Pretend this a conversation between the two of us:
Me: Hey! Guess what?
You: What?
Me: You'll never believe what I'm doing this Monday?
You: Tell me!
Me: I'm going to be on the Today show talking about The Baby Bump Project.
You: No way!
Me: Way!
You: What time?
Me: Around 8:10
You: What channel?
Me: Channel 9!
That was blatant self-promotion for my next Australian media appearance. For those of you who want to actually hear my voice, make sure to tune in on Monday for a segment about fatness and body image in pregnancy! I'll be sure to post it on YouTube for anyone that misses it!
13 April 2007
11 April 2007
new elective caesar policy
This article is causing some profoundly mixed emotions for me. On one hand, it's truly fantastic that the NSW government (that's New South Wales, the most populous state of Australia for non-Australian readers) has acknowledged that not only is the rate of elective caesareans increasing but that it is also possibly endangering the lives of women who are uneducated about the procedure.
However, I have strong feelings about taking women's responsibility for their own bodies away from them and giving control over to the government to decide what is best for birth. Clearly, major abdominal surgery is a significant leap from vaginal delivery but is it really fair to insist that women must not have a technologised or interventionist birth if that is what they really want? Sure, some of you might say 'Well, how does she know what she wants if she doesn't know the risks?' That goes without saying but adult decision making is kind of like that. We make decisions about lots of things without knowing all of the associated risks. With birth, it seems like everyone seems to know what's best for pregnant women except women themselves.
We dont have to agree with the choices other women make but I think we need to respect them. I might not choose to have an elective caesar but I don't think my choice not to have one should prevent another woman from having one if that is what she feels comfortable doing. I think it would be a completely different story if for instance, the NSW government decided to ban women from having pain-reducing drugs during labour because pain relief is non-surgical. All of the most common pain killing drugs have side effects and there is plenty of research to support that. Hell, epidurals are injected into the spine. That's a major risk; but women who want to have less pain in labour should never be forced to 'suffer' needlessly and many women are willing to take a risk to be comfortable. I think this is the same issue. Maybe it seems a little strange to some of us that a woman would rather have surgery than give birth vaginally but in my own work, I have interviewed a number of women who have had elective caesars for various reasons. Fear of pain is a primary reason and who can really fault them for that? It's not my place to do so and it's not the government's place either. Women need to make up their own minds about how they have their babies. Caesareans should remain an 'option' because women should have every opportunity available to them to have a comfortable birth and if that means being cut open, who am I to judge?
Caesars can either serve or impair women's agency not so much by the inherent character of the procedure (in terms of obvious physical risks), but in how the politics surrounding elective caesareans coalesces with the needs of variously situated women (economically and politically and also varying by race, class, and sexuality). What is 'good' for some women is not necessarily appropriate for all women.
NSW hospitals move to block caesarean option
7 April 2007, The Age
WOMEN will not be allowed to insist on caesarean deliveries in NSW public hospitals without a medical reason, under a new health department policy. Under the new rules, women must be told in detail about "the benefits and risks of caesarean section compared with vaginal birth specific to the woman and her pregnancy". The policy cites a US study of more than 5 million births, which found that babies born by medically unnecessary caesarean were three times as likely to die in the newborn period as those born vaginally.The new policy also obliges health professionals to advise women about the implications for subsequent pregnancies. A 2005 study of 136,000 second pregnancies across NSW found those women who had had a caesarean first delivery were at much greater danger of a ruptured uterus, hysterectomy orinfection, while their babies were more likely to be premature, have serious breathing problems or need intensive care. Elective caesareans have increased by 25 per cent since 2001, and now account for one in six births. Many of these are for medical reasons, but doctors say more women are opting for caesareans from preference. Andrew Child, a member of the NSW Health Maternal and Perinatal Committee,which drafted the directive, said that while first caesareans were generally safe, dangers escalated steeply with subsequent births. Hannah Dahlen, secretary of the NSW Midwives Association, said: "People are... thinking of it as just another option for birth, rather than major abdominal surgery."JULIE ROBOTHAM
However, I have strong feelings about taking women's responsibility for their own bodies away from them and giving control over to the government to decide what is best for birth. Clearly, major abdominal surgery is a significant leap from vaginal delivery but is it really fair to insist that women must not have a technologised or interventionist birth if that is what they really want? Sure, some of you might say 'Well, how does she know what she wants if she doesn't know the risks?' That goes without saying but adult decision making is kind of like that. We make decisions about lots of things without knowing all of the associated risks. With birth, it seems like everyone seems to know what's best for pregnant women except women themselves.
