Birth without pain medication

How to get through natural childbirth free of pain medication

by Willow Tohi

(NaturalNews) “Life is pain highness; anyone who says differently is selling something.” This line from the movie The Princess Bride is certainly applicable to childbirth. It’s going to hurt. It’s not meant to be easy. However, there are ways to prepare for and manage that pain, which is just one of the challenges of becoming a parent.

Preparation
One of the best ways to get through childbirth without pain medication is to take steps to shorten labor.


* Diet is everything here. Eating lots of greens, drinking lots of good water, and taking/drinking pregnancy supporting herbs go a long way in preparing your body for what’s to come. Equally important is avoiding sugar and other dietary toxins.


* Physical preparation should include daily exercise, stretches, and alternative treatments as needed, such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, or massage. These will help things like alignment and fetal positioning. Emotional and mental preparation is equally important. Athletes who run marathons can tell you how important mental preparation is.


* Educate yourself with The Bradley Method classes. These will give you an understanding of why it is important to try for a medication-free birth, and let you know what to expect. Even though birth is hard, it helps to know the stages you will go through, and that they are normal.


*Read books about natural birth stories, such as Ina May Gaskin’s Spiritual Midwifery. These will give you conviction that you too can do it. Ina May says, “God is not a faulty mechanic and your body is not a lemon.” Fact: if your ancestors hadn’t been able to do it, you wouldn’t be here. (They also breastfed, co-slept, wore their babies, and implemented all the other ‘alternative’ approaches you’re thinking of doing.) 


* It also helps to have a birth plan, and possibly a labor support person such as a doula.

If you do end up needing medical assistance, you’ll feel better if you are informed and prepared.

The main event
This is one time in your life you need to put yourself first.

1. Healthcare provider: Are you truly comfortable with them? Do you have a connection? Hospitals and most doctors are in the business of ‘delivering babies’ – sometimes in spite of parents wishes. Midwives assist you with your birth. Just that small shift in perception can mean a world of difference for your birth experience. Midwives also have non-medication ways of helping with pain management. They use homeopathy, herbs, massage, lots of support, and other tricks of the trade.


2. Location: Where will you be giving birth? Are you comfortable there? The classes and books will help you know what to ask. You need to know if they support natural labor, allow you to move around (without being hooked up to wires), etc.

3. Avoid intervention: Contrary to what you’ve been told, gestation often goes up to 42 weeks, if allowed to do so. The hormonal symphony that is birth needs to be left alone – allowed to begin and progress at its own pace. Don’t focus on the clock. Intervention of any kind almost always leads to more intervention and the next thing you know you didn’t have the birth you wanted. The US has a 36% cesarean rate. The World Health Organization says it should be 3%.


4. Move it: Have you ever witnessed another mammal give birth? If not, visit YouTube. They all move in response to what they are feeling. Giving birth on your back is not natural. If your baby needs to turn, get on your knees and flex your back to give him more room. Walk or sit on an exercise ball to progress labor and get baby moving down the birth canal. Rocking, swaying or dancing, leaning on a wall or exercise ball are all useful for getting through contractions. Large baby? Squatting opens your pelvis, giving junior 20% more room. Gravity is your friend during birth.


5. Trust your body, and your instincts: It knows what to do. Give your body freedom to work. You need energy for this – eat and drink when you want to. Move when you need to. Listen to yourself – don’t be coerced into doing something you aren’t comfortable with because someone scares you in to it. Remember – you can always change your mind later to DO something but not to UNDO it. You don’t have to decide at that moment whether or not to receive medication, circumcise, vaccinate, etc. Take the time you need. 


6. Keep your baby with you. That’s where he is supposed to be. He doesn’t need to be cleaned up right away. He doesn’t have to breathe right away either – he’s still attached to the placenta. What is the first thing you want him to experience? Hearing, smelling, and feeling momma or being rushed off to be scrubbed and sucked and weighed? The skin-to-skin contact helps warm him, regulate his breathing and your hormones, and stimulate breastfeeding.

Don’t be afraid. Pregnancy is not a medical condition, and birth is not a ‘procedure’. You were designed for this. Don’t give away this power. It is an awesome, life-changing experience most of us would not trade.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.pregnancyandbaby.com

Tarr, Katherine. A Guide to Motherhood – Herbs, Helps, & Pressure Points for Pregnancy and Childbirth, p. 37-65. Winona Lake, Indiana: Wendell W. Whitman Company, 2008.

Ody, Penelope. Herbs for a Healthy Pregnancy …from conception to childbirth. p. 53-59. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Keats Publishing, 1999.

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What to eat when being pregnant???

After becoming pregnant the first thing that comes to the mind of the expecting mom is to eat well so that neither her nor her undeveloped baby have to suffer during the pregnancy and after that. For ensuring that your weight gain will be proper and your body will not lack any vital vitamins and minerals, you will need to take care of pregnancy nutrition. The people near you who love you and care for you will also advice you what to eat and what not to eat. You can enjoy this special attention for the coming next nine months and even after that.

First thing instead of worrying about how you will carry out the pregnancy, whether everything will be fine, just eat right and take proper rest. Be in good mood and do things that you feel right for you and the baby. If you are in cheerful mood throughout your pregnancy, your baby will also be like you. In order to have a healthy baby, try to be yourself healthy first. If you are too slim try to gain some weight by eating right kind of food. And even if you are already little overweight then take the help of your doctor to decide what kind of food will be right for you.

The nine months pregnancy time is really important for you and your baby. Nothing best you can give your baby apart from good health. Good health cannot be achieved without providing proper pregnancy nutrition. It is also important to have proper nutritious food before planning pregnancy too, as this will give proper strength to your uterus for holding the fertilized egg. Also your food during the first few days and few weeks of your pregnancy are also essential for normal growth of your baby.

As you know the baby needs calcium and iron for normal growth and whatever calcium and iron your body has gets absorbed by the placenta for raising the baby. Hence your food should be such that it gives you generous amounts of calcium and iron and other vitamins and proteins. Your doctor will also give you supplements that will provide you calcium and iron. As you progress from one week to the next week the requirements of iron and calcium will also increase. In any case you should avoid taking any kind of medications or supplements on your own.

Pregnancy nutrition is very important as this is like a base for the normal growth of the baby. It is also essential for you own body, as you have to undergo various pains to have a safe delivery. You will also need lots of stamina to deal with the early pregnancy symptoms like fatigue, nausea and morning sickness. You can ask your doctor how much weight gain he or she is expecting you to gain. It is better to eat healthy rather than eating anything. Green vegetables and fruits are the best and you can also eat diary products and all food items that will give you proteins and vitamin C. Vitamin C will help you avoid getting pregnancy gingivitis.

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Its illegal to be a midwife????

Women’s birthing rights advocates stage protest in response to arrest of Indiana midwife

by Jonathan Benson, staff writer

(NaturalNews) Though she has reportedly assisted in the successful delivery of more than 1,700 babies, 400 of which were born in their families’ homes, 49-year-old Ireena Keeslar, a former obstetrics nurse-turned-midwife, was recently arrested on charges of practicing midwifery without a license. And at her hearing in LaGrange County, Indiana, on April 9, 2012, more than 100 supporters of all ages came out to protest her incarceration, and take a stand for women’s birthing rights.

Practicing midwifery in the state of Indiana without being a licensed nurse is currently illegal, which makes it extremely difficult not only for midwives like Keeslar to practice, but also for women who prefer a more personalized and natural form of childbirth to receive the proper care of their choice. Even certified practical midwifery and direct-entry midwifery are illegal in the Hoosier State, which greatly limits women’s birthing options there.

According to BlogHer.com, Keeslar was arrested in the early morning of Saturday, March 31, for no specific reason other than that authorities had found out about her practice and decided to pursue her. Keeslar’s many years of experience as an obstetrics nurse are technically not enough to satisfy the legal requirements of Indiana for midwifery, even though she had never reportedly had any issues with deliveries — to the contrary, her services were in high demand all across rural, northeastern Indiana, where home births are common and growing in popularity.

Indiana obstetricians fear, oppose midwifery because it cuts into their business
Some local obstetricians in Keeslar’s area claim that midwifery can be dangerous, and that it should be regulated or illegal except under certain circumstances. But others who are more “in the know” about how midwifery actually works deny these claims, and believe that the real issue concerns profit loss.

“It’s all about the money. People who have money in Parkview Hospital in LaGrange County want to do away with our midwives,” said Dr. Cal Streeter, D.O., a 37-year veteran in medicine that has long-backed midwifery, to BlogHer.com. “It’s as safe to have a baby at home as in the hospital. Most of the problems in obstetrics are doctors trying to hurry the process up or slow it down.”

For the entire day of her arrest, Keeslar was forced to remain in a dirty prison cell, wear a prisoner’s uniform that was too tight and that cut off her circulation, and be fed meals that were improper for her diabetic condition. She was even reportedly refused access to her insulin medication, until finally she was released on $10,000 bail.

On the day of Keeslar’s hearing, more than 100 men, women, and children showed up on the footsteps of the LaGrange County Courthouse to protest her arrest and take a stand for birthing rights. According to Richard Muntz, Keeslar’s attorney, the hearing was waived and a plea of “not guilty” was declared on Keeslar’s behalf.

A few weeks earlier, 47-year-old Jeannie Stanley of nearby Albion, Ind., was arrested on the same charges of practicing midwifery without a license. That investigation reportedly led to authorities discovering Keeslar’s practice as well.

“I think the arrest of midwives is a waste of taxpayer dollars,” said Mary Ann Griffin, president of the Indiana Midwives Association to the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. “Indiana should legislate and not litigate.”

If you wish to support Ireena Kesslar by helping to cover her legal fees, you can send checks to:
Ireena Keeslar Legal Fund
7570 East 750 North
Howe, Indiana 46746

Sources for this article include:

http://www.news-sentinel.com

http://www.blogher.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/03/us/03midwife.html

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Benefits of breastfeeding ..

( وننزل من القرآن ما هو شفاء ورحمة للمؤمنين) الإسراء 82

Breastfeed your baby even if with your eye-drops … !

There are many benefits of breastfeeding , some of them will be discussed here :

For the mother:

- Protects against post-partum uteritis.

- Helps stop bleeding resulting from delivery, thus preventing loss of extra blood..

- Helps uterine restore normal size and place quickly after delivery.

- Prevents the recurrence of pregnancy with a rate of more than 98%, without contraceptives.

- Protects the lactating mother against breast and uterine cancer.

For the baby:

Breast feeding protects the baby from viral infections, as it contains immunity agents.
· It protects against food allergy, as it is free of protein that causes such kind of allergy, and which is usually found in extracted and manufactured cows milk.

It prevents shortage of calcium in the baby’s blood, thus helping to construct strong bones.
It returns with spiritual and psychological benefits to the baby, as it helps build a well composed, righteous and straight personality, and strengthens the spiritual and passionate links between the baby and the mother.
As revealed in a research published in Pediatric Clinics of North America in February 2001, the mental abilities of babies who receive breast feeding from their mothers are stronger and higher than otherwise, and the longer the period of breast feeding, the higher the mental abilities are.
It was shown that mother’s milk also provides protection against cancer. After showing that the incidence of the lymph cancer observed in childhood was nine times greater in formula-fed children, they realised that the same results applied to other forms of cancer. According to the results, mother’s milk accurately locates the cancer cells and later destroys them. It is a substance called alpha-lac (alphalactalbumin), present in large quantities in mother’s milk, that locates and kills the cancer cells. Alpha-lac is produced by a protein that assists in the manufacture of the sugar lactose in the milk.
In addition to some practical benefits of breast feeding. The milk is always ready with steady and appropriate heat, fresh, sterilized, digestible and saves money and time !
Researchers indicated that breast feeding alleviates the baby’s fear of needle pricks and helps as analgesic during painful operations such as circumcision.
A new theory emerged in the recent years indicating that the protein in cows milk can cause a biological reaction that destroys the pancreatic beta cells excreting insulin. This theory is supported with the high rate of the presence of cow milk proteins in the serum of children with diabetes in comparison with study group of non-diabetic children.
But why is it that cows milk causes this harm before the second year, and then disappears after this period?
In a study conducted in Finland in 1994 and published in Auto-immunity Journal, the authors state that the protein of cow milk passes in natural form through the lining membrane of digestive system which is not yet fully grown. As the enzymes of the digestive system cannot break the protein into amino acids, the protein of cow milk enters as a complex protein and works as a catalyst to produce immunity agents in the body of the child.

New references reveal that enzymes and the lining membrane of the digestive system and kinetics of digestion and absorption do not attain complete function except in the second year after delivery.

Many studies stress on breast feeding in the first two years

In a very accurate scientific reference, the Quran determines the period of lactation with almost two years. In verse 14 of Surat Luqman: “And We enjoined on man concerning his parents- his mother bore him in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning was in two years.” (31:14)
الآية رقم (14) في سورة [لقمان]: (ووصينا الإنسان بوالديه حملته أمه وهنـًا على وهن وفصاله في عامين)

It is understood that lactation for two years is not a must, but a complete period; “Mothers shall breastfeed their children for two whole years, for such as desire to complete the term ” ( 2:233)

( وَالْوَالِدَاتُ يُرْضِعْنَ أَوْلاَدَهُنَّ حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَن يُتِمَّ الرَّضَاعَةَ ) – البقرة 233.

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