CDC Report: Home birth on the rise

The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics just released a report on home birth (PDF) . Filled with graphics and easily understood language, this report is visually appealing and accessible to the lay public. This report, titled "Home Births in the United States, 1990-2009," has spurred a NPR Report and CNN news article.

2 Natural Hospital Birth Videos

Both moms birth in a hands and knees position. I wish more women felt free to push in different positions. The laying on your back position that is so common in hospitals has a lot of drawbacks. Watch these beautiful births here.

A reality show featuring 2 home births.

I love seeing the prenatals and the births sure do bring back memories!

You sniffed WHAT up your nose??

Yes, Cayenne pepper. I had heard from a friend back in Utah that you could sniff a tiny bit of cayenne powder and it would cure a headache. I never tried it there because I typically only get migraines when I am not pregnant and I heard this while I was pregnant with Leo. Two summers ago, I began to have at least 1 migraine a month(usually the day before my period). It was miserable. I had some Zomig which is a prescription migraine medicine but sometimes it seemed as if the meds gave me worse feelings than the migraine. A couple months ago, I began to get migraines again. I am guessing my body is trying to get back into ovulation mode and my hormones are causing them. Well, again I used a Zomig but was completely out of it the next day. I felt like I had been beat up. You see, when you take a prescription migraine medicine, it first tightens everything before it releases and makes your pain go away. At least this is how I feel it. I got a new prescription for relpax which I took in college because I remembering it being more mild on my body. So the week of Christmas, I started to feel a migraine coming on in the middle of the night. I was no nervous about taking the prescription medicine that I decided it couldn't hurt to try this cayenne up-the-nose thing. I dipped my pinky in my new packet of cayenne and sticking it half way up my nose, I sniffed deeply. BURNING! Haha. Yes, at first I thought that this might be along the lines of stepping on some one's foot to distract them form their headache but then 15 minutes later, it was gone! No muscle weakness involved. When I got another migraine at my parents house a few days later, I put on my robe, and scoured my mom's spice rack at 1am. I found some new cayenne pepper and did the same thing. I even did fewer flecks of the pepper to minimize the burning in the nose effect. Again, it was gone in less than 20 minutes. Two successes in one week sold me. I am a cayenne convert. I actually have a small headache now and I think I will try it to see if it works on all of my headaches.

Here are some links about Cayenne pepper and headaches. When I looked it up, I found that many people advocate mixing it in water and drinking it. Very good information for people who suffer from headaches but prefer to use more natural remedies. So who will be brave and try it out? I would love to see posts in my comments if any of you try it and it works for you. Good luck!


http://kellymom.com/herbal/natural-treatments.html#migraine

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061104105748AATtqhj

A hospital birth story

I have a friend and fellow doula who is allowing me to share her birth story here. I think many people may think that because I support and have had home births that I think that is the only way to go. Actually I know that the majority of women will not birth at home and there is no reason why a hospital birth can't be as peaceful and respectful. I remember the first birth story I ever read was from my sister in-law while I was pregnant with my first. I found it fascinating and was overwhelmed at the beauty of it. At the time, I was planning on getting to the hospital and getting medicated as soon as possible so this was a new thing for me to read her story. She spoke of leaving the hospital AMA to go get herself something to eat, being at home in the tub, having a doula(what on earth is that??!), her husband sitting behind her while she pushed, and music being played. I loved it but at the time thought that was SO not me. She was in a hospital and had even been on bed rest for many weeks. She educated herself about birth and her body, hired a doula and had a wonderful hospital birthing experience.
Back to my friend, K. She actually wrote me at some point while she was pregnant and shared her plans for a natural birth and wanted me to know that she had been following my blog. Here is her birth story:

My guess date was June 2nd, but instead of a baby I had a prenatal appointment. At that time the midwife (Titi) asked me if I wanted her to sweep my membranes. I did not go to that appointment prepared to answer that question, so I just went along with it. I figured if she suggested it, then it's probably okay to do. (I'm not doing that again.) By the time I made it to my car I felt premenstrual-like cramping. I called Robbie just to let him know what happened and that I was feeling premenstrual.
Around 3:30pm on June 3rd I noticed something that HAD to be bloody show. I wasn't sure that's what it was at the time, though hindsight being what it is, how could I have NOT known that's what it was? Robbie got home around 4pm and I told him about it. He was so excited! I was still feeling crampy from the day before, so around 4:30 I decided I felt like taking a long shower. We were supposed to go to a church function that night, but I just felt like taking time in the shower before we left. I asked him to check on me every 30 minutes just to make sure I didn't fall asleep in the shower or something. I was planning on taking a VERY long shower.
Time went by pretty quickly in the shower, and I stayed in there until 6pm. When I got out to get ready to go, I thought, "I'll just lay down on the bed for a minute." Well, apparently Robbie fell asleep too! He came and woke me up at 7pm. Well, we knew that we weren't going to make it to the church function, but I still wanted to go to Sonic! I was starving! And I wanted one of their Strawberry Limeade drinks. When I stood up to go to the bathroom, something leaked out of me. I told Robbie, "Something just leaked out of me and I don't think it was pee!" We weren't really sure what was going on so we started making a bunch of phone calls.
At around 7:30pm on June 3rd my membranes ruptured, though I did not know it at the time that's what it was. I wasn't having contractions as far as I could tell, so I called the midwife (Debbie) to see if that's what it was. She told me a few things to do, and eventually she just said to come to the hospital to get checked out. We made it to the hospital around 9pm. The drive there was really calm and peaceful because I wasn't feeling any pain and I still didn't think the baby was really coming. I was kind of excited though.
When we got to the hospital they took me to a triage area, hooked me up to some monitors and used some sort of paper to see if my membranes had ruptured. They had! The nurse checked me (I think next time I'll ask them not to do that), and I was still at 3cm. After awhile the nurse told me I was having contractions and they were coming 3-4 minutes apart. I still wasn't feeling them. Robbie left to make some phone calls and I started to feel my contractions when he was gone. This was probably a little after 10pm. It seemed that things took off really quickly after this. It was funny because I was watching a Family Guy episode where Peter delivers a baby. :o)
By the time Robbie got back I wasn't having fun anymore. I actually started gagging during my contractions, and I had not started any kind of coping mechanisms. It was a good idea that we never had a chance to go to Sonic because I probably would have lost my dinner at that point. I remember at some point the nurse brought a birthing ball in there, but I just didn't feel like getting out of the bed yet. I was waiting for them to get my room prepped which seemed to take forever. Debbie came in there and talked to me for a little while. I felt kind of guilty and rude because it was very difficult to talk. I suppose she's used to women getting like that! There were a couple of other mothers she was attending at the same time. Because I was a first timer, they thought I would take a long time.
While I was waiting in triage, Robbie and Debbie would go in and out a couple of times. Because I had not felt my contractions yet, I was not worried. Until then I had been watching the monitor and marveling at the fact that I could not feel what the monitor was showing. I suddenly started feeling them at one point when I was completely alone and I became worried I would not be able to handle those contractions for 12-14 more hours! Robbie came back at some point and helped me start using low deep sounds. Finally my room was ready, but by then it was difficult for me to walk. I'm glad I decided to get wheeled to the room rather than walk; the breeze felt really good.
When I got there I really did not want to have to get out of the chair, but somehow I made it to the bed. When I got there, I had a contraction and blew chunks all over myself! Poor Robbie, I almost got him in the face. They began filling up the tub for me. At some point Debbie came back (she had several ladies to tend to). I remember I was just standing there for some reason, probably looking overwhelmed and lost, and I started having a contraction. She just ran to me and hugged me through the contraction. It took a little while to make it to the tub. I had to lean over the bathroom sink and rock my hips through a wave while Debbie rubbed on my back. I finally made it to the tub and spent the rest of labor in there. Oh boy what a relief!
All I remember is that contractions never seemed to completely go away, even in the water, and Robbie really helped me remember my low sounds. He would vocalize with me and I appreciated him doing that so I would not feel so self conscious. It was the perfect way for him to help me! I tried to visualize each wave as an ocean wave entering a cave and going back out again, as if it was pulling the baby out of me. That was my favorite idea out of all the stories I read, and I tried to use it. I also tried to take each wave one at a time. Debbie (midwife) turned off the lights in there and kept telling what to relax-usually my shoulders. I don't remember what made her decide to get me out of the tub, but she and Robbie helped me out of the tub. I remember saying, "I need to poop!" as I was getting out. Debbie replied, "That's the baby!" I remember feeling a mixture of not really believing her and extreme happiness.
I remember thinking right before they helped me out of the tub that I didn't know how much longer I could handle it, and I definitely understood why women would want relief. I also remember thinking that I wasn't getting any breaks between rushes. I'm not sure if I said these things out loud. Robbie told me I didn't talk during labor. I think the only thing I said was, "Oh sh*t!" when Debbie told me it was time to start pushing. Robbie said that was comic relief!
I made it back to the bed and Debbie checked me for the first and only time that she did that. I was at 9.5 cm. I was so surprised, relieved, and really happy! Debbie got me to do little pushes to get completely to 10cm because I had a little lip of cervix in the way. I think she left the room for a little while and when she came back she said it was time to push. Whoa! Already? Really? (This is the part where I said, "Oh sh*t!" because I don't think I was emotionally ready. I got ready quickly because I thought, "I don't care what happens! I don't care how much it hurts, I'm going to get this baby out! I'm not going to hold back because that will only slow things down. And if I poop on myself oh well!" Yes, I thought all of that, and then got to work. Once I got those thoughts out of the way, I was able to completely focus on the task at hand.)
I don't remember how long the pushing stage lasted but Robbie said it lasted about 30 minutes. I remember being scared of crowning before but it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Debbie REALLY did a lot to help me do a good job pushing. After reading many birth stories since then, she was probably protecting my perineum-another reason why crowning may not have been as bad as I thought it would be. And then, all of a sudden, she was out! Debbie immediately put her on my chest and she stayed there for the rest of everything. They helped me latch her on, and I was able to breast feed before they did anything to her. Robbie says the first thing I said to her was, "Hey little thing!" He says that's the sweetest thing he's ever heard and he'll never forget it. I did NOT like when they massaged my uterus after. So Lilian Nicole was born at 2:41am on June 4, 2010. She weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and was 20 inches long. I'm completely in love with my little baby and so impressed with the work my body was able to do! I can't believe I achieved an unmedicated birth, but I am so thankful that I was able to do it. What makes me really happy is how much Robbie is happy with the care I received from the midwives. He didn't trust them at first, but now he really does!
** Note: After the wonderful care I received with from midwives at The Women's Specialists of Houston, I decided to start the journey to become a doula.

So, for all of you out there wondering what things can be done to achieve a positive birth(for YOU..every one's definition is different), here are some suggestions:

1. Pick a hospital with mother/baby-friendly practices..this can include rooming in, no separation from mother, and support of breastfeeding from the time of birth.

2. If you don't want a c-section, avoid a hospital with high c-section rates. One hospital in your city may have a 20% rate and one may have a 50% rate...pick the lower.

3. Pick a practitioner who supports normal birth. Red flags would be anyone who tells you what they will "allow" or ones who brush off your questions. Remember you are paying THEM. You need to feel respected. If you don't get that feeling during pre-natals, you probably won't during labor and birth. I would like to make a plug for Certified Nurse Midwives who practice in hospitals. They have very low intervention rates and are less likely to opt for surgery for their own convenience. They will also be with you during labor more than an OB who will get there when you are pushing. I am not saying that all Dr.s are bad though..there are good ones out there, you just have to find them. Ask them how often they induce, and for what reasons. If getting to your "due date" is a reason to induce, this may end up being a Dr. who does not have patience for your body or your baby. If you have had a c-section before and would like to have a vaginal delivery(VBAC), ask them what percent of their VBACing moms actually have VBACS. It is easy to say you support them but some Dr.s will only "support" one if you go into labor by 40 weeks or whatever other reasons they may come up with.

4. Labor at home as long as you can. The sooner you get to the hospital, the sooner you are on their "clock".

5. When you call to say you are coming in, request a nurse who "enjoys working with unmedicated mothers" This will make a huge difference as your nurse will be with you more than your delivery attendant. No one wants to have a nurse with a chip on her shoulder because you want to walk around, get in water, or eat. Which brings me to my next point.

6. Eat and drink. Want to know a secret?? You can eat in the hospital. They can't force you to only have ice chips. I always feel bad when moms feel they have no choice in this matter. You may need to sign a waiver or eat when the staff leave your room but you should be able to if you want. For faster labors, you may not want to eat but most women will become very thirsty towards the end of labor and during pushing. No one expects marathon runners to go without food or drink to replenish your energy so why do we expect birthing women to go without? I always feel so bad when I know of a woman in labor who was induced or something and it is a 2 day labor. I always think, " I bet she's not even getting anything to eat or drink" and worry about her being too tired or weak when it comes to pushing.

7. Get in positions YOU feel are the most comfortable. A woman on her back is most convenient to the nurses and the Dr. You should not worry about them but about what your body and baby need. I have a cousin who swore when she was pregnant with her 1st that she would do any position BUT hands and knees. She thought it was too animal like I think. Guess what she did when she got to the birth center? She got straight on her hands and knees and pushed her baby out just like that. She did what came naturally to her in the moment. Also, if you have a care provider that will only "let" you birth in certain positions...Red Fag!

8. Hire a doula! Doulas can provide different things for different families. A doula for one mom may provide hours of massage during labor if she is not wanting medication. For another mom, she may provide emotional support during a medicated birth as well as facilitate in postional changes that can help the baby move down if the mother is confined to a bed. Doulas can remind staff of wishes the couple may have regarding their birth. Doulas can think of things the mother or husband, such as bringing a sports drink of water to a mom in between pushes. The list goes on.

To conclude, you have options..but only if you know them. If you don't research your choices in pregnancy and childbirth, you will not have any. One of the perks of birthing at home is that most of this stuff is a given. I wanted to share this example of a hospital birth where the mother was able to birth the way she wanted to and was respected. Every woman deserves to feel respected and empowered during childbirth..whatever kind of birth that is.

Bishop Score, Inductions, and C- Sections

These days, you can not talk to a group of women about labor without someone mentioning induction. Most of the time, women will say that their bodies "never went into labor on it's own." Sometimes, it will be a suspected large baby. For others, it will be that their fluid was a bit low. Maybe it is for convenience because a doctor is going out of town. Maybe the mom was just "done" with pregnancy. Whatever the reason, inductions are occurring far too often in perfectly healthy women with perfectly healthy uteruses. Most women (once me included) have no clue that there are serious risks to being induced. They may think that Pitocin is the "same thing" your body will produce. After all, if there were no risks, why not know the day your will meet your little one? Why "deal" with pregnancy for a possible week or two past your "due date"?
Intermountain Healthcare in Utah is one of the first hospital groups to stop allowing elective inductions prior to 39 weeks(I wish it was till 41 though). Because of this change in policy, they have seen a dramatic decrease in their c-section rates. I was recently looking at their website and found some information that they had on inductions. Here is what they say about inductions including some graphs.

Expert guidelines:
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is a professional organization for doctors who deliver babies. The following guidelines are based on advice from this organization. Your healthcare provider uses these guidelines to make a safe decision about whether or not an elective induction is right for you and your baby. If you don’t meet these guidelines, your healthcare provider may recommend letting labor take its natural course.
Before inducing labor:
Your healthcare provider must confirm that you have not previously had a cesarean delivery (C-section) or major surgery on your uterus.
Your healthcare provider must be certain of your due date to prevent starting labor too early, before your baby is fully developed.
You must be at least 39 weeks along in your pregnancy.
Your cervix must be soft and ready to open (dilate). Your provider can tell this by examining your cervix to determine a Bishop Score, which is the standard measure for assessing the cervix’s readiness for labor. A Bishop Score of at least 10(some studies say 8) for first-time moms (8(6) for others) is a common threshold. With this score, the likelihood of having a vaginal delivery after induction is similar to that of spontaneous labor. See the graphs below to see how Bishop Score relates to length of labor and C-section rate.

When labor is electively induced before 39 weeks of pregnancy:
Your baby is 2 to 3 times more likely to be admitted to intensive care. This will mean a longer and more difficult hospital stay for your baby. It may also make it harder for the two of you to breastfeed or bond.
Your baby may have trouble breathing and need to be connected to a breathing machine (ventilator) to help her breathe.
Your baby may have trouble maintaining body temperature and need to spend time in a warming area (incubator) to keep her body temperature stable.

As you can see, there IS a correlation between inductions and c-sections...especially if the induction is done with a mom having a low bishop score. I can't tell you how many times I have known people who have been induced when they told me they are not yet dilated and their cervix is only 70-80% and the baby is still high in the pelvis. I always wonder if their care provider attempted to attain a favorable bishop score before encouraging the induction.

Here is the problem, if the mom's body is not ready (esp. in a 1st time mom) , it has the potential to lead straight to surgery. If the mom's body is not ready, the cervix may take a while to soften and dilate...this may take longer than a doctor is willing to wait. The baby may also not be in a good position for the descent that it is being forced to do and may not come down. Before you know, the mom is being told that either her pelvis is too small or that her baby is too big and they perform surgery for the birth to occur.

Another scenario that occurs is that the baby does not tolerate the pitocin (which causes stronger and longer contractions) well. The baby's heart rate may dip too low because of the stress and before you know, you have an emergency c-section.

I had pitocin with my first birth. My water had broken but I went straight to the hospital and they immediately put me on pitocin. I did not get to experience my contractions starting on their own; they would have. My first experience with labor was with pitocin..I HATED IT. I got an epidural as soon as I could. Now having experienced early labor for 2 births, I can tell moms the difference. When labor begins on it's own, it is a warm, mild tightening feeling that gradually grows in intensity. You ease into it. It makes labor much nicer in my opinion.

My biggest letdown about inductions(unless truly medically necessary of course) is how undermining it is. Yes, I am sharing MY opinion because you all want to know what it is;-) After all, you came to my blog.

I personally feel that it undermines the woman's body, the baby's readiness to be born, and God, who designed our bodies to work the way they do. To hear a woman say that her body never would have gone into labor makes me sad. Does she believe her body is broken? I hope not. Maybe her body needed 1 more day, or 2, or maybe even a week. I can't tell anyone an exact statistic but I am sure that in the history of man, most women are physically able to go into labor. You may think your baby is ready but maybe your body "cooks" babies a little longer. Here I thought during my last pregnancy that I was 41 weeks pregnant and when my midwife did the newborn evaluation, she told me that Sophia looked more like a 39 week baby.

I remember going to a birth a year ago and the mother's water had broken at 9:30pm. When her contractions started a few hours later, I found myself teary. Why? Because it was almost healing for me to see that it really does work. That my contractions would have started on their own when I was having Bella. I personally believe that the God that made me is a genius. I can not look at how perfectly our bodies are designed and not see divinity. It is amazing how babies grow into these people from a group of cells. Lactation fascinates me. When babies are induced without a medical reason, it is a little like a slap in the face. Mothers are also missing out on seeing how their bodies work.

We seem to be a society that wants everything convenient. We want our food to come fast. We want our Internet fast. We want to have marriages without working on them. We want births to happen when we want them to.

There you have my thoughts as of lately on inductions.

Fact vs. Opinion

Suppose your child comes to you and tells you that 2+3=6....
Now, you know from your studies that this is not correct; 2+3=5.
Is this you being opinionated?

I suppose it is your opinion since you feel you have facts to back it up. But what if your child got mad at your telling him that really, the sum is 5?

I start with this example because I was recently referred to on someone's blog as opinionated and that she didn't agree with me. I have never even met this woman but she called me wanting advice on inductons. She was a first time mom and had an induction date set for 3 days after her "due date" I put on my doula hat and asked her if she wanted to be induced(if she did and knew the risks involved than it would be her choice) I had been told that she wanted a natural birth(found out on the phone that to her, that meant a vaginal birth) She said she was going back and forth. I told her that I knew how she was feeling as I went past my last due date and most women are so ready to be done. I told her that pitocin does cause stronger contractions and that it is average for a first time mom to go to 41.5 weeks(fact). I wanted her to know however if she chose induction that it can make labor harder on the mom and the baby and does significantly increase the mom's change of a c-section.(also fact) I wanted to make sure she knew that if she did not feel right about it, she could always postpone her induction and see if her baby will come before then.(also a fact that unless medically necessary or truly "post dates", a Dr. can not force you to be induced) I told her that if it were me, I would talk about it with her husband and pray about it(she is a member of my church). I told her that the best thing a woman can do is listen to her instincts.(my opinion I guess)
She did postpone her induction date to 9 days after her "due date" and had a vaginal birth.

Here's where my mind is: I DO have opinions. Pretty strong ones too I guess. When I talk to people with my "doula hat" on though, I keep it almost strictly to the facts. The more educated you are on a topic, the more opinions you will naturally have. A dentist may seem "opinionated" to a patient who does not believe in flossing. However, fact is on the dentist's side that flossing really does help prevent cavities.

I often just re-post what other people write out of fear that people will be offended by my opinion. I do have thoughts though. Education does make you biased though.

So my question(rhetorical or not) is: Can someone disagree with a fact?