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Our Editorial. By Sian Hannagan
Sep 2015
On August 31 the New Zealand college of Midwives took a courageous
move to sue our Ministry of Health for Pay Equality. Their case, led by Mai
Chen argues that pay levels for midwives breach gender rules under the
New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. This move it as gutsy as it is well past due.
Our midwives work in incredibly challenging environments .
There have been many nay-sayers to this course of action, including our
very own honourable John Key who doesn’t feel that this could possibly be
a case for sexist discrimination, right after pointing out that some female
dominated industries pay less and some male dominated industries pay
more. I feel like maybe he doesn’t understand what gender discrimination
in the workplace looks like. People wanting to undermine midwives will try
to have you believe this is a selfish act designed to pad midwives pockets
at the expense of birthing families. But the reality is, this move, if
successful will be one of the key factors in improving birth experiences and
birth outcomes for women.
That may seem like a long bow to draw, but the reality of midwifery
practice in what is now a low income environment means we are slowly but
surely losing a body of expertise that is vital to protecting birthcare quality
and choice.
Midwives fill a unique space in our healthcare, they work in the community
providing a vital service in a wide range of environments including remote
rural environments and wider urban areas where a lot of travel is required
to reach women in their homes. None of their equipment, or even
infrastructure is provided externally, which means they must provide
everything – from indemnity insurance, to back–up support in cases of
illness or for a holiday, to their clinic space and vital equipment. Hospital
based staff will walk into a hospital environment where everything, even
their scrubs are provided and laundered, midwives do not. So when pay
rates remain static and costs increase, this means that over time, midwives
experience a decrease in income.
So let us imagine for a while a birth culture where the income of midwives
remains static (as it has done for the best part of three decades). If the only
way to increase your income is to take more clients, this leaves midwives
with caseloads that may exceed their ability to provide best service. No
midwife wants to work in this environment, but when your income does not
even keep pace with cost of living, for many midwives it is about increasing
case loads or leaving midwifery altogether when financially it cannot
support their family.
Where does this leave birthing women and their families? Working with
overworked midwives, or losing birth choice as experienced as skilled
midwives leave the industry. Neither of these outcomes is good for
families. Women who cannot find a skilled midwife that they trust are left
birthing in less than ideal circumstances. Many people have commented
that if midwives don’t like the pay, they should just leave. This is fine for
people who work in luxury industries, but when it comes down to essential
health services, this is a dead end argument. Without midwives we lose and
essential service and we lose best practice in birth care.
So when we say that midwives don’t deserve equal pay, are condemning
women to birth without choice.
Home Birth Aotearoa supports this case, and we are hoping for the very
best outcome for kiwi families.
Sian Hannagan our Acting Editor
Home Birth Matters
Volume 2 Issue 3
Published continuously since 2013
ISSN 2422-9946
Editor: Sian Hannagan
Our News from Hui. By Home Birth Aotearoa
Sep 2015
Normally we report on news from our Home Birth regions around the
country, but this season we had our annual Spring Hui and it was a
beautiful event. It brought our regions together to talk about what we are
most passionate about – Home Birth!
Photo credit: Claire Humphries
It was Leonie Davis who said “Magic happens when women circle.” And for
our Home Birth community, this is certainly true. National Hui, held
annually, is a chance to do this on a grand scale. To be surrounded by a
such a strong and wise group of people who share the same vision is truly
empowering. It is a great way to fill your home birth tank.
As always the day started with a Kei a wai ceremony , where regional
groups stood to share their water and intentions for the day. The vessel we
use for this ceremony is a beautiful gift to the home birth movement,
sculpted by the home birth women of Whangarei, with the guidance and
wisdom of Hana Easton. The vessel sits as witness to the talks we have
throughout the day and as the day closes, we return the water back to the
earth and sow our intentions for the coming year.
Our beautiful vessel sits at the centre before the Kei a wai ceremony. Photo credit: Claire
Humphries.
Photo credit: Claire Humphries
The Nelson and Motueka group stand for Kei a wai. Photo credit: Claire Humphries.
The day was facilitated by Lauren who did an amazing job of drawing all of
our threads together, her heart for the cause and strong focus on
outcomes from the day meant that we had a fruitful event where space for
homebirth was truly held. Her contributions made the day what it was.
Lauren (on the left) our facilitator starts the day with a smile.
This year we had the release for our Home Birth Trust strategic planning
document, three years since the last one was created it was a great chance
to reflect on what we had achieved and what we wanted to achieve in the
coming three years. One big progression from our last document is a
move to the Ottawa charter structure. For those not familiar with the
Ottawa charter, it’s a health promotion document that is structured to
achieve outcomes in community health. When we compared our goals as a
Trust, with the outcome based structure of the Ottawa Charter, it was a no-
brainer. The two meshed really well, and going forwards it means that our
initiatives will be really compatible with other health promotion groups. To
see our new strategic planning document, head to our resources where it
can be downloaded.
We introduced our new Trust Board and ratified the three formal trust
positions as defined by our trust deed.
Sian Hannagan – Facilitator
Sharon Knightbridge – Secretary
Xavia Healey-Diaz – Treasurer
All of the current trustees. From left to right. Xavia, Sharon, Tammi, Donna, Eva and Sian.
Photo credit: Claire Humphries
The focus for the day was about strengthening our regions so it was great
to hear from Alesha who set up the new Golden Bay Home Birth group and
from Rose and Bella who have re-energised the Auckland region.
Alesha gave a great talk about how simplicity worked for her in the set up
of this new group. Her region has a high home birth rate but no organised
home birth community. So creating a space for women to talk and share
their journeys was valuable. She talked about being responsive to the
needs of the community – which for her group meant a name change to
make it more inclusive. The group is now known as ‘Birth Wisdom –
Empowered and Home Birth in Golden Bay’. This meant a focus change
from solely birth place to woman centered birth regardless of birth place.
Our Auckland region has seen some changes in recent months as one
group reached the end of its energy, this made space for a new group to
rise and give strength to the movement. Rose and Bella took the time to
create a beautiful presentation about their journey to group sustainability.
It was really great hearing about how they worked to meet the needs of
the community through hiring home birth resources which funded group
activities. They have also taken the big step of registering the group as an
incorporated society, which comes with a number of benefits to the group
including the ability to seek funding from grants. Rose has offered to share
her experiences with any group wishing to follow this path, she has also
offered free hosting for any group wishing to set up a website. Seeing such
strong focus from a new group is an inspiring thing to witness.
Bella, one of the Auckland representatives talks to Carla Sargent.
A theme that kept coming through from the day’s conversations was about
strength through collaboration. A sentiment that Sharon picked up from
the Maternity Conference recently held in Wellington was about picking up
all the individual ‘peggy squares’ that were being ‘knitted’ by different
groups and individuals and sewing them together into a big blanket.
Individually, those little squares couldn’t warm much more than your toes,
but knitted together they become strong and warm and protective and can
warm many.
This metaphor speaks to all of the different groups and initiatives that by
themselves may not achieve much, but together can build a strong
movement where shared goals can reduce the effort needed to achieve
great things. This idea has been built into our strategic planning document
as a commitment to reach out to aligned organisations.
Irma and her kitchen team fed our bodies and our spirits, they really kept
the day going with their scrumptious eatables.
Photo credit: Claire Humphries
Special thanks to:Special thanks to:Special thanks to:Special thanks to:
Lauren for being an amazing facilitator who really pulled everything
together so beautifully
Jenni Burt for her commitment to holding all of the threads
Sarah for being our go to woman
Claudi for her homebirth heart and tireless energy
Brooke for bringing such vibrant ‘birthiness’ to the event
Rimke for being our capable minute taker
Carla Sargent for being a steady homebirth presence throughout (and for
those late night wines)
Emily and all of our childcare volunteers who were with our beautiful
tamariki all day and did a marvelous job
Irma and her kitchen team who nourished us completely
Claire Humphries for being the most amazing photographer – she
documented some beautiful moments in Home Birth
And here is to all of the tamariki, without whom we would have no purpose in this cause.
Life and birth with HIV. By Melinda Susanto
The diagnosis and life before childrenThe diagnosis and life before childrenThe diagnosis and life before childrenThe diagnosis and life before children
I’m Melinda; a wife, a mother of two beautiful and perfect young children,
and I also happen to be living with the HIV virus.
In 2006 I was living in Indonesia, in Jogjakarta (Java), when the city was
struck by a devastating earthquake. My Javanese partner Dali and I were
unfortunately right in the middle of it, and after helping as much as I could
manage, as well as contracting dengue fever and being hospitalised soon
after, the trauma and emotions I was experiencing were reason enough for
me to come home to New Zealand for a short time where I could be near
my family and begin the recovery process. Whilst in New Zealand, I wanted
to make the most of the healthcare system, as I knew that when I returned
to Jogja I wouldn’t have the same options. I said to the GP “I want a full
check up please, test me for everything, tick every box”. To which he
responded, “Even HIV”? “Yes” I said, “Do it all”, unaware of what HIV really
was.
My phone rang a couple of hours later, a nurse on the other end tells me
that I need to get back to the office asap. With my body, riddled with fear
and anxiety about what could be wrong, and my Mum reassuring me that
everything would be fine and that it was probably just low iron, we
returned to the health centre. “I’m afraid one of your tests has come back
positive” said the doctor, pausing for a very brief moment, “You have HIV”.
This was followed by “I don’t know” answers to all of my questions
including whether I would die soon, whether I could have a family, and
what did it all mean…”You will have to wait until you see the specialist in
two more weeks”. The longest two weeks of my life!
During this time I spent a lot of time ‘googling’ for information, much of it
incorrect which I now know. I found a lot of alternative therapies, thinking I
could cure myself and so wouldn’t die young after all, if that was going to
be the case. I also made the very difficult phone call to Dali, telling him the
bad news and asking him to get an HIV test ASAP. I was almost certain he
would leave me, but he didn’t, and he was very supportive. He got tested
straight away. A very scary wait, turned into a very happy outcome when
his test came back negative! Unprotected sex, one time, is all it takes to
contract HIV from an infected person, and thanks to the universe I had not
given it to him, he had not given it to me, and he did not have the burden
of carrying this virus for the rest of his life. But where had I contracted HIV
from? That was the constant thought in my head that kept me awake at
night.
Finally, the specialist appointment day had arrived! I learned I could still
live a long and productive life, one day I would need medications and I
would be on them permanently but right now the virus was still in small
numbers in my body so didn’t need it yet; I could have a family, and with
the virus under control (meds making the virus undetectable when viral
load is tested through blood tests- in NZ, less than 50 copies of virus per
millilitre of blood, when it actually gets up in the thousands and millions
without meds) with medications, my babies would have a less than 1%
chance of contracting HIV – there are many other illnesses and disabilities
that have a much higher risk factor than that! HIV is in breast milk so I
couldn’t breastfeed (although advised that in developing countries where
the alternative of using unsanitary equipment and dirty water to formula
feed causing serious health risks, greatly outweighed the risks of passing
on HIV through breast milk); and finally we discussed where I had
contracted HIV from…to which he finally put it in the ‘unknown’ category.
So where did I contract it? I put it down to one of several options, one
being my ex-partner in Bali who had told me after the breakup that he had
used heroin before, intravenously! That’s high risk right there as through
needle sharing the virus is passed on easily sending the infected blood
directly into the blood stream of the other. Option two, had I contracted it
from getting a tattoo whilst living in Indonesia? Possible but less likely,
especially since the virus dies quickly once leaving the body, and any
tattoos I had were always using new needles. Option three, while in
hospital on the drip following the earthquake, was the needle sterile, was it
new? My head was full of information, of crazy thoughts and anxieties, it
wasn’t easy not knowing, but I got on with it.
I returned to Indonesia with a suitcase full of supplements and other
alternative health products and therapies, ready to continue life as I used
to. It was a relief to be in Dali’s arms again, but challenging being in the
same place where I had seen so much heartbreak and devastation only 6
weeks earlier. I returned to work (teaching English as a second language),
and tried to carry on with life as usual. It wasn’t easy. We eventually
relocated to New Zealand. Life went on, although I was still going through
the grieving process….on several occasions I became very depressed.
Fortunately I met another woman living with HIV, and from there I learned
of an organisation called Positive Women Inc., who exist for the purpose of
supporting women living with HIV and their families, and for education and
helping to break the stigma around HIV. They helped me through the hard
times and have supported me until this very day. I don’t know what I
would have done without them.
One holiday back to Jogja, Dali and I got married…although quite
spontaneous (Just a fortnight before going back to NZ), it was a beautiful
and traditional Javanese wedding. It took us four years after our marriage
to finally come to the decision that we would have children. We wanted
kids so badly, more than anything but for me I couldn’t get the ‘what ifs’
out of my head even though I knew it would be fine. At that time there had
been over 400 children born to HIV positive mothers in New Zealand while
on the very successful medication regime for pregnancy, with the mothers
having an undetectable virus (well under 50 copies of virus per millilitre of
blood), and not one had contracted HIV. I guess I was more concerned
about the lack of studies done on the effects of the medications on
children since they are exposed to them in the womb, however any
children of Mummies living with HIV I knew seemed perfectly fine and
gorgeous to me, just like any other happy families. We wanted to have a
family like anyone else and decided there was no reason why not. I let go
of the buts and ifs, and we conceived via artificial insemination, using a
plastic syringe! My virus was undetectable, as I was on medications at that
point, so the chances of passing it on to Dali was around 1 in 10,000,
however I just didn’t want to take the chance and the hospital had advised
we do it with a syringe.
My First Pregnancy and Hospital BirthMy First Pregnancy and Hospital BirthMy First Pregnancy and Hospital BirthMy First Pregnancy and Hospital Birth
To know how huge my positive experiences are, it is important to tell you
about the not so great ones too, so please bear with me while I tell this first
pregnancy and birthing journey.
In my pre pregnancy appointment I was told I had to give birth in a
hospital, and reminded of the no breastfeeding rule, and advised that
formula feeding was the only option. Immediately I was under secondary
care in the hospital, where I had no choices around who my midwife was,
and I was to have different midwives throughout my pregnancy as there
was no guarantee the same midwife I saw the previous appointment would
be available. Just to be fair, the midwife I saw the most did try to schedule
my appointments so I could see her, but that didn’t always happen.
Although I was a healthy pregnant woman, I had to have regular scans (I’m
not sure quite what they were looking for!), obstetrician appointments, and
midwife appointments. At one point a registrar almost fell over backwards
when she learned that the pregnancy was planned, as she presumed I had
been diagnosed during pregnancy through antenatal screening. I was
monitored constantly for weight and asked about my eating habits on a
regular basis even though I repeated numerous times that I had the
healthiest diet ever and that I cared greatly about the health of my child. I
also did a lot of walking! It was almost like they were expecting something
to be wrong, because of course I had the big HIV and I was pregnant! It
was my first pregnancy, and I learnt to search ‘outwards’ for information
about my baby…I looked up to everyone else who were in charge of my
pregnancy, to a degree it felt like I didn’t own it, they did. One thing I did
own was the HIV,,,, and I had to educate health professionals on several
occasions; it was tiring but I had to do it, and it was something I did feel
empowered to do and could do with the knowledge I had.
At around 30 weeks pregnant, the combination of the medications I was
on, and pregnancy itself, caused one liver enzyme to elevate (ALT), which
they labelled as a hepatic reaction. There was nothing else wrong and I
had no other symptoms, but baby and I were in for daily monitoring and I,
daily blood tests. One training nurse put double gloves on, and took half
an hour to take blood from me because she was shaking so much. I had to
tell her that my virus was undetectable, and I questioned her about the
double gloves! How are double gloves going to protect someone from an
accidental needle incident, and what if the person didn’t know they had
HIV…did she use double gloves and shake for every test?
I was informed that if the ALT didn’t stop elevating, then baby would be
born via C-section early and be in SCBU. One weekend, an obstetrician
who had flown in from Christchurch and was just on temporarily came to
see me. Since he was not my regular obstetrician, and had obviously had
no training around HIV, he came across as very unsure about the whole
thing. “so…you have HIV…hmmmm…this case blah blah”. Unbelievably he
proceeded to say, and I quote, “Well, for your sake and for mine, let’s hope
I don’t have to do it”! Having a possible C-section just around the corner
was scary enough, but the chance of an incompetent and ill-educated
obstetrician cutting open my body and taking my baby out scared the crap
out of me! I had nightmares of him coming in with a big knife with some
kind of music from a horror movie playing in the background! While in the
room each day I could also constantly hear my name being said aloud and
‘HIV Positive’ up and down the corridor outside and behind the desk…you
may be able to imagine how I felt being a pregnant women in a small town,
with a sensitive health issue, and having my confidentiality compromised.
Luckily I had experience in being public about my status as I shared my
story on several occasions to groups and some media, so I knew what to
expect.
Monday came. Thank you universe! My liver had improved, and I was back
seeing my regular obstetrician. She informed me that he (the locum
obstetrician) had called her over the weekend in a bit of a panic, and she
had told him to get a grip and if he had to do the C-section to treat me like
any other women….no difference! I was now able to have a vaginal birth, in
the hospital, and the pregnancy was to continue as usual. For some reason
I still had to have constant scans of all sorts, not to mention more and more
regular hospital midwife and obstetrician appointments. After the C-
section scare, I decided to get my birth plan sorted and following antenatal
classes I decided I wanted to have a waterbirth, and have a drug free birth.
My obstetrician agreed that even though she didn’t agree with waterbirths
herself, I could safely have one if that’s what I wanted. Finally, I had some
choice, some control.
When the first contraction came (on the due date!), as instructed, I was
straight on the phone to call a taxi. I was told to go in immediately, at the
first sign of labour. Dali and I didn’t have a car at that point and my Mum
had gone to do some training for her new job as we’d decided that babies
don’t come on due dates and she would be back in plenty of time! We
arrived at the hospital, and I was so pleased to have a room with a birthing
pool! But wait, I couldn’t birth in the pool? The nurse on said that because
I would be given an AZT drug intravenously (as a precautionary measure to
reduce risk of transmission even further), then there was a risk of electric
shock if I was in the water. I was gutted. There was no space in my mind
to make it an issue and I proceeded with the labour, in the most
uncomfortable environment- hard floors, no cushions, plastic bed, and to
the sound of other birthing screams and ‘AAAHHHH’s’ – and all with a drip
my arm which continuously slipped to squirt out blood across me and the
floor.
Through the entire birth I was visited by countless unfamiliar faces, both
midwives and doctors, and whatever else you call them. Why? I don’t
know! What I do know is that when I became comfortable with one
midwife, her shift was over and in came another! After 10 or so hours I was
so stressed and in so much pain because of being so stressed (VS normal
birthing sensations, pain, whatever you want to call it, but in a more relaxed
state and comfortable space around people you choose to birth around), I
demanded an epidural…I didn’t care anymore, I just wanted to hold my
baby. I birthed on my back, among strange faces, with hands doing this
and that to me (a man had pumped my tummy for a long time and very
hard to loosen the clots. The pain was unbearable). My beautiful baby boy
was placed on my tummy and he made his way up to find my breast. That
was the hardest part, denying this to him, his birth right, but I was just so
happy to have my angel in my arms…and I was never going to let him go.
Teposeliro, or simply Liro, so precious and perfect.
After two nights in hospital, and being given the milk blocker medication,
we took our sweet, strong, and extremely inquisitive little boy home. And
of course, over the first few weeks there were numerous community
midwives visiting us, all giving slightly different and sometimes conflicting
advice about how to take care of a baby, when to feed, not feed, and so
on. It was quite invasive of my space, and Liro’s; and very confusing
hearing so much conflicting information and even personal opinions and
advice. Again, like during pregnancy, I felt my natural maternal instincts
and motherly abilities were taken away from me and invaded. Being a first
time Mum, it was far too easy to listen to everyone else, but even more so
in the predicament we were all in and what we had been through.... I would
also often get “I hear you had a natural birth, well done!”. To which I would
reply following a long pause, “ummm, yes, I had a vaginal birth but I had an
epidural”. It didn’t feel right saying I had a natural birth (even though my
understanding at the time was that it was quite a normal experience), and I
now know it was far from ‘natural’ for many reasons, so no wonder I always
felt uncomfortable hearing that!
Once we were through a three day supply of donated breastmilk from a
lovely woman, Liro went straight onto formula, as we were told to do. I
was uninformed about there being other options, or that breast milk could
be donated for long term feeding, or even about the full benefits of
breastmilk. However towards the end of the pregnancy after one of the
midwives kept accidentally forgetting I wasn’t breastfeeding and talking
about all the benefits, we got on to the conversation about the possibility
of finding some milk from another Mum. It was all new to me, but that was
all the hospital could do…the policy didn’t allow for assisting families to
source donor milk. Fortunately I was given a piece of paper with a number
on it, and told “It’s up to you to make contact with this person, but we can’t
assist any further“.“.“.“. This is how we were able to source 3 days’ worth of
milk, including some colostrum. As I became more educated about donor
milk over the following year or two, I was able to give him more small
amounts here and there but didn’t realise I could actively search for it. His
main source of nutrition before solids came from commercial formula.
As I had already known, Liro was going to need several blood tests over
the first year or so of his life, just until he was no longer carrying my
antibodies and therefore get an all clear test result. He had to have twice
the number of blood tests that he was meant to have, all due to error. Not
enough blood taken, lost blood, missed courier, etc. [arrghhhh!] It was
heartbreaking putting him through one test, let alone many more and
unnecessarily too! Over the first 6 weeks he also needed to have an AZT
syrup for babies, every 12 hours again as an extra precaution. It wasn’t
nice, but we knew that would be part of the journey of having children for
us.
MaMaMaMaking Informed Choices and My Home Birth.king Informed Choices and My Home Birth.king Informed Choices and My Home Birth.king Informed Choices and My Home Birth.
I think it’s pretty obvious how this whole experience of pregnancy and
birth, and even the weeks after made me feel, as a new mother. I made the
decision that when we decided to have another child, this would not
happen again. The next time it would be my choice; just as it’s my body,
my birth and my baby. I was thankful to be surrounded by so many
wonderful gentle parents, who believed in breastfeeding and knew of the
benefits of breastmilk, who strived to always be informed about natural
birth and home birth. Some of these friends were aware that I was HIV
positive, and were understanding of my situation. I didn’t want to be
different to other women when it came to having birthing choices and
having choices around feeding my baby. This got me thinking…am I really
different (besides the fact that we all are!)? My virus is undetectable, I can
have healthy HIV negative children with a less than 1% chance of
transmission, why can’t I have a homebirth? Why am I put into the ‘high
risk’ category, automatically, with no choice?
I talked to as many people as I could who I knew had a lot of knowledge, or
had contacts they could discuss this possibility with. This included Jane
Bruning, a friend, and the National Coordinator from Positive Women Inc.
One of their roles, is to ‘support’ women living with HIV and their families.
The feedback I got was generally positive, although it was all a bit new for
everyone and it wasn’t something they knew of as happening before for
any HIV positive women in New Zealand. Jane said to me that I would first
need to find a midwife who would support my homebirth, and as I already
knew, this could be a little difficult especially since HIV is quite
misunderstood and many are uneducated fully about HIV here. OK, step
one. Step two, tell my specialist. His first reaction was a little unsupportive
and he said “You would have to be Michael Jackson to do something like
that!” I questioned this and he was basically saying that to have the
intravenous drip in my home was going to cost at least $10,000, and he
also said he didn’t think midwives were able to administer it. Lucky,
because I was informed, I now knew that this AZT drug through the drip
was no longer a requirement as New Zealand was finally following the lead
of other leading countries in the treatment of pregnant HIV positive
women. After some looking into it, he agreed that I didn’t need it, and I
could go ahead with whatever…he knew I was a determined mama who
was going to do what I wanted anyway! Ok, that box was ticked!
I spoke to some friends about midwives in the area who support
homebirths, and wanted to know if the ones they recommended would be
likely to support my decision to have a homebirth being HIV positive. “If
anyone is going to support you, it would be Julie Kinloch’, a friend said. I
was on the phone to her straight away, and as usual (from experience) I
was all ready for either some confrontation or some serious question
answering, educating. Instead, I got “You’re HIV positive, that’s fine, I don’t
see that as being an issue and I am happy to support you for a homebirth”,
followed by “call me back when you are pregnant and we’ll go from there”.
Wow! Can you imagine how I felt?? Do you know what I did when I got off
the phone? I jumped around like a crazy lady in front of Liro, who thought
it was hilarious, and I got straight on the phone to Dali. I was over the
moon!
When the time was right, when Liro was around one and a half, we began
to try for a baby, naturally. Yes, no artificial insemination this time! After
all, me having an undetectable viral load meant that Dali had a one in ten
thousand chance of contracting HIV from me. It happened, I became
pregnant soon after! I was in control this pregnancy, I owned it, it was
mine. Julie respected all my decisions, including staying away from the
hospital unless there was an important reason to go there. She supported
my choice to have little or no scans too, and she also supported everything
I wrote in my birthing plan, even if it was quite detailed and specific! She
did everything she could to ensure that my pregnancy and birthing
experience was better than the first…she gave me back my evolutionary
rights as a pregnant woman. I only ended up needing a scan or two, and
even though I was disappointed, it was my choice and compared to the last
pregnancy it made a massive difference to my emotional wellbeing and
pregnancy stress levels having that choice. Julie visited me at home since I
didn’t have the means to go to Napier to see her. I didn’t step foot in the
hospital for obstetrician appointments or anything else for the entire
pregnancy, accept for my half yearly specialist appointment. Julie
attended this one with me, and we were quite ready to stand up for my
choice to homebirth, but my specialist knew I was going to do what I
wanted to do and he respected that and supported us.
My diet was another thing that was very different from the first pregnancy.
I had nobody breathing down my neck telling me what to eat and what not
to eat (even though my first pregnancy consisted of a lot of organic foods,
extremely minimal of what some would class as ‘unhealthy foods’, no
takeaways, and nothing on the ‘do not eat if you are pregnant list’).
Because this pregnancy was so relaxed, I was able to look inwards and
listen to my body. If I needed a certain kind of food I would eat it, to a
certain degree. I still preferred to eat organic and not have takeaways,
however I wasn’t strict about this and I did have takeaways sometimes, and
I also had a cake or two when my body asked for it.
The journey was life changing, due to the nature of the pregnancy – calm,
undisturbed, relaxed; no words can really explain it, I went into a deep
spiritual place within myself. I suppose you could say I rediscovered my
spiritual self. I felt so connected to the universe, and I felt the presence of
angels most days. Coincidences began to happen more often, and I was
living in a very high vibration. When I asked, I was able to influence the
events and outcomes of each day. I was also able to protect myself from
negative influences, simply by circling myself in a protective light or
bubble, but also by, to a certain degree, avoiding the things that were likely
to take me away from my sacred space such as facebook, and others bad
experiences and anti homebirth talk. I felt so awakened, and I know why.
Everything spiritual was there in the first pregnancy but everything that
happened was so ‘loud’, invasive, and I didn’t believe in myself but rather
looked up to others. It was like I was not the pregnant women doing the
work, but ‘they were’. So I was so distracted from all of this that I couldn’t
hear, see or feel it. I had faith in the higher beings that surrounded me and
baby, and I left the rest up to them. My body would do the work, and they
would guide me and my body to do whatever it needed to do. I wasn’t
stressed. I was in another non-physical world, though I still carried on
being Mum to Liro and being wife to Dali…perhaps a little spaced out!
My cravings were not food! I became obsessed with crystals, and by the
end of the pregnancy, the entire house was surrounded by them. All kinds,
shapes, and sizes, they were beautiful and made my birthing space feel
lovely and positive. They filled our home with the most amazing energies,
and helped me to feel connected and content, even if it was only me who
felt it. Even though while having all these amazing feelings and
experiences I wasn’t able to fully communicate with my baby, the presence
I felt may well have been her. She was my crystal child.
After learning all ‘the facts’ in antenatal class in the first pregnancy, which
didn’t really help with the labour and birth itself, I found the perfect
alternative for this one. I did a class with Diane Reefman which was all
about going inwards to yourself and grounding yourself throughout labour
and birth, as well as practical tips on helpful breathing exercises, positions
for labour and birth, and natural alternative pain relief options. It was full of
exercises both for me to use, and for me and Dali to use in partnership as
needed during the labour. It was wonderful feeling empowered to be able
to birth my baby myself without the need for any interventions. My body
was made to birth! I could do this! This class fit well with the spiritual
journey I was going through, as I was able to feel and breathe the presence
of my guides, and connect with my higher self throughout the grounding
exercises each class and outside of class when practising.
I read the book ‘hypnobirthing’, and surrounded myself with the
affirmations from the book. I made large copies and hung them on the
walls, in every room of the house. I then began to prepare my birthing
space. I purchased three large Himalayan salt lamps, and an aromatherapy
diffuser that also had changing lights…it all added to my calm and peaceful
pregnancy, and nothing was going to compromise my need to have the
pregnancy I wanted, unless it was out of my control. I re-arranged the
lounge and made a little corner for myself where I could have privacy if
needed, although I knew I could end up birthing anywhere, and I remained
open to that and OK with that. I knew I wanted the cord to be tied, and I
wanted delayed cord cutting too. I wanted to learn the sex myself, and not
have someone telling me first. I wanted to be given the chance to just
listen to my body, and have my primitive birthing sounds and actions
allowed to take place naturally, without being given instructions like ‘push’
during the birth, to be free to do what I liked birthing my child…as my
evolutionary right as a woman. I also wanted Liro, Dali and my Mum to all
be a part of it. I didn’t want Liro to see me with another baby in my arms
only for him to wonder where on earth she came from, or how she came
out, when it happened, and why didn’t he see too? I wanted him to see for
himself, and be supported through this experience, to welcome his sister
(or brother) into the world together as a family. The plan was for my Mum
to be there to guide him away from the situation if that was needed, if he
was too upset or traumatised by it, or of something went wrong. Most
importantly, I wanted to use my intuition at all times, and follow it, as I was
doing throughout my pregnancy.
During the final two months of pregnancy, I was going to have to make a
final decision about feeding my baby. The decision was by far from easy,
or simple. I had spent many days , months even, spinning options around
in circles in my head. I did the research, and weighed everything
up…advantages of this, disadvantages of that…and do you know what the
hardest part was? Having to go against my natural maternal instincts to
breastfeed. Had I considered it? Of course; but there was still a chance of
transmitting the virus to baby. I learned I could have a very low risk of
something like 1.2 % of passing it to baby if I was to exclusively breastfeed
my own milk to baby (because my viral load was undetectable while on
meds), no mixed feeding, but what if for some reason I couldn’t complete
the full 6 months? These what-if’s really are a challenge in life right? ‘What
if…when crossing a road??’, I just couldn’t bear the thought of anything
happening. Formula feeding was out of the question, I knew this wasn’t a
healthy choice, and I would only do this again if it was THE ONLY option. I
searched and I searched for information, studies, and the like, and I was
disappointed to find very little information besides the Ministry of Health’s
recommendations, and the recommendations for women in developing
countries.
I couldn’t find anything I needed, until I stumbled across a presentation on
the Positive Women Inc website from last year’s annual HIV seminar, by a
lactation consultant in Wellington. On it, I found not a lot of detail, but
some simple facts about ‘flash heating’, and then I found a video on the
Eats on Feet’s website. By flash heating milk from an HIV positive mother,
the HIV could be killed, and many of the good bacteria could remain, unlike
pasteurisation. That’s what I’ll do, I decided! I will express my milk, flash
heat it, then give it to baby! Hang on, that sounds like a lot of work when I
have two young ones to care for…what will I do after that? Donor milk – I
decided I would express and flash heat as much as I could, but I wouldn’t
put pressure on myself, and as long as I had been able to achieve my goal
of providing both children with at least one feed, then that was ok…then I
would feed her donor milk. I started collecting milk, without mentioning
that I was HIV positive (the stigma and lack of understanding about HIV is
that huge), but that I had a medical condition and breastfeeding wasn’t
advised. Never did I tell anyone about expressing then flash heating as
then things would have become complicated and then questions would
have started coming. I had an amazing response, from generous and
selfless women from all around New Zealand. The response was
overwhelming, and no longer did we need to worry about the first months
of feeding.
I was prepared for the birth, but I wasn’t prepared. I know that sounds
strange, but I was so relaxed, and spaced out that although ‘things’ were all
organised, I wasn’t mentally prepared. I was focussing on being calm and
content, and just letting whatever happened happen…whenever that may
have been. For all I knew it could have been two weeks after the so called
‘due date’ so I didn’t want to get in a panic about ‘when’ it was going to
happen, so I let it be. I also very much doubted it would be on the due
date, since Liro had come on his…I mean what were the chances of that
While in the bath on the evening of December 15th, 2014, the due date, the
first surge went through my body. I wasn’t certain at the time because it
could have been Braxton Hicks, so I just kept quiet and kept on enjoying
my moment. The surges quickly became more frequent and just walking
down the hallway became somewhat a challenge, so I quietly said to Dali
who was asleep next to Liro, “Don’t make a deal, but I’m having surges”.
He did answer me but since I had said not to make a deal he drifted off to
sleep again! By this time I was leaning on the kitchen bench and the surges
were extremely intense, and getting closer together fast. I managed to
wake Dali, then I text Mum to say ‘don’t rush but I’m pretty sure I’m in
labour’. I phoned Julie who said to call when the contractions were 2-3
minutes apart, which they almost were and it wasn’t long before I was
straight back on the phone to her! It was all very casual, and I was almost
slightly in shock that I was having another baby and fast too! Mum arrived,
and was quite surprised to see how far on I was, because I had said not to
rush and come when ready, but she had come as fast as she could anyway.
The empty birthing pool was in the lounge with Mum and Dali frantically
trying to fill it up and care for Liro who was at once excited yet quite tired
after being woken by all the commotion late at night. And me, after finally
making it from the kitchen bench to the carpet right next to me over a
waterproof picnic mat (I couldn’t go any further), doing my ‘AHHHHHH’s’ in
as I relaxed but as naturally toned as my mind would allow…I tried to
remember the things I had learnt in Diane’s classes and I kept re-grounding
myself so I could allow my body to take over, rather than my mind. Liro
knew the ‘AHH’ sound as he had heard me practicing, and seen a couple of
nice home birthing videos. While my primitive sounds kicked in, I could
hear Liro’s sweet little sound of laughter as he copied my noises.
Dali was in a bit of a panic now while trying to fill the pool, but also trying
to rush back to support me through each surge as well, managed to fill a
bucket of hot water and do some hot stone and oil compressions on my
back…it was such a lovely feeling of relief, for a moment, with the hot
gentle pressure on my back and the aroma of a pregnancy oil blend filling
the air. On other occasions, as he rubbed my back, I could feel his
stress…and asked him to please rub softly just as I could feel another one
beginning. As each surge came to an end, Mum, and sometimes Liro would
hand me a drink through a straw, although on several occasions I
remember it being shoved in my mouth when surges were at their peak
(and it wasn’t my Mum!). I had time to gently say “thanks for helping
Mummy” in between, and on the next breath reminded him to give me
space when I was making noise! Shortly afterwards, I had to slip in a
“forget the pool” when I had the chance, “just be with me” after the
following surge, and a “I need you here, the head’s coming out” after the
one following that. It’s a little funny looking back, as the water pressure
was so slow I’m not sure it would have filled up in a week! Finally I had Dali
with me, and he was able to forget the pool on focus on the birth and
gentle massage and back rubs on me, and to his surprise (although I had
already mentioned it!) he said excitedly “I can see the head!!”
I could feel the pressure of baby’s head starting to push its way through,
and it was then that I remembered the string going from my head straight
up to my angels/guides who were holding it…holding my body in the right
posture, grounding me, as we had practiced in Di’s class. With each short
break I would remind myself to loosen my jaw, relax my body, and stay
focused. Julie arrived, and perhaps also a little surprised about how far
along I was, and she sat behind Dali and supported him to support me and
baby. Her head would push out a little, then pop back in again…push out,
and pop back in, and so on. My body and my baby was doing the work,
not me…I wasn’t forcing myself to push, I was listening to my body the
whole time. I reached down and I felt her tiny head, so moist and warm and
I could feel hair…I was touching my baby for the first time! She came out a
little further each time and I was slowly opening up, allowing her to come
into the world at her own pace, and mine. The feeling was incredible, and
even though I had given birth before, I had not experienced this before. It
felt so natural. My body was really doing it, I was trusting and allowing it to
do it with no interference.
Each time her head would emerge, I wondered if this would be it, but then
she would slip back in again. Even though I was in another world, a place
that felt far way, I could hear Dali say, ‘she’s coming…Oh no…, she’s gone
back in’…’Here she’s comes again, oh…nope’. I could feel Liro next to me,
while on my hands and knee’s, he was quiet and would every so often ask
‘where is the baby?’, that was until my body made a final push. At twenty
past midnight, out she came, like jelly – an amazing feeling that words
cannot explain…it was powerful, emotional, surreal; and in that beautiful
moment, Liro quite clearly says “look, poop coming out”. Liro had been
there watching every moment of the birth and he only felt the need to
inform everyone about that particular part. Everyone laughed, and
although I wanted to as well, I could only think about baby and wanted to
make sure Dali was catching her in his arms safely. I could hear Julie gently
instructing Dali to turn her around so that the cord would come untangled
from her neck, but it wasn’t around her neck fully, and all was well. Dali,
with baby in arms (not that I could see anything) was unsure quite what to
do now, and Julie softly told him to hand me the baby through my legs. I
reached down and pulled her as high as the cord would allow, and just
knelt there, exhausted, overwhelmed, happy, and ecstatic, for probably
longer than I realised. She was so mellow and content, and hardly made a
sound. I hadn’t experienced the full sensation of birthing a placenta before,
and I only remembered it was still to come out just before my body worked
it out by itself, and it just slid out with ease and so fast, another amazing
and ‘so natural’ feeling.
After the cord being cut by Dali and then tied with flax closer to her body,
we sat on the sofa, me with a blanket draped over, while holding our
precious daughter, Sasikirana (Kirana for short). She was so calm, content,
and quiet. It was just so magical having her in my arms after such an
amazing pregnancy experience; seeing her and feeling her warmth, after
the spiritual experience I had had during the pregnancy. I could not stop
gazing into the eyes of my beautiful daughter. Liro sat beside us, and
wanted to hold her too at which point she thought it would be a nice
greeting to poop all over him. He wasn’t too happy about that, and he
spoke about it for weeks afterwards. “Kirana come out Mummy’s tummy,
and poop too”! To this day he still re-enacts babies coming out from
tummies, so I guess I never have to explain where babies come from to
him, besides the “How do you…???”.
Dali prepared Kirana’s first feed of colostrum, and I held her close, as if I
were breastfeeding. I fed her while she gazed up into my eyes, and mine
hers, and I longed to breastfeed her so badly, but I knew I had made the
best choice for her and I…and the overwhelming intention of love from all
around New Zealand coming from Mums donating milk to her was beyond
amazing, and it was enough. When I began to express my own milk, and
flash heat it, it lasted only two weeks before I gave up. My time was taken
away from Liro and Kirana, and I became stressed and exhausted. I had to
make the choice, and I had already decided that so long as both Kirana and
Liro had been given a feed of MY OWN, then that was adequate and I
would be happy and OK with that. And they did, they both tried my milk, I
was able to give them some of my milk!! It was amazing. Please never
ever take breastfeeding for granted.
The birthing pool didn’t completely go to waste, I was able to make use of
it to wash my body while Julie and Dali cleaned and dressed Kirana on the
floor beside me. I had not one tear. I put this down to not being forced
into pushing when my body wasn’t ready, but I remember huge clumps of
clotted blood slipping out. Such a strange feeling. After a little gentle help
from Julie, it came out by itself, even a day later. Julie was able to pick up
the low dose AZT medication from the hospital and drop it off to us.
Kirana had the syrup for four weeks this time whereas it was only for six
with Liro, things change fast! Julie also went out of her way to write on the
back of Kirana’s blood test forms to ensure there would be no mistakes and
repeat blood tests this time, which was really helpful, however, her very
first bloods were rejected once they reached Auckland because her details
stated she was the ‘baby of Melinda…’ rather than her actual name. You
just can’t win. Thankfully Kirana didn’t seem so disturbed by blood tests,
and remained calm and content, so we all just did what we had to do. Over
the first few weeks, Julie would visit weekly to see how everything was,
and came into our home just as family would…it was very casual and
comfortable. It was lovely having a familiar face, and not a series of
different and unknown ones.
So as of today, our girl is now eight months, and our boy, now three
years…these two smiling happy little children with no HIV in their bodies
whatsoever; Kirana still on donor breastmilk (it was all donor milk up until 7
1/2 months!) and a homemade formula as backup for when we are low on
breastmilk, and Liro still enjoying his bottle of anything but breastmilk (he
turns his nose up at it!). Both children fulfill my life and make my world go
around. To think it took four years to choose to have a family, now, if I
could turn back time I wouldn’t have hesitated. And that’s my story, a long
one, but without the full picture you would not see how powerful my
second pregnancy and homebirth really was for me…how life changing
both were. I wouldn’t change a thing about either pregnancy, because we
live and learn from all experiences, and I value mine and each has its
purpose. I have no regrets.
We are not a mainstream family so we are different in that respect, but
besides that we are just like most other families living their lives and
bringing up their children. My virus is invisible so nobody would know
unless I told them. Living with HIV does not mean that any person (or
family) should have little or no choice, as I had to learn for myself. In fact,
we all have a choice of some kind, wherever you choose to birth, but if we
don’t stand up and claim it for it ourselves or research it ourselves and
make informed choices, then we are often left to be led by others. If you
trust your maternal instincts, gut feelings, and listen to your body, you
can’t go wrong.
Melinda and her family
If you have any questions or seeking information about HIV, HIV and
pregnancy, or anything else, please go
tohttp://www.positivewomen.org.nz
To seek milk, or offer donor milk to babies in need visit the milk sharing
pages, ‘Human Milk for Human Babies New Zealand’, or ‘Piripoho Aotearoa’.
You are a midwife. By Lao Tzu
You are a midwife.
You are assisting at someone else’s birth
Do good without show or fuss.
Facilitate what is happening
rather than what you think
ought to be happening.
If you must, take the lead.
Lead so that the mother is helped,
yet still free and in charge.
When the babe is born
the mother will rightly say,
“We did it ourselves”
Image by Capturing Life Birth Photography
Reflections on Conference. By Sian Hannagan
Every second year Home Birth Aotearoa hold our Home Birth Conference,
it’s a chance to collectively enrich our homebirth knowledge and build on
herstories founded in the early days of our organisation. This year it was
hosted by our Nelson and Motueka regions at the beautiful Riverside
Community Centre in Moutere. With the phenomenal event put on in
Tauranga in 2012, the bar was set high. Looking back on what was
achieved, we’re pretty certain it was a great success.
Photo credit: Claire Humphries
The day started off magically with a coffee cart parked to make free drinks
for all of the attendees and Courtney taking time to run a muka making
circle before kick off.
Courtney deftly shows us how to make muka ties
Muka making was a popular start to the day
Working with hands, women do some great talking.
This years’ ‘Connections and Community’ conference was about building
strength in our Home Birth communities through nurturing the connections
we have with each other. Speakers were chosen for their strong roots in
the Home Birth movement and their commitment to honouring home
birthing families. A highlight of the day was Bronwen Pelvin’s talk on her
journey to homebirth, in particular her reflections on core midwifery
practice in Nelson in the seventies and eighties. Interesting how so many of
the challenges she faced then (from difficult medical professionals to
hostile working environments) are mirrored in the challenges we face
today. But heartening also to see that the strength of our home birth
movement is held at a grassroots level and this legacy carries through to
today as well. It really reminds me of all the wisdom held in the hearts of
our homebirth wahine that have been with us from the beginning, what a
treasure to cherish. In her work today at the Ministry of Health, Bronwen
holds that Home Birth space and this is really invaluable when we consider
what we strive for. Choice based maternity.
Brownwen chatting to one of our organisers, Sarah.
Sharon Robinson blessed us with a sneak preview of her ‘Born at Home’
video, which is her response to seeing women who choose home birth,
being challenged by friends and family who did not understand home birth.
Her beautifully crafted video takes us into the homes of several home
birthing families where we see mothers and fathers respond to birth at
home. It was touching to see those real experiences in a kiwi context. She
also treated us to an old news clip of her home birth experience in
American news, what a classic! A very inspiring video and talk by Sharon
Robinson, cementing the important roles on partners in birth.
Joanne Rama wahine toa and midwife extraordinaire, brought her
experiences as a ‘flax root’ midwife and birth advocate to us with such
passion and humour. She really captivated the crowd with her honesty and
heartfelt energy. Tammi, one of our trustees said “As a maori midwife,
many of Joannes words brought to the room highlighted the importance of
where we need to continue to hold place and ensure respect for our
traditional maori birth practices and cultural needs. It was a great start to
the day to have her liven the crowd up with such mana, and so valuable
hearing her voice at key moments throughout the day as well. Xavia , one
of the trustees said that “her passion with honesty, openness and the type
of bawdy humour particular to homebirthers started the day with a bang”,
and it really did.
Joanne Rama and Donna Fowles have a chat between sessions.
We were so lucky to have Anna Wilde as our MC, she held that space for
Home Birth all day and with a great strength of voice and clarity. Anna has
such a broad skill set and range of birth experiences, she really added
richness to the day with her knowledge and wisdom. Her home birth heart
filled the room.
It was great hearing Kass Ozturk’s thoughts on what would bring about
true change in birth culture. From her case study on birth place, she
brought forth some clear statements on what changes we should be
pushing for as home birth advocates. She spoke with such clarity and heart
on woman centered birth, it was hard not to nod along with everything she
said. A really inspiring presentation with some challenges and suggestions
to us all around how we can help change the story of home birth in New
Zealand.
Carla Sargent’s talk came at the end of the day, when interest and energy
should have been flagging, but her korero captured the room. Her passion
for birth is evident in the work she does, and hearing her speak really
clarified what brought us together that day. It’s a real treat hearing Carla
talk about what she is passionate about. The footage she gifted us from her
own births saw happy tears in many eyes and really brought birth into the
room – a fitting way to end our day.
The organisational team really outdid themselves, a huge thanks to them
and their tireless work bringing all the threads of this event together to
create such a warm and complete space for Home Birth. Our Nelson team
comprised of Jenni, Sarah, Claudi and Brooke who worked really hard to
create a beautiful event with a selection of really inspiring speakers. With a
full turn out of attendees, the program quality spoke for itself. We had
some really magic moments listening to these powerful voices in the Home
Birth Community. Riverside turned out to be an amazing venue, with
sleeping onsite, a warm play room for the children and wonderful hall with
a comfortable lived in feeling it was a perfect place to centre ourselves in
the home birth space and soak in the wisdom.
As with all Home Birth events, some of best moments are captured in the
in-between spaces, korero during kai time and those conversations that
happen between speakers. It was lovely to witness all of the connections
that occurred through the day, bringing all of these strong wise women
and families together makes a special home birth magic.
One of the highlights of the day was the food, ordinarily conference food
tends towards the stodgy and generic catered style. But not at this
conference, Irma and her group of amazing foodies sourced all of their
food from local farms and businesses, even raiding (with permission)
friends gardens and trees for the bounty we were served on the day. We
were treated to a range of nourishing and delicious whole foods including
lacto-ferments, hearty soups and homemade breads.
The amazing spread that Irma and her team prepared for us.
Busy at work in the kitchen. Photo credit: Claire Humphries
The work done in the heart of the centre – the kitchen, kept us all going throughout the day.
With the venue being what it was, and having it filled with all these
wonderful, wise, birthy women the day had a special kind of magic.
I left the day feeling replete, in heart and soul (and my tummy too).
See you in 2017!
Enjoying lunch outside at midday. Photo credit: Claire Humphries
We were blessed to have Claire Humphries, a talented birth photographer,
there to document our event. The photos she took are a beautiful record of
our special day. Her work can be found
at https://claireweesmallhours.wordpress.com/auckland-breastfeeding-
photographer/
We need to talk about how it really is.. By Jana Loorparg
When it comes to midwifery, it would seem like Wellington-based Kass Kass Kass Kass
OzturkOzturkOzturkOzturk has seen it all and from every angle: home birth midwife for almost
fifteen years, Senior Maternity Advisor to the Ministry of Health, ex-lecturer
in Midwifery at Massey University, current PhD-student in Midwifery at
Victoria University. Time we caught up with her to talk about what makes
(and breaks) a home birther, her radical ideas about changing the story of
birth and what we as individuals and the community can do to help the
dream come true.
Kass Ozturk is not only a home birth midwife, she also works at the Ministry
of Health and is a PhD candidate.
HBM: Kass, you’ve been a home birth midwife for HBM: Kass, you’ve been a home birth midwife for HBM: Kass, you’ve been a home birth midwife for HBM: Kass, you’ve been a home birth midwife for almost fifteen years now.almost fifteen years now.almost fifteen years now.almost fifteen years now. What inspired you to What inspired you to What inspired you to What inspired you to become a midwife?become a midwife?become a midwife?become a midwife?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: My awesome midwife inspired me to become a midwife. It was her
care and her acceptance of my choices that really introduced me to that
intimate way women work with women. I met her when I was pregnant
with my daughter. We had moved back from Australia specifically because
I wanted to have a home birth. In Australia even then, home birth wasn’t
fully subsidised which is why we decided to come back to New Zealand.
We met my midwife and she just completely accepted that that’s what I
wanted to do.
HBM: Were HBM: Were HBM: Were HBM: Were you always planning on having a home you always planning on having a home you always planning on having a home you always planning on having a home birth?birth?birth?birth?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: I don’t know where I got the idea from actually. For as long as I can
remember I had always thought that I would have my children at home. I
think in retrospect that it was a reaction to the way I was born, or how my
mother described her birth experiences. I really wanted to be the powerful
person at my birth, so I chose to birth at home. Except that my daughter
was breech. My midwife suggested it would probably be a good idea for
her to be born at the hospital. So in the end I went over at seven
centimetres dilated, lay in the bath for a few hours, pushed her out a few
hours later and then came home in the morning. It wasn’t the birth I
wanted, but it was a really great birth.
HMB: Have you always worked eHMB: Have you always worked eHMB: Have you always worked eHMB: Have you always worked exclusively as a xclusively as a xclusively as a xclusively as a home birth midwife?home birth midwife?home birth midwife?home birth midwife?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: Yes. All I ever wanted to be as a midwife was a home birth midwife
working in the community. I’m quite an idealist and I’ve always stuck to the
ideal that that’s where we look after women. Most women in this country
have their babies in hospital, but actually, the period of time you spend in
hospital is so short compared to the whole rest of your life. So yeah, I’ve
always just driven around seeing people in their homes and over the years
have built up my home birth caseload.
HMB: How did you achieve that?HMB: How did you achieve that?HMB: How did you achieve that?HMB: How did you achieve that?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: My aim was to have three home births in my first year of practice. I
booked five women planning a home birth and three of them had a home
birth. I just got more and more from there.
HMB: That’s impressiveHMB: That’s impressiveHMB: That’s impressiveHMB: That’s impressive! You’ve also continued your ! You’ve also continued your ! You’ve also continued your ! You’ve also continued your education and have done your Masters in Midwifery, education and have done your Masters in Midwifery, education and have done your Masters in Midwifery, education and have done your Masters in Midwifery, is that right?is that right?is that right?is that right?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: Yes! I was in practice for a year learning how to be a midwife before I
enrolled for my first postgraduate paper. I did four papers and then
transferred into a Master of Midwifery.
HBM: The thesis was called “Becoming a HBM: The thesis was called “Becoming a HBM: The thesis was called “Becoming a HBM: The thesis was called “Becoming a homebirther….Smooth sailing or rocky road? homebirther….Smooth sailing or rocky road? homebirther….Smooth sailing or rocky road? homebirther….Smooth sailing or rocky road? –––– an an an an exploration of Pakeha women experiences on the exploration of Pakeha women experiences on the exploration of Pakeha women experiences on the exploration of Pakeha women experiences on the path to home birth”. How did you settle on that path to home birth”. How did you settle on that path to home birth”. How did you settle on that path to home birth”. How did you settle on that topic?topic?topic?topic?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: Well, I was absolutely inspired by two particular women who I was
caring for at the time. I was observing their parallel journeys to becoming a
home birther, and what I could see was that they got to the place of having
a home birth really differently. When I thought about it, I realised that I had
observed the different ways in which people had come there before. But
when I went to find out whether anybody had published anything on it,
there wasn’t anything about what makes a home birther. How do all sorts
of different women choose to have their first baby at home? The title
reflects the journeys of women. For some it’s smooth sailing, for some it’s a
really rocky road. I wanted to see who supported women and what their
supports were, and I wanted to see what challenged women and what their
challenges were.
HMB: So what themes were you able to identify?HMB: So what themes were you able to identify?HMB: So what themes were you able to identify?HMB: So what themes were you able to identify?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: So first of all, your life philosophy is really important when you’re
thinking about where to have your baby. That’s not to say that you need to
be a hippie or a vegetarian, because actually that’s not borne out in the
published literature. All sorts of women will choose to birth their baby at
home. Also, what you actually think about different birth settings does
impact on your choice of where to birth. For example, some people see the
hospital as a place for sick people; that intrinsic belief that it’s not for well
women experiencing a healthy event. Also, the people in your life have an
impact on your confidence to plan a home birth and that it’s imperative to
be offered a choice. Even if it’s not there for you at the beginning, it’s still
really important to know either before, or at the start of your pregnancy
that home birth is an option for you. In New Zealand, we as LMCs are
obliged to tell women what their options are for the place of birth at the
start of their pregnancy, but lots of people don’t. Lots of midwives and
other LMCs do not say that home birth is an option. But you can only
choose what you’re offered. If you’re not offered it, you’re not going to
choose it.
Another theme was having access to positive resources both before and
during your pregnancy. A couple of specific mentions were the Tummy
Talk Magazine and antenatal classes that discussed home birth. Lots of
people talked about reading positive stories and they all spoke about how
important it was for home birth to be accepted and discussed in a really
normal way. That gave them the confidence to choose it for themselves.
HMB: How did you conduct the study?HMB: How did you conduct the study?HMB: How did you conduct the study?HMB: How did you conduct the study?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: I deliberately chose to focus on first births, because what we know is
that if you get the first birth right – right as defined by the woman – then all
the other births are going to be reallyright. There is the sort of myth out
there that first baby should be born in hospital, and I wanted to refute that
myth. So, I had in-depth interviews with five women, three of which had
planned to have a home birth from the start, but still had a bit of a rocky
journey to their birth day, and two women who changed their mind as their
pregnancy went on. I chose a narrative methodology, because it builds on
a long tradition of women telling stories.
You may be interested to know that the word ‘gossip’ comes from a
description of women sitting around telling stories at births or about births.
It’s not a midwifery tradition; it’s a women’s tradition. It’s the way we share
our knowledge, through telling stories. The study was very much in the
place of that feminist perspective – I’m a woman talking to women about
women’s business. So, why not have them tell me their stories? That’s the
main reason I went there. I just wanted to listen to what they had to say.
It’s so therapeutic telling stories. For one woman in particular, it was the
first time that she had actually told her birth story to anybody, even though
her child was a couple of years old already. To see her transformation – as
she told the story, reflected on it and understood it a little more – the
whole study was worth it just to see that.
HMB: What then are the main support areas women HMB: What then are the main support areas women HMB: What then are the main support areas women HMB: What then are the main support areas women require to become successfrequire to become successfrequire to become successfrequire to become successful home birthers?ul home birthers?ul home birthers?ul home birthers?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: The biggest supporters for women are midwives who are confident
about birth and home birth in particular, closely followed by their partners.
They really need the support of their partners, and they also really need to
hear from people who are telling positive stories about home birth. You
know, those people who talk about birth and home birth specifically in a
really excited way. Most of the women described a point either during their
pregnancy or before they’d even considered having children, where they
had met and talked with somebody who was really positive about birth, as
being so influential. Some of the women had been a support people at a
friend’s birth, or they had been present at their sibling’s birth. That actually
came out as one of the key ways of being exposed to positive birth
experiences, is to be a support person or a child at a birth.
HMB: What are the biggest challenges?HMB: What are the biggest challenges?HMB: What are the biggest challenges?HMB: What are the biggest challenges?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: The biggest challenges are people, in particular those people who
have constructed a negative home birth culture. Sometimes it might be the
same people. It might be the partner; it might be the family; it could be a
midwife. Stupid little comments people say to you like, “Oh God, you’re
having a home birth, that’s brave”. For the women planning a home birth,
they feel like you’d have to be really brave to go to hospital. They can’t
understand why people throw out thoughtless comments like that.
HBM: Is your PhD related to the study?HBM: Is your PhD related to the study?HBM: Is your PhD related to the study?HBM: Is your PhD related to the study?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: No, it’s not a follow-up. At the moment the working title of my PhD
is, “What has clinicians so divided about tongue tie?” I may have started
thinking this is scientific cut and dry – it is anything but. I came into it not
having an opinion. I just wanted to find out what all the fuss was about.
What I’m passionate about is having some clarity at the end, not just for
me, but also for all the clinicians that are involved in assessing, diagnosing
and treating tongue ties, and all the families. If the families are getting
good support for their breastfeeding, then what we’re going to see is a rise
in breastfeeding rates, which is actually what I want.
HBM: You’ve been working as Senior Maternity HBM: You’ve been working as Senior Maternity HBM: You’ve been working as Senior Maternity HBM: You’ve been working as Senior Maternity Advisor at the Ministry of Health for two years now. Advisor at the Ministry of Health for two years now. Advisor at the Ministry of Health for two years now. Advisor at the Ministry of Health for two years now. How is that in contrast to being a home birth How is that in contrast to being a home birth How is that in contrast to being a home birth How is that in contrast to being a home birth midwife?midwife?midwife?midwife?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: It’s such a diverse role and quite a contrast, but you know what, I’ve
needed so many of my midwifery skills in that place. Probably the main one
is the ability to develop relationships quickly, and my ability to triage and
deal with what’s most pressing to make decisions that seem right at the
time. Another skill that I use is around letting go off ownership, of what’s
going on. You contribute to something, but you don’t own it. That’s very
similar to that midwife-woman relationship, the experience that unfolds. I
don’t own it, but I contribute to it.
HBM: So you enjoy working there?HBM: So you enjoy working there?HBM: So you enjoy working there?HBM: So you enjoy working there?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: I guess my underlying feeling about being at the Ministry is that
primarily it’s a privilege to be in that position, to see what I see from that
place. Because not many midwives get to work at that level.
HBM: So what exactly does your role involve?HBM: So what exactly does your role involve?HBM: So what exactly does your role involve?HBM: So what exactly does your role involve?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: So part of what I do is field all of the queries from the public and
from agreement holders regarding Section 88. That takes quite a good deal
of time, but without having that clinical background it would be really hard
to advise those people and make those decisions. Another part of my work
is contributing to all the maternity guidelines. I also do a fair bit of work
into the Maternity Quality Initiative, and I deal with issues that are
happening around the country in certain areas. Believe it or not, I get quite
a few emails from members of the public complaining that they have gone
to their GP for a pregnancy test and they have been charged, and they
want to know why, when actually it says on the Ministry’s website that
maternity care is fully funded for eligible women. So I’ve got to try get to
the bottom of that. Or if a primary birthing facility is closed down, we need
to find out why, why can’t it be re-opened, etc. I also get to write advice for
the Minister and occasionally go along to meetings with him. Like last year,
we went over to present our new Gestational Diabetes Guideline to him. He
had a lot of questions, some of which were directed at me. I was a relative
newbie. It was nerve-wracking and thrilling at the same time.
HBM: Sounds super versatile.HBM: Sounds super versatile.HBM: Sounds super versatile.HBM: Sounds super versatile.
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: Yes it is! I am also the self-appointed Ministry breastfeeding person,
because before I started my job, there wasn’t really a discrete
breastfeeding portfolio. As an outsider you don’t see how different political
agendas influence activities, but there hadn’t been overt promoting of
breastfeeding for a number of years. It was really important to me that
somebody was even just a contact or link person, so I sort of appointed
myself! I do quite a bit of work in regards to breastfeeding across the
Ministry.
HBM: So what’s on the horizon? Any changes to our HBM: So what’s on the horizon? Any changes to our HBM: So what’s on the horizon? Any changes to our HBM: So what’s on the horizon? Any changes to our system we need to be prepared for?system we need to be prepared for?system we need to be prepared for?system we need to be prepared for?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: Yes, we’re reviewing the Ministry’s position statement on HIV and
breastfeeding. Also, you may be interested to know that as part of the
Maternity Quality Initiative one of the next foci for the Ministry in their
initiative is around promoting primary birth, which is essentially birth at
home or in a birthing unit. We have an awareness that we would like to
raise the profile of normal birth and part of that is raising awareness about
home birth. I don’t know what the specific activities will be, but I find it
heartening that we’re going to do something. I just don’t know what it is
yet.
HBM:HBM:HBM:HBM: That sounds heartening indeed! Because, what That sounds heartening indeed! Because, what That sounds heartening indeed! Because, what That sounds heartening indeed! Because, what is the national home birth rate at the moment?is the national home birth rate at the moment?is the national home birth rate at the moment?is the national home birth rate at the moment?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: Essentially it’s 3.7% of the birthing population in New Zealand.
HBM: Is that a reliable figure?HBM: Is that a reliable figure?HBM: Is that a reliable figure?HBM: Is that a reliable figure?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: We have only been collecting it in a meaningful way for about five
years, maybe slightly before that. I remember when I was doing my thesis,
trying to get information out of the Ministry about home birth rates was
really hard. Now we get it from the claims that come through Section 88,
because the place of birth is a field that is obligatory to fill in. What we can
figure out is the percentage of babies that are been born at home from
claims data. There may be births out there for which there is no midwife in
attendance, so there is no claim made. I think those are probably few and
far between, but we need to acknowledge that some of those might be out
there. If we look at nationwide, then 3.7% planned a home birth and 90%
achieved it. So we do say it’s about 3%. Which doesn’t seem very much,
considering all the people I know who are having births.
HBM: Why do you think the rate is where it’s at? Is it HBM: Why do you think the rate is where it’s at? Is it HBM: Why do you think the rate is where it’s at? Is it HBM: Why do you think the rate is where it’s at? Is it because we have a negative home birth culture in because we have a negative home birth culture in because we have a negative home birth culture in because we have a negative home birth culture in New Zealand?New Zealand?New Zealand?New Zealand?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: I think part of it is women don’t see it as a valid choice for
themselves. I don’t know that it’s a negative home birth culture. I think it’s a
negative birth culture. If what you think about birth is what you see on TV,
or see in movies, or you read about in magazines, you don’t feel confident.
You only feel like it’s something to get through, not an experience in itself.
Our interpretation in this sort of westernised, medicalised society is that
pain is a bad thing you can take a pill for. What we don’t understand, or
what women don’t understand, is that the sensations in labour and birth
are really intense, but it’s not the same pain as breaking your leg or burning
yourself. It’s not a pathological kind of pain. People hear the word pain and
they think, “Awful, help me!” They don’t think, “intense, powerful, episodic,
bringing a new human being into the world”. So if we change the story
around birth in general, we are going to see more people having home
births, because we change the culture.
HBM: So how would we go on about that?HBM: So how would we go on about that?HBM: So how would we go on about that?HBM: So how would we go on about that?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: I think in order to change the story about home birth, we need to
change the story about birth. You know we’re coming from a certain
perspective here. We’re home birthers, and that has to be our focus,
knowing that our ripple effect is going to have an effect on birth. If we
choose the audience – about where we insert the word home before birth –
I think we can make a big difference. One of the easiest things we can do is
just to talk about birth in a positive way, to anybody who will listen. And
even if they look like they’re not listening, talk about it anyways. That came
through loud and clear from the women in my study, and coming up on
fifteen years experience as a midwife, I know how important it is that
women hear positive stories. It doesn’t matter if it is their first baby or their
third. I had someone, who’s had two home births, pregnant with their third
baby saying to me the other day, “Oh Kass, people keep saying ‘Wow,
you’re brave to be having another home birth’”. She said, “I’m starting to
get worried about it. Should I have a hospital birth?” I said “No!” You’re no
more or less receptive to it as a first timer versus having your third baby.
You always need to know the positive things. So what did I do? I gave her a
copy of Tummy Talk.
HBM: Is theHBM: Is theHBM: Is theHBM: Is there a specific way we should be telling re a specific way we should be telling re a specific way we should be telling re a specific way we should be telling our stories?our stories?our stories?our stories?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: We need to talk about how it really is. Even if our own experience
was really intense, it’s ok to say that, but don’t say, “God it was
excruciating, I thought I was going to die”. Because actually, I think
everybody has a point in their labour when they think “Far out I’ve had
enough now, I need this to be over”. It’s just a point, a turning point. It’s not
your dominant feeling throughout your labour. We need to talk about how
amazing you feel afterwards. And not amazing as in a-full-face-of-make-
up-and-our-hair-done, but how it’s such a hit. You see that on women’s
faces in photos. They are glowing.
HBM: What about midwives? How can midwives HBM: What about midwives? How can midwives HBM: What about midwives? How can midwives HBM: What about midwives? How can midwives support more women to birth at home?support more women to birth at home?support more women to birth at home?support more women to birth at home?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: As midwives I think we should encourage well women to birth at
home, and I think that’s pretty straightforward. There is a cohort of
midwives who are doing that, we just need to get all the others on board.
This is something that I want to talk a bit more about at the National Hui:
“How do you ‘convince’ women to birth at home?” I’ve developed sort of a
little presentation for my colleagues about ‘convincing’ people to have a
home birth, which isn’t about convincing them at all. I know there are
midwives out there who’d dearly love to be attending and supporting more
women to have home births, but we don’t seem to have the women who
are choosing to do it. I’m really prepared to do some work with my
colleagues about how to talk about it.
Knitting is one undocumented skill that can be great for midwives to have.
HBM: I know you have some pretty radical ideas HBM: I know you have some pretty radical ideas HBM: I know you have some pretty radical ideas HBM: I know you have some pretty radical ideas about changing the story of hoabout changing the story of hoabout changing the story of hoabout changing the story of home birth on a larger me birth on a larger me birth on a larger me birth on a larger scale. Would you be keen to share some of those scale. Would you be keen to share some of those scale. Would you be keen to share some of those scale. Would you be keen to share some of those with us?with us?with us?with us?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: If it’s ok Jana, could I save telling your readers about my radical ideas
for my presentation at the National Hui? If I tell you now no-one will come
to my session!
Editors note: Kass blew us away with her ideas on bringing women to
Home Birth, we’ll work with her to get these pulished.
HBM: So overall, do you think changing the story of HBM: So overall, do you think changing the story of HBM: So overall, do you think changing the story of HBM: So overall, do you think changing the story of home birth is a top down, or bottom up approach?home birth is a top down, or bottom up approach?home birth is a top down, or bottom up approach?home birth is a top down, or bottom up approach?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: You know women and midwives have worked together for so many
years. To get so many awesome things in place including our whole
maternity system – this is just one more step. It doesn’t stop with 1990 and
getting the system how it is. We’ve sort of got into this kind of false
reassurance. We’ve got an awesome system, it’s working really well, and
the consumer voice dies down because they got what they wanted. Well,
there is something else that you want, so ramp it up again! It’s all very well
us [the Ministry] knowing that that’s what people want, but unless people
come to us and say you could be doing this, this and this… Why aren’t
district health boards, for example, providing linen packs for women
birthing at home? They are saving you about $3000 for birthing at home,
why not shout them $50 of linen to use for a few hours? These things you
can ask your local hospital to do. The Ministry is really keen to raise the
normal birth rate. We know that most normal births are going to happen in
a primary setting. Whether that’s a birthing unit or at home, they are going
to do something. Whether it starts at the bottom or it starts at the top, I
actually think it needs happening on all levels at once.
HBM: Regarding midwifery and looking at HBM: Regarding midwifery and looking at HBM: Regarding midwifery and looking at HBM: Regarding midwifery and looking at developments in countries such as Germany and developments in countries such as Germany and developments in countries such as Germany and developments in countries such as Germany and AusAusAusAustralia, do you sometimes worry about the future tralia, do you sometimes worry about the future tralia, do you sometimes worry about the future tralia, do you sometimes worry about the future of midwifery in New Zealand?of midwifery in New Zealand?of midwifery in New Zealand?of midwifery in New Zealand?
Kass:Kass:Kass:Kass: Yes I do. Absolutely I do, which sort of comes from that place we’ve
fallen into, that false sense of security about what we’ve got. There are no
guarantees. And not that I know of anything on the horizon, don’t get me
wrong. But I just know that we can’t take it for granted. You know we get
letters to the Ministry of Health from midwives wanting to be paid more,
but we so rarely get letters from women saying, “My midwife was
awesome, she took really good care of me, she was great. The system is
fabulous.” In my two years that I’ve been there, I’ve had one letter from a
woman saying, “I just want to say: what an awesome system we have here,
and what a great midwife we’ve had”. And yet I’ve had dozens of letters of
people complaining about things.
We’ve got to keep saying how awesome it is. We’ve got to keep asking for
more, and women have got to keep supporting their midwives – by
choosing them.
Kass Ozturk spoke at the National Hui on 29 August in Nelson. A link to her
Master’s thesis can be found here:
http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10063/1455/the
sis.pdf?sequence=2
Kass Ozturk
Kass is a direct-entry midwife who qualified in 2000. She has spent most of
her midwifery life working in the community and is affiliated with Domino
Midwives in Wellington. Kass has a passion for home birth and wrote a
Master’s thesis in 2010 about what supports and what challenges women
planning the home birth of their first baby. Kass was a lecturer in the
midwifery programme at Massey University for 6 years after which she
returned to full time midwifery. Kass currently works at the Ministry of
Health and is a PhD candidate. She also maintains a small home birth
practice.
The interview was conducted by Jana Loorparg. Jana
Loorparg is a passionate poet, writer and homebirthing mama. Living in
Wellington she is a big part of the Wellington Home Birth community.
Whenua. By Amy Towle
When a woman becomes pregnant she not only grows a human being and
soul but also an amazing organ that makes it all possible. An organ that
feeds the baby, takes away waste and deoxygenated blood from baby. An
organ that can dictate not only how the pregnancy progresses, but also the
possibilities for birth.
The placenta – whenua, tembuni, nala, taiban…
In many cultures worldwide the placenta is depicted as a protector of
children, connection with mother earth, tree of life and even the 8th chakra;
representing epiphany, spirit/matter, unity/separation. In today’s western
world the power and presence of the placenta is more often than not
forgotten. It is usually checked at a 20 week gestation ultrasound and if all
deemed ok, not thought about again. Until the discussion of options of
birthing the placenta, where it is most commonly either taken home for
burial or discarded by the hospital.
A placenta is literally the gateway of life force from one being to another.
The passage through which a mother nourishes her child physically,
emotionally and spiritually. The placenta is affected by emotions, the
clearest example of this is stress and growth restricted babies. When a
mother has a stressful pregnancy due to any number of reasons, this
affects the blood flow, supply of nutrients and growth of the placenta,
which in turn directly affects the growth of the baby. A placenta that
struggles, produces a baby that struggles.
A mother who is grounded, in tune with herself as a woman and connected
to her baby, lays the foundation for a placenta to thrive. To become
voluptuous and vascular supplying her baby with all necessary love and
nutrition to grow. During pregnancy it is just as important to give the
placenta energy and focus, just as a mother would her unborn baby. This is
particularly important for women with placentas that are adversely
affecting the pregnancy, for example, placenta previa, placenta accreta,
vasa previa or calcified placentas. Below is an example of this power of
communicating with your placenta.
LiWati was full of joy when she fell pregnant with her second baby.LiWati was full of joy when she fell pregnant with her second baby.LiWati was full of joy when she fell pregnant with her second baby.LiWati was full of joy when she fell pregnant with her second baby. She She She She
had planned another homebirth, but her hopes and dreahad planned another homebirth, but her hopes and dreahad planned another homebirth, but her hopes and dreahad planned another homebirth, but her hopes and dreams were ms were ms were ms were
interrupted by bright red bleeding in her sixteenth week of pregnancy.interrupted by bright red bleeding in her sixteenth week of pregnancy.interrupted by bright red bleeding in her sixteenth week of pregnancy.interrupted by bright red bleeding in her sixteenth week of pregnancy.
I took LiWati for an ultrasound.I took LiWati for an ultrasound.I took LiWati for an ultrasound.I took LiWati for an ultrasound. It revealed that her baby’s placenta It revealed that her baby’s placenta It revealed that her baby’s placenta It revealed that her baby’s placenta
was growing completely over her cervix, a complete placenta previa.was growing completely over her cervix, a complete placenta previa.was growing completely over her cervix, a complete placenta previa.was growing completely over her cervix, a complete placenta previa.
This normally means that a caesareanThis normally means that a caesareanThis normally means that a caesareanThis normally means that a caesarean birth is necessary.birth is necessary.birth is necessary.birth is necessary. LiWati began LiWati began LiWati began LiWati began
to cry.to cry.to cry.to cry. I suggested we all speak to the placenta: “Angel, please make I suggested we all speak to the placenta: “Angel, please make I suggested we all speak to the placenta: “Angel, please make I suggested we all speak to the placenta: “Angel, please make
your best effort to move up, away from the cervical opening, so that your best effort to move up, away from the cervical opening, so that your best effort to move up, away from the cervical opening, so that your best effort to move up, away from the cervical opening, so that
you and baby and mother may be safe.”you and baby and mother may be safe.”you and baby and mother may be safe.”you and baby and mother may be safe.” We also spoke to the baby: We also spoke to the baby: We also spoke to the baby: We also spoke to the baby:
“Baby, you must“Baby, you must“Baby, you must“Baby, you must communicate with your placenta angel and ask her to communicate with your placenta angel and ask her to communicate with your placenta angel and ask her to communicate with your placenta angel and ask her to
migrate north of your mum’s uterus, so that you may be born naturally.”migrate north of your mum’s uterus, so that you may be born naturally.”migrate north of your mum’s uterus, so that you may be born naturally.”migrate north of your mum’s uterus, so that you may be born naturally.”
The Dr gave me a confused look as we prayed to the placenta and The Dr gave me a confused look as we prayed to the placenta and The Dr gave me a confused look as we prayed to the placenta and The Dr gave me a confused look as we prayed to the placenta and
baby.baby.baby.baby. I know he was thinking I was a bit crazy!I know he was thinking I was a bit crazy!I know he was thinking I was a bit crazy!I know he was thinking I was a bit crazy! We sent LiWati toWe sent LiWati toWe sent LiWati toWe sent LiWati to bed bed bed bed
for several weeks as the pressure of the placenta was causing the cervix for several weeks as the pressure of the placenta was causing the cervix for several weeks as the pressure of the placenta was causing the cervix for several weeks as the pressure of the placenta was causing the cervix
to start opening.to start opening.to start opening.to start opening. I also asked that we hold the vision and not disturb I also asked that we hold the vision and not disturb I also asked that we hold the vision and not disturb I also asked that we hold the vision and not disturb
the placenta’s concentration and best efforts to move up.the placenta’s concentration and best efforts to move up.the placenta’s concentration and best efforts to move up.the placenta’s concentration and best efforts to move up. Should there Should there Should there Should there
be no more incidents of bleeding, be no more incidents of bleeding, be no more incidents of bleeding, be no more incidents of bleeding, we would do no more ultrasounds we would do no more ultrasounds we would do no more ultrasounds we would do no more ultrasounds
until LiWati was 38 weeks pregnant.until LiWati was 38 weeks pregnant.until LiWati was 38 weeks pregnant.until LiWati was 38 weeks pregnant.
After a few weeks of bed rest, LiWati slowly began to move around.After a few weeks of bed rest, LiWati slowly began to move around.After a few weeks of bed rest, LiWati slowly began to move around.After a few weeks of bed rest, LiWati slowly began to move around.
She balanced rest with activity, eating well, drinking plenty of water She balanced rest with activity, eating well, drinking plenty of water She balanced rest with activity, eating well, drinking plenty of water She balanced rest with activity, eating well, drinking plenty of water
and taking a vitamin supplement.and taking a vitamin supplement.and taking a vitamin supplement.and taking a vitamin supplement. She also contiShe also contiShe also contiShe also continued speaking to her nued speaking to her nued speaking to her nued speaking to her
baby’s placenta, asking it to make a safe path for her baby.baby’s placenta, asking it to make a safe path for her baby.baby’s placenta, asking it to make a safe path for her baby.baby’s placenta, asking it to make a safe path for her baby. I joined the I joined the I joined the I joined the
discourse with the placenta, along with family and staff at the birth discourse with the placenta, along with family and staff at the birth discourse with the placenta, along with family and staff at the birth discourse with the placenta, along with family and staff at the birth
centre.centre.centre.centre. Two weeks before LiWati’s due date, we showed up at the Dr’s Two weeks before LiWati’s due date, we showed up at the Dr’s Two weeks before LiWati’s due date, we showed up at the Dr’s Two weeks before LiWati’s due date, we showed up at the Dr’s
office.office.office.office. He was sobeHe was sobeHe was sobeHe was sober, feeling like he would be the dark messengers.r, feeling like he would be the dark messengers.r, feeling like he would be the dark messengers.r, feeling like he would be the dark messengers.
Finally he applied the cold gel to LiWati’s belly and used the ultrasound Finally he applied the cold gel to LiWati’s belly and used the ultrasound Finally he applied the cold gel to LiWati’s belly and used the ultrasound Finally he applied the cold gel to LiWati’s belly and used the ultrasound
wand to search inside.wand to search inside.wand to search inside.wand to search inside.
As he searched the lower half of the uterus, we saw only the baby’s As he searched the lower half of the uterus, we saw only the baby’s As he searched the lower half of the uterus, we saw only the baby’s As he searched the lower half of the uterus, we saw only the baby’s
head, perfectly positioned.head, perfectly positioned.head, perfectly positioned.head, perfectly positioned. But where waBut where waBut where waBut where was the placenta?s the placenta?s the placenta?s the placenta? He moved the He moved the He moved the He moved the
wand up, higher and higher.wand up, higher and higher.wand up, higher and higher.wand up, higher and higher. Finally, way up north, as high as it could Finally, way up north, as high as it could Finally, way up north, as high as it could Finally, way up north, as high as it could
possibly be planted, there was our wonderful placenta!possibly be planted, there was our wonderful placenta!possibly be planted, there was our wonderful placenta!possibly be planted, there was our wonderful placenta! This baby’s This baby’s This baby’s This baby’s
placenta had listened and prevailed.placenta had listened and prevailed.placenta had listened and prevailed.placenta had listened and prevailed.
Three weeks later, Kadek Edi was born into a pooThree weeks later, Kadek Edi was born into a pooThree weeks later, Kadek Edi was born into a pooThree weeks later, Kadek Edi was born into a pool of flowers.l of flowers.l of flowers.l of flowers. When the When the When the When the
placenta came, we floated him in a bowl in the tub and heaped placenta came, we floated him in a bowl in the tub and heaped placenta came, we floated him in a bowl in the tub and heaped placenta came, we floated him in a bowl in the tub and heaped
beautiful flowers on top, thanking the baby’s angel placenta for beautiful flowers on top, thanking the baby’s angel placenta for beautiful flowers on top, thanking the baby’s angel placenta for beautiful flowers on top, thanking the baby’s angel placenta for
accomplishing a miracle.accomplishing a miracle.accomplishing a miracle.accomplishing a miracle.
- Story by Robin Lim, Placenta – the Forgotten Chakra.
The placenta is a great organ, one to be revered. It is the protector of your
baby, and your baby’s connection with earth side. When planning your
birth, it’s important to consider your options regarding your placenta. Talk
to your care provider about physiological birth of the placenta, delayed
cord clamping, and delayed severing of the cord. The cord should be cut
(or cord burning) with respect, and with permission of mother, baby and
placenta. It is the final separation.
Late clamping (or not clampiLate clamping (or not clampiLate clamping (or not clampiLate clamping (or not clamping at all) is the physiological way of ng at all) is the physiological way of ng at all) is the physiological way of ng at all) is the physiological way of
treating the cord, and early clamping is an intervention that needs treating the cord, and early clamping is an intervention that needs treating the cord, and early clamping is an intervention that needs treating the cord, and early clamping is an intervention that needs
justification.justification.justification.justification. The “transfusion” of blood from th placenta to the infant, The “transfusion” of blood from th placenta to the infant, The “transfusion” of blood from th placenta to the infant, The “transfusion” of blood from th placenta to the infant,
if the cord is clamped late, is physiological, and adverse effects of thisif the cord is clamped late, is physiological, and adverse effects of thisif the cord is clamped late, is physiological, and adverse effects of thisif the cord is clamped late, is physiological, and adverse effects of this
transfusion are improbable… but in normal birth there should be a valid transfusion are improbable… but in normal birth there should be a valid transfusion are improbable… but in normal birth there should be a valid transfusion are improbable… but in normal birth there should be a valid
reason to interfere with the natural procedurereason to interfere with the natural procedurereason to interfere with the natural procedurereason to interfere with the natural procedure. – World Health
Organisation
Your baby and your placenta are inherently connected, even after birth.
We often think of cutting the cord as severance of mother and baby. But it
is actually a severance of baby and his placenta, his gateway, his life force,
his connection earth side. Which is why cutting is to be done only with
permission from baby and placenta, and of course when mother is also
ready. Some claim our placenta is part of our soul.
“Several times over the years, parents have come to me repeatedly with Several times over the years, parents have come to me repeatedly with Several times over the years, parents have come to me repeatedly with Several times over the years, parents have come to me repeatedly with
a baby who has sniffles.a baby who has sniffles.a baby who has sniffles.a baby who has sniffles.
When I ask, “Where is the baby’s placenta?”When I ask, “Where is the baby’s placenta?”When I ask, “Where is the baby’s placenta?”When I ask, “Where is the baby’s placenta?”
They answer, “Oh it’s still in the freezer.They answer, “Oh it’s still in the freezer.They answer, “Oh it’s still in the freezer.They answer, “Oh it’s still in the freezer. We haven’t We haven’t We haven’t We haven’t had time to give it had time to give it had time to give it had time to give it
a proper burial yet.”a proper burial yet.”a proper burial yet.”a proper burial yet.”
I advise them to get that placenta into the Earth Mother, where it will I advise them to get that placenta into the Earth Mother, where it will I advise them to get that placenta into the Earth Mother, where it will I advise them to get that placenta into the Earth Mother, where it will
be warm and properly returned to the earth.be warm and properly returned to the earth.be warm and properly returned to the earth.be warm and properly returned to the earth. After this, the baby’s After this, the baby’s After this, the baby’s After this, the baby’s
chronic colds clear completely!”chronic colds clear completely!”chronic colds clear completely!”chronic colds clear completely!”
- Robin Lim, Placenta – the Forgotten Chakra
By Amy Towle
Wahine Toa Midwife
- World Health Organisation Reproductive Health Publications. Timing
of Cord Clamping. Care in normal birth: A Practical Guide Report, section
5.5
- Lim, R (2010). Placenta the Forgotten Chakra. Half Angel Press.
Born at Home. By Sharon Robinson
I believe it is my responsibility to support women to make safe, appropriate
choices for themselves. For some women the choice for where to birth will
be in hospital, sometimes with plans for intervention including, at times,
Elective Caesareans. Whatever supportive care a woman wants or ends up
requiring, it is my desire for her to be happy with what happened… feeling
like any interventions that were done, were done “for her” and not “to her.”
After all, I won’t be birthing her baby, she will. I try to help women make
decisions that they won’t regret. I believe that if a woman is supported in
ways that respect her uniqueness and value her innate ability to give birth
and mother her children, the results can be empowering with lifetime
implications. In my role as midwife, I try to guide without leading and
assist without directing. In my opinion, a good midwife has mastered the
art of “doing nothing well.” She supports the normalcy of pregnancy and
birth, remains vigilant and attentive to detail and intervenes when
necessary. She respects the uniqueness of each woman and assists her to
control her own birthing experience.
After attending home birthing women in New Zealand for over 10 years, I
can honestly say from experience: “Homebirths are awesome!” I have often
wondered why more women don’t choose to birth their babies at home. I
have come to realize that it is often because partners, husbands, family
members and/or friends are not supportive.
I never try to talk women into birthing at home; I just present home birth as
an option worthy of consideration and include information about it during
our visits. I know that ultimately, women labour and birth ‘best’ when they
are where they feel comfortable and safe. For some women, this is at a
hospital or birthing unit and for others it is at home. Sometimes home birth
may not be appropriate or preferred. There may be medical conditions
that have turned what would have otherwise been a normal physiological
process into a medically complicated process. Sometimes the home
environment just isn’t conducive to birthing or an appealing option, i.e. it’s
a rental house without any emotional attachment, it’s not a quiet and/or
relaxed place or it may not even feel safe.
Some women choose to birth in hospital “just in case,” but for these
women I think it is important to point out the often overlooked benefits of
home birth. That way a well-considered and truly informed decision can be
made.
There are ‘risks’ associated with birthing in hospital as well, which I think
are important for women to know about. The couples in the video do a
good job of pointing some of these out. As I mention in the video, recent
research has demonstrated that for healthy, low risk women, the rates of
intervention in hospital are higher than for home births, the outcomes for
mothers and babies are no better and the levels of maternal satisfaction
are lower. This is assuming the homebirths are being attended by trained
midwives within a health care system, like New Zealand’s, that values
homebirth.
I strive, at every opportunity, to lessen women’s anxiety and build their
confidence for birth. For those women who are saying that they want to
birth at home, but their partners are saying: “NO!”… I made this video. =o)
I have now had the privilege of being present at many beautiful home
births with many couples. They have lots of positive things to say about
their amazing and empowering birth experiences. So, I thought I’d see if
there were some who would be willing to share. As you will see, there
were!
Our attitudes are shaped by what we hear and see and when we have been
bombarded by stories of medicalized births and watched many media
depictions of highly dramatic and often traumatic births, our perspectives
of what is “normal” becomes skewed. I made this video to show a
different view of “normal”, to expand perspectives and present a healthier,
more realistic and helpful view of birth as the truly “normal” life process
that it is.
Birth doesn’t always need to occur in the highly controlled, clinical, foreign
environment of the hospital that is unavoidably influenced by politics,
policies and procedures that are designed to defensively manage
everything that can go ‘wrong’. I am convinced that following these
protocols and guidelines can cause harm. Rather, birth can occur in your
home, a flexible, relaxed, familiar environment where you are respected
and supported as the unique individual that you are. Where you have
control, you are able to access your power.
One of the interesting things that a friend noticed about the video is that
‘pain’ is not mentioned, not even once. It just didn’t come up for any of the
couples as something worthy of mentioning. This was not planned. The
fear of being unable to cope with the anticipated pain of labour and birth is
often a concern that motivates women’s choice to birth in hospital. Most
TV shows and movies portray labour and birth as a very painful, even
unbearable process that is best dealt with via epidural or other medical
options. And yes, for most women, labour and birth involves sensations
that are more intense than anything they have probably ever experienced
before. And for most women, the word “pain” seems an appropriate
choice to describe these intense sensations. But, it has been my
observation that women’s interpretations of these sensations are deeply
influenced by their pre-sets as well as by how they were supported
through it. It seems that women who go into labour with high levels of
confidence in their own innate abilities to birth and who choose their
midwives and support people carefully (as it is important that they too
have high levels of confidence for birth), usually find labour to be bearable
and look back at their births as profoundly positive, empowering
experiences.
The couples in the video were all keen to share their experiences and
collectively have a powerful message about birth being a “natural”
process. They give the unified message that birth can be transforming and
deeply empowering. It is from these early beginnings that life’s path is
initiated for each new-born child and his or her parents. Whatever I can do
to help these early experiences be positive, I believe, holds the potential to
bring heaven to earth.
In the words of Suzanne Arms:
If we are to create a non-violent world where respect and kindness replace
fear and hatred, we must begin with how we treat each other at the
beginning of life. For that is where our deepest patterns are set. From
these roots grow fear and alienation ~ or love and trust.
I believe that birth is a sacred journey and by supporting women through
pregnancy and birth by providing perspective, guidance, encouragement,
information and resources while fostering a sense of personal responsibility
for their own health and wellbeing as well as that of their babies, I am
doing what I can to make a difference.
I hope you enjoy and generously share the
video: https://vimeo.com/sharonrobinsonmidwife
It’s free for anyone to watch and I welcome your feedback at:
Sharon believes in keeping birth normal and enjoys the challenges of caring for women who
have previously experienced labour and birth as traumatic. She is committed to the NZ
partnership model of care and wholeheartedly supports women to make informed decisions
for themselves. She also believes that Dads are vitally important in the journey and
commends Dave Owens ( who we interviewed last year) for his work with Great Fathers!
She has a strong alignment with Attachment Theory and believes in the sacredness of birth.
Her role models are Michel Odent and Ina May Gaskin. Her favourite book is Three in a
Bed by Deborah Jackson and her favourite quote is from Suzanne Arms:
“If we are to create a non-violent world where respect and kindness replace fear and hatred, we must begin with how we treat each other at the beginning of life. For that is where our deepest patterns are set. From these roots grow fear and alienation ~ or love and trust.”
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Thanks to my midwife. By Charlotte Cummings
Things I appreciated about you…
� The considered way you use language. I so appreciated your awareness of
the power of your words to shape my feelings and thoughts, and my
experience of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. The beautifully cautious
way you framed whatever was going on kept me feeling positive and
engaged throughout my journey, and was especially helpful in the hard
moments. When we were going against the ‘norm’, the way you spoke
about decisions kept me in a position of power, and helped me maintain
that what was right for me was right.
� Your reflectivity. I loved that you often came back to me about something
we had discussed or an issue I had, having thought about it further. You
gave me the precious gift of space in your thoughts – something I don’t
take for granted. The care I received was enriched by this, and your
thoroughness allowed me to relax and trust deeply at each junction.
� Your passion for resources and information. Your interest in gathering and
sharing information was so clear and the effort you put into this meant I
could form my own stance with the many decisions I was faced with. The
way you answered my questions by providing resources helped me feel
really well equipped and confident.
� Your commitment to evidence. Your perspectives are so incredibly well
informed and research based, and this allowed me to really respect and
trust the knowledge you hold. Alongside this, you seemed to so easily
balance your trust in a mother’s intuitive knowledge, and your respect for
the evidence of experience. That’s no mean feat!
� Your gentle way with Jude. Your manner with our precious boy was so
lovely to watch. I always felt like he was being so tenderly looked after
when you were interacting with him. You meet so many babies, but your
genuine care, interest and love was so apparent.
� When you said “You’re always decent”. When you visited on the Monday
after Jude was born, I was lying in bed in my knickers, un-showered, and
called out to you “Come in, but I’m not decent”. Your response really stuck
with me, and has helped me feel like I’m enough just as I am, in all my filthy
motherhood glory!
� The way you ‘tucked in’ our family. The night Jude was born, you helped us
put him to bed, and farewelled us as we got into bed. It was incredibly
precious to me that your care for us was so thorough, and you journeyed
with us to the very last moment of our process that night. It was so nice to
feel so beautifully ‘mothered’ myself, in my first hours as a mother.
� The witness of your diligence around consumer decisions. Your personal
commitment to walking gently on this earth shone through subtly but
strongly, and has been a real ‘take away’ for me from crossing paths with
you. Particularly when bombarded with purchasing pressure as a new
parent, having you around helped keep lots of things in perspective.
� Your ability to ‘get medical’. I loved that, all of a sudden, when something
was ‘going down’ you totally had the ability to switch into a really clinical
mode. You keep that part of your role appropriately tucked away a lot of
the time, but it gave me such confidence knowing that you were so strong
in that area when the circumstances warranted this.
� The beautiful gift of the images of us as a family. I am so amazed that you
that you would offer your time and talent to us with this. It’s not often that
the person behind the lens is part of the story too. Your photos totally
captured ‘us’ and we will always treasure these.
� The incredible energy you added by arriving when you did in my labouring
experience. As much as I would have loved to have you with me through
my whole labour, I so valued the boost you gave when you arrived. Your
coaching, your compassion and understanding, were so appreciated. I
remember reaching out during a really strong contraction, and feeling so
supported to not only find Jono’s hand, but yours too. That was a really
precious moment for me.
� Your amazingly detailed notes. I often read back over the notes you have
written, and I’m so grateful to have these. You took extra time to capture
the story of my pregnancy, birth, and our early weeks with Jude. I love that
our family will always have this record.
� The part you played in giving me such a strong experience of trust. The
different roles I hold in life mean I’m often in a position of thinking, leading,
deciding and doing. When I wrote affirmations in preparation for labour,
some of the strongest affirmations were about the reality that I didn’t need
to be in control or in charge. A huge part of this was that I completely
trusted you as my advocate. This depth of letting go and trusting has been
a redefining experience for me, and I look forward to this shaping my
future.
� When you said “I would do the next five for you if I could”, at a point when
I was really struggling with contractions. It really struck me the sense of
how much you really meant this. I knew you were so totally and genuinely
on my team.
� The gentle, inviting way you encouraged me to ‘surrender’ when I was at
the height of contractions. The first few times you said it, I thought what
you were asking was utterly impossible. But, thanks to your continual
encouragement, I had one of the most powerful experiences I have ever
had of surrendering. This was another beautiful, re-defining and future
shaping moment you gifted me with.
� The way you fostered our confidence in our decision making as parents.
You facilitated a process for Jono and I whenever we were faced with a
decision which has left us feeling well able to trust our decisions as new
parents. I am thankful that what we have learnt and the confidence we
have gained will be with us as we go on to make another 1001 decisions
throughout our parenting.
� The high value you placed on my birth plan, in all its detail. When you
arrived on the night of my labour, I remember hearing you ask about
lighting a candle, because you remembered that this was one of the little
things I wanted. I loved that whatever I valued, you valued, and whatever I
wanted, you wanted for me.
� The way you enjoyed our ‘this doesn’t look like Wills and Kate’ moment, as
I stood in my PJs with Jono and Jude, waving goodbye to our family at the
door the night Jude was born. This was one of my favourite moments, as
you so heartily laughed with us. For me this represented how supportive
you are of realistic expectations for new Mums. You gifted me with a lack
of expectation, which helped me to lower my expectations of myself, and
I’m so grateful to be going about my motherhood journey with plenty of
grace.
� The way you allowed my belief in my ability to birth at home to grow
gradually. I came to you not entirely convinced that it was possible for me
to have a home birth, and with relatively low trust in myself going into
something difficult and unknown. I thought other people could do it, but
had little to no confidence that I could be a ‘home birth person’. I am so
grateful you let me discover my birthing confidence at my own pace, and
that this was allowed to unfold naturally.
Thank you for being you, (midwife), and for gifting me with you as a
companion through this profound experience. I appreciate you.
Slow but sure. By Sara Bailey
Sep 2015
My midwife told me third babies are usually unpredictable. Boy was she
right! Our wee boy was due in early January but I expected him at
Christmas (my second baby having come almost 3 weeks early). Christmas
came and went, New Year came and went and I was still waiting and
getting more impatient by the day. In my mind I expected him to come
while my husband was on Christmas holiday and when the time came for
him to go back to work I was miserable. I was heavily pregnant in the heat
of summer, struggling to take care of my two older children Jackson (4)
and Honor (almost 3). I knew people were starting to feel sorry for me
when I started getting flowers and meals dropped off to me and I hadn’t
even had the baby!
Photo credit: Bloom Birth Photography
Often I would get really strong Braxton Hicks and would walk around
willing them to get stronger and turn into labour. After many days and
nights of wondering if ‘this was the beginning’ I told myself I would ignore
all possible labour signs and that when I was really truly in labour I would
know.
Early on Monday morning I started having regular Braxton Hicks and
noticed they were quite regular and increasingly uncomfortable. They got
to the point where I rang my husband at work and asked him to come
home because I was struggling to take care of the children. He came home
and as I progressed we decided it would be a good idea to send the kids to
their grandparent’s house to play for the day so I could have some space. I
had an antenatal appointment due that afternoon with my midwife and so I
text her and told her I might really need her by then. My husband and I
took a walk around the block and then on to the local mall to try and keep
the contractions going. It was quite a novelty being there together on our
own, we couldn’t remember the last time that had happened! It was rather
amusing watching people’s faces as I hobbled through the mall breathing
through contractions!
Photo credit: Bloom Birth Photography
When my midwife and her student arrived that afternoon I asked her to
check me to see if I was progressing. She did and told me I was at basically
the same stage I had been a week prior and that I must have just been
having Braxton Hicks. I wanted to cry then and there. I was in pain and
uncomfortable, how could it have been nothing?! I sent my mother home
(she had been at my house keeping me company) and told her nothing
was going to happen for a while.
Photo credit: Bloom Birth Photography
Eventually the kids came home and we read them books and tucked them
into bed (all the while still having contractions). By 11pm I was ready for
some pain relief and my husband started hot towels. My mum text me
saying she was unable to sleep so I told her she might as well come over.
My contractions were irregular but uncomfortable. The hot towels kept me
going.
Around 2am I contacted my midwife and asked her to come. She came
straight over and then contacted the student midwife to come also. I asked
her to check me and she obliged – I was about 7cm. Yay! Finally some
progress. I quickly text our birth photographer and she let me know she
was on her way.
Photo credit: Bloom Birth Photography
Time passed and I laboured with the support of my husband, mother,
midwife, student midwife and our birth photographer quietly snapping
away in the background. Hot towels were my friend and calming and
encouraging words from everyone got me through. In the background
music from one of our wedding playlists played quietly. Around 4am I
started getting anxious that baby would not arrive before morning (I really
wanted him here before the kids awoke). My contractions were still
irregular but my midwife assured me that she didn’t think my labour was
stalling. She asked if there was anything I was worried about and I replied
simply that ‘baby will never come’. I was exhausted physically and mentally
from labouring all day and night. I knew my state of mind would influence
my labour hugely but I just couldn’t shake the grumpiness hanging over
me. I had been waiting to have this baby for what seemed like forever and I
just couldn’t summon any more energy. I asked my midwife to break my
waters to get things moving and after discussing the possible risks she did
as I had asked. The liquid drained beautiful and clear and I hopped into the
shower to continue progressing. My husband sat with me in the bathroom
and we talked and laughed, brushed our teeth and took selfies. At some
point I had a bloody show and Luke went to get our midwife. She came in
and asked if I was pushing. I said yes and she asked if I wanted to birth in
the shower. I didn’t so out I got and went out to the lounge where the early
morning sun was starting to stream through the windows.
Photo credit: Bloom Birth Photography
As I pushed my baby out I felt it like I had never felt it before, as if my
bones were really moving apart. I hadn’t felt this with my previous two
births. It was painful but soon enough he was out and into my arms. I held
him against my chest and marvelled at him as he gurgled and cried. When
the cord stopped pulsing we cut it and I handed him to my husband so I
could sit up to deliver the placenta. Afterwards I got cleaned up and
snuggled up on the couch to give baby his first breastfeed.
Jackson was the first to wake up and come in to meet his new baby
brother, Alexander. He gave us both a cuddle and then went to make toast
with Dad. Honor came in shortly after and cuddled with me on the couch
and then went about her normal morning routine with a bottle of milk and
a trip to the potty. My birth team enjoyed coffee and puff pastries and
chatted happily. We weighed Alexander who came in at a beautiful 9lb 3oz,
a whole pound heavier than my son Jackson and almost 2 pounds heavier
than Honor. After finalising the paperwork the midwives left, as did
everyone else. We were on our own and life went on as usual, except now
we had three kids!
Photo credit: Bloom Birth Photography
Immediately after the birth I told anyone who asked that the birth was long
and hard and I never wanted to do it again. But as the photos from our
birth photographer started coming through I started realising that actually
it was fine, more than fine. Looking through the photos and looking at
everyone’s relaxed and happy faces made me realise how much my state
of mind had been clouding my memories of it. The birth had been slower
than my previous two and also been irregular which had been confusing
but at the same time it had also been peaceful, complication free and a
natural, beautiful homebirth which is just what we had planned. What more
could I ask for?
All photos credited toAll photos credited toAll photos credited toAll photos credited to
BloomPhotography http://bloomphotography.co.nz/
“My practise is all about CONNECTION, so you will be provided with images that EVOKE, that take you back to that very special day. Photos that you will treasure for years.”
Make your own Ipu Whenua. By Carole Wheeler
Sep 2015
Making biodegradable ipu whenua all came about, for me, way back in
2010. I attended a workshop for midwives and I felt challenged to produce
a biodegradable ipu as part of working towards my Midwifery Turanga
Kaupapa Standards which include care of the whenua. At that time we
were handing families their placenta in a plastic container, I found they
they were often buried in this…..and the plastic container wouldn’t degrade
for literally hundreds of years. As the video shows, I use earth friendly kete
and other materials to make the ipu, kete, raffia, string, flax, shells, feathers
etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMqmSF9xXSM
After the success of earlier ipu whenua we sourced larger and smaller kete
to make tiny and medium ipu taonga for miscarried babies and much larger
kete to make little caskets for early stillborn babies. In this way we were
able to give families a beautiful and earth friendly way of carrying their
babies into the earth.
Today we have made and distributed a total of over 725 ipu whenua and
around 300 ipu taonga through Masterton Hospital WDHB, as a gift to our
women and families. These ipu whenua cost our families nothing. Most of
these have been funded by the Maori Health Directorate at the DHB. In
addition to this a few student midwives and midwives throughout New
Zealand are now making or assisting women to make their own ipu whenua
as part of antenatal classes. At least two ED nurses are making ipu taonga
for their hospital departments.
Carole Makes hundreds of Ipu whenua to gift to families as well as those she sells to fund the
non profit work she does. She believes Ipu whenua should be made available all families.
Through my not-for-profit webpage I have distributed many ipu whenua,
any money left over from these $10 sales has been used to make and
distribute ipu taonga for families who have sadly lost their baby through
miscarriage, I send these out at no cost to the families who get in touch
with me.
We have a facebook page, with DIY slide shows, and many Midwives,
students, childbirth educators and women have used this to spread the
word and make their own ipu in other parts of NZ. It has actually been
viewed over 5000 times!
Separate to the ipu whenua we make through the DHB, ipu have been sent
as far afield as Canada, Japan and Germany as well as the UK and Australia.
Some have been made and requested for human cremains (ashes after
cremation) for adults and babies. Cocoons have also been made for
treasured pets to be buried in. Each ipu is sent out with a corn starch bag
for the placenta to be put into at birth and a copy of a poem, with
permission, which is often read out when the placenta is buried.
Ipu come in smaller sizes for babies lost early in miscarriage.
The project won a Quality Award at the DHB which included some money
towards training. This was used for HypnoBirthing Practitioner training. As
it was won for “Improving the Patient experience” I wanted to use the
money for training, which in time would go full circle and again “Improve
the Patient experience”. My HypnoBirthing classes are going well and
families are having calm, positive birth experiences as a result.
It is Carole’s vision that ipu are freely available for those who want them,
she has published her own DIY set of instructions which anyone can use to
make their own ipu whenua cheaply and
easily. http://ipuwhenua.weebly.com/
Spring Fairy Tutorial. By Sian Hannagan
A Waldorf inspired Spring fairy is a lovely project to do with your children
in celebration of the Spring season.
HerHerHerHere is what you will need:e is what you will need:e is what you will need:e is what you will need:
2-3 felting needles
A selection of wool sliver in a variety of colours including your chosen flesh
tones
A foam pad
Strong sewing thread
1 pipe cleaner or crafting wire
DirectionsDirectionsDirectionsDirections
First you start with the head. Using a longish hank of wool, tie it into a half knot and tuck the
ends in.
Using felting needles and a foam block, carefully felt the ball until it is reasonably round. It
does not need to be hard but it must be firm enough to keep shape.
Using your flesh toned sliver, take a hank about 20 cm long and tie it in the middle.
Carefully wrap the wool around your little ball ensuring there is even coverage .
Using a thinner piece of sliver carefully wrap it around what will become the neck of the doll
and then use your felting needle to fix it in place and firm it up.
Using a pipe cleaner, fold it into a T shape much like the one above, with a longer top – these
will be the arms. Fold the very tips of the wire over so that the pipe cleaner does not have
exposed wire ends.
Carefully insert the central piece into the neck of your doll. You may need to pierce a hole
with an awl to fit this piece in.
Using very fine pieces of sliver carefully wrap an even layer of flesh toned wool around the
arms and torso.
Choosing a bodice colour and using the same wrapping technique with fine, long pieces of
wool create the sleeves and top of the dress. It is easiest to start at the wrists and work
inwards to the chest. Use a felting needle to fasten the wool and give shape to the torso.
Using nice fat pieces of sliver, fasten them at the waist with your needle to create the
underskirts.
Using two long hanks of wool, place them at either side of the neck and drape down the front
and back of your doll.
Using a long slender length of wool, wrap it firmly around the waist to fasten the skirts and
give the doll shape. Fastening it at the back of the doll, use your needle to securely attach the
waist. You can add different colours for contrast.
Choosing a hair colour, lay a nice bunchy section of well brushed yarn across the crown of
your dolls head and then using your needle, punch a line down the part firmly attaching the
hair from forehead to nape.
Choosing three equally long sections of sliver, roll them to give them shape and then brain
firmly into a length of braid approximately 15 cm long.
Wrapping the braid around the crown of your dolls head, attach it firmly at the base of the
head using your felting needle and then around the crown to secure it evenly. You can attach
flowers for decoration if desired.
To create the wings lay out a thick hank of wool in the colour you choose, you can feather in
other colours as well if desired. Tie with thread through the middle to create the wings.
Using your needle, firmly attach the wings down the back of your fairy and spread her wings.
She is done!
Toy Midwifery Kit. By Home Birth Aotearoa
Toy doctors and nurses kits are often found in abundance, but toy
midwifery kits are really not commonplace. Which is why we decided to
make one for ourselves, midwives are so important to our communities and
they are one of the only health workers who do much of their work in the
community, working directly with families. A lot of their role is spent in the
homes of expectant and new mothers, so a portable kit is essential to their
job. We think this alternative take on a toy medical kit is just the best thing
ever, and a great item for working midwives to have to distract curious
fingers on house visits.
Because midwife kits and even their components are not readily found for
purchase, building one is very much a process of cobbling together
items that to fit. No two kits will be the same, but part of the fun is sourcing
items that will work well The key elements are as follows:
Midwife Kit:Midwife Kit:Midwife Kit:Midwife Kit:
Measuring tape
Rebozo or scarf
Stethoscope
Colostrum syringe
Pinard
Knitted placenta
Supplements
Cellphone or pager
Bag to carry it all in
This midwifery kit was put together with a re-purposed wooden Doctors set, a pashmina, real
stethoscope, knitted placenta and a hand turned pinard.
We made one of these kits to raffle off at our recent conference, and as a
result fielded a number of requests to purchase one, initially we did ponder
making a limited run for sale, but the time taken to make them plus cost of
materials made the whole thing a bit unwieldy. So instead we decided to
create an article so you could create your own!
Rebozo:Rebozo:Rebozo:Rebozo: Any old scarf will do, pashmina size. Midwives have traditionally
used true rebozo to assist women in labour, reposition babies and new
mothers to carry their babies. It’s a great addition to any budding midwife’s
repertoire.
Wooden toys including syringe, bottles aWooden toys including syringe, bottles aWooden toys including syringe, bottles aWooden toys including syringe, bottles and phone:nd phone:nd phone:nd phone: Finding these will
depend a lot on what online stores you have access to. The ones pictured
above are no longer in production, but there are plenty of similar kits
available with a variety of items.
Pinard:Pinard:Pinard:Pinard: These are a bit more tricky – we had a friend turn this one on a
lathe, but there are pinards available for sale from various online suppliers.
Or you could whittle your own.
Working stethoscope:Working stethoscope:Working stethoscope:Working stethoscope: We got ours from a medical supplier, it’s obviously
lower end for quality – but it works! Which is a huge bonus for children
who want to play around with listening to their heart, bellies and whatever
else they want to try. A working stethoscope is not essential, you can make
a home made one if you can’t easily find one that works.
Measuring tape:Measuring tape:Measuring tape:Measuring tape: Available at any sewing supplies store, our one is a cute
little piggy but even just plain tape will work.
Knitted placenta:Knitted placenta:Knitted placenta:Knitted placenta: This is my favourite piece! Pattern available online at
Ravelry! http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/placenta-beta. Our
placenta has it’s very own lovely muka tie
Bag:Bag:Bag:Bag: Any bag will do, in a previous raffle we had a lovely hand made one,
this one is a fair trade hemp bag purchased online.
So have fun building your kit, we’d love to see what you come up with!!!
Other midwifery kit ideas:Other midwifery kit ideas:Other midwifery kit ideas:Other midwifery kit ideas:
This beautiful hand embroidered one at Still Parenting
This hand made felt one at Mama’s Felt Cafe
And if that all seems too hard, you can purchase And if that all seems too hard, you can purchase And if that all seems too hard, you can purchase And if that all seems too hard, you can purchase raffle tickets from us for the kit we put together. To raffle tickets from us for the kit we put together. To raffle tickets from us for the kit we put together. To raffle tickets from us for the kit we put together. To be drawn 1 November 2015be drawn 1 November 2015be drawn 1 November 2015be drawn 1 November 2015
To purchase tickets email us at [email protected] with your Name,
Phone number, Region and how many tickets you want. Minimum online
purchase is 5 tickets at $10 ($2 per ticket). There are 10 runner up prizes of
Serene Birth Kits including a candle, essential oil birth blend and a massage
wax suitable for pregnant women and babies.
Once we receive your payment into our bank account 03 1540 0512132 00,
we will enter you into the draw. Only available to New Zealand residents.
Judges decision is final.
Spring Linzer Biscuits. As spring arrives, we move from cold quiet earth to new life emerging,
shoots and blossoms show and you can almost feel Mother Nature taking a
huge breath out. Early spring or first light is the first breath of warmth
coming to warm the earth and is celebrated in New Zealand as Hongonui in
early August, to native Maori this change of seasons was a cold time to
light fires. As the season slowly warmed, the ground would be prepared to
plant crops. The constellation Orion which appeared in the night skies is
known as Tautoru the bird hunter.
In Celtic and pagan tradition Imbolc or ‘first light’ is symbolic of the flowing
of milk or the birth of new stock. It is when spring lambs fill the paddocks
and birds begin to nest. People who own chickens suddenly find
themselves with a glut of eggy treasures. The word Imbolc literally means
‘ewes milk’. Rituals associated with first light are the lighting of candles,
drinking of milk or eating milk based meals, feeling the earth
(papatuanuku), spring cleaning, star gazing and lighting fires.
In New Zealand we celebrate Easter in Autumn, but Easter (or Eostre if you
follow pagan tradition) really is a spring celebration and it is now that we
should be celebrating new spring life, having Easter egg hunts and lighting
of candles.
Spring biscuits with a glass of milk are a wonderful way to celebrate first
light.
Spring Linzer BikkiesSpring Linzer BikkiesSpring Linzer BikkiesSpring Linzer Bikkies
Usually these biscuits are made in two circles, one with a hole in and then
sandwiched together with jam in the middle. My spring version were plain
and cut out in festive spring animal baby shapes. I like how easy these
biscuits are and they have a delicious bite to them.
Ingredients:Ingredients:Ingredients:Ingredients:
1 cup almonds
1 cup hazelnuts
½ cup caster sugar
4 cups flour
350 grams of butter – softened and cut into cubes
Pinch of nutmeg
Pure vanilla essence
Zest of two lemons and juice to taste
Two teaspoons of milk
4 egg yolks
Method:Method:Method:Method:
Grind the almonds and the hazelnuts until they are a fine meal. I leave the
skins on, it’s not as pretty but it gives a nuttier flavour. Then it’s a simple
matter of placing everything in your food processor and pulsing until it
starts to hold together. If you don’t have a food processor, then roll up
your sleeves and get rubbing!
Once the dough has pulled together, it is best to chill it for at least 2 hours
before rolling out and cutting to shape. The cookies bake best at ¼ of an
inch.
Bake the cookies at 160 degrees Celsius on paper lined baking sheets, they
only need 10 minutes or so until they catch the barest hint of golden
brown.
Once they are baked and cooled they can be decorated. Soft pastel colours
are fitting for the season.
