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Reddit mentions of Spiritual Midwifery

Sentiment score: 5
Reddit mentions: 6

We found 6 Reddit mentions of Spiritual Midwifery. Here are the top ones.

Spiritual Midwifery
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Found 6 comments on Spiritual Midwifery:

u/Dizzy_Oven · 13 pointsr/BabyBumps

I don't know if you've come across this series, but I saw it recommended on here and really enjoyed it. The midwife in the video says basically there are two types of nerves, and if you're lucky enough to have one kind, you may not feel as much pain. Many women feel like they can't do it during transition, but they make it through! And some women that get epidurals don't experience relief from them.

Do you have someone attending your birth? If they know that during transition, you might feel this way, they can coach you through it and remind you that it's almost over. They can also use counter pressure on your back and hips to help drown out the nerve signals telling you there's pain.

Reading birthing stories in Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth and Spiritual Midwifery is what made me feel comfortable with a natural birth. I enjoyed the books much more than the movie, but there is a movie with some of these stories in it if you're not a big reader.

u/Lupicia · 3 pointsr/BabyBumps

I'm 17 weeks with my first, so I don't have personal experience to draw from yet - but I'm going for it with as much preparation as possible. I'm an over-preparer. :D

We're going with CNMs (certified nurse-midwives) at a birth center. Because it's an out-of-hospital birth with hospital transfer for emergencies, there's very few interventions available for normal births. Throughout even the first trimester they've heavily stressed preparation. Here are some things they've emphasized:

  1. Staying active. "Labor is like a marathon - it's important to have stamina, strength, and good aerobic capacity." They advised me to exercise most days for at least 30 minutes, especially walking or jogging and swimming. I suck at aerobic activity, but I've been doing my best to keep up with it. I'm also doing deep squats (weighted and unweighted) to keep my legs and pelvic floor in shape.

  2. Keeping tabs on the recommended weight gain. I don't actually put a ton of stock in BMI because it doesn't take into account your composition (I was lifting heavy beforehand and had built up some decent muscle), but it seems like a decent tool here - the USDA has a good set of charts for weight gain based on BMI.

  3. Taking classes. Our CNMs recommended Bradley (partner coached childbirth). I don't know exactly how helpful it will be, but at least we'll get to connect with other like-minded moms and dads to be.

  4. Reading up. I've really liked Ina May Gaskin's book. She provides so many personal experience stories, which really helps to put me in the frame of mind that not only is it possible, but the experience can be beautiful and transforming... and that approach seems comforting. Her approach is heavily biased against "needless" hospital practices, so you can take it with a grain of salt if you like. For more personal stories, there's also her older book Spiritual Midwifery.
u/sseven · 3 pointsr/BabyBumps

WONDERFUL IDEA! I'm going to follow suit and do this too. If you've read any of Ina May's stuff (here and here), you'd probably jive with her way of referring to "contractions." She calls them "rushes." Which helps to disassociate yourself from all of the painful baggage that has been attached to the word.

u/[deleted] · 1 pointr/AskWomen

I am still a tad fearful of birth and pregnancy but I recently saw something that made me feel much better about it: a lecture on the recent history of widwifery in the US, outlining the practices of women at The Farm.

If you're nervous about pregnancy and birth, I'd seriously recommend you read their book "Spiritual Midwifery" or perhaps find other midwifery material. I know it sounds hokey (and some of it is) but there's also a lot of really positive stuff in there. There are lots of birth stories that made childbirth sound like it could be a really wonderful life-affirming experience. If I ever give birth I'm totally using a midwife and doula.

Also, looks like they made a movie:

http://watch.birthstorymovie.com/

ETA: A quick google also found me this: http://tellmeagoodbirthstory.com/

u/StarryMomma · 1 pointr/May2018Bumpers

Oh, also read anything and everything you can written by Ina May Gaskin, but especially Spiritual Midwifery.

"Doing It At Home" is going to be a great Podcast for you and your husband, since it's a husband & wife team and the podcast includes a lot of information about the Dad's perspective, too!

Here is a link to "Taking Back Birth" as well, since I didn't add one earlier.

I don't think that HomeBirth is the right choice for everyone, and I would never attempt to convince someone that they should do it. However, I also believe that the right to CHOOSE where and how a Momma delivers is a fundamental right.

A lot of the reasons why people advocate for hospital birth is because they're scared about what can go wrong - and for high-risk Mommas those fears may absolutely be warranted - however, for low-risk Mommas, that very fear is the thing which may cause complications in the first place. There is evidence that shows that Mommas who feel comfortable and empowered in their birth choices have easier labors, less complications, and when issues do arise, they feel more satisfied with the outcome than Mommas who are informed about what is happening to them and have little choice in the situation.

The most important thing to remember about homebirth is that while some people think it is "irresponsible," in truth, YOU as the Momma are the one who is taking the responsibility of the birth outcome onto your own shoulders. It is your responsibility to educate yourself, understand your choices, and make the decisions that are right for you and your family. It is really the most responsible way to birth in the sense that YOU own the responsibility. You're not handing the responsibility off to a Dr, or even your Midwife. If you decide you want to transfer to hospital for an epidural, you can! A Midwife is there to assist you in your journey, not call the shots. They are there to handle the medical side of things, which they have been adequately trained to do. And in the vein of being responsible, it is your choice how you respond to people's reactions. YOU are in charge of your birth. YOU are the one who gets to set the tone for people's responses. If YOU are grounded in your decision, you can come to a place of understanding - if not necessarily agreement - with those who stand in a different place than you. This is your life, and your journey into Motherhood. This is the first opportunity of many in which you get to act as MOTHER and rise into a place of empowered self authority.

But again, educate yourself. So that when people throw those fear questions to you, "What if..." you KNOW the what if. Understand what risk factors are required for transfer. Understand what steps are taken when X, Y, or Z scenario occurs. Knowledge combats fear. Knowledge is empowerment.

You are going to be an excellent Momma, and I wish you a beautiful and empowered birth experience, and a beautiful healthy baby <3

P.S. sorry for the wall of text!

u/nabil1030 · 1 pointr/AskDocs

Here's a dissertation on the topic of unassisted childbirths: http://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1387&context=etd

The estimate is 5,000 in North America per year. There are many valid reasons to consider it. My wife did not feel respected at all in her first labor. So we are planning for an unassisted (home) childbirth for our child on the way. She feels safer birthing at home than at the hospital. We much better prepared this time around, read books (Labor Progress Handbook, Husband-Coached Childbirth, Spiritual Midwifery, and Guide to Childbirth), and taking a Bradley Method course.

If someone is courageous/desperate/traumatized enough to consider unassisted home birth and share such with you, your conversation with her will likely be more productive by starting with finding out her reasons. This will likely help you meet her where she is. Feel free to post back about how the conversation evolves.