WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 25, 2009)—Displaying a stunning lack of regard for patient autonomy, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued a statement this week declaring that the group will “allow” laboring women to drink “modest amounts” of clear fluids during labor while continuing to prohibit access to solid food.

“Once again ACOG has issued a position statement with little regard for the evidence or for the ability of women to make decisions for themselves,” said Susan Jenkins, Legal Counsel for The Big Push for Midwives Campaign. “It’s insulting that ACOG actually believes that laboring women should be grateful that they will now be ‘allowed’ to have more than just ice chips, when we have long known how vital nutritional sustenance is to mothers and babies not only during pregnancy, but during labor as well.”

Hospitals routinely adopt ACOG position statements as standard policy governing the treatment of pregnant and laboring women, despite the fact that a number of the organization’s position statements do not acknowledge all of the risks and benefits associated with common procedures. “ACOG is asking laboring women to do the physical equivalent of a marathon on the power of a ‘modest’ amount of clear liquid,” said Sabrina McIntyre, mother of two. “Thanks but no thanks. I’ll stick with my midwife and her wisdom of keeping up my physical stamina for such a monumental event.”

Policies restricting food and liquid intake date from an era when laboring women were routinely given general anesthesia and risked aspirating food into the lungs. Modern anesthetic techniques have virtually eliminated this risk, which is further reduced by the fact that only a tiny minority of laboring women, even among those who deliver via cesarean section, actually receive general anesthesia.

“The women in my birth center eat when they are hungry and drink when they are thirsty, all without asking for ACOG’s permission first,” said Elizabeth Allemann, MD. “Women deserve to be fully informed about what the evidence actually shows, and it’s time that the medical profession abandoned policies based on the outdated and paternalistic idea that patients should play no role whatsoever in the decision-making process.”

The Big Push for Midwives Campaign represents thousands of grassroots advocates in the United States who support expanding access to Certified Professional Midwives and out-of-hospital maternity care. The mission of The Big Push includes educating national policymakers about the reduced costs and improved outcomes associated with out-of-hospital birth and advocating for including the services of Certified Profession al Midwives in health care reform.

Media inquiries: Katherine Prown (414) 550-8025,
katie[at]thebigpushformidwives[dot]org.

I’ve been watching the news regarding ACOG, health care reform and Midwives. I believe women (especially low risk ones!) should be allowed to eat or drink as needed during labor. Food and drink are the only way you can muster the strength and stamina to get through labor. I know from personal experience.

Personally, I had a huge pancake, bacon and hash brown breakfast and PB & J for lunch during my dilation and between contractions. I also had yogurt, mixed nuts, Powerade and water during my pushing phase of labor. It was 18 hours from the time my water broke till my baby girl was born.

There is no way in hell I would have gotten through the labor and delivery without food and drink, that is probably what ACOG wanted though. If you are too tired to push and aren’t progressing on your own (because you are starving and also running on empty) they can intervene with more costly, forceful delivery procedures…

Think about it, the more women who can’t get through labor & delivery on their own the better for their pocket books right?

Okay, I am done ranting and being opinionated. Just wanted to share the info. What are your thoughts?

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She ended up taking the Adiri BPA Free Natural Nurser Bottles I won via a blog/ twitter contest back in May.

Unfortunately I hadn’t pumped that much milk the night before so the bottle didn’t fill her up, she did drink all the milk that was in it though and I breastfed her afterward to be sure her tummy was full.

It took N about an hour of her fussing and refusing before she was tired enough to doze off in his arms. Once she was dozing he could get her to drink the bottle.

It’s a good thing she’s getting the hang of occasional bottle feeding because I have some all day weekend rehersals coming up with the colorguard and N will be home with E the entire time, ideally He’ll be able to bottle feed her while I am off teaching all day. Woot, she wont starve!

Also, we bought Everly this Cradling Bouncy Seat and to our surprise she like it very much! It’s nice to be able to spend time with her without having to hold her the whole time.

Oh and we dealt with some very maddening health insurance/ birth cost crap today. Remember how I had a 4th degree tear after Everly was born?

Well I transported to the local hospital for stitches since a 4th degree tear is a bit more complex to repair than anything the midwives had done.

Normally they can stitch up minor tears but since I tore straight through they wanted a surgeon to do the repair work to insure all the muscles and tissue were repaired properly, you know so I wouldn’t leak and have resulting lack of control down there…

Anyway, we paid $3500 (100% out of pocket) to our midwife for Everly’s birth. That is pretty cheap compared to what it costs to birth in a hospital.

Now guess how much the bill for all my repair work was from the hospital, after insurance discounts and whatnot…

Lets just say the bill is about 52% of what the total cost for Everly’s birth was. Isn’t that crazy? It just goes to show how super inflated hospital & insurance billing is compared to paying a alternative provider directly without the hospital or insurance involved. I thought medical insurance was supposed to help us financially…

Also, remember how much of a stink my ex OBGYN made about me not getting the RhoGam shot during pregnancy? They told me I was endangering my baby and my future fertility and that it wasn’t really an optional thing…

Well after Everly was born and her blood type was determined I did get the RhoGam shot while I was at the hospital being stitched up.

