The upswing in the number of Caesarean sections performed in the United States is being paralleled by another trend: rising rates of serious complications in women giving birth.

By examining hospital discharges nationwide, a team of researchers found that rates of kidney failure, respiratory distress syndrome, shock and ventilator use associated with childbirth climbed more than 20 percent from 1998-99 to 2004-05, while rates for pulmonary embolism and blood transfusions rose 52 percent and 92 percent, respectively.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation/story/992810.html

Currently, Nebraska has fairly strict regulations on midwife-assisted birth. There are a few bills this session that would change that…

http://nebraskaliberty1.wordpress.com/2009/01/28/more-options-in-childbirth/

Women living in poor countries are 300 times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than if they lived in rich countries, UNICEF said in a report released Thursday in Johannesburg.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090115/hl_afp/healthchildrenwomenunsafrica

This article is a blueprint for a grassroots movement—a program of birth activism that can be set up in any community to stimulate better birth practices, political activism, and media savvy for the birth community. Two successful birth networks—one in Nashville, Tennessee, and the other in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—were started by the writers of this article. The program we developed can augment collaborative marketing efforts for birth professionals and create pockets of activism to promote birth change and the midwifery model of care.

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/build_network.asp

Each year, the U.S. spends over $50 billion dollars on childbirth. This is more than any other nation in the world. (This number does not include babies in the NICU or readmissions during the first month.)

http://icanofjacksonms.blogspot.com/2008/12/facts-about-birth-in-america.html

It has become crystal clear to me in the last few days that birth professionals should, as one of their New Year Resolutions, market their profession and businesses more clearly, more often and more aggressively.

One of the biggest reasons why women are so afraid of childbirth is that they have been told for several decades that birth is a horrible event, one that is far beyond their capabilities. To reach their goal of a health baby, they NEED induction, they NEED medication and they NEED assistance from maternity care professionals. Ignore the fact that women have been having babies for centuries. Ignore the fact that, especially in the US, in spite of the fact that medical intervention percentages have skyrocketed, there has been NO reduction in the maternal mortality and mobidity or infant mortality and morbidity.

http://childbirthtoday.blogspot.com/2008/12/marketing-101-for-2009.html

Did you know that some maternity units actually have more staff available during periods of full moon?

I’ve always been fascinated by the moon’s effect on nature, so when a friend’s wife conveyed to me what her midwife had told her during the birth of their daughter, I decided to find out more about childbirth, full moon and a possible link.

http://www.naturalperfection.co.uk/?p=18

Knowing what your birthing options are, in order to decide where to have a baby, are important decisions expectant parents need to make. With the average cost to deliver a baby in a hospital by vaginal birth in the U.S. being around $8800.00 in a labor and delivery room, pregnant moms and dads are looking for alternative ways to deliver a baby in a healthy and safe environment, but without the high costs of delivering in a hospital.

http://www.tellinitlikeitis.net/2008/11/birthing-options-natural-childbirth-options-for-expectant-mothers.html

Brannan Sirratt stepped into Birthroot Midwifery’s prenatal meeting room with husband Jacob and toddler son Nate in tow.

Escaping a chilly February day, the family got warm hugs from Maria Chowdhury and Jennifer Creel, the midwives who helped with Nate’s birth in September 2006.

http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2009/jan/25/traditional-birth-no-birthplace-home/

Dr. Jung will soon be delivering babies at Soonchunhyang University Hospital. Dr. Jung is a huge advocate of natural childbirth in Korea.

http://cairomama.blogspot.com/2008/12/natural-childbirth-doctor-in-korea.html

It all began one ordinary evening while I was idly thumbing through a pregnancy magazine. An article about visualizing the kind of birth one would like to experience caught my eye. The women in the article described a completely different experience than I had with my first labor and delivery. Being an avid reader, I had noticed that most information targeted towards women and childbirth preparation was very narrow in scope. Rarely had I encountered deep and meaningful articles which delved into emotional, mental and spiritual preparation of the mother during this life-changing event. So I decided to head for the library and I found the most amazing treasure of a book “Birthing from Within –an extraordinary guide to childbirth preparation”. By Pam England and David Horowitz.

http://sunflowerdoula.blogspot.com/2008/12/why-i-chose-natural-childbirth-one.html

