All Posts Tagged ‘homebirth’
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Tori on ParentsAsk.Com – Homebirth or Hospital Birth
Friday, July 16th, 2010Today, the sky is clear and I sit in what is quite possibly the best chair in the world looking out over the sand, blue water and nothing but the coastline of Lake Michigan.
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New York City Homebirth Midwives Lose Physician Backup
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010Very recently, half of the New York City midwives who practice homebirth, lost their physician and hospital back up privileges. This was due to the closure of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan.
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Sparrow Hospital – Lansing, Michigan
Monday, May 24th, 2010I felt extremely honored to have been so graciously received here. By design, Sparrow Hospital was the first stop on my 100 Hospital National Tour – promoting “Positive Pregnancy, Positive Birth”.
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100 Hospital Tour – “Positive Pregnancy, Positive Birth”
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010It’s Tuesday already. I feel like I missed all of last week. It simply got away from me. Parents certainly understand how days and weeks can disappear and children do keep us quite aware of how quickly time passes.
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Springtime – Labor Coping Methods
Thursday, April 8th, 2010Spring has finally arrived here in Northern California. It feels as though it has been raining forever. All the spring flowers have me thinking about new birth. I thought this would be a good time to review some of my favorite labor coping methods. These are the the strategies I have found to be most helpful to women.
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Abby Epstein’s Labor
Sunday, February 7th, 2010Abby Epstein, Ricki Lake’s co-producer in the film, The Business of Being Born, who was also pregnant, had planned for a homebirth with New York midwife, Cara Muhlhahn. Ms. Epstein was being followed closely by a physician during her pregnancy due to her baby being seriously growth restricted (IUGR).
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Yes, I Am Picking On Ricki Lake. A Little Background.
Thursday, February 4th, 2010I might be just about done with this but seeing Ricki Lake on a recent talk show and still hearing women elevate her to near sainthood for “returning us to homebirth” has just steamed me once again. I really don’t have anything personal against Ms. Lake. I am just so very bothered by celebrities; – actresses, models, etc. taking personal stances on whatever their favorite subject is and using their ability to reach a mass audience to promote their cause. It is exploitation of the worst kind.
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Back To The Homebirth Discussion
Sunday, January 24th, 2010After last week’s blog I received quite a few emails and a post here responding to the article I discussed about Tracey Hermanstorfer in Colorado who nearly lost her life during childbirth. A few of them responded by saying that her respiratory and cardiac arrest were actually the “result” of her being in the hospital.
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A Miracle Birth
Thursday, January 14th, 2010Childbirth is an amazing time in a woman’s life – in a family’s life. And, there is no question that childbirth in America is far from perfect. We have a disturbing acceptance of the “medicalization” of birth, far too many interventions and an exorbitantly high cesarean section rate. There is no argument that much can be improved in our system. However, we cannot ever lose sight of what really is truly important. It is certainly not just the process or the experience itself. It is indeed ultimately the outcome. A healthy baby and a healthy mom. In most of the world that really is what it is about.
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When Things Don’t Go As Planned: Preeclampsia
Monday, October 5th, 2009As I continue the discussion on home-birth I’d like to share with you my experience with Alexander’s birth. It is an excellent example of how unexpectedly things can change.
I was really healthy during my pregnancy. A week before my December 24th due date, my water bag broke in the Christmas card aisle of our local drugstore (that’s another story) and within a few hours I was in booming labor. However, when I arrived at the hospital, my blood pressure was extremely high, 180/120. My normal blood pressure is about 90/60. I had noticed my feet were pretty puffy but did not realize that I had gained 9 pounds (in fluid) since the previous day. Shockingly and randomly, I had preeclampsia and was developing something called HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzyme levels, and a low platelet count) syndrome, the most severe complication of preeclampsia.
