Choices In Childbirth

Yesterday, both the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times ramped it up with pieces on issues greatly affecting the health of mothers and babies.
The Trib ran a great piece on the whole issue of VBAC and how it’s actually not as risky as it’s often presented to be and how it should be readily [...]

I’m currently prepping for tonight’s Childbirth Ed class on Variations and Complications in labor.  We talk about many of the situations couples encounter in the few weeks before and during labor, and we spend a lot of time discussing their options in each of these situations.
Some of these situations we cover are  not necessarily dangerous [...]

In the past few weeks, Illinois has released its Public Health Hospital Statistics. Today the Tribune ran a brief piece on Cesareans, the reasons behind them and the rates of some of the local hospitals. You can view Julie Deardorff’s article here: Illinois Hospital C-section rates

This past February, I had the privilege of supporting a couple who were planning a VBAC for their second birth.    Jennifer’s first birth was an induction at 9  days past her due date.  There was no medical indication for the induction – she was simply post-date (for a great post on post-dates check out The [...]

In 2007 Rikki Lake produced a documentary called The Business of Being Born.  I think it is one of the must-sees for pregnant women to day.   Now she has published a book called My Best Birth.  Here she is talking about the book.  It’s going to be in my next Amazon order.

A couple of posts ago I mentioned that a friend of mine was trying for a VBAC.  She was amazingly successful and I would like to share a few things I learned from her journey:
1. Her choice of careprovider made ALL the difference.
She was induced 9 days after her due date with her first baby [...]

The National Vital Statistics Report on Birth for 2007 was just released last Wednesday.   The cesarean rate rose 2% from 2006 to another record high for the  US to a total rate of 31.8%.  This is the 11th consecutive year that the Cesarean rate has increased.  
There was a marked decrease in the Cesarean rate in [...]

A friend of mine is currently anticipating a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean).  She is a great candidate for a VBAC – she has had only one prior cesarean and this pregnancy has been normal and healthy.  The main cause of any stress and anxiety she’s had with this pregnancy hasn’t been from her fears [...]