by MotherWit | Jan 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
Ultrasound is very worrisome to me. Most people having babies think about ultrasound as the scan or scans a technician does to date the pregnancy, measure the baby, determine the sex, etc. What studies have shown, and this is all over the ‘net so you can look this up yourselves, is that ultrasound potentially shakes things around in the fetal brain, to put it technically. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that electronic fetal monitoring in hospital during non-stress tests, labour, etc. is ALSO ultrasound. If these studies are being done and we are being warned about repetitive, routine ultrasound scans (on average a woman here receives around 3 ultrasounds per pregnancy, from what I’ve observed of my clientele…some have less, some have one almost every doctor’s visit), I think it’s important to inform consumers the monitoring they are receiving throughout labour might have risks too.
When a woman receives an epidural and/or synthetic oxytocin during labour, she is constantly monitored, and this can often leave her baby exposed to ultrasound for many consecutive hours. Considering the epidural rate is incredibly high for first time mothers in hospitals, in the high 90th percentile, this means the vast majority of fetuses are being exposed to ultrasound that we don’t have evidence is safe. Even mothers who are birthing naturally are still exposed to occasional 20 minute stints of monitoring.
Becaue of a few things I’ve seen, I don’t reject ultrasound as a tool at all. There have been a couple of sad incidents I’ve known where had just one scan been done to have a look at the baby, information would have been easily revealed that would have given caregivers knowledge of the babies’ treatable conditions before it was too late. I personally had one scan with 3 out of 4 of my pregnancies. While I know ultrasound is not the be all and end all of diagnostic tools, a basic peek makes me feel reassured. To have a listen to my babies prenatally, the midwives and doctor I’ve seen have used a fetoscope. I was very pleased with the OB I saw during a couple of my pregnancies who respected my wish to not have my baby listened to with a Doppler in order to reduce exposure to ultrasound. Instead of criticizing me for being “overly cautious” or for undermining her by questioning her methods, she thanked me for the opportunity to keep up her auscultation skills.
Having ultrasounds for nuchal translucency tests, dating, etc. is up to the level of comfort of the parents and not something I’d advise for or against because the choices are personal, but when we get into the realm of having ultrasounds repeatedly when not for clear reasons, we should be aware that we do not really know conclusively what kind of effect this will have on our babies. It is always a bit scary to me to know that many people will do their best to avoid things like caffeine, over the counter remedies, etc. to have the healthiest baby possible, but accept many ultrasounds simply because they’re offered, expect to take an epidural full of all kinds of crazy narcotics, and have no worries about receiving hormones and hours of electronic fetal monitoring. I know that when parents-to-be ask about these procedures, they are often told things like “there’s no risk to ultrasound”, “epidural doesn’t have that much effect on the baby and will actually give you more energy to push your baby out”, and “the synthetic oxytocin is not harmful…after all, it’s the same thing your own body makes.” Not that I want to fear monger labouring parents, telling them all these things are bad, because inherently they are not…every intervention holds value if it is truly needed. But how are parents supposed to make informed choices if they are not told some of the real potential risks, and in fact, often misled? If a parent to be were to research the risks of these interventions from several sources, they would have more information with which to make choices.
The best advice I can give my clients is to do their homework. Sadly, one cannot just accept some of the answers they’re given to their questions and must research further. Unfortunately, consumers of medical care cannot take everything they’re told about medical interventions during pregnancy and labour at face value. This is certainly not true in every case…I work with some great doctors and nurses who strive to give patients the best information they can, giving both sides of the coin and respecting parental decisions. But it is true in many. Simply believing all your questions will be answered with everything you will need to make an informed decision is an innocence you can’t really afford. YOU are the consumers of medical care. Shop around and do your research.
by MotherWit | Dec 31, 2009 | Uncategorized
I wish all of you a beautiful New Year, full of love, health, joy, abundance, and discovery! I will be back soon!
Love,
Lesley
by MotherWit | Dec 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
I had a lovely meeting with my partner-in-crime, the lovely Sue Appleton of Apple of Your Eye Doula Services in St. John, NB. She is facilitating the Summer 2010 MotherWit Birth Doula Training Intensive that I will be teaching in Morin Heights, Quebec.
I believe very much in apprenticeship for a student doula. I have been happily apprenticing students for 6 or 7 years. It is by shadowing an experienced doula a student learns how to be at births…when there is no pressure to do anything but observe and do what’s asked by the doula, much is learned. Because my training is in intensive format meant to be taken on the road to whomever would like to host it, I cannot personally provide apprenticeship to all my students. But I would like to.
What I will be doing is creating a MotherWit Birth Doula Mentorship weekend workshop. It will be for any doula, no matter her training, who has attended at least 30 documented births. This workshop will bridge the gaps between my training and other trainings, and provide instruction on how to effectively mentor a novice MotherWit trained doula through her first births. Mentorship trainees will learn about how to draw out the strengths of her apprentice, provide constructive criticism, how to guide her towards improving her skills , and show her the ropes of the birthing centres in her area.
Essentially, the mentor “doulas” the novice doula as she finds her way as a birth attendant. While a doula mothers the mother, the job as mentor is to be a “big sister”. The average amount for a mentor to be paid for a 2 or 3 birth apprenticeship is anywhere from $300 to $600, depending upon the doula’s availability and experience.
In my experience, having an extra set of hands from a willing apprentice and someone to chat with and bounce ideas off is a fun and rewarding. I love seeing a doula really come into her own as she gets to use what she’s learned to help a woman birth.
Check early January 2010 for more details on motherwit.ca
by MotherWit | Dec 23, 2009 | Uncategorized
Whoohoo! As of tonight until the night of the 26th, I am completely off call!!!!! This is a rare occurrence, and I am revelling in the idea of being able to sleep deeply not caring where my phone is. I leave any potential early birthers in the good hands of my doula buddy Rivka.
I am going to focus on my family and working on my poor, neglected website. Maybe I’ll even get the house clean! In any case, a little time off call once in awhile is an important thing.
Okay, off to watch The Grinch!
by MotherWit | Dec 22, 2009 | Uncategorized
Hooray! The sun is once again reborn, and the days will become longer. As we enter into the birth of the light, let’s take a moment to be grateful for this amazing momentum we advocates of normal birth are building to help heal the long dark age of unconsciousness surrounding women’s wisdom. We are at such a peak of insanity with planned C-sections for convenience, anaesthetised labour, being told SO MANY times we are defunct in our brilliant ability to express our most unique female function, there HAS to be a shift. There is an incredible global network of folks working hard to create a new paradigm in which our bodies are viewed as trustworthy vessels to do their work the way Nature intended.
This is in no way to say we should all just birth in the woods. I personally might, as would many I know…but I do not eschew technological advance in its ability to help promote safety in childbirth…when appropriate. I have seen friends and clients unexpectedly but truly need to rely on some interventions for their and their babies’ well being. Though we may begrudge the environment of birth for mainly being technocratic and mistrustful of womens’ sacred functions, I feel that adopting an attitude of “us against them” heals nobody. Whether we shoot from the left or shoot from the right, the very act of shooting can be potentially ugly. If only we could all have respect and honour for each other, based upon true understanding and basic trust, we could have far better birth outcomes than we do. Ah, but that just isn’t going to happen for awhile. Just because I wish it, will not make it so. But I work towards that time.
I LOVE working with a woman in a hospital and seeing a medical person learn something they didn’t know about the more emotional/spiritual/psychological aspects of childbirth, or see them deeply moved by a natural labour. These stories create change. If they only happened at home, the very people whose eyes we’re trying to open might just remain in the dark about the possibilities. If they didn’t see empowered, beautiful births in person within their environment, often facilitated by a doula or midwife, seeds of real awakening might no come about. So I feel so happy to be living my path, trying to create an awareness of birth as something beyond a series of phases and stages that needs management.
Medically managed birth as the cultural norm is not going anywhere for a long while. So I am choosing to bring the love into this environment, helping women, helping their doctors, finding balance. From a place of greater understanding among all, we can create more respectful and effective diaglogue.
There are many ways to bring in the light. Blessings to the radical midwives! Blessings to uc-ers! Blessings to doctors with the hearts and hands of midwives! Blessings to the water birthers and dolphin midwives! Blessings to high risk obstetricians who use their skills for the greatest good! Blessings to the lotus birthers! Blessings to the baby wearing, breastfeeding-til-5, co-sleeping, homeschooling mamas! Blessings to med students slogging over their books, thinking birth is kinda gross…may a beautiful hospital birth open their eyes to never before considered possibilities that were never mentioned in those books! And bless my doula sisters everywhere, who are willing to witness and hold.
May the seeds of our good intentions flourish in the light.
So mote it be.
by MotherWit | Dec 19, 2009 | Uncategorized
Phew, it’s brutal out there! It is freezing cold outside and we have been doing lots of Christmas shopping. Thank goodness we’re home, warm, and dry. It’s so nice to relax on Friday nights and know I don’t have to get up early Saturday morning to get the kids off to where they need to go, then have appointments all day. Ahh, sleeping in is the best!
May you all have a lovely weekend! Try to get some rest, stay warm, and enjoy the holiday season.
