This article in the Seattle Times profiles my doula trainer and birth hero, Penny Simkin. The author really captured what I love about her: both her strength and her gentleness.
Monthly Archive for March, 2008
In the latest issue of “International Doula“, the DONA member publication, the cover story is the moving account of a new doula from the Western world who comes to Afghanistan for a short stint at providing childbirth support to women there.
It’s true that America’s maternal and perinatal mortality rates are among the lowest in the developed world, but when we compare all the countries – where poverty and sickness is rampant, midwives don’t have proper training or supplies, and conditions for birthing are filthy and crowded – we are so blessed. 1,900 out of every 100,000 women die of childbirth-related causes in Afghanistan, giving the country the dubious title of having the second-worst maternal mortality rates in the world (next to Sierra Leone).
The article isn’t available online, but I wanted to share some memorable quotes:
“Instantly, my confidence and assurance shatters into a million pieces of humility. Weeks of planning and bargaining afforded me to an opportunity to assist in a maternity ward for the largest hospital in Afghanistan, Rabia Balkhi. Smiling, singing to babies, congratulating mothers and distributing donated gifts of receiving blankets and hand-crocheted caps, I enter into this world with no more sense of reality than Afghans have of Disney World.”
“Flies are everywhere. There are no breakfast trays with nourishing food. Mothers sit two to a bed with babies lying next to them. No balloons adorn the sheet-less metal beds highlighting a celebratory event. No family members are cooing over new grandchildren, nieces or nephews. No tearful husbands are prideful of both spouse and child. Only women in a shell-shocked state.”
“The room fills to overflowing. Seven women labor in six beds. Silence appears to be the preferred method of suffering. One exception is a young pretty woman experiencing her first labor. She cries loudly to Allah expecting respite. Medical staff laugh and joke. There is no camaraderie between the women, only blank regard.”
“Asked to raise her hips, a black trash bag is slid underneath her. The bottom is secured by her hips, the top pulled apart as if disposing waste into a trash can.”
“Internal examinations are routinely done every four hours despite changes reported by mothers. The midwife removes one glove from a large, dirty pouch. The door to the hallway stays open – drawn curtains, or any curtains at all, are non-existent. Hands are not washed.”
“Warmth from the medical staff is extended even if I am seen as an oddity. When the women contract, I massage their backs, let them lean into my shoulders, give them a gift of lotion. They are grateful. The staff is medically attentive and quite efficient. There is, however, no nurturing. Pain medication is expensive and not readily available. The only
alternatives are natural births and cesarean sections.”
“…she is hooked up to an IV and is repeatedly motioning for water. There were no cups. I remember seeting a water cooler in the hallway. I walk out and notice several women in line. Only one cup was near them, and each woman that drank that day sipped from the same cup. Shock had long since removed itself from my emotions. I quietly observe as they drink and dodge the water running down the fronts of their clothes caused by a hold in the bottom of the paper container.”
I always look forward to my copy of International Doula in the mail and devour it, cover to cover in one sitting. International Doula is just one of the many benefits of membership to DONA International – and you don’t need to be a doula to be a member. The only requirement is that you are passionate about emotional support of families during the childbearing years. Join today.
A new study found that for women , or at least for women without epidural anesthesia, having someone coach a women how and when to push during contractions makes almost no difference to shorten labor, and may actually increase future bladder problems. This study follows an earlier one that determined that coached pushing increases pelvic floor injury. “Purple pushing” is what we birthy-types call that sort of coaching – holding your breath and pushing for all your might for ten seconds at a time. Here’s a quote:
“Oftentimes, it’s best for the patient to do what’s more comfortable for her,” said Dr. Steven Bloom, lead author of the paper and interim chair of obstetrics and gynecology at UT Southwestern.
Go read the rest of the article here.
A researcher in Australia recently discovered stem cells, or something very like them, in breastmilk. We yet don’t know the significance of this, but isn’t it cool? Dr. Creagan believes that breastmilk provides for a newborn in a similar way that the placenta provided for the growing fetus. He hypothesizes that breastmilk might serve the function of “help[ing] ensure that the baby fulfills his genetic destiny”. Says Seattle Midwifery School, “Don’t think we’ll be seeing stem cells in formula any time soon.”
Read more here.