Pregnancy - Ask A Doula - Introduction

Please help support a mom

I was really moved to action after seeing the Oprah show on Dec. 1/ 2009.
Becoming a mom should be one of the most joyous events in a woman's life—but in many parts of the world getting pregnant is the most dangerous thing a woman can do. In fact, a woman dies from pregnancy and labor every minute—the equivalent of five jumbo jets of women dying every day. See what you can do to help end maternal mortality.
For only $5 you can provide one midwife with the kit she needs to perform a safe, normal delivery. Every minute, a woman dies due to complications from pregnancy and childbirth. Without the proper equipment, midwives cannot adequately handle the problems that can arise during and shortly after delivery. A hygiene kit for $9.04 contains soap, a washcloth, sanitary napkins, nail clippers, toothpaste and a toothbrush. The contents are intended for two individuals for one month.
For only $10 health services can be delivered to one mother and her baby, including prenatal and postnatal care, routine checkups, immunizations and safe delivery services.
A surgical examination kit for just over $32.00 for use by midwives and other trained medical personnel, is designed to improve maternal and neonatal care in development and emergency situations. It contains surgical instruments for examining women, suturing cervical and vaginal tears, etc.
Please click on the For All Women's Registry on Oprah's website, or on the pictures in my side bar for more information on what you can do to help save lives now.

The Girl Effect

The Girl Effect, n. The powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society.

DOULANANA WISE WOMAN

I feel that my role as a doula is to assist the mother on her journey of self-discovery into the inner power she already possesses to be in control of her special birth experience. Over twenty years ago when I had my children, the concept of having the dads present in the delivery room was very much in fashion. While this was a vast improvement from the way things previously were, I feel that my birth experiences would have been enhanced further if I would have been fortunate to have a doula as a part of the labour team.
I am a mother of three adult children and I have also experienced the loss of a set of twins. My first experience as a doula was over 27 years ago! I take a particular joy in facilitating Blessingway ceremonies that nurture, honour and celebrate a woman's transition into motherhood. I also believe that my duty as a professional childbirth assistant is to help women and their partners understand that they are the authors of their birth experience and I am there to support them as their story unfolds.

DONA conference 2008

I attended my first DONA conference this year and it was such a thrill to have the opportunity to actually meet Penny Simkin. She is as lovely as you imagine her to be!

OK...I did my bit for the environment and I've gone green. Ever since I starting teaching prenatal classes I have been sharing with my clients the cloth vs. disposable diaper information. I always used cloth diapers on my children, and now that I am a Nana, I finally made some cloth diapers for my grand babies when they come to visit.Here are some facts for your perusal:

Benefits of Cloth Diapers
Renewable
* Single-use life cycle of disposable diapers perpetuate their continued consumption, causing undue stress on our natural resources.
* the USA consumes an estimated 27.4 billion disposable diapers per year
* over 92% of all single-use diapers end up in a landfill
* over 300lbs. of wood and 50lbs. of petroleum feedstocks are used to produce disposable diapers for ONE baby EACH year.

Recyclable
* disposable diapers are not really biodegradeable which is why it is estimated that they take 250-500 years to decompose
* in 1991, an attempt to recycle disposable diapers was deemed economically unfeasible

Reusable!
* cotton diapers are not single-use diapers
* a family can expect to reuse cloth diapers 50 to 200 times before reusing them as rags

For more information please visit http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php

The Business of Being Born - Sneak Preview

THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN: A DOCUMENTARY FILM
"The Business of Being Born"
Special Sneak Preview
When: 6:00PM Saturday, March 1st
Where: Whitemud Crossing Library, Street:
4211-106 Street Edmonton, Alberta
Doors Open at 6:00 pm, film starts at 6:30 pm.
Limited Seating Available, please arrive early.

DIRECTED BY ABBY EPSTEIN AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY RICKI LAKE

In 2001, actress Ricki Lake gave birth to her second child with the assistance of a midwife in her home bathtub. She made the choice for a home birth after she experienced unwanted medical interventions while delivering her first child at a hospital birthing center. Ricki succeeded in giving birth on her own terms and the experience was so unexpectedly empowering and life-changing that she felt every woman should know what they could be missing out on.

Ricki approached filmmaker Abby Epstein to collaborate on a film that would examine birth culture in America, and ask questions about the way American women have babies.

Footage of women having babies punctuates THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN. Each experience is unique; all are equally beautiful and equally surprising.
Giving birth is clearly the most physically challenging event these women have ever gone through, but it is also the most emotionally rewarding.

Along the way, Epstein conducts interviews with a number of obstetricians, experts and advocates about the history, culture and economics of childbirth. The film's fundamental question: should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potential medical emergency?

As Epstein uncovers some surprising answers, her own pregnancy adds a very personal dimension to THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN, a must-see movie for anyone even thinking about having a baby!


Sponsored by ASAC & Birth Source Inc.