We've come a long way ladies

It's incredible that early feminists campaigned for this type of treatment in childbirth.



Believing pain affected women more than men, that feeling pain caused permanent damage and that erasing the experience of childbirth gave women justice and equality suffragettes promoted Twilight Sleep. Encouraging women to clamor for the right to hallucinate and be completely restrained with cotton stuffed in their ears and blindfolds placed over their eyes, as Twilight Sleep did not eliminate pain but completely blacked out time.

The evolution of thought, acquisition of knowledge and continued quest for personal freedom is a BEAUTIFUL thing. Look where it's taking us!



Embracing our strengths gives women true power, freedom and worth. It doesn't get much more posh than that!


Thanks to Fathom and KLS for the images and history lesson.

The point of an epidural

Is to relax and calm you. But is anesthesia really the best way to accomplish that goal? Does it serve you and your baby best?

For many women the epidural does work well, I have lots of friends who love them. One in particular who thinks my wish to decline the stick in the spine is straight-up crazy has waltzed into the hospital at the end of each of her pregnancies for an early morning induction. At the first contraction she asks for an epidural and promptly pushes her baby out without breaking a sweat or smearing her makeup, happily nursing her newborn by noon. Okay, that's sounding pretty posh.

Maybe things would have gone that way for me too.... or maybe they would have gone completely the other way and after receiving pain meds my labor would have slowed to a rate that pressured the hospital staff to speed it by pumping up the pitocin drip which stressed my baby and suddenly emergency surgery was nessecary for life saving. Not so posh.

You can play the 'what if' game all day long, but you never know how an outcome could have been different had you made different choices. Would I have suffered those 3rd degree tears if I had not had an epidural and been able to control my pushing better? Would my breech baby been born just fine, did I really need that c-section I regret? Would I have had to have that emergency c-section if my labor hadn't started with pitocin at 36 weeks? Would my baby have had those breathing difficulties at birth and asthma now if he had a vaginal birth? Would my doctor have needed to use those forceps that left a scar on my baby's face if I hadn't been on my back and numb? Would my baby or I really have died if I hadn't been in a hospital?

You'll never know.

If you can't see it in hindsight you surely can't see it in foresight so hedge your bets and make the most informed, practical, conservative choices for the health of you and your child as a unit.

With an epidural:

*You have to be in a hospital, exposing yourself and perfect new baby to the risk of infection.
*Your movement and freedom is restricted
*There's a greater chance of needing further intervention ~ the use of forceps, vacuums, episiotomies, and traction applied to the infant all increase with epidural use.
*The risk of cesarean section is greater which brings a whole new set of serious risks.
*Injuries like perenial tears, hemmeroids, prolapsed organs and pelvic floor damage increase with epidural use.
*Your baby is affected by the anesthesia too, newborns can have a harder time rotating down during birth and be slower to initially breast feed.


Without an epidural:

*You'll have to prepare other ways to stay calm and relax. I highly recommend the support of a doula, learning Hypnobirthing techniques, and planning to give birth in water.
*You could frustrate or confuse your attending OB and L&D nurses if you are birthing in a hospital.
*You could experience a hours of pain and regret your decision, been there! However, this is within your control. Mothers who view birth positively report the physical feelings of birth to be intense, but manageable. Glad to say I've made it there.

The risks on one of those lists I can definitely live with, the other I'd really rather not.

If you feel differently, consider lower doses of anesthesia. Walking epidurals can lessen sensations of pain but still allow you some mobility. In Julie Tupler's book 'Maternal Fitness' she she suggests the idea of having an epidural through the first stage of labor where the cervix opens and allowing it to wear off before baby pushing time. Ask your doctor about drugs like Stadol that can give temporary relief and rest. Don't forget to ask about the side effects. You really have a lot of options Posh Mama!

However you end up having your baby educate yourself and make informed choices! See the process as the healthy one it is and along with your parter purpose to engage actively in your child's birth. It's a great introduction to parenthood! I promise.

doing your research

is SO incredibly important when preparing to birth your baby, in modern-day America anyway. So often natural birth advocates and free-birthers embrace the ideal of the uneducated primal woman. Living in the jungle she's in tune and unafraid of her body and simply squats and pushes her baby out, ties her baby on her back and goes back to picking berries and roots for dinner. Posh.

But the modern woman in most ways is anything but primal, is out of touch with her own body (those crappy Glamour mag articles selling crappy sex tips don't help) and if she's to have a chance of birthing her baby with ease she basically needs to un-learn everything popular culture has pushed on her since she was 13 reading Seventeen magazine.

Take a birthing class or read a good book to learn the basics of birth which are well...basic. Do you have a normal healthy body? Did you become pregnant in a normal way? If so, then you can safely conclude that you can probably give birth pretty normally too. If you have serious health issues or complications in your family history be especially careful to consider all your options.

SO you can look up studies comparing vaginal birth to cesearean birth for breech presentations, studies comparing outcomes of home births to hospital births, studies on the safety of home birth on Ina May's famous Farm, studies on the risks of uterine rupture in VBAC's, studies of all kinds.

Reading abstracts is easy enough but to truly critique a study and understand how conclusions were drawn you need to consider the controls, data sources, methods, variables and without a degree in statistics the layperson can get sick on statistics stew.

Studies can be fascinating reads, can give you an idea of risk involved with this or that and are especially great when they backup your own beliefs and you can claim that science is on your side. But they have a curious way of coming to conclusions that benefit whoever's bankrolling and at the end of the day scientific findings can in no way predict your personal future.

Looking around in your own backyard, finding out the policies and procedures practiced at hospitals and birthing centers nearest you and talking directly to the obstetricians, nurses, midwives and doulas who attend births locally will give you the most relevant education in your birthing options and set you up for your best birth success.

How does your OB feel about pregnancy lasting 42 weeks? What is their c-section rate? What is the rate at which pitocin, forceps and vacuums are used in their practice? What is their protocol for a nuchal cord? Are they used to midwives and doulas attending births with them, and how do they feel about the presence of such support? Are they open to delayed cord clamping? And what are the hospital policies regarding keeping the placenta?

How would your midwife handle a cord wrapped round your baby's neck, or shoulder dystocia? How often does she perform resuscitation on newborns, and how many hospital transfers has she had? What were the reasons for those transfers?

Don't forget to reach out to other mothers! Through the connection of the internet I was able to read first-hand experiences from my local Mothers Of Multiples group who birthed twins with my backup OB, which made a huge difference in the confidence I felt in my choices. Reading birth stories and watching birth videos can be an incredible education in what is possible in birth.

Don't forget to search your own heart, be real with yourself about your attitude about birth and challenge what you think you know. Be gentle with yourself, especially if you have trauma in your past from abuse or loss. Pregnancy and birth can open up all kinds of old wounds as it brings intense emotions, but it can also be a powerful time of healing. Do not hesitate to seek counseling support. Doing something you never thought you could do can change your life!

Don't be afraid to use your common sense, and don't be intimidated by frightening medical jargon and typical fear-mongering in movies and on TV. It's called 'drama' and 'comedy' for a reason. And don't be pressured by outdated and ignorant (however well meaning) advice from family and friends.

Figuring out how and where and with whom to birth your baby is just the start of the very serious decisions you will make for the well being of your child. Have faith and confidence in yourself, you are capable and can do it!

6 reasons why your body rocks

1. It's beautiful. Full of curves and color and softness and strength.

2. It gives protection, provision and procreates new human life. No petri dish can compare to the posh plushness of a woman's warm body.

3. It has a vagina. The most perfect place to welcome your partner in procreation, the most perfect place for the resulting new person to pass through on their way into the world.

4. It has breasts. Breasts that make a delicious milky beverage that just happens to be the most perfect nutritionally jampacked source of nourishment for that cute little person that just came out of your vagina. How posh is that?

5. It has a mind. Yeah sometimes that's the last thing you notice what with all the curves, vagina and breasts and all but your intelligent mind is what matters most, and makes the most of the rest of you.

6. It has a heart. A heart full of love that's capable of more than you know.

Do Your Own Thinking

Rather than let someone in a white coat and degree on the wall do it for you. 'But what makes you think you know more than a doctor???' I've been asked. Well.....I don't think I know more than a doctor exactly, but I do think I'm intelligent enough to understand the mechanics of birth (um, not rocket science folks) read up on common complications (hooray for the University of Google) and the methods different birth professionals use for responding to them. And sorry but when it comes to my own healthy body I definitely DO think I know more than some random doctor who sees me as a random patient and just another mark on the statistics chart, expecting the worst as fear of liability is her bottom line.

I'm a unique individual!! And so is my baby! The American hospital system and insurance companies may not think so, but we are and for both our sakes I demand to be treated that way. Which is exactly why I chose to birth outside of a hospital, in my own home when I was preparing for the birth of my twins.

A chemically induced forced early exit for my babies at 36 weeks? Really? A forced epidural? Really? Forced to give birth on an operating table? Really? Forced to stay on my back with my legs in stirrups? Really? The 'choice' between allowing a doctor's arm elbow deep into my uterus to grab my baby's feet and pull him out or major abdominal surgery to extract him from my body??? No, thanks. REALLY.

Those are the constraints of maternity care I found offered in local hospitals, simply matters of policy that were non-negotiable. It didn't matter that I was a third-time mother with a history of healthy, full-term, intervention-free vaginal births and was enthusiastic about managing labor without medication. Because I had two babies (perfectly healthy, Baby B a breech position) inside my belly we were labeled and put in the high risk box.

And why do the good doctors believe a twin pregnancy and a breech baby is so risky? Largely, based on the findings from The Term Breech Trial which said that cesarean birth has better outcomes than vaginal birth for breech infants. Never mind the thorough professional criticism of the study and it's own follow-up which negated the original findings, obstetricians continue to perform c-sections as a matter of practice for multiples and breech babies. It's quick, can be easily scheduled, surgeons perform the surgical procedures they are skilled at and most often there are good outcomes. Win-win for everyone right? Oh, except for the mother who was perfectly capable and willing to birth her own baby but is now recovering from surgery, and the baby who most likely needed NICU time as they were born before they were ready and missed out on the important life-supporting events that occur in the process of normal spontaneous birth. Allowing babies to grow to full-term and begin labor naturally with a mother who is an active participant in their birth also usually has good outcomes. But it can take a long time, and is cheap. Where's the efficiency and profits in that?

