I had been on call for a birth with Brenda, a VBA2C mom, and was anxiously awaiting it. VBAC births are near and dear to my heart, and I always look forward to them. Well, I got the call this past Thursday night, that C was in labor. She was about 1 1/2 hours from my house, so I headed out as soon as I was able to...it was 7pm when I got going. It was the first time ever though, that I had a bad feeling about the birth. I even grabbed my copy of Polly's Birth Book on my way out...hesitating because I never bring any of my books with me. God was really pressing on my heart though to take it. I prayed all the way down there, and even called a friend to share my feelings. She told me to listen to my instincts, and listen for God...but at the same time to make sure that it wasn't just fear. I was thankful for her voice on my drive. I got there, and Brenda had requested that I check her and check fetal heart tones, since she was about 2 hours behind me. I checked C, and couldn't get a feel for her dilation. Her cervix was at the very tip of my fingers, and I went up as far as I could without hurting mom. She had been falsely told at her last OB appointment that she was 4cm dilated. I told her that I could not reach it to get a good feel, but would have Brenda check when she got there.
I then checked heart tones, and was rather alarmed when the baby went from 122bpm, to 175 within the 2 minutes I had it on her belly. I was concerned. C and I went walking, because her contractions were *very* spaced out -- about 45 minutes apart. I was disappointed because I knew that the birth was not iminent, and I was exhausted already. When Brenda arrived, we chit-chatted for a while, and then C requested to be checked. Thankfully it wasn't just the dumb apprentice, lol...Brenda had a very hard time reaching the cervix as well. Apparently C was only dilated to about 1-2cm, cervix was still very high and posterior. We checked fht's again, and they literally went from between 106-183bpm. Not good at all. We talked to C and her husband about our concerns, told them that we really felt the baby was in distress. They asked for a few moments to talk and pray. We stepped out of the room, and talked between us. Come to find out, Brenda did not have a good feeling about this birth when leaving her house either. She was not happy with the fht's. Well, a "few moments" turned into an hour. I got a really yucky feeling ( for lack of better term ) when I realized that we were no longer being considered in the plans. C's husband came out asking if they could use the doppler, by themselves without us in the room. They wanted to see for themselves what the fht's were at...and C somehow convinced herself that they were getting better, even when we could hear in the hallway that it dipped down to about 105-110 a few times. I told Brenda that I was no longer comfortable there, and she said she wasn't either. She left the option of me leaving, saying it was up to me and to do what I felt I needed to do.
We went back into the room, where C was trying to convince us that it had gotten better...and in all honesty, fht's *had* gotten a bit better. But they were still showing major signs of distress. Then, lying on her floor was a business card of a local doctor that her friend had brought her ( they were staying with friends ), to get a second opinion. That was the point where I realized that the trust was gone. C wanted to continue waiting it out, despite both Brenda and myself saying that we felt there was something wrong. I then decided it was time to go. I have NEVER walked out on a laboring mom before, but my heart was telling me that I should not be there.
Thank God everything ended up fine...well, not the birth. C ended up with another c-section on Friday night at about 10pm...after getting to 8cm. Brenda had stayed with them until early afternoon, and said it was time to leave because the baby's heart rate was still a bit questionable, and mom was not progressing in dilation. They agreed that they would go to the hospital.
You know, as I was driving home at 5am, after being awake for almost a full 24 hours...I began wondering if maybe I had experienced a major lack of faith, and if I had needed to trust God more in this situation. But the parents were very "hyper-Christian", as I put it...and that always makes me uncomfortable. The notion that something will happen how *they* want it to, because they pray in that manner, is not biblical. Biblically we know that things happen according to God's will, not our own. There were clear signs of the baby not doing well...and even though the baby *did* end up healthy....what if he hadn't? God gives us free will, but He also has ways of guiding us. I believe that with neither me or Brenda having a good feeling about the birth ahead of time, and then the circumstances...was God guiding me in what I needed to do. I still wonder what would have happened had I shown more faith, but I was feeling such a tugging to get out of there. It was so strong.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
There's a first time for everything, right?
