Unassisted Childbirth on the Jenny Hatch Show

I so enjoyed being on the Jenny Hatch Show last week with my friend Lynn Griesemer, author of Unassisted Homebirth: An Act of Love! In addition to speaking about unassisted childbirth, we also talked about the current state of birth, Ricki Lake's film The Business of Being Born, and the updated version of my book, Unassisted Childbirth, which will be published in the US and France in February of 2012.

The Homebirth Video That's Too Hot for YouTube

The amazing disappearing lady has disappeared once again. For the third time in less than a year, YouTube has deleted one of my unassisted homebirth videos because it "violated their community guidelines." They've also threatened to permanently disable my account.

WHAT IS SO OFFENSIVE ABOUT THIS VIDEO ??? While it's currently posted on Jumpcut, it's already been flagged, although not deleted (yet). Google, MySpace and several other video hosting sites deleted it within hours of my posting it. When I've asked friends about this I've gotten the following responses:

-It makes people uncomfortable because it's too sexual. It takes place in a bedroom, and the sounds she's making are similar to those of a woman having sex. She almost sounds as if she's enjoying giving birth!

-It makes people uncomfortable because they're afraid to see birth outside a hospital setting. Most people are convinced that birth is inherently dangerous, and needs to be managed and controlled by "experts."

-It makes people uncomfortable because the woman is far too independent. No one is there telling her what to do. She actually has the audacity to think for herself and believe in her own abilities.

Of course, I'm not the only one that has been targeted. As I wrote in my previous post about Censorship on YouTube, other homebirth videos - both unassisted and midwife assisted - have also been deleted. Hospital birth videos, however, no matter how graphic (and disturbing, as far as I'm concerned) are perfectly OK. Click here and here.

The upside of this is that I no longer have to spend time everyday deleting angry comments from people who didn't approve of the video. On the other hand, I no longer get to read the lovely comments from people whose lives were changed for the better after watching this beautiful and inspiring NATURAL event.

Associated Press TV segment on Unassisted Childbirth

Tomorrow, March 24th, somewhere in the world, at some point during the day (am I being too vague?), the Associated Press TV segment I was interviewed for will air. Stations around the world that subscribe to AP video can air the 3 to 5 minute segment if they choose to. They can also air part of it, or show the footage but with their own voice-overs. I believe there will also be a 2 minute segment which can be posted online by newspapers that subscribe to AP video. I’m hoping that if it doesn’t air locally (or even if it does) I/we can view the video online, but I’m not sure if that will be possible. In addition to a short interview with me, the segment will also include an interview with my friend Liberty, and comments from a physician (I think we all know what to expect). It’s hard to say how many stations will choose to air the segment, but if anyone out there sees it please let me know. A short blurb about the segment is posted here.

Interestingly enough, this segment was 9 months in the making, and tomorrow is my husband David’s birthday. It seems very fitting to me that it should air then, as David was the one that started me on this path. While he only witnessed the birth of one of our children, he was very much with me in spirit each time, and like me, views this as his life’s work (actually, our work is much larger than UC, but this is our primary focus right now). My book, Unassisted Childbirth, was very much a joint creation. Certainly David hasn’t been as vocal about birth as I have, but he’s slowly coming out of his shell. He was interviewed by the AP TV producer (as were two of our children, John and Joy), but unfortunately their comments weren’t included. I hope you will be seeing more of him in the years to come. The man has read thousands of books in the past 35 years, and is a walking encyclopedia.

In other news, I added two lovely, inspiring videos to my main page this past week, “My Birth Path,” by Sarahjeanne, and “My Birth Journey,” by Reyvene. Stop by and have a look!

Postscript: The Today Show in Australia aired an edited version of the segment. Click here to view it.

Reflections on the Trust Birth Conference

I’m happy to say that the Trust Birth Conference far exceeded my expectations! It was wonderful to connect with so many people I had corresponded with over the years but never met in person. All the sessions I attended were excellent. Each of the speakers stayed true to the Trust Birth slogan: Birth is Safe; Interference is Risky. Speaking of which, apparently the sign we had posted in the lobby (which bore the slogan) did not go over well with some of the hotel guests. A group of surgeons complained to the management, and asked that the sign be taken down! The surgeons felt we should not be able to make a political statement (dare I say, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet?!). Fortunately, the sign remained. :)

I wish I could say I took lots of pictures but I didn’t. The reasons for this are as follows: when it comes to photography, I suck, and I truly wanted to immerse myself in the experience and not be concerned with documenting it. Believe me, I was there! Thankfully other people took pictures. Click here to see Brenda Capps’ pictures, and here to see Gloria Lemay’s.

One of the MANY highlights for me was the panel discussion on “Why Women Stay Home...Alone!” Several of us on the panel had been a bit concerned that we might endure criticism from midwives, but I can honestly say that not one of the midwives in the audience had anything negative to say about UC (unassisted childbirth). After my fellow panelists (Melissa Collins, Heather Cushman-Dowdee, Jody McLaughlin, Rixa Freeze, Heather Brock and Emily Reeves) and I shared our reasons for choosing UC, the discussion turned to how we can build a bridge between UC and midwifery. I was thrilled to learn that there are many midwives who truly want to help women in their quest for a UC, whether that means being a back-up, doing prenatal care, offering knowledge and support during the pregnancy and/or checking on the mom and baby after the birth. I never felt I needed this but I understand that some women do, and so I’m thankful there are midwives who are willing to provide this service. The discussion was so productive that midwife and UCer Kristi Zittle set up a Yahoo group with the following description: “An elite group of women joining together to find a common bond between hands off midwifery and the power of the unassisted birthing woman. Our goal is to meet the needs of all women without interfering with the natural processes of birth; and, through the dispelling of birth fears!” To join the group click here.

Of course I know that not all midwives support UC, and even some who do are reluctant to help those UCer’s that request it for fear of losing their licenses should something go wrong with the birth. This is why my midwife friends (and I suspect many of the midwives in the audience) have tended to fall into the following categories: no longer practicing (either by force or choice), unregulated, underground, or licensed and regulated but willing to break the law. As several of the midwives pointed out, a midwife basically has to decide who she’s going to answer to: the woman or the state. Those who decide to answer to the state may be able to help women that have text book labors, but they will hinder women whose labors deviate from “the norm.” Does a woman truly need to transfer if her water has been broken for more than 12 hours, or her placenta isn’t delivered within an hour of the birth? In most cases, I don’t think so. But a midwife who answers to the state will do this in spite of the fact that she knows it's unnecessary.

There is so much more I could write about (and so many people I could thank/praise) but I’ve been home for a week and I'm still trying to catch up on email, work, etc. To those who would like to read more about the conference click here.

As you’ll see, I’m not the only one who didn’t want it to end! In fact, conference organizer Carla Hartley (who will forever hold a place in my heart) is already talking about having another conference in 2010. I’ll keep you posted! For those of you who weren’t able to attend (and even those who were) recordings of the sessions will soon be available for purchase here.

Unassisted Childbirth at the Trust Birth Conference

I’m excited to announce that I’ve been asked to speak at the Trust Birth Conference! As some of you know, Carla Hartley, the founder of Trust Birth, is very supportive of UC. While there will be workshops primarily designed to appeal to midwives, doulas and childbirth educators, there will also be some geared more toward UCer’s and other “lay people.” In addition to my talk titled “Believe Your Way to a Better Birth,” I’ll also be on two panels, “Writing about Birth,” and “Why Women Stay Home....Alone.”

Many other UCer’s will be speaking at the conference also, including Mindy Goorchenko, Rixa Freeze, Heather Cushman-Dundee (Hathor the Cow Goddess), Heather Brock, Melissa Collins, Shelia Stubbs and Sarah Buckley. Several UC supporters will be speaking as well: Pamela Hines-Powell, Jody McLaughlin, Michel Odent, Raquel Lazar-Paley, Gloria Lemay, and Carla Hartley. For more information about the conference please visit the web site.

Unassisted childbirth on PBS

This past week, Lynn Griesemer, author of Unassisted Homebirth: An Act of Love appeared on the PBS show To the Contrary. Lynn spoke beautifully about unassisted birth, but I was very disappointed in the discussion that followed. Host Bonnie Erbe and four panelists commented on Lynn's statements, and all agreed that women who choose unassisted birth are selfish and irresponsible.

Below is a letter I sent to Bonnie Erbe. I actually could have written much more, but I suspect I'd be wasting my breath! I can always hope.

To listen to a podcast of the program click here. The segment starts about 19 minutes into the show. While the show was disappointing, I was encouraged by the fact that anyone on American television chose to deal with the subject. Hopefully more shows will follow.

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Dear Bonnie,
As an unassisted childbirth (UC) advocate, I was pleased to see this subject discussed on “To the Contrary.” Lynn’s comments were excellent, but almost all of the statements made by your panelists were inaccurate, and revealed a misunderstanding of the true sources for the problems some women encounter in birth. I would be very surprised if the panelists researched UC at all. Thankfully most of the women who choose this option have done their research. This is not a decision they make lightly, and it certainly isn’t made for selfish reasons. We believe that for most mothers, UC is the best and safest way to give birth, both for ourselves and our babies.

A case in point: The biggest cause of infant death is prematurity, yet according to Midwifery Today magazine, the biggest cause of prematurity is induction of labor. Doctors are inducing women before their babies are ready to be born. This is only one of the many dangerous and unnecessary interventions taking place in hospitals today. Many studies show that babies that are delivered by C-section have a much higher rate of death than those born vaginally. As you may know, the C-section rate in this country is now over 30%. In addition to the dangers of the procedure itself, recent studies show that babies are having serious health problems as a result of the pain medication given to mothers recovering from C-sections. The medication is passed on to the babies through breastmilk. These babies have already endured drugs during labor, as it is a well-known fact that drugs easily pass through the placenta. So I would have to ask, who is being selfish – the woman who chooses to take drugs in labor fully knowing it will be passed on to her baby, or the woman who chooses a drug-free unassisted birth?

Your question about babies dying in hospitals was promptly dismissed by Dr. Healy. She claimed it rarely happens, yet in truth, babies die in hospitals every hour of every day. They also suffer numerous injuries as a result of medical intervention. Two to six percent of babies are cut during C-sections, others are cut during episiotomies or injured during forceps or vacuum extractions. None of this was mentioned in the segment. Instead hospital birth was touted as safe, and UC was dismissed as dangerous and selfish.

The comments made by Eleanor Norton about birth not being enjoyable were simply wrong. Countless women have enjoyed their births. I encourage her to read the articles and stories in this section of my site.

As far as Dr. Healy’s statement that women who are giving birth to their first child are not doing it unassisted, this too was wrong. Here is the unassisted birth story of my first child, John. There are many women who choose UC for their first birth.

If you truly want to understand the UC movement, I would encourage you to devote another segment to the subject. But this time I would suggest that the panelists research UC, and in the interest of fairness, I would also suggest that you invite a UC advocate on the program who would actually get to respond to their comments or questions.

Best wishes,

Laura Shanley
Bornfree: The Unassisted Childbirth Page