In about 2 weeks I will be settling in to a new home in Duncan, BC.

The decision to move is based on work for my husband, and close proximity to family.  My husband will be building custom homes, and working on the Vancouver Island edition of The Agora News.

From what I can tell, there seems to be a great birth community in the area and I am really looking forward to getting some doula work.  I had the opportunity to meet one of the local midwives at a family birth recently, and I have a good feeling about it!

Good news for women having breech babies in Canada!  An article was posted on cbc.ca yesterday, click on the quote to go to the webpage:

Doctors should not automatically opt to do caesarean sections for breech births, according to new guidelines released Wednesday by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.

In about three to four per cent of pregnancies, or about 11,000 to 14,500 pregnancies in Canada, according to Statistics Canada, the baby presents with its feet or buttocks first, instead of head first — a breech birth.

“Breech pregnancies are almost always delivered using a caesarean section, to the point where the practice has become somewhat automatic,” Dr. Robert Gagnon, a principal author of the new guidelines and chair of the society’s maternal fetal medicine committee, said in a release.

“What we’ve found is that, in some cases, vaginal breech birth is a safe option, and obstetricians should be able to offer women the choice to attempt a traditional delivery.”

 

It doesn’t go as far as I’d like to see it go, and the technique mentioned in the article makes me a little nervous but overall I think it is a positive step.

There are a lot of pregnancy books out there.  Too many.  And, like everyone, I have my favourites.  In most cases I don’t think buying books is worth it, unless you will read it often, or refer to it regularly.

The Fraser Valley Regional Library has a pretty big selection of items relating to pregnancy, birth and parenting, and these are my favourites.

Pregnancy Books:

The complete book of pregnancy & childbirth 

by Sheila Kitzinger

The natural pregnancy book : herbs, nutrition, and other holistic choices 

by Aviva Jill Romm. 

Mothering Magazine’s Having A Baby, Naturally : The Mothering Magazine Guide To Pregnancy And Childbirth 

by Peggy O’mara.

 - Some branches also have Mothering Magazine 

Pregnancy, Childbirth And The Newborn : The Complete Guide 

by Penny Simkin

The Birth Partner : A Complete Guide To Childbirth For Dads, Doulas, And All Other Labor Companions  

by Penny Simkin

The midwifery option : a Canadian guide to the birth experience 

by Sarah Knox and Miranda Hawkins

 - A nice overview of the registered midwife option

Birth without violence 

by Frédérick Leboyer

Ina May’s guide to childbirth 

by  Ina May Gaskin.

Breastfeeding

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding 

published by the La Leche League

Dr. Jack Newman’s Guide to Breastfeeding 

by Jack Newman

Parenting Books

The baby book : everything you need to know about your baby–from birth to age two

by William Sears 

 - This is one that is nice to have on hand as a reference.  It includes some info on birth as well.  All the Sears books are good resources, there are lots on all sorts of topics including night-time parenting, discipline and vaccines.

The Happiest baby on the Block: the new way to calm crying and help your baby sleep longer 

by Harvey Karp

The diaper-free baby : the natural toilet training alternative 

by Christine Gross-Loh.

Unconditional parenting : moving from rewards and punishments to love and reason 

by Alfie Kohn

Discipline without distress : 135 tools for raising caring, responsible children without time-out, spanking, punishment, or bribery  

by Judy Arnall.

Hold on to your kids : why parents matter 

by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Maté. 

Children’s Books

Welcome with love 

by Jenni Overend  

- A great children’s book about homebirth.  Beautiful art and a sweet story.

Mama’s Milk 

by Michael Elsohn Ross

Videos

Birth as we know it  

directed by Elena Tonetti-Vladimirova.

Unconditional parenting:  moving from rewards and punishments to love and reason 

Hold on to your kids 

The Happiest Baby on the Block 

Here are some that are missing, which I would love to see at the library.  If lots of us keep requesting them they will order them in for us.

Birthing From Within by Pam England

The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer

Childbirth Without Fear by Michel Odent

Diaper Free! by Ingrid Bauer

Attachment Parenting by Katie Allison Granju, Betsy Kennedy, and William Sears

I’m sure there are some I’ve missed, but that’s a good start.  Now get out that library card!

I really agree with his ideas that parents need to make their relationship and attachment with their children a priority.  He talks about the fairly recent phenomenon of peer orientation, which can undermine the family unit.  I hope to attend the conference with my husband, I think it will be a great chance for us to learn together and work more as a team.

   My friday nights are spent in Vanouver, at Midwifery Study Group.  All the driving and the late nights are challenging, but I am so glad I’m doing it.  When the opportunity for us to move to Chilliwack appeared, the possibility of taking this course was one of the reasons we went for it.

Every week is different, but what usually happens is the first hour or so is spent checking in, discussing the births in our lives, and current events etc.  Then we have the lecture part of the class, as well as prenatal clinics.

The prenatal clinics are when we need pregnant models.  Basically, what happens is a normal prenatal visit as if the model was our midwifery client.  The student midwife will fill out a chart, and we test urine, blood pressure, weight, palpate the uterus and measure the fundus (height of the uterus).  We are trying to get hands on practice with clinical skills, while also giving the mother a chance to be ask questions and learn right along with us.  It’s a chance to be a part of the course without paying the fees!

The course takes place at Harmony Wellness Center in Vancouver, on W16th ave.  If you or anyone you know would be interested, please let us know!

OTAVALO, Ecuador (WOMENSENEWS)–Gravity is the invisible midwife in indigenous birthing rituals, says Rosa Colta, a traditional midwife and intercultural health promoter in Otavalo, a town in the Andean highlands of Ecuador.

This website was just brought to my attention today (thanks Lisa!) and it is a good one.  You can check out http://www.womensenews.org for more articles relating to women.

Today I found Mother Earth Cloth Diaper Service on craigslist and wanted to spread the word.  They drop off the diapers, pick them up, and launder them for you.  All you have to do is put out your bag of dirties on your pick up day and the rest is taken care of.  

If you’d rather buy your own you might want to check out All Things Being Eco in Chilliwack, or New and Green online diaper store.

Full ABC News article and Video here

Congratulations to Erykah Badu and partner Jay Electronica!  Their daughter was born at home last week while they kept the world up to date via Twitter. 

NEW YORK — Erykah Badu gave birth to a baby girl this weekend _ and twittered about the experience.

Universal Motown Records Group, the singer’s record label, says the baby was born Sunday and both mother and daughter “are doing fine.” The father is Badu’s boyfriend, rapper Jay Electronica.

The couple blogged about the birth on the Twitter Web site. Badu said she had a home birth that lasted about five hours and that she didn’t use painkillers.

Badu, whose real name is Erica Wright, has a son and a daughter from previous relationships. 

I love reading about celebrity homebirthers.  Some others you may or may not have heard about include:

Pamela Anderson 

Patricia Arquette

Mayim Bialik

Lisa Bonet

Charlotte Church

Cindy Crawford

Ani DiFranco

Laura Dern & Ben Harper

Joely Fisher

Nelly Furtado

Woody Harrelson & his parter

Stephen & Tabitha King

Ricki Lake

AJ Langer

Lucy Lawless 

Kenny Loggins & his wife (unplanned unassisted!)

John Leguiziamo & his wife

Dave Matthews & wife Ashley

Debi Mazar

Bobby McFerrin & and his partner

Julianne Moore

Thandie Newton 

Kelly Preston & John Travolta

Morgan Spurlock & partner

Meryl Streep

Richard Thomas & his partner

Noah Wylie & wife Tracy