Birth is paradoxical: a very predictable yet unpredictable human passage. On one hand, almost without fail the vast majority of human females spontaneously begin labor, progress through increasingly intense stages of labor, feel like pushing, and give birth, at approximately 40 weeks after conception. On the other hand, reliably predicting birth in any greater detail than this is basically impossible. We cannot know the day or week labor will begin, how long it will last, exactly how it will feel, how we will react, or the health and sizes of our babies. What we can do, however, is educate ourselves about the vast array of possibilities and learn which are more likely to occur. We can decide what is ideal and what we will strive for, what are the means to creating the most conducive environment for such a birth, and which people can best help us to attain those birth arrangements. Finally, we can prepare our own bodies and hearts for the process.

http://www.thelaboroflove.com/forum/attachment/2.html

Preganancy issues seem to be moving to the forefront of the medical and insurance industry these days. A growing number of women are up in arms over discoveries that unnecessary Cessarian delivery methods have become standard practice. Adding to the issue is the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN)’s study indicting that more than 300 U.S. hospitals have banned Vaginal Birth After C-section (VBAC) – even though VBACs are safer for most women than a repeat c-section. As example, Medical Malpractice coverage exclusions within Oklahoma have dictated that virtually all that state’s women not be allowed VBAC.

http://www.presidioinsurance.com/news/?p=307

Yesterday morning at about 2:00am I got the call. It was the call I had been waiting for for about two weeks. She said “Hannah, my water just broke and I am having really strong contractions.” I said, “ok, I will be right over. She was having a homebirth and lives about 25 minutes away. Surprisingly, I was not nervous or anxious despite the fact that this was only my second “natural birth” and the other one I had attended was not truly “natural” (that story is for another time). I had been praying a lot that I would have the instincts to know what to do for her when the time came. I had also been praying very specifically that I would be able to attend all of her birth and that the baby would not come at a time that I could not get to her immediately due to other obligations.

http://belliesinbloom.blogspot.com/2009/01/homebirth-story.html

We first met Katherine and Todd through LocalHarvest.org as our closest Community Supported Agriculture provider. We quickly became interested in their story as small farmers trying to make a living growing food and selling it locally. Needless to say we started documenting work on their farm the week after we signed up for their CSA share. A month into taping, Katherine said “I hope this doesn’t affect the story, but I’m three months pregnant”. As you can see, it didn’t just affect the story, it helped us go deeper into it, focusing on the fact that they were planning a home birth.

http://ryanishungry.com/2009/01/21/home-birth-diy-labor-and-delivery/#

Every day in the United States, thousands of women and families experience one of the most joyous occasions in their lifetime — the birth of a child.

That joy is certainly not as often the case in many parts of the world. Women in the least-developed countries are 300 times more likely to die in childbirth or from complications related to pregnancy than women in developed countries.

Half a million women die due to pregnancy or childbirth complications every year.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/01/22/veneman.childbirth/index.html

I started my mothering journey with high hopes and misinformation about breastfeeding. Although I was able to breastfeed my first three children, it was with formula supplementation and early weaning. After my fourth child was born, I fell into the cloth diapering community through a twist of fate and found myself immediately drawn to the attachment parenting community. For the first time I was given solid information about breastfeeding that encouraged me to think outside the box and recognize the bumps in the road of my past experiences as just that: bumps. I realized that my pattern of weaning at the six-month mark could be overcome with a little diligence and understanding of what was happening with my child at this age. His disinterest wasn’t a sign he was ready to wean, he was simply more interested in the world around him and easily distracted. All this information paid off as my son and I continued our nursing relationship into his second year. Little did I know what an impact this would have on me as I headed into my biggest challenge as a mother.

http://mothering.com/articles/new_baby/breastfeeding/lactation-after-loss.html

The movement for Family Centered Maternity Care is several decades old. Interested readers may want to consult Celeste R. Phillips‘ book Family-Centered Maternity Care some of which can be read on Google Books. Phillips, a pioneer in the field, defines FCMC as “a way of providing care for women and their families that integrates pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, and infant care into the continuum of the family life cycle as normal, healthy life events.” She developed the following 10 principles for FCMC…

http://www.socialmedicine.org/2009/01/19/alternative-health-care/family-centered-maternity-care/

Pregnancy is a normal condition. But can a triathlete continue training during pregnancy and is it safe to do so?

In the absence of complications, pregnant women should follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine recommendations of moderate exercise for 30 minutes or more on most, if not all days of the week. The goal of training during pregnancy is to maintain fitness while avoiding fetal distress.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1673