In many ways, the modern obstetrical birth scene is a machine. One I didn't want to be a cog in. So I *gasp* thought for myself and hired a Certified Nurse Midwife to attend us at home who was comfortable with the very normal scenario of twins and the very normal presentation of a breech. I mean, if I wanted modern decor for my home I wouldn't hire Rachel Ashwell would I? Same principle, if you need help with something in your life find someone to assist you who does what you want and does it WELL.

Midwives do normal vaginal birth VERY well. They can also do multiples and variations on normal birth presentations well. Searching on Gentlebirth.org and Midwifery Today gave me a lot of information and filled my notebook with questions for my own midwife. We talked about her experiences and training, how it compared to what I had read, and what she felt most confident with. She even brought out her midwifery textbooks and dirt-dove options with me. A birth attendant should absolutely be this willing and transparent with you, treating you with respect. If you ask detailed questions and are met with condescension, silence, or get answers that do not satisfy you should think about transferring care. Been there! When expecting my first baby and telling my OB I wanted a natural birth I got a 'Sure, we'll see how things go' said shortly through pursed lips. I should have ran. I didn't, and she wasn't on call the night my daughter was born and while I was thrilled to walk away with my beautiful baby girl I was less than thrilled with my experience with that OBGYN practice.

Expecting my second baby, I still hadn't made the leap of considering birthing outside of a hospital so I made an appointment with an OB who'd been recommended by a friend. A friend who loves her pitocin-induced and epidural-aided births, I should have known I probably wouldn't get support for natural methods but I was completely shocked when after hearing the details of my daughter's birth he replied that he would have c-sectioned her! Why??? 'Because that labor was too long' he said, it had been about 36 hours. It mattered less to him that my daughter had been born perfectly healthy and there were no major complications, he said because I labored so long with her he considered me high-risk. I instantly went cold with his words and from that practice, I did run.

I ran straight to the Austin Area Birthing Center, where I was appropriately assessed as a low-risk mother and went on to enjoy a great pregnancy ending in a productive and completely manageable labor with my son. He was born in less than 18 hours from when contractions began, about 4 hours after checking in.

With my twins, my perinatal doctor (who had previously been a practicing obstetrician) was wonderful in his honesty and forthrightness in discussing delivery technique, I truly did appreciate that. But I also knew those techniques were not right for my babies. Performing a full breech extraction on a second twin may have been his favorite thing to do and while I'm aware I'd lose a contest of education and medical expertise with him I knew enough to know that I did not need anyone to pull my baby out, I have a uterus that can push just perfectly.

I thanked him, said he gave me a lot to think about and focused on the positives from my experience at his practice and went out the door so grateful for my midwife, who was trained in the 'hands off' method for birthing breech babies that I knew was our best bet to have him born safely. Which he was.

Birth is personal, and should be treated that way. Cookie-cutter constraints do not serve mothers and babies best. Find the support you need and deserve, demand evidence based care and don't let anyone else do your thinking for you!

And this is why.....

those first few hours are SO important. In my 'moonshot' hospital birth request list, my desire for my baby to stay in MY ARMS ONLY has good reason behind it.

The Magical Hour

The health benefits from the intense connection of the birth bond between mother and child are far more important than heel pricks, blood tests, vaccines, weight & length measurements, cord cutting and even cleaning. All of that can wait, if it's to be done at all. The healthiest thing for a baby is it's mother. The safest place, it's mother's loving arms. Especially for babies in distress, or fighting death.

Common practice calls for newborn babes to be whisked away, placed under hot lights for warmth when their mother's empty arms could provide that needed heat so much more effectively, held close to her heart.

Why? Ask that question Posh Mama! If the answer is unsatisfactory, demand your baby stay with you!

carry your baby close

to your heart, close to your breasts. I've always loved carrying my babies in pretty printed cloth carriers and have been grateful for that comfort since having twins, it's how we get around!

My favorite carriers are the BabyHawk ohSnap!, Maya Wrap Ring Slings and ring slings I sew myself. Here are my super simple instructions to sew your own.

Fold over and stitch three edges (leaving one short edge raw) of a woven cotton fabric cut about 100" x 34" which are the dimensions of a Maya Wrap sling. I cut mine shorter at 80" as the long tails on my Maya slings are a bit much for me.



At your raw edge, fold both sides in to meet at the center.



Pick up the middle of one side and bring to the center, do the same with the other side.



Fold in the outer edges to the center.



And press the folds.



Slide your folded fabric through two sling rings, fold edges under and press.



Stitch 8-10 rows or more, in a pretty design if you like. I keep it simple and just follow the curve of my folded fabric.



And there you have it. Posh!