Healing from a cesarean adds a new dimension to postpartum care. Here I offer my approach, which considers folks’ lifelong wellness.
All in Childbirth
Why I don't write birth plans.
A plan implies that if we just make the right choices and feel really strongly about those choices, then we can control what happens during birth.
Labor Induction
Common sense dictates that there is no single universal length of complete gestation. Rather, there's a normal range during which a healthy pregnant person will spontaneously go into labor.
Reclaiming what fear steals.
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
Obstetricians practicing in the United States are influenced by ACOG statements and practice bulletins, and it's important that parents familiarize themselves with the recent position changes that are relevant to birth, choice, and justice.
A Muslim woman recently asked for some general pointers for birth, and I want to share it with all women and people who are pregnant and just starting to try to make sense of all the information out there. This one especially goes out to my Muslim sisters.
Resources for Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
Last night, my friend Shannon Staloch and I hosted our third conference call Q&A on birth. We focused on VBAC--vaginal birth after cesarean--and heard from a special guest, Muneera Fontaine.
I'm not saying that you need to have a pleasurable, orgasmic birth (though some people do), or that you need to be "smooching," masturbating, or having sex during birth (people do all of those too). I'm saying that the things that make sex good also make birth good. Or rather, the things that support a positive sexual experience will also support a positive birth experience.