A Bit Of History

Comments

  • wbt.affiliates
    wbt.affiliates Posts: 100 ✭✭✭

    After reading that article, I realize how unprepared I am for helping a mother through childbirth and orchestrating her aftercare. When the SHTF I need to be more prepared. There is no one else in this neighborhood who still understands the old ways. I make many of our meds, and know how to fold a cloth diaper and make a menstrual pad, but compared to Grandma, I know practically nothing at all.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    Interesting. Some of these things for home birth done long ago have updated practices in a home. A dryer is certainly your friend. Dettol is a recommended sterilizer for certain surfaces such as a bathtub when preparing for water births. Cleanliness is certainly important.

    I have had all of my many children at home. The first one had 2 midwives, the others had none. My traditional midwives told me to voraciously read (I hated reading), but I read that way with all of my pregnancies. They said that their job was to work themselves out of a job. They concluded that I did well (I kept in touch with them). Cleanliness & preparation (even knowing how to deal with emergencies) is key. I also learned that midwives, as knowledgable as they can be, also are not always correct in their chosen actions in certain situations. Some choices are much better than others. It is much like herbalism, and it is always a learning process. No midwife is a true master of their craft.

    I have kept/printed much of my materials on home birth for my daughters & hopefully my future daughter-in-laws to use. I bookmarked much, which is now lost to the cyber world. BUT, as bad as my memory might be at times, I have learned that I can recall important information relating to birth if the conversation leads that way. I can also look information up in some of my books, favorite midwifery magazines & other websites that are on my printed papers. I was introduced to Susun Weed & Midwifery Today through my midwives.

    I wish that when our neighbors has an unexpected home birth in the kitchen, that they had called us up. It would have been a lot less stressful for them.

    This is a subject that I am very passionate about. If possible, one day I would like to be a bereavement doula, have safe herbal knowledge to suggest to mothers to help in various situations and give them teaching in how to move well for better births. I am fascinated with Dancing For Birth classes and would love to learn it to teach others. So many positions can be so practical and very helpful to overcome pain & difficult situations. This would be my dream.

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Laurie - two wks. ago, I posted that 'I danced my 1st. child into the world' https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/848702#Comment_848702

    This was before I knew, there were 'classes' for this Natural ability, ((which the medical profession lied about, continuing to expand & further their $ profit schemes.)) - Like how do they explain the fact that women in many 'underprivileged' countries Birth their children naturally, as do animals, & so Birth is totally natural, & can be not only pain-free & also the most peaceful & sublime-shared experience in a woman's+baby's life.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    It is all about movement to open the birth canal & change the space shape, etc. enabling the baby to move through whether a shoulder is "stuck," a breech, big head, etc. I knew about this through midwives & reading long before these classes existed. I was struck by how belly dancing moves (gypsy woman dance movements to keep the body conditioned before and after birth) were incorporated into these classes. I believe it is old knowledge collected into one "new" program.

    Birth as I experienced it was not the same type of painful as in hospitals (I moved according to what I needed and learned some techniques to help ease pain), and I would consider it peaceful as it can be as it was definately natural. The water (bathtub) births were awesome, even better than "land" birth. Our first contact connection was unimpeded by any drugs.

    We overcame "emergencies" such as 3 cord around neck wrapped babies, with knowledge of proper care. Easy as could be. The two water births somersaulted out. It was a beautiful natural movement to see and witness those babies just roll out of it unimpeded while still in the water!