I've been thinking a lot about homebirth. With all the new movies out featuring homebirth like "Business of Being Born," "Orgasmic Birth," and "Pregnant in America," it is becoming front page news.
Instead of just a human interest story about a baby born "too quickly to get to the hospital... luckily they were both checked out by the doctor and are both fine," homebirth is being discussed, dismissed, considered and legally fought for.
This is good.
What else can we do to spread the word? More women need to learn that we are strong. We don't need to be saved from birth. We can birth our own babies.
We certainly don't need to add to the amount of cesarean sections. They can be life-saving, it's true... but does anyone really think that 1/3 of American women CAN'T have a baby without it being cut out of her? Really?
There is so much education to do. I don't really care where a woman chooses to birth. If she wants to be at home, fine. If she wants to be at the hospital, fine. But she should stand a good chance to have a natural birth in the hospital... not just a 2/3 chance.
What about educating the public about eating? Could it be that eating real food instead of the processed stuff we buy in boxes and in drive thrus can be contributing to women being overweight and diabetic? These are two major reasons for cesareans and why we are told "You must birth in the hospital!"
There is so much to do. Please share your ideas by posting comments. I want us to make a difference. I want my children's generation to feel confident in their body's ability to grow and birth their babies.
We need to start spreading the word.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Spreading the Word
Posted by Toni at 9:01 PM 0 comments
Labels: cesarean, childbirth, home-birth, homebirth, nutrition
Monday, February 16, 2009
Why Women Birth at Home video
Look, I made a video! This is the first one I've made for our website, organic-birth.com. Will I be the next internet star?? Probably not, but here I am anyway.
The backdrop is a crocheted afghan made by my great-aunt Gustie, in case any of you are into textiles. It is acrylic yarn, first the backdrop was crocheted in panels, which were then stitched together. The sunflower design is cross-stitched onto the single crochet stitches. I don't know when Gustie made this, but my grandparents got it when she died, and then I got it about 10 or 15 years later when my grandmother passed away. That was 17 years ago, so it is beginning to age gracefully.
Posted by Toni at 12:49 AM 3 comments
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Public Perceptions of Breastfeeding
I am sharing this wonderful post about public perceptions of breastfeeding. I don't know who wrote it, but the author suggests sharing it if you agree. Thank you, Lennon, for posting this on your blog. I, too felt the need to share this!
Society is so sexualized that they have forgotten what God created our breasts for in the first place. They throw hissy fits over breastfeeding in public and expect us to feed our babies in dirty, stinky bathrooms. So I ask you to judge for yourself, which breasts are offensive here? And I understand some of you won't think ANY of them are offensive. But I am making a point by showing how ridiculous it is that society looks upon scantily clad women in sexy ads as ok, even GREAT, but providing important nourishment and nutrients to your child in public by breastfeeding is offensive, distasteful, disgusting, whatever. Give me your feedback. :)
Wait... well, this is a bad example. Let's try again...
Hmmm... just a minute. Surely i can find better ones than these...
Eh... still not racy enough. I'll check one more time.
That's better. LOOK AT THAT! I see about an inch of boob! Totally disgusting.
Ugh! Look at that indecency!! She must be from some third-world country to be exposed like that!!
Now that's just... There's no words to describe how inappropriate that is. Something needs to be done!!
Now this takes the cake!! How dare they actually put such a disgusting image on the cover of a magazine where teenage boys might see it. This simply must be disposed of ASAP via a shredder, before teenage boys learn what boobs are really for!!
This just makes me want to vomit!
...but why stop at breastfeeding women? There are boobs everywhere. Beware! If you thought the above photos were offensive, you WILL DEFINITELY be offended by the photos below.
Not this one though. This was in plain view on newsstands and in mailboxes in 19 countries worldwide!
Not this one either. This one actually won an award!
Oh, and i guess this ones fine too, since everyone knows you can't sell jeans without someone being topless.
or beer, for that matter!
or sunglasses...
or movie tickets...
or CDs...
...you know what? Maybe I'm crazy, but i think that someone mixed up some photos here. The first batch are offensive, but the second batch are just fine and dandy???
people who live in glass bras:
shouldn't throw stones:
Which message is healthier?
Breastfeeding which is medically approved to give HUMANS the best start in life. . . or
Images that promote STD's, unattainable beauty standards, sexual promiscuity, plastic surgery, and just plain TRUE indecency?
Which would you rather your daughter live up to?
Ifyou think women have the right to breastfeed their children no matter where they are, please re-post this. The least you can do is help some children get the best nutrition they can get. Breastfed babies have lower instances of obesity, asthma, allergies, certain childhood diseases, learning disabilities, and other health problems. For each woman who feels like she shouldn't be breastfeeding right where she is, there is an innocent baby who is losing out. Don't be responsible for any child's health problems. support breastfed babies and their right to eat in public like the rest of us.
Posted by Toni at 1:03 PM 2 comments
Labels: babies breastfeeding, breastfeeding, nursing mothers, public nursing