Last week's installment was titled Improve Your Chance of Having a Normal Birth and Positive Breastfeeding Experience. There was a panel of speakers and each presented their top recommendations for achieving the birth you want to achieve. Panelists included an acupuncturist, a lactation consultant, a chiropractor, two nurses, a doula, the founder of the ABC mom group and my new girl crush. Probably should explain the last one.
The featured panelist was Cynthia Gabriel, a friendly, witty, funny medical anthropologist from Ann Arbor that just published a book about natural hospital birth.
Will and I met her in the parking lot, where she was attempting to wrangle her 3 year old (just up from a car nap) son into a sling, while holding a box of books and a basket of aromatherapy oils. We helped her out and got some one-on-one before she was attacked by the organizers.I found her so engaging! She is a doula, a mother of three and teaches anthropology at Eastern Michigan University. She earned her PhD from UCSC, in part by apprenticing midwives in a Russian maternity hospital.
It was in this hospital that her book, Natural Hospital Birth, was born. Of the 66 births she witnessed, only one was medicated. She started thinking - why, in the USA, would that NEVER happen? Maybe it's not the hospital, but the patient? How can women be more prepared to birth naturally in a hospital environment? She did her research and the result is a well-put together reference for all pregnant women (as far as I can tell, 35 pages in).Synopsis: These days, many mothers-to-be find themselves torn between the desire for a natural childbirth with minimal medical intervention and the peace of mind offered by instant access to life-saving technology that only a hospital can provide. In Natural Hospital Birth, doula Cynthia Gabriel asserts that there is no good reason that women in North America should not be able to have both. She shows expectant mothers what they can do to avoid unnecessary medical interventions and how to take initiative and consciously prepare for the kind of birth they want to have. Also included are inspiring stories from other women who know firsthand that natural birth in the hospital is possible. With this book, mothers-to-be will be equipped with the knowledge they need to ensure a satisfying hospital birth that they will look back on with peace and joy.
If anybody wants to read it, I have an autographed copy available for loan sometime in May. :)