New Adventures
I don't know why, but I am always surprised when I am led to something, and can see that God is totally behind it. A woman, Laura, that I actually "met" through MySpace is an apprentice midwife in Utah. We began "talking" online, sharing in our adventures as apprentices, and it blossomed into a friendship. Well, in the beginning of this year, she contacted me about a good friend of hers here in CA, who needed a doula. Janna wanted a hospital birth ( I don't do hospital births, I emotionally just can't handle them ) but wanted a doula because she ended up having an epidural and other interventions not originally wanted. I agreed to at least meet with her and her husband, and see if she would be comfortable staying home for the majority of labor. It turned out that she was extremely interested in a home birth, but her husband had reservations. So he asked many questions, and I answered them the best I could. I got a call back later on that week from her, saying that they agreed to a home birth! I was absolutely elated. As her pregnancy got closer to the end, and our friendship had really bloomed, I had asked my midwife, Brenda, if I could be more hands on with this birth. She agreed as long as Janna was fine with it. It ends up that she labored really fast and I was closer to her than Brenda was. I caught my first baby that morning. : ) Baby boy was 8lbs 7oz...Janna's largest. : ) She did a beautiful job, and our friendship has continued to grow. She has already said that she would like me as her midwife for their next baby.
Onto God's next plan for me, brought about through Laura. She had sent me an email asking if I had seen another local midwife's blog about her new birth center, and also putting out the need for new apprentices. I had responded to Laura, saying that I wouldn't be able to do a committed apprenticeship with another midwife at this point, that it had worked out with Brenda because she understood my time constraints with having 3 little ones and being a full time mom. Well, I happened to meet Lori because of an ICAN meeting, and talked with her for a bit. Turns out that she was hosting a Midwifery Study Group, in preparation for NARM's CPM exam. This was something that I've been interested in for a while, and so signed up. In exchange for the cost of the class, I agreed to assist at some births with Lori. I also was given the opportunity to have prenatal exam experience at the birth center. I spent all day on August 14th, and then August 30th doing prenatals with Lori. I attended my first birth with Lori on the 20th. ( See the "Another Fantastic Birth" post ) I really enjoyed working with her....I think because she is so much closer in "midwifery style" to Brenda than some of the other midwives I've happened to work with. I had a second birth with her on the 30th. I'll post about that next. It was a first for both of us....a birth at 36 weeks gestation.
I thoroughly enjoyed my first midwifery study class...and am learning so many new skills. For example, I have finally learned how to manually take a blood pressure reading. : ) I look forward to each class ( one Saturday a month )...and discovered that we will learn how to suture, will have a neonatal resuscitation class and certification, and will be Hazmat certified.
I am just feeling so blessed that God has laid the path for my journey as an apprentice midwife this far. Everything has been by, and because of Him. My c-section was an incredibly hurtful experience, and I will forever mourn what happened....but God has moulded me into who I am now because of it. He has taught me so much in so little time. I am grateful for each and every midwifery adventure I have.
Failed Induction Means That Your Body Works!
The concept of failed inductions being a good thing, was brought up on ICAN. The process of labor begins when the baby's lungs secrete a hormone that kickstarts labor. In the absence of labor, it pretty much means that your baby and your body are not ready yet.
How often do you hear of a woman going in for an induction, being stuck on pitocin, epidural, and water broken for "too long" and then "needing" a c-section for fetal distress, CPD, or FTP? It happens a lot. And then, the women are told that their bodies do not function correctly. After all, when you induce labor, it's just going to happen, right? Wrong. Think of it in terms of trying to peel back the petals of a flower before it's ready to bloom. If it's JUST about to bloom, you may have some success with opening the flower. But if it's not ready yet, the petals are just going to fall off and you'll have a ruined flower. It's the same with trying to induce a baby who's not ready, in a body that is not ripe.
