Go to this link

Enjoy!

Since it is estimated that more than 40 percent of pregnant women report having depressive symptoms, the importance of diagnosis and treatment for depressed pregnant women is vital. Pre-term delivery is the leading cause of infant illness and death.

“Depression during pregnancy needs to be paid attention to and brought to the forefront of prenatal care,” study author, De-Kun Li says, “but the treatment doesn’t have to be medication. The safety of antidepressants during pregnancy is still an unsettled question. For minor [depression], all they probably need is to be getting emotional and physical support from their spouse and family.”

Unlike the rest of the world, the United States doesn’t (yet!) have Paid Family and Medical Leave for all new mothers (which is paid time off after the birth of a baby). Without this kind of policy in place, situations like Selena’s, who gave birth on Thursday and was back at her desk on Monday while her newborn son remained in intensive care in the hospital, will continue to happen.

But right now, Congress is considering a bill that will fix this problem. Help build much-needed support for a strong, groundbreaking bill for all moms and families. Contact your Congressperson today!

Thank you for all that you do to support new moms.

Go here to easily send your congressperson a message of support for the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008.

Here’s an excerpt:

After a woman [in France] has a baby, perineal re-education shapes up her stretched-out birth canal. It also strengthens her pelvic floor for the next child, and helps keep her from leaking a little bit every time she sneezes. My doctor prescribed 10 sessions of it after my daughter was born. (American doctors typically suggest just doing some Kegel exercises, if anything.)

In France, making mothers good as new is a matter of national interest. The state health system pays 60 percent to 100 percent of the cost of re-education for all women after they give birth, and private insurance plans typically cover the rest. I finally solved the mystery of how Frenchwomen fit back into their skinny jeans six weeks postpartum: the state pays for abdominal re-education too.

Movie Synopsis: Birth: its a miracle. A rite of passage. A natural part of life. But more than anything, birth is a business. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to examine and question the way American women have babies.

The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights, and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal. Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?

The Business of Being Born will be shown in Sacramento in March as a benefit for Chicks In Crisis. Chicks in Crisis is dedicated to reducing the number of infants facing abandonment, foster care, abuse, or death by giving pregnant women in crisis the opportunity to make informed choices for themselves and their children, while developing the skills necessary to become productive members of the community.

If you can’t make the Sacramento screening, go to the The Business of Being Born website here to find information on where you can see it in your area and to view clips from the movie.

Sacramento screening: The Business of Being Born

Thursday, March 13, 6:30 pm
Esquire IMAX Theatre
1211 K St., Sacramento, CA 95814
www.imax.com/sacramento
(916) 446-2333

Tickets: $20/includes small popcorn & soda

Tickets available at the Chicks in Crisis Store, 8359 Elk Grove Florin Road, Suite 103, Sacramento, or call Chicks in Crisis Toll Free at (888) 208-8086 or locally at (916) 441-1243.

According to a December 2005 article in The Guardian, Dr. Fisk says, “What I realized was that caesareans were done a certain way because they’ve always been done a certain way, but in fact they can be done differently – and in a way that parents love.”

Other doctors are sometimes shocked when they hear what Fisk is doing. “They say, but surely you have to get the baby out fast so she can get oxygen straight away? And I say, when the baby is being born she’s still attached to the umbilical cord and is still getting oxygen from the placenta. Caesarean birth can be gentle, just as vaginal birth can be gentle. Obstetricians are too hung up on getting from the point of incision to the birth of the baby as quickly as possible: that’s been the benchmark of a skilled surgeon. But I’m challenging that because, from the baby’s and from the parents’ point of view, it’s not very helpful.”

Read the entire article, including a description of one family’s experience of a gentle caesarean, here.

Thank you to my doula friend, Consie, for tipping me off about this caesarean method. I’m surprised we haven’t heard more about it in the U.S. considering Dr. Fisk has been using the method for years. In a gentle caesarean, parents feel more involved, breastfeeding is easier because there is skin-to-skin contact right after birth instead of the baby being whisked away, and the babies are calmer because the birth occurs slowly.

If you’ve had a caesarean section, what do you think of the gentle caesarean philosophy? I highly encourage pregnant women to explore this method more so they can discuss it with their doctors. American doctors need to get on the bandwagon about it! Many new moms I’ve worked with found their caesareans to be a traumatic experience. Why not make this surgical procedure better for both babies and parents?

Do you have any of the following mental pain magnifiers?: You dread what’s coming; You dwell on your pain; You catastrophize your pain (jump to the worst conclusions, like “This pain will never get better); or You are stressed? If so, researchers have found ways you can decrease your pain by using your thoughts.

Some of the pain management ideas in the article are:

• Understanding the biomechanics of pain which helps lessen its power
• Playing video games
• Using your imagination to watch pain floating out of your body
• Talking yourself down with phrases like, “This is tough, but I can manage it” and
• Mindfulness

I highly recommend you pick up a copy of the magazine if this topic interests you.

I remember during an especially difficult part of Danielle’s labor we turned on Jeopardy and I focused on answering the questions. It was probably similar to a video game distraction. By redirecting my brain, I was better able to handle contractions. I also kicked some serious butt with my answers! Maybe they should have women in labor on the show. Those moms may win a bunch of $.

Here is an abridged description from Amazon:

This beautiful film is the story of “Miss Mary” Coley, an African-American midwife more than half a century ago in rural Georgia. Conceived as a demonstration film for illiterate “granny” midwives, All My Babies quickly transcended its initial purpose. The film was written, produced, and directed by George C. Stoney in close collaboration with Mrs. Coley and local public health doctors and nurses. It shows the preparation for and home delivery of healthy babies in both relatively good and bad rural conditions among black families at that time.

The film is in addition both a deeply respectful portrait of “Miss Mary,” who is revealed as an inspiring human being, and a record of the actual living conditions of her patients. All My Babies was elected in 2002 by the Librarian of Congress as a “culturally, historically, and artistically significant work” for permanent preservation in the National Film Registry.

Melanie again: I also learned that an essay by Stoney that accompanies the DVD describes how segregation laws affected the filming. Stoney, a white man, and Dr. Willam Mason, an African American physician, worked closely together on the film, but were never allowed to eat together or stay in the same hotel. The local sheriff’s department came close to stopping filming because they weren’t comfortable with a white film crew’s presence in predominantly African American neighborhoods.

It may be hard to find All My Babies at video outlets, but I’m going to try! You can order it from Amazon and video stores or from Image Entertainment. If I do end up buying it, I’ll plan a time for a movie showing.

I hope beyond hope that it never happens to you, but it’s smart to be prepared. The following are some questions you might want to ask the hospital staff. Bring the list with you to the hospital just in case.

•How long will my baby be in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)?
•What exactly is the problem?
•What treatments and medicines will my baby need?
•May I breastfeed my baby?
•What will be the baby’s eating schedule?
•What can I do to help my baby?
•What am I allowed to bring into the NICU?
•Is it okay to hold or touch my baby?
•For how long and how often can I visit my baby?
•May I sleep in the NICU?
•How can I continue to provide care when I take my baby home?
•Is there a support group for parents with babies in the NICU?
•Is there temporary housing available (like Ronald McDonald House)?
•If so, how do we make arrangements, and do we have to pay for the housing?
•Can we eat in the NICU?
•How do we get food?

You also might want to set up your own page for free at CarePages to save you the phone calls and stress of keeping everyone up to date on your baby’s condition.

Melissa, a woman profiled in my book who had an unplanned c-section, describes her reaction this way:

“This overwhelming sadness came over me. I wanted to cry, but didn’t know why…I felt I had missed a sacred passage that every woman is entitled to have. I asked myself, What if I never have a natural childbirth? That’s when I really fell into a depression.”

People would say they were sorry about me having the c-section and that would kill me. Other comments like: ‘Oh, but you have a healthy baby,’ or “You’re so lucky that you didn’t have to go through labor,’ were also painful. It would have been better if people just would have listened and encouraged me for the next time. People were surprised that I was so upset.”

If you are feeling any self-blame about your c-section, I hope you can find a path to forgiving yourself. I learned recently that true forgiveness means being able to say, “Thank you for the experience.” What did you learn from the c-section that you can be thankful for?

Here is what Melissa discovered:

“I learned [in therapy] that I have issues with challenging authority and potentially getting involved in a conflict…I know that I did the best I could given the circumstances, but I also know that next time will be different and I will speak up if the situation calls for it. My experience has also helped me to be a better advocate for my son and to stand up to his doctor when I don’t believe she is right.

The thing that has made me most at peace with the delivery is the thought that it happened for a reason. I don’t believe it was a medical one [Melissa feels her doctors pressured her to have the c-section], but more the belief that the total disappointment and frustration and sadness of this experience will make my next child’s birth that more special.”

A wonderful organization for information and support is ICAN, the International Cesarean Awareness Network. Some of the highlights of their website include:

• Information on how education can prevent unnecessary cesareans
• Support for cesarean recovery (including email support)
• How to find an ICAN chapter in your area, and
• Information on VBACs (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean)

While pregnant, it can be hard to imagine you will have a c-section. If you do have one, you are not a failure, but one of millions of mothers in the same situation. You are not alone.