Birth is sacred.
Women's bodies hold an ancient wisdom and instinctively know how to birth.
Because birth has become so medicalized, women today do not know this, do not realize how powerful their bodies are, what they are capable of. Pregnancy and birth are not a sickness, an illness. It is one of the most natural things in the world, that for millennia was done without any interventions.
I have written 3 other posts about Birth, each one talking about the many interventions done during pregnancy and birth. I am not writing this to pass any judgement. I am writing this to help educate women, to help them become informed and as a result make informed decisions.
So that in the end they can have the type of birth they want. Have an Empowered Birth.
Movement during Birth
Why are we told to lie down, it does not make any sense. We are not aiding our bodies during birth, when we lie flat on our backs. Gravity is our friend during birth but we are not allowing gravity to aid us. Lying down is purely for medical reasons, so that the midwife or obstetricians can see what is happening. On top of that, it makes the birth more painful, we are essentially pushing our babies uphill. Take a look at how our bodies are made in the image below to better understand this.
We are meant to move, to dance our babies into being.
Wonderful Placenta
Today the placenta is treated as medical waste in hospitals. Yet this amazing organ has kept babies alive whilst in the womb.It is our babies lungs, heart,liver and kidney whilst they are growing. It is their companion, Yet once babies are born there is a rush to clamp and cut the cord. Why? because it is easier for medical staff to inspect the newborn baby.
Yet up to 60% of a babies blood is still waiting to be transferred when the cord is cut. Babies are then missing out on many nutrients, oxygen and stem cells as a result of the cord being cut. Babies are born needing 400ml of blood, yet up to 200ml or more is still in the placenta when the cord is clamped.
Nowhere are mothers informed this. Even when a baby is born and there are complications, the placenta when it is still attached to the mother, is still providing the baby with Blood and Oxygen, so cutting the cord cuts their supply. Yet many do not know this. It is so important to delay the clamping and cutting of the cord.
We need to be fighting for our babies rights to hold onto their full quota of blood and stem cells. We are also making sure that the mother and baby are kept together immediately after birth. Even better leave babies attached to the cord for a few hours.Or allow your baby to have a lotus birth, keeping them attached to the placenta until the cord detaches itself naturally.
I have included a video of Robin Lim an amazing Midwife and Placenta advocate, who talks about how leaving the baby attached to the placenta helps in resuscitating stillborn babies.
Don't wash the baby
When a baby is born it is coated with vernix, a white cheeselike protective material that covers the skin of a fetus. When born in hosptals babies are usually washed/cleaned after birth and as a result this protective layer is washed off and with it the many benefits that it has. It contains antioxidants, as well as anti-infection and anti-inflammatory properties. Which helps to fight infections after birth. It helps regulate the babies temperature. And it helps moisturise the babies skin.
https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/vernix-caseosa#1
Women need to be supported, before and after birth, they need to be nurtured.
Mothers need to be mothered, so that they can focus on mothering their newborn baby.
Women need to come together, to talk and share their experiences, to really focus on the positive aspects of pregnancy and birth.
All to often we hear about negative birth experiences, I know that they do happen but if we are to heal birth we need to start helping women feel powerful, helping them to trust in their bodies.
In healing Birth we move a lot closer to healing our impact on the Earth.
- FIGHTING FOR BIRTH AND THE FUTURE OF IT: PART ONE
- FIGHTING FOR BIRTH AND THE FUTURE OF IT: PART TWO
- FIGHTING FOR BIRTH AND THE FREEDOM OF IT: PART THREE
Image Source for 1st Image:shantibirthservices.com
You rock! Such important info to share. Here's the family after the last of the 4 home water birth babies. Placenta is in a bowl between my feet, but you can't see it really.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Thank you supermama, for sharing that beautiful photo, look have beautiful and awesome you look! I had a lotus birth with my third too. Wish I had known of it before, but we're learning all the time and that's what's important. Love xx
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Always more room to grow! I am really grateful to have been able to share it with my kids. I am glad they got a chance to see what birth looks like. I am excited to see how it goes when they are having children.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
@team-solutions has re-steemed and upvoted you post :)
Thanks for the great content.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
thank you @team-soultions x
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Thanks to @sharoonyasir, this post was resteemed and highlighted in today's edition of The Daily Sneak.
Thank you for your efforts to create quality content!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
thanks so much @sneakyninja
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Beautiful post. I had a hospital birth with my first and a homebirth with my second. The homebirth was hands down the most spiritual experience of my entire life. I think about it often with a warm feeling and a smile. I hope to get pregnant and have another homebirth! The homebirth was so easy and fun! Many smiles were shared that night.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Thank you @daughterwolf for your lovely comment. and for sharing some of your birth experiences. It's really important for women to come together and share our knowledge xx
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I could not agree more! Having babies has become a business. Get them in, delivered and out as quickly as possible. There is money in those maternity beds...
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Thank you @cecicastor, there is a great documentary call 'the business of being born' it covers exactly that, very informative and worrying.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I didn't know until my last birth not to wash the baby. Guess which children have lots of food allergies and which one is the least anxious and allergic?
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Yeah all these interventions and for what? It's so important to be informed, especially in birth where alot of things are done in the best interests of the medical staff and for their convenience.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Thank you for this series. Invaluable for new mommas <3
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Thank you @karenfoster, we need all the information in order to make informed choices, that way we can feel more empowered in birth.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I would like to add to the Movement During Birth information, a part of the problem with a woman being made to give birth on her back is that the tailbone cannot then move out of the way like it is designed to. The muscles around the tailbone relax as the time of birthing is close, allowing it to move backwards and give more space through the birth canal.
lol, just what everyone was dying to know ;)
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Thank you @ravenruis for providing more information, this is exactly what we need to be doing keeping one another informed.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Very informative @trucklife-family. There is so much to be written about birth. It is essential it is shared.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I agree, there is alot more to be said on all that I have covered and then there is more on things I haven't covered. Just trying to help people be informed. Thank you @shivvi for stopping by xx
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
It's important we talk more about this - womens medicine is often overlooked since for centuries this was a mens profession. Thank you for sharing this!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Thank you @soyrosa,I agree it's very important to talk about birth, especially today when it is seen as a medical condition,something that women are told they can not do by themselves.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Oh wow, I didn't know of a lot information in this post and this is changing my views on giving birth at home without the intervention of doctors. I am still in amazement and cannot believe how misled we are because of the media and doctors who do not guide us properly. This is all just a game of money for them, but it costs us a lot more. If I ever have a child again, I'm definitely going to do my research on giving birth naturally at home and consider that option. Love this post. Resteeming it so more people especially to-be mothers learn about it.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Thank you @sharoonyasir, there is alot that we are not told. It's really important to get all the information ourselves. And then share it to help others be informed. Our bodies were made so that we can birth our babies. Thank you for your support, much love x
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
This is so beautiful. xox
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
YES YES YES! Thank you for this post, wonderful to see this kind of information being shared. Love and light to you!
xxx
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
thank you @vvanamaria, this is what steemit is all about, getting important information out there and empowering people along the way.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
What a wonderful articel. I will for sure read the other parts aswell.
Last year I gave birth to my 2nd child at home and it was a wonderful experience.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Thanks so much @auminda.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit