Birthing Basics Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 3

Hi Everyone and Welcome to any new members! Sorry for the extended hiatus, I did not mean for it to be so long between issues, but life got in the way I guess. I promise to work harder on this newsletter if you all tell a friend about Birthing Basics. The more the merrier! If anyone has any requests for certain topics, let me know and I'll see what I can find for you. And now, on to the good stuff.... As most of you know by now, if you have read my website, I am very passionate about birth, especially pure birth. But, I do realize that this choice of birthing is not for everyone. However, no matter what your birthing plans, be it hospital, home or birthing center, you do need to know how to handle those times when mother nature won't wait for your plans. Sometimes called unintentional unassisted birth, a birth where mother nature says the baby is coming NOW, whether you are ready or not, can be traumatic if you are not prepared. Of course, they can be empowering, too, depending on how you look at it. The difference is in your beliefs about birth. Do you believe that birth is a normal, natural function of the female body or a dangerous medical procedure? One book that should be read by every pregnant couple is Emergency Childbirth by Dr. Gregory White. It is basically a manual for people like EMTs, police officers and taxicab drivers who sometimes find themselves attending a birth in an emergency. It goes into concise instructions on how to handle any complication of birth. But, as the introduction points out: In over 95 percent of the cases of emergency childbirth, though the emergency attendant will be overwhelmed with gratitude and widely praised as a hero or heroine, he or she can smile within themselves at the knowledge that their simple tasks could have been performed by any bright eight year old. As I am sure that none of your baby's fathers are eight year olds, this means your significant other is perfectly capable of handling an emergency birth. You can even do it alone, if need be. Here are a few other links on precipitous birth: Worst Case Scenario Birth Stories Be prepared for anything! You never know what mother nature has in store for you! It is up to you to make the birth of your baby, no matter how unexpected, the loving, gentle experience it should be. Terror, panic and tension have no place in the welcoming of a child into our world. Early clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord is a common procedure performed by maternity caregivers. There is mounting evidence that it causes damage to the newborn child. Here are some links with info to convince you to leave that cord alone: http://www.cordclamping.com/ http://www.mercola.com/2003/mar/8/umbilical_cord.htm At one far edge of the "when to cut the cord" spectrum is a practice called Lotus Birth. Take a look at what some highly aware parents are choosing to do: http://www.pregnancy.com.au/Lotus_birth.htm http://www.withwoman.co.uk/contents/info/lotus.html A frequent occurrence during birth is the tearing of the perineum, usually minor, sometimes more extensive. The common practice is for your caregiver to suture the tear. However, there is some evidence that excessive sutures can actually hinder the healing process, leading to painful scars that persist long after the wound has healed. I speak from experience when I say this. With my first child, I had a second degree tear and had many stitches put in. It seemed to heal well, but after the six week postpartum check up, I experienced painful intercourse for the next 2 years until the birth of my second child. This was a homebirth, and while I did tear minorly again, my midwife knew not to overdo the stitches. She put in only enough to help hold the edges together. I healed wonderfully and have had no pain since. Some women choose not to have sutures after tearing, especially those who have home or unassisted births. They simply rest with their legs together for a few days, cleaning the wound well after using the bathroom, sometimes with a peri bottle filled with healing herbs such as comfrey. Below is some information on the wound healing process: From Anne Frye's suturing book: Physiologic principles of wound healing consists of 4 stages which can overlap: 1) Inflammation or lag phase-first 4-6 days. Plasma, white blood cells and clotting agents fill wound. Cellular debris destroyed and bacteria consumed. During this time, until proliferation begins, tissue tensile strength is low and it is the most critical time for the edges of a wound to remain in contact (or sutures). 2) After 4 days the migration phase begins as tissue-building cells travel to the wound and adhere and hold wound together. 3) Proliferation phase lasts for 6-14 days, fibroblasts multiply and bring wound together with integrity. Collagen is secreted increasing tensile strength. If fibroblasts exceed need , keloid scar tissue may be formed. 4) Acute maturation stage 14-21 days. Solidifies scar tissue formation as collagen fibers cross over themselves. As the collagen matures, it shrinks and the wound contracts. 5) Finally, epithelial cells migrate over wound from nearby tissue and this may take as long as 6 months. When a wound is sutured later it may have to be debrided if the two sides have granulated, i.e formed a new surface. This a great site with lots of ideas and opinions about the suture/no suture question: http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/suturing.html That's all for now! Again, let me know if you have any topics of interest. I am still working on the painfree birth stuff I mentioned in the last newsletter, so stay tuned. And, tell a friend!!

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