium at 10cm, but happily birthed then went back home). There was also 1 unplanned home birth (luckily, she had fast-moving midwives!) So, only 6.5% of births were at home. Okay...I need more home births!

As for who was caring for my clients, family doctors top the list with 37 (61%), followed by midwives at 16 (25%), and OBs (9, 14%). The BC Women's FPMS birth docs cared for a whopping 37% of my clients. Thanks to all who did such a great job of making slow births happen!

A lot of people think my clients stats must be so good because they are having second or third babies. Well, almost three-quarters (46, 74%) of my clients were having their first baby. Only 16 (26%) clients were having their second or third baby, and 12 (19%) of those were returning clients. Of the four new clients who were "multips," one had a home VBAC, one had a home water birth, another had a home birth after a traumatic first birth experience in another country, and one was over age 50!

You might also say that my clients have great births because they must all be very young and highly motivated. But, most are over age 35, many are over age 40, and most would have been fine with an epidural or cesarean if it was medically necessary.

But, after many months of working together, these women were all motivated to have a slow birth...to listen to and trust their bodies...to allow for the natural rhythm of birth. And, with good support, and a great team (who can sometimes collaborate silently, with only eyes and hands to communicate)...it just worked!

- Jacquie Munro, Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth, Slow Planet

In which a push mower acts as sweet music...

On Saturday afternoon, I was dropped off at a client's Co-op on the Downtown East Side. As I walked to their door, a nurse from the local InSite walked by and smiled at me, a man with a grocery cart full of his belongings rattled down the lane, and a siren began to wail.

Once I was inside the door, though, another series of sounds took over...the cry of a woman in labour with her first baby, the shouting and shrieking of children as they played in the Co-op playground out back, the unexpected rhythmic whirr of a push mower acting as sweet green music. I had entered a hidden oasis only a block from Hastings and Main. It was cool, calm and wonderful.

She laughed and asked if I could hear her from outside...

We added the sound of the fan to the mix, and helped her to move, rock, sway, stomp, go on tip-toes, shower. She became calm when I talked her through contractions. She was kind and gracious in labour, only snapping once as her husband came into the bedroom to ask if I'd like some lunch, while holding said food in his hand... "Out!" Yes, labour increases a woman's sense of smell!

With the sounds of children and the lawnmower and the woman and the fan blending together, all sense of time disappeared. We were outside of time. As the contractions became stronger, she became more and more calm, toning low and soft. She melted open.

One last time into the shower with the fan blowing steam out of the bathroom and cooling the air. Water spilled onto the floor. We heard her growling. We smiled. Her husband put his head down for one last moment of quiet.

Then we headed through the streets in my car, as she dozed in the back seat, head leaning on a homemade quilt which covered the birth ball. One contraction, two contractions. That's all she had in twenty minutes. She was in that quiet slow space before pushing...

Then, a hint of a sound like she wanted to push as we arrived at the hospital. 9+ centimetres!

And she rode upstairs and pushed and pushed and moved and worked, and never gave up, and then...more than 3 hours later...beautiful pink Josephine (named after her grandfather) arrived, head askew, looking up at her mum...born completely posterior!!! She called out in her sweet voice and cried to let everyone know that she had arrived.

What a day of sweet music!

- Jacquie Munro, Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth, Slow Planet

Slow Birth call to action

My goodness!

Dr. Lauren A. Plante, a US obstetrician, has written a wonderful article (a MUST read!) in response to the increasing industrialization of childbirth (wasn't Canada's own Dr. Andrew Kotaska one of the first to argue against "industrial birth"?) Dr. Plante asserts that on-demand cesareans do not represent the height of women's autonomy, but are, in fact, the opposite. She calls for true autonomy for women - the right to choose from a spectrum of choices.

At the end of the article, she links the Slow Movement to childbirth, and almost challenges women to start a grassroots birth revolution. This is the first academic article that I've found that mentions Slow Childbirth. Wahoo!

The Slow Birth movement is organically growing! Read the excerpt below, then click the link for the full article...think about how you can be part of the transformation...

Come on - bring forth the change!

- Jacquie Munro, Vancouver Doula, Slow Birth, Slow Planet


Plante, L.A. Mommy, What Did You Do in the Industrial Revolution? Meditations on the Rising Cesarean Rate. The International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics. Spring 2009;2(1):140-147.

Excerpt:
"As a reaction to industrial agriculture and food marketing, the Slow Food and locavore movements have recently been born. If de-escalation of our food production practices is healthier or more humane, why is intensification of our child production practices better than sustainable childbirth? I’m waiting for the birth of the revolution, or at least, the revolution of birth. Will women who are interested in Slow Food or cage-free eggs find their way to a Slow Childbirth movement? Imagine: educated upper-middle-class women who buy songbird-certified organic coffee and worry about their carbon footprint, just saying no to the quick-fix cesarean culture. If they’re not part of the problem, maybe they can be part of the solution. But the impetus must come from women themselves. Do we really believe that industrial obstetrics is the best model for ourselves and our children? We must clearly understand that real autonomy does not mean cesarean on request, but instead a spectrum of birth options that honor women’s authentic choices. Real autonomy also means, to borrow a sentiment from Gandhi, that women should bring forth the change they wish to see in the world."