When an induction fails to completely dilate a woman, and bring down a baby....the body is doing its job. Our bodies are built to protect the unborn baby while in our womb. God designed it as such, and quite intricately. An induction is the process of adding chemicals to our body to artificially simulate labor. The contractions that are brought on by the use of pitocin are unnatural contractions. They are harder than natural contractions, and pose risks to the baby. Pitocin is actually NOT approved by the FDA for use in pregnancy or labor. Cervadil is a gel that is inserted next to the cervix, to ripen and begin labor. But did you know that cervidil contains pig semen? Cervidil is a prostaglandin...the same type contained in your husband's semen. ; ) I'd much rather have my husband's semen inside of me, than a pig's. There is also the Foley Catheter method of induction. This is where a catheter with a balloon is inserted between the amniotic sac and opening of the cervix. This is means of manually dilating the cervix. Theoretically, it is supposed to fall out after 4cm dilation. However, women have experienced complications with this where the balloon does not disengage. It can also cause cervical swelling, preterm labor for subsequent labors, and often is not JUST a foley induction. Rarely do interventions come individually....they tend to become a slippery slope.
Anyway, back to my point. Our bodies are designed to protect the baby inside of our wombs. When there is something artificial that is added to the body, trying to eject the baby...it's going to hold onto that baby, trying to protect it. When an induction has failed, the body has done its job very efficiently.
Instead of women being told that their bodies are broken, or that their baby was too big...they should be told that their body functioned exactly how it should have. It protected the baby inside. I truly pray that there will be a shift in how pregnancy, labor, and birth are seen. Labor and birth is not a disease that needs to be "handled", it's a beautiful process that was designed by God. I pray that more women begin to trust in God ( or whatever they believe in ) when it comes to childbirth. It's one of the most amazing experiences that we will ever go through, and it's such a shame that women rush it, or numb and drug their bodies ( and babies!!!! ) for it. Should we have an epidural for an orgasm that may be too intense? I should hope not. : )
Another Fantastic Birth
I attended another great birth on Monday, Aug. 20th...but with a different midwife than usual. This was my first birth with her, and I was quite impressed with her hands-off style. I haven't seen that other than in my preceptor, so it was awesome.
Mom was in labor a total of about 7 1/2 hours...which was long for her, as her last two were under 2 hours total. NOT fair at all. LOL But she did beautifully...she was chit chatting for quite a while after we got there, and I wasn't sure if it would even be "it" for a while. Contractions picked up when she and hubby went for a walk twice, but would calm down when she'd get back to the house. She decided to get into the tub after the second walk, and relaxed for a while. Contractions really began picking up, and it wasn't long after that the baby was born. The coolest thing about the water birth, is that the midwife uses a Rubbermaid Horse Trough. Seriously. It worked wonderfully because it was deep enough, wide enough, and the sides were definitely sturdy enough to labor against.
At 1:09pm on Monday August 20, we had a gorgeous baby boy. He weighed in at 9lbs3oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. Mom did beautifully, and I got to witness first hand how a baby will "crawl" to mommy's breast when left alone on mommy's bare chest. God is so awesome in His design. Every time I attend a birth, I see the glory of God.
This is a picture of me and the baby. I look awful, but it's a picture nonetheless. ; )
OBs are Surgeons
One thing that I don't think a lot of women realize, is that OBs are trained surgeons. They are not trained in the art of natural childbirth, nor do they often know how to just let labor "be". I wonder, if things were worded differently, would the birthing climate change?
Instead of "My doctor delivered my son...."
- "I delivered my son...."
Instead of "Well, I am going to have this done because my doctor said....."
- "I am going/not going to have this done because I have researched this thoroughly..."
Instead of "My doctor said this baby is getting very big..."
- "I am going to eat healthy during my pregnancy, and I believe that God has given me the ability to birth whatever size baby grows in my womb."
So going back to it....
"You don't go to a Chinese Food Restaurant if You Don't Want Chinese Food!" ~ Nancy Wainer-Cohen.
You don't go to a surgeon if you don't want surgery. You don't go to a place for the ill and dying if you want to give life. The hospital is not for healthy people. The hospital is, again, for the sick and dying. Why would a perfectly healthy woman go to a place like that to deliver a perfectly healthy baby? Not always do both walk out in the same condition. Read this.
And what always makes me laugh....why do women go to male OBs? They will never know what it's like to give birth. They will never physically understand the physiological aspects of birth. The emotional aspects, or the psychological aspects. That would be like taking driving instructions from a mechanic who knew *everything* about the car, inside and out, but who had never driven before. Umm....
Women, unless changes are made NOW....birth will be the same or worse with our daughters. Why not open the path to them growing up knowing that birth is NORMAL, rather than a medical event? Why not teach them that they have been given an extremely honorable task and privilege by God in giving birth? It's a wonderful experience, and it far outweighs any labor pains.
Five Baffling Vaccination Facts
FIVE BAFFLING VACCINATION FACTS
by Lisa K. Jillani
Fact #1:
Approximately 1/3 of Doctors Refuse Vaccinations, yet . . .
Exposure to illness is an occupational hazard for the medical community. Doctors are among the highest risk population groups and most hospitals and practices make it mandatory for physicians to be vaccinated. Researcher and author Neil Z. Miller reports that approximately 66% of pediatricians and obstetricians refused the MMR shot in one study.[1] An equal percentage of doctors refused the Hepatitis B shot, mostly citing safety concerns because of rumors of animal DNA contamination in the shots.[2] The American Medical Association's (AMA) Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine cite a 1994 study where approximately 1/3 of doctors were working without mandatory flu vaccines.[3] Yet the doctors blindly follow national recommendations to vaccinate every child they can round up (sometimes with as many as five vaccines in one visit).
Fact #2:
Vaccine Failures are Well Documented, yet . . .
The AMA reported that "measles is increasingly becoming a disease of adults," admitting that the demographics of this typically childhood disease are shifting to adults as vaccines wear off too early.[4] Almost all childhood illnesses are deemed much more dangerous in adults. Mumps and rubella are also being reported to be shifting toward older children and adults. During epidemics, measles has been known to attack nearly 100% vaccinated populations.[5] Similar statistics have been seen during mumps outbreaks. Rubella, which is very innocuous in childhood, is now threatening women of child-bearing age (the very group the shot was supposed to protect to prevent birth defects).[6] After nearly 55 years of medical hoopla, the Centers for Disease Control reports that pertussis is at the highest levels since 1967. [7] Constant (and profitable) boosters are now the government's only solution for shortsightedly disrupting the natural course of childhood illnesses. Yet, the policymakers are never apologetic.
Fact #3
Vaccine Efficacy is Often Misreported, yet . . .
The medical establishment has always maintained that there is no ethical way to study vaccine efficacy in a random, double-blind environment because of ethical implications. Efficacy is thus measured by blood antibody counts for a particular vaccine. As fact #2 shows with regard to measles in vaccinated populations, antibody titers are extremely unreliable predictors of whether a vaccinated child will contract a disease. Based on the antibody titer logic, the whole-cell pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine, the only product available in the U.S. until recently, was deemed 85 to 90% effective by the U.S. medical community.[8] When the same product was recently tested in Sweden and Italy during a U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) funded study, the vaccine proved only 48 and 36% effective respectively.[9] Searching for a smokescreen, the CDC immediately hailed the newer acellular vaccine as being a safer, more effective product (they had initially blasted this Japanese product as being ineffective, but constant bad press about the safety of whole-cell vaccines changed their minds -- and statistics).
The government's excuse for the miserable efficacy rates was that the kids in the study only got three shots, while American kids get additional boosters at 18 months and 4-6 years. Let's see, pertussis is most dangerous for children under one, who get 3 shots (at 2, 4, and 6 months). Maybe the pertussis bacterium avoids infants fearing those upcoming boosters! As if that wasn't absurd enough, the same official explained that the low efficacy of the vaccine can partially be attributed to the fact that both Sweden and Italy were in the middle of epidemics during the studies. Huh? You mean the product is 85-90% effective unless it comes in contact with the disease, at which point it fails 64% of the time? Yet, the medical community continues to give these products credit for eliminating infectious diseases.
Fact #4
Vaccines Kill and Maim Regularly, yet...
The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP), established in 1986, has paid out over $1 billion in injury awards to date. Thousands of cases are pending, stuck in the federal bureaucracy.[10] This despite the fact that HHS Secretary Donna Shalala recently narrowed the definition of vaccine injury so critically that only immediate and severe reactions can now qualify.[11] Seizure disorders, brain damage, ataxia, aseptic meningitis, paralysis, learning difficulties, and death, that typically occur many days or weeks following these vaccines are now all excluded. And here's the cherry on top: since doctors have little incentive to report themselves to a passive reporting system like the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), former FDA Director David Kessler once admitted that only 10% of vaccine injury cases are ever reported.[12] So the injuries can even conservatively amount to tens of thousands of children every year, while doctors continue to diagnose and treat mysterious new illnesses and maintain the "one in a million" adverse reaction myth taught in med schools (Hint: no drug is that safe).
Actually, the physicians' creed, instead of, "First, do no harm," might as well be, "First, deny causal relationship." Not that a causal relationship matters either. The prestigious and supposedly independent Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported after a thorough review in 1991 that a causal relationship did exist between acute encephalopathy (brain inflammation) and the DPT shot.[13] They also found a causal relationship between the MMR shot and chronic arthritis in women. Yet, they did the obvious when it comes to pampering pharmaceutical giants -- they recommended continuing the suspect products and suggested "further study" (translation: maintain profitable and deceptive status quo).
Fact #5
Vaccines are Not Tested for Long-Term Safety, yet...
After years of controversy the CDC finally admitted in 1996 that the polio vaccine used on millions in the 1950s may have contained the SV-40 monkey retrovirus (which causes cancer in laboratory animals). [14] Of course, they went on to deny that there is any, you guessed it, "causal relationship" between contaminated vaccines and the dramatic increases in many diseases like cancer, chronic fatigue, learning disorders, epilepsy, juvenile diabetes, etc.
The sad fact for the consumer is that vaccines will never be reliably implicated in diseases occurring years or even decades after a shot. Drug companies hardly have the incentive to provide researchers with multi-million dollar grants and risk being held responsible for altering the global gene pool. Vaccine inserts always warn that the mutagenic and carcinogenic potential of the products has not been tested. Forced into our children's bloodstreams without the benefit of the natural defense our organs mount, horse, cow, chicken, monkey, rabbit or even worse, lab-engineered, DNA can have consequences that no scientist can predict with our limited knowledge of the human immune system. (Add to this diseased or lab-created tissue all the adjuvants and stabilizers like formaldehyde, antibiotics, aluminum salts and thimerosal -- a mercury derivative -- and you have a truly toxic witch's brew).
The new breed of chronic illnesses are too profitable for the medical community to sweat over their mysterious causes. While more virulent and drug-resistant forms of infectious diseases manifest themselves, researchers are getting a cold shoulder from the government for discovering potential problems with old and new vaccines.[15] Emerging research into vaccine links to diabetes, arthritis, allergies, asthma, and many crippling autoimmune disorders seems to indicate that the chronic effects of these products can linger undetected for years (generations?) only to explode into our systems later. Chronic diseases are increasing at a staggering rate in the West. Many like Type 1 diabetes, asthma and certain cancers have increased three- to five-fold over the last 50 years. The reasons remain obscure and unresearched as the scientists "speculate" on the causes. We are in a short-sighted world which, in pursuit of a quick buck, shows little concern for contaminating our species with foreign proteins which can permanently alter or even incapacitate our future generations. Yet, we keep bowing to a system whose chief motive is simply profit. We are unsuspectingly handing people our hard earned money so they can sell us a product that has been suspect since its inception -- ineffective, unsafe, and potentially a threat to the survival of our species.
###
Lisa K. Jillani is a mother of two and a writer, editor and publisher who has been researching vaccines for over ten years. She is the founder and president of P.A.V.E.
REFERENCES:
1) JAMA 1981 Feb 20;245(7):711-3 "Rubella vaccine and susceptible hospital employees. Poor physician participation."
2) Mendelsohn, Dr. Robert, "The Drive to Immunize Adults," Herald of Holistic Health Newsletter, Sept.-Oct. 1985.
3) Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, Dec. 1996. (AMA).
4) Science, March 26, 1977.
5) FDA workshop to review warnings, use instructions, and precautionary information [on vaccines], July 18, 1992.
6) Mendelsohn, Dr. Robert, How to Raise a Healthy Child...In Spite of Your Doctor, p.218.
7) Preventing Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Strategy for the 21st Century. (U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services/CDC publication), Oct. 1998, p.22.
8) JAMA, Aug. 8, 1995.
9) JAMA, Aug. 8, 1995.
10) NVICP, Health Resources and Services Administration. (Federal Government)
11) VAERS informational document_ (Federal Government)
12) Severyn, K.M., Ph.D., Dayton Daily News, May 28, 1993.
13) Adverse Effects of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines, IOM report, 1991.
14) NIH Symposium on Simian Viruses, Jan. 27-28, 1997.
15) The Vaccine Reaction, NVIC newsletter, vol. 1 issue 4.
Risks and Side Effects of Epidural Anesthesia
It always completely dumbfounds me when I hear someone say that epidurals are harmless. That if you "have" ( I'll comment on this later ) to have one, don't feel bad about it. It's no big deal. Women either don't know ( lack of education surrounding epidurals ) or don't care ( their comfort is more important than baby's safety ) about the risks and side effects of an epidural. After all, why should anyone point it out when it's not PC to do so. When you point out that it carries risk, and the motivation behind getting one is purely selfish...you're being judgemental, not factual. Sorry ladies, I'm not afraid to offend with the truth.
So, let's take a look at the risks and side effects to both mom AND baby, when an epidural is used during labor. This is a summary of a very large, recent study that was done. It has several authors, and was also done by meta-analysis. The full study summary can be found at:
http://www.transitiontoparenthood.com/ttp/foreducators/ceinfo/Side%20Effects%202.htm
Risks and Side Effects of Epidural Anesthesia During Labor:
- Limited Mobility - 100%
- Low Blood Pressure - up to 50%
- Fever, mom - up to 24%
- Urinary Retention - up to 68%
- Post Partum Urinary Incontenence - 27% with an epidural, 13% without
- Shivering - 33%
- Nausea - up to 30%
- Vomiting - up to 13%
- Itching - between 8-100% ( varying degrees )
- Backache Immediately After Birth - 53%
- Incomplete Pain Relief - up to 25%
- Slower 1st Stage of Labor - up to 4.8 hours longer
- Longer 2nd Stage ( pushing ) - up to 55 minutes longer
- Instrumental Delivery - up to 80%. 6 out of 9 studies indicate that less than 50% of women with an epidural had a spontanious vaginal delivery.
- Fever in the baby ( that result in a sepsis work up ) - 30%
- Fetal Distress - 10-15%
- Malpositioned Baby - up to 26%
- Lower Apgar Scores- up to 17%
- Baby Having to Endure Sepsis Work Up ( which includes spinal tap ) - up to 34%
- Baby Being Treated with Antibiotics - up to 15%
- Effects on Breastfeeding - Women who used epidurals were less likely to still be breastfeeding at 6 months. ( 30% vs. 50% )
- Cesarean - 2-3 times as likely with an epidural.
THESE are the reasons that I'm against epidurals. Again, the reasons behind getting an epidural are purely selfish. And why would you put your baby through these risks, just to escape the pain of labor, that only lasts a very short while in the grand scheme of things? God designed childbirth to be so very perfect. After birth, we have the highest amount of endorphins released at one point...unless there have been artificial chemicals added to the body. So we totally miss out on God's fullest blessing in birth, by numbing for labor.