We dont have to agree with the choices other women make but I think we need to respect them. I might not choose to have an elective caesar but I don't think my choice not to have one should prevent another woman from having one if that is what she feels comfortable doing. I think it would be a completely different story if for instance, the NSW government decided to ban women from having pain-reducing drugs during labour because pain relief is non-surgical. All of the most common pain killing drugs have side effects and there is plenty of research to support that. Hell, epidurals are injected into the spine. That's a major risk; but women who want to have less pain in labour should never be forced to 'suffer' needlessly and many women are willing to take a risk to be comfortable. I think this is the same issue. Maybe it seems a little strange to some of us that a woman would rather have surgery than give birth vaginally but in my own work, I have interviewed a number of women who have had elective caesars for various reasons. Fear of pain is a primary reason and who can really fault them for that? It's not my place to do so and it's not the government's place either. Women need to make up their own minds about how they have their babies. Caesareans should remain an 'option' because women should have every opportunity available to them to have a comfortable birth and if that means being cut open, who am I to judge?
Caesars can either serve or impair women's agency not so much by the inherent character of the procedure (in terms of obvious physical risks), but in how the politics surrounding elective caesareans coalesces with the needs of variously situated women (economically and politically and also varying by race, class, and sexuality). What is 'good' for some women is not necessarily appropriate for all women.
NSW hospitals move to block caesarean option
7 April 2007, The Age
WOMEN will not be allowed to insist on caesarean deliveries in NSW public hospitals without a medical reason, under a new health department policy. Under the new rules, women must be told in detail about "the benefits and risks of caesarean section compared with vaginal birth specific to the woman and her pregnancy". The policy cites a US study of more than 5 million births, which found that babies born by medically unnecessary caesarean were three times as likely to die in the newborn period as those born vaginally.The new policy also obliges health professionals to advise women about the implications for subsequent pregnancies. A 2005 study of 136,000 second pregnancies across NSW found those women who had had a caesarean first delivery were at much greater danger of a ruptured uterus, hysterectomy orinfection, while their babies were more likely to be premature, have serious breathing problems or need intensive care. Elective caesareans have increased by 25 per cent since 2001, and now account for one in six births. Many of these are for medical reasons, but doctors say more women are opting for caesareans from preference. Andrew Child, a member of the NSW Health Maternal and Perinatal Committee,which drafted the directive, said that while first caesareans were generally safe, dangers escalated steeply with subsequent births. Hannah Dahlen, secretary of the NSW Midwives Association, said: "People are... thinking of it as just another option for birth, rather than major abdominal surgery."JULIE ROBOTHAM
08 April 2007
evening out my karma
It's funny, just when you think the whole world is against you, one little email change your outlook. My good friend and colleague from Melbourne Uni, Sarah Langford, also a PhD student and self-proclaimed radical feminist and empowered birth activist sent along this encouraging comment to turn around my karma and it couldn't have come at a better time. You can read all about Sazz's work on her website http://sazzlangford.tripod.com/index.html or check out her blog http://www.sazziesblog.blogspot.com/
Great reply Meredith. I also liked your last entry about that television show, and if you were at all angry I felt it was justified. I really love your willingness to shout down the misogynistic culture we live in which decrees pregnancy, breastfeed and all things relating to the female body as unattractive. We desperately need more feminist voices out there that are prepared to celebrate wimmin's bodies.
And just personally I wouldn't mind a federal mandate ;) (At the very least it would send a strong message to the public about how important breastfeeding is) No. In all seriousness, I think more support for breastfeeding is always great, so that those wimmin who can breastfeed get as much encouragement and help as they need to fully enjoy what I've heard is an incredible (exclusively female) experience. And so that more wimmin who might otherwise have decided against it, give it a go.
I think you summarised the issue beautifully when you wrote:
"After all of the hard work that lactation organisations do in trying to promote breastfeeding as a positive and healthy experience, network television has to mess it all up. Sure, breastfeeding is not the most positive experience for all women (obviously) but the suggestion that even the idea of feeding a child should turn someone off of parenthood is such an unbelievably irresponsible notion to plant into women's minds."
(one wonders if your aggressive reader who replied actually read this section, as you clearly state that breastfeeding is not all smiles and sunshine for all wimmin).
And you're right, the last thing our society needs is more breastfeeding bashing from popular culure. It is indeed irresponsible of that television show to reduce such an important, complex, exclusively female, challenging, and rewarding experience to a joke about wimmin's desirability for men *rolls eyes*
Incidentally for World Breastfeeding Week last year I wrote a blog entry about the importance of breastfeeding, and the most interesting text I read when writing it was Sheila Kitzinger's "The Politics of Birth". She spoke about the sexualisation of wimmin's breasts, and how she believed part of society's level of discomfort or disgust in breastfeeding is tied to the idea that breasts are supposed to be the sexual property of men, not the food sources of babies. I thus entitled my blog entry "World Breastfeeding Week: Take Back the Breast" http://sazziesblog.blogspot.com/2006/07/world-breastfeeding-week-take-back.html
See:Kitzinger, Sheila, The Politics of Birth, Elsevier, Edinburgh, 2005, pp.33-43.
Great reply Meredith. I also liked your last entry about that television show, and if you were at all angry I felt it was justified. I really love your willingness to shout down the misogynistic culture we live in which decrees pregnancy, breastfeed and all things relating to the female body as unattractive. We desperately need more feminist voices out there that are prepared to celebrate wimmin's bodies.
And just personally I wouldn't mind a federal mandate ;) (At the very least it would send a strong message to the public about how important breastfeeding is) No. In all seriousness, I think more support for breastfeeding is always great, so that those wimmin who can breastfeed get as much encouragement and help as they need to fully enjoy what I've heard is an incredible (exclusively female) experience. And so that more wimmin who might otherwise have decided against it, give it a go.
I think you summarised the issue beautifully when you wrote:
"After all of the hard work that lactation organisations do in trying to promote breastfeeding as a positive and healthy experience, network television has to mess it all up. Sure, breastfeeding is not the most positive experience for all women (obviously) but the suggestion that even the idea of feeding a child should turn someone off of parenthood is such an unbelievably irresponsible notion to plant into women's minds."
(one wonders if your aggressive reader who replied actually read this section, as you clearly state that breastfeeding is not all smiles and sunshine for all wimmin).
And you're right, the last thing our society needs is more breastfeeding bashing from popular culure. It is indeed irresponsible of that television show to reduce such an important, complex, exclusively female, challenging, and rewarding experience to a joke about wimmin's desirability for men *rolls eyes*
Incidentally for World Breastfeeding Week last year I wrote a blog entry about the importance of breastfeeding, and the most interesting text I read when writing it was Sheila Kitzinger's "The Politics of Birth". She spoke about the sexualisation of wimmin's breasts, and how she believed part of society's level of discomfort or disgust in breastfeeding is tied to the idea that breasts are supposed to be the sexual property of men, not the food sources of babies. I thus entitled my blog entry "World Breastfeeding Week: Take Back the Breast" http://sazziesblog.blogspot.com/2006/07/world-breastfeeding-week-take-back.html
See:Kitzinger, Sheila, The Politics of Birth, Elsevier, Edinburgh, 2005, pp.33-43.
thanks to people like you.
I just wanted to take a moment to share a comment that I received from my last post from a thoughtful (*tongue planted firmly in cheek*) reader who had this to say to me and didn't even have the courage to add her name to the comment. As the writer of this blog, I guess that also gives me the right to freely comment in response. Don't get me wrong, I love a bit of fiery dialogue (and constructive criticism or disagreement is always welcome) but just remember this is a personal website so everything you write can and will be used against you (*smiles wryly*) and I will most definitely publish your angry words (because apparently I am pretty angry, so that's what angry people do).
"you sound angry. like just angry. like you're just an angry person. breastfeeding is entirely an individual experience. what do you wanna do? have the gov't promote nursing like it's a federal mandate. you don't understand that your words only serve to make people that don't choose to nurse feel bad about themselves. maybe you need that to feel better about yourself(?) sort of pathetic".
Whoa. Slowly step away from the computer. Take a deep breath. This is just a blog and I was just writing about a TV show....
You know what? Let's get a few things straight, my dear writer of such an angry comment.
Things I am not/don't have/never been:
1) I dont have kids. I've never been pregnant, don't plan on being pregnant any time soon.
2) I have never professed to be the superior knower of all that is parenthood, motherhood, pregnancy or anything of the sort because clearly I am not and never have been any of the above (yet).
Things I am/have/do:
1) A researcher that has done EXTENSIVE work with pregnant women, mothers, fathers, maternity designers and most people in the maternity industry in America and Australia.
2) I have a blog to share my thoughts about pregnancy, breastfeeding, motherhood, and their relationships to popular culture (as well as your thoughts too) to create a free and open dialogue with other women in this world and to celebrate (note: CELEBRATE) birthing bodies.
3) My work has been published in a number of highly respected academic journals, textbooks, and feminist collections as well as in non-academic contexts including newspapers, magazines, and websites. Why? Because I know what I'm talking about and people respect my work (just not you, apparently).
Now, if you go back to my post (and any post of similar ilk), dear reader, I have never endeavoured to judge any woman's mothering practices. In fact, I always preface my comments to necessitate the fact that no experience of pregnancy, motherhood, or even BREASTFEEDING is identical. Of course, every woman in the world is under no obligation to breastfeed and should not feel guilty or inadequate if she can't or chooses not to. I think this would be fairly obvious to regular readers of this blog. I have a tremendous respect for mothers. I've done more than 200 interviews with mothers in the last year. I'm writing a book about mothers. Hell, I even have a mother of my own. And you know what else? I know how hard breastfeeding is for some women and how easy it is for others. Not because I've experienced it (we've already been through that) but because I've witnessed it, heard a diverse range of experiences from women all over the world and read more about breastfeeding in just the last month than you have probably read books in your entire lifetime. Sorry, that was just mean (but then again, I am an angry, angry person).
This is the point. We disagree. I never said the American government should promote breastfeeding 'like it's a federal mandate'. Actually, what I said was that the tired old stereotype of breastfeeding as dirty or disgusting or body damaging that is constantly renewed in the media and on network television is irresponsible. It is. Period. Now, I dont mean to get personal but from your comment I tend to think that you are one of those women that chooses not to breastfeed. That's perfectly fine with me (and it doesn't matter what any one else thinks). What you do is your business and I'm not judging you. But to call me pathetic for speaking my mind is just a reflection of how insecure you are with yourself and with other women's life choices. If you can't handle someone standing up for the positive imaging of breastfeeding (even if you don't bf yourself), then as Freud would say, I think you've got issues.
Maybe you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. Maybe there was no skinny milk left for your cornflakes. Maybe you feel lonely sitting at your computer at 11pm somewhere in America and are pisssed off with life so you thought you should tell me how 'pathetic' I am. Maybe you, yes YOU, are an angry person, 'like just angry'. Next time you want to post a comment here, sign your name and own your words. Why should I take you seriously if you have to hide? You know who I am. I've got nothing to hide. So bring on your blogger-hating mumbo jumbo because I miss writing angry (because I'm an angry person, remember?) posts because 99.9% of the emails and comments I receive are positive, heart-warming, and glorious in more ways than you could ever understand. And would you believe it? I actually have a waiting list of pregnant women/mothers who want to give me the privilege of interviewing them so they can share their amazingly INDIVIDUAL and UNIQUE stories. So I must be doing something right.
Before I sign off, perhaps you might like to find a synonym for 'angry' for your next comment. I was slightly disappointed that you used the same word three times. Fuming? Irate? Livid? Incensed? Outraged? Heated? Or maybe my personal favourite...CROSS.
You asked for it.
"you sound angry. like just angry. like you're just an angry person. breastfeeding is entirely an individual experience. what do you wanna do? have the gov't promote nursing like it's a federal mandate. you don't understand that your words only serve to make people that don't choose to nurse feel bad about themselves. maybe you need that to feel better about yourself(?) sort of pathetic".
Whoa. Slowly step away from the computer. Take a deep breath. This is just a blog and I was just writing about a TV show....
You know what? Let's get a few things straight, my dear writer of such an angry comment.
Things I am not/don't have/never been:
1) I dont have kids. I've never been pregnant, don't plan on being pregnant any time soon.
2) I have never professed to be the superior knower of all that is parenthood, motherhood, pregnancy or anything of the sort because clearly I am not and never have been any of the above (yet).
Things I am/have/do:
1) A researcher that has done EXTENSIVE work with pregnant women, mothers, fathers, maternity designers and most people in the maternity industry in America and Australia.
2) I have a blog to share my thoughts about pregnancy, breastfeeding, motherhood, and their relationships to popular culture (as well as your thoughts too) to create a free and open dialogue with other women in this world and to celebrate (note: CELEBRATE) birthing bodies.
3) My work has been published in a number of highly respected academic journals, textbooks, and feminist collections as well as in non-academic contexts including newspapers, magazines, and websites. Why? Because I know what I'm talking about and people respect my work (just not you, apparently).
Now, if you go back to my post (and any post of similar ilk), dear reader, I have never endeavoured to judge any woman's mothering practices. In fact, I always preface my comments to necessitate the fact that no experience of pregnancy, motherhood, or even BREASTFEEDING is identical. Of course, every woman in the world is under no obligation to breastfeed and should not feel guilty or inadequate if she can't or chooses not to. I think this would be fairly obvious to regular readers of this blog. I have a tremendous respect for mothers. I've done more than 200 interviews with mothers in the last year. I'm writing a book about mothers. Hell, I even have a mother of my own. And you know what else? I know how hard breastfeeding is for some women and how easy it is for others. Not because I've experienced it (we've already been through that) but because I've witnessed it, heard a diverse range of experiences from women all over the world and read more about breastfeeding in just the last month than you have probably read books in your entire lifetime. Sorry, that was just mean (but then again, I am an angry, angry person).
This is the point. We disagree. I never said the American government should promote breastfeeding 'like it's a federal mandate'. Actually, what I said was that the tired old stereotype of breastfeeding as dirty or disgusting or body damaging that is constantly renewed in the media and on network television is irresponsible. It is. Period. