Traumatic births

GUERILLA MOTHERING: Mama’s baby drama doesn’t have to cause traumaBy LESLEA HARMONLocal Columnist
The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in new mothers. Evidently, traumatic hospital births with a lot of medical interventions are leaving moms severely emotionally scarred. Imagine that! Someone comes into your hospital room, you’re already half-naked, scared, and in pain, and tells you that the baby you’ve carried and dreamed of for so long might die if they don’t do a certain procedure right away-and even then, no guarantees you’re going home with your little one. Yeah, I’d call that a little traumatic.I’ve not written much about it in this column, but I am one fortunate woman when it comes to birth experience. My first child was one of your stock “high intervention” births, with most of the trimmings. Thank God for Dr. Kegel and his famous pelvic floor exercises, or my son would have been delivered by C-section, I’m quite sure. As it happened, he was born out of my numbed-to-the-point-of-paralysis body after a long night of drugs, having my water broken, and lying around practically tied to a hospital bed, as nervous as though a firing squad was waiting for me on the other side of labor. The very moment he was born, I held my arms out for him, desperate to hold him — but the Dr. took him away immediately to be examined on the other side of the room. I still tear up, just thinking about it, seven years and two additional births later. Is that a sign of trauma? I don’t know. Of all the people to espouse opinions on birth trauma, it’s funny that I don’t feel more confident to speak on this one. In my mid-20s, I was diagnosed with PTSD, myself, following a series of incidents that were outside my control. I received treatment and eventually found healing after years of work and devotion. It was a long time before I forgot I’d ever had PTSD, but eventually that day came, and I realized I’d made it through the woods. Thank God.Sometimes, though, I’m reminded of what it was like — mostly, when I hear about someone else’s suffering. There was that sweet soldier, Joseph Dwyer, whose photo so famously ran in media across the world as the very face of American compassion in Iraq — following his suicide, stories of his PTSD were ubiquitous. Prior to that, a student in my journaling class spoke up to mention he counsels soldiers returning from combat, often suicidal and suffering from PTSD. Stuff like that reminds me I once had PTSD. I remember, but move on.When it comes to birth, I don’t think I was traumatized-not severely. Sure, it was once heartbreaking, and true to the checklist of PSTD characteristics, I felt an overwhelming desire to avoid going back to the hospital (or the doctor’s office), but, really — I’ve had it much worse. Like so many moms, I was just glad to go home with a reasonably healthy baby! He gave me plenty to focus on, and I was way too in love with him to give much thought to my own mental health.While pregnant the second time, I stumbled into some books on birth, including “Birthing From Within,” by Pam England. That book dealt with traumatized mothers, and if you or someone you know might be in need of some help dealing with lingering birth trauma, I highly recommend it. What it did for me, as a disappointed (but eager to try again) birther was empower me to make decisions about my birth. I chose to go natural the second time. I hired a doula. I limply attempted to do breathing training. I succeeded in having a natural birth in the hospital-but my second son was born “sunny side up,” which meant his face was pointing up instead of down when he bulldozed his way into the world. It hurt. A lot. Still, with my loving doula Kim at my side, I came through it in victory. I did hold my baby on my chest, he was completely healthy, and even though having him that way was the hardest thing I have ever done physically, I really did it my way. Looking back on that, the worst I can ascribe to the hospital or its staff was a petty series of annoyances. No trauma, no drama, just get out of the way of this mama!Considering the confusion of my first birth, and the pain of my second, I chose to try homebirth the third time. I spent the entire nine months (seriously), planning for it, and my training paid off. I journaled about the upcoming birth nearly every day. I lined up my supportive friends. I had a caring midwife, as well as an OB/GYN (not as caring, but he was around), and my doula was back. My husband and I went to Bradley classes, and we invested in a library of resources on homebirth. Little by little, I accepted that we human beings really have been giving birth at home, naturally, for thousands of years. Lo and behold, my body managed a very easy birth with the support of loving friends and attendants. It hurt, but not for long, and I never even had to push. Contractions just carried my third child out of me, like a wave crashing into the beach. There he was. Healthy, serene, perfect. There is a photo of me, smiling, holding him in my arms, immediately after he was born. I had finally outrun those birth demons, and what a prize. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever done, and it truly changed my life. I went on to change careers, write a book, visit a monastery for a week, play roller derby — all kinds of things that I still think are not as cool as having a homebirth, but I would perhaps not have had the confidence to do, had I not named and claimed the birth of my third miracle child. That is the total opposite of trauma, without a doubt.I know I was fortunate. I had a healthy child, I was a healthy mom, and there were no complications. I had great (double) pre-natal care, and all was well. But, honestly, I can’t help but wonder-what if all births were approached this way? What if all births were prepared for as if they would be healthy and natural, not riddled with fear and pain? What if television shows involving the “birth in the taxi cab” plotline didn’t climax for once with a panting woman screeching through perfect makeup about how much pain she was in? What if all the reality shows based out of hospital rooms were outlawed, outright? What if we just looked at birth, as a culture and as a society, for the true joy it is and not just for the addition of a new baby, but for the accomplishment that a woman’s body is able to do? That might just be outright empowering for moms, instead of traumatizing. Imagine.I’m grateful for health care professionals and the training they complete in order to save lives and prevent tragedies-but if the intervention is causing PTSD in moms, perhaps it’s time to back off a little, and take a different tact. There’s more to birth than fear, blood and guts. Let’s stop scaring moms, and start giving them the tools they need to go into birth with confidence-no matter where they choose to birth. There has to be a better way.To learn more about PTSD, visit the National Center for PostTraumatic Stress Disorder online at ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/index.jsp (geared toward veterans), or talk to your health care provider.Leslea M. Harmon is a freelance writer, wife, and mother, in New Albany, IN. She can be reached at Leslea.Harmon@gmail.com, or online at lmharmon.com

telefoni cellulari e bambini

Telefoni cellulari e bimbi: invito alla prudenza
Secondo un ricerca svedese l'uso dei telefoni cellulari sembra destinato ad aumentare di cinque volte il rischio di tumore al cervello per bambini e teenager perché hanno il cranio più sottile e quindi le radiazioni emesse dai cellulari penetrano con maggiore profondità e nocività.
La ricerca sui cellulari è stata coordinata dal professor Lennart Hardell, dell'università di Orebro, ed arriva a sostenere che il rischio di tumore al cervello si quintuplica per bambini e adolescenti anche se vivono in abitazioni dove ci sono telefoni fissi senza fili. Il prof. Hardell è convinto che i bambini sotto i 12 anni dovrebbero far uso di telefonino "soltanto in casi di emergenza" mentre gli adolescenti dovrebbero servirsi dei congegni di 'viva voce' e "concentrarsi sui messaggini". Si dovrebbero adottare queste precauzioni fino all'età di vent'anni quando il cervello arriva al suo definitivo sviluppo. Lo studioso svedese avverte che non si può escludere una vera e propria epidemia di tumori al cervello provocata dall'uso del telefonino durante l'infanzia e l'adolescenza per il futuro perché in parecchi casi ci vogliono decenni prima che il cancro si manifesti. In particolare, il rischio riguarda di due tipi di tumore: glioma e neuroma acustico, il secondo benigno ma spesso causa di sordità. La settimana scorsa il parlamento europeo ha votato con 522 voti su 16 l'urgenza di sollecitare i paesi membri a raccomandare limiti più stretti all'esposizione dei bambini a radizioni di telefoni cellulari, telefoni senza fili, wi-fi e altri dispositivi, poichè il loro sistema nervoso si sta ancora sviluppando.
25/9/2008 Redazione bambinonaturale

Fumo passivo e bambini

FUMO, SEMPRE LONTANO DAI BAMBINI
ROMA - Ecco un altro buon motivo per non fumare vicino ai propri figli: il fumo passivo potrebbe dare dipendenza anche senza aver mai acceso una sigaretta. Infatti uno studio condotto da Jennifer O'Loughlin della Université de Montreal in Canada ha dimostrato che alcuni bambini esposti al fumo passivo dei genitori in macchina e in casa manifestano i sintomi della dipendenza da nicotina."Secondo le conoscenze comuni una persona che non fuma non può sviluppare dipendenza da nicotina - ha dichiarato Mathieu Belanger che ha diretto lo studio su 1800 bambini tra i 10 e i 12 anni - ma il nostro studio ha dimostrato chiaramente che almeno il 5% dei bambini che non hanno mai fumato neppure una sigaretta ma che convivono con genitori fumatori, e sono dunque esposti a fumo passivo in casa e in macchina, riportano i sintomi tipici della dipendenza da nicotina", per esempio ansia, aggressività, irrequietezza, problemi col sonno e aumento di appetito.
Da notizie Ansa on line

L'agricoltore ed il ginecologo

Ho appena finito di leggere questo libro e credo che sia uno dei migliori scritti da Michel Odent , è chiaro ed illuminante.
Lo consiglio caldamente a tutti.
Qualcuno di voi l'ha già letto? Che ne pensate?
L'Agricoltore e il Ginecologo
L'industrializzazione della nascitaIl Leone Verde - luglio 2006

Agricoltura e dell'allevamento, si interroga sul futuro di una società in cui i bambini nascono in condizioni "artificiali", privi di quel cocktail di "ormoni dell'amore" rilasciati dalla donna quando il parto e l'allattamento avvengono initon modo naturale.Gli studi raccolti da varie discipline raccolti da Odent offrono conferme scientifiche del fatto che è possibile, andando a perturbare in modo routinario e sistematico i bisogni fisiologici della donna e del neonato, interferire in modo grave sulla relazione madre bambino e quindi sulla capacità di amare dell'essere umano, che si manifesterà solo dopo anni e in varie modalità (verso se stessi, verso gli altri verso la natura).Se vogliamo che la vita continui ad essere sostenibile sul pianeta dobbiamo creare un uomo nuovo, capace di amare la natura e i suoi simili. Un passo necessario perché questo avvenga è, secondo Odent, riscoprire quali sono le esigenze fisiologiche della madre e del bambino durante il periodo che va dal momento del concepimento fino al primo anno di vita.Analizza inoltre il caso dell'Italia, al primo posto in Europa per numeri di tagli cesarei (intorno al 40%, e in alcune regioni come la Campania risulta essere il modo più comune di partorire).
(tratto da un articolo apparso sulla rivista Aam Terranuova – aprile 2006)

American Elections

Indicazioni utili per il travaglio

http://www.childbirthconnection.org/pdf.asp?PDFDownload=comfort-in-labor-simkin

Unicef report

UNICEF: Maternal Deaths High in Developing Countries
09.24.2008


More than 99 per cent of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries, according to a report card released by UNICEF.In its ``Progress for Children,''report, the UN Children's Fund states that 84 per cent of the deaths is concentrated in Sub-saharan Africa and South Asia . ``The tragic fact is that every year, more than half a million women lose their lives as a result of complications due to pregnancy or childbirth. ``The causes of maternal mortality are clear, as are the means to combat them, yet women continue to die unnecessarily, the report said. According to the report, haemorrhage is the most common cause of death, particularly in Africa and Asia . A woman's overall health, including her nutritional level and HIV status, also influences the chances of a positive outcome to her pregnancy and childbirth, it said. Other influences include societal factors, such as poverty, inequity and general attitudes towards women and their health. ``Maternal mortality rates are often impacted by cultural or traditional practices that often prevent women from seeking delivery or post-partum care. ``In the developing world, the risk of death from complications relating to pregnancy and childbirth over the course of a woman’s lifetime is one in 76, compared with one in 8,000 in the industrialised world.”``The riskiest place to give birth is Niger , where that risk is estimated to be one in seven,'' the report notes. It states that most maternal deaths are avoidable and a key to avoiding them is better health care, particularly during pregnancy, delivery and in the post-partum period. The report notes that there have been some promising areas of improvement in maternal health interventions in recent years. ``Coverage of antenatal care throughout the developing world has increased by 15 percentage points in the past decade, with 75 per cent of expectant mothers now receiving some antenatal care. ``It states that many countries have boosted coverage of skilled delivery attendance.” ``Ensuring that skilled personnel are present at all deliveries and that these personnel have access to emergency care where necessary is the most effective means of saving the lives of mothers,'' it said. The report notes that the pace of progress towards reaching the Millennium Development Goal on maternal health has been too slow throughout the developing world.