Insurance will billed for it and apparently between the insurance company and the providing physician out in Tennessee that shot is somehow not deemed “a medical necessity” and insurance is now refusing to pay for it. Nice huh?

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Integrated medicine is a mix between alternative medicine and traditional medicine. When there is a health issue things like nutrition, life style and various alternative therapies are often explored first before prescription medications or other more dramatic solutions are used.

We prefer to take the natural route with our health care when possible, I am sure this is no surprise to you considering how Everly was born.

Anyway, back to the updates. Everly weighed in at a whopping 11.8 lbs and had a great checkup with the doc. She’s gaining weight very well and is reaching all the milestones for her age group according to the doctor.

We’ve not started her first vaccinations yet and are doing research on them right now. We know we’ll do some vaccinations. We just want to do them on a delayed schedule and spread them out more than what’s normally done.

We are so happy that Everly is doing so well. It’s a relief to have a good doctor for her too, in case she gets sick or something. Oh, this doctor is actually a family practice doctor so we can all be cared for by her, that is another plus! She’s covered by our insurance too.

That means I’ve got a handle on the baby stuff, for now… Not so much on the pet issues though.

The post Everly's first visit with a doctor, an integrated medicine physician. appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

Homebirth is not for every woman and every pregnancy which is why there needs to be adequate laws and regulations in place to protect women and midwives (like there are in Tennessee). Homebirth should be an acceptable and viable option for most but thanks to one sided stories, scare tactics and profit driven laws it is not. This is sad and maddening to me.

Another thing that is wearing on my nerves is breastfeeding ignorance. Everly is just over a month old and we are exclusively breastfeeding. We haven’t introduced the bottle or a pacifier because we don’t want to cause “nipple confusion” and disrupt the working breastfeeding relationship (you are supposed to wait until 6-8 weeks). For some reason people who hardly know me can’t wrap their minds around this and it is annoying me. (If you are reading this, it’s not about you I promise!)

Sure bottles and pacifiers would be more convenient but they aren’t best for E at this time (in my mind) and I’ve chosen to commit to breastfeeding, why can’t people understand and respect this? Plus she wont have anything to do with them anyway.

Speaking of respect, my ex-doctors office (remember the bad OBGYN?) sold my info to formula companies without my consent. I’ve been receiving formula vouchers like crazy and I’ve got free formula coming out my ears now!

Sure, free stuff is nice but not when you wont use it and the only reason they are giving it is to get you to mess up with breastfeeding and to get you hooked on their products. It is like they are tempting you to give up on breastfeeding. And don’t even get me started on how little support exists for breastfeeding moms…

Can you tell I am running on major lack of sleep? I am all irritable and full of complaints today.

The post People just don't get it sometimes… appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

When I was on knees and elbows pushing out Everly and tearing wide open while N and 4 other women watched all my sense of privacy, bashfulness and desire to be ladylike went out the window.

After delivery many unexpected farts were heard coming from me. They were shocking to me because I couldn’t feel them coming and I certainly couldn’t hold them back after a rectal sphincter tear. By the way Krystal, I didn’t poop during delivery (LOL). It took several days following labor for the poop to come.

Following labor I was inundated with questions about and inspections of my vagina, anus, boobs. Had I pooped yet, did it hurt? When was the last time I peed, did it sting? Are the crotchsicles working, how is the swelling etc.

Then there are the baby bodily functions to discuss too. What color is baby’s poop, is she peeing to? Is the poop seedy or runny? Is she having gas and does she burp often? Has she been spitting up?

Basically I am not shy about bodily functions anymore! I’ve shared that my ass hurts on several occasions and have made N’s family uncomfortable I am sure. Just the other day after pooping I noticed only blood on the toilet paper when I wiped so I called to N to inspect the stitches with me. I was sure I ripped one somehow but he assured me it was still in place despite the separating and bleeding.

Back on Tuesday I called N to come in and help me clip off the tail to my stitches that was jabbing the inside of my vagina. It was all this extra from the stitches just hanging out down there. Naturally I didn’t want to clip it off myself because it’s a bit delicate down there and I didn’t have a good view of what I was doing.

He’s a trooper and has no problem checking the damage and helping me down there. He hates thinking about and seeing the awful damage down there though. It really looks much worse than it is and honestly I would rather tear open naturally than have a labor induction or a c-section.

Anyway, back to bodily functions… When Everly poops man it is loud! Breastfed babies have much softer stools. Almost like diarrhea with some stringy chunks and seeds. It is normal for them, I am not sure if the explosive fart sounds are normal though. If you need a visual check out this video.

The sharts (shit & farts) sure are amusing us though. I mean you can hear her pooping from the next room, she has the “poop grunt” down pat and the farts/ squirts are insanely explosive! I mean she doesn’t even really cry as loud as she sharts. We positively reinforce her pooping and she smiles afterward so I guess it is all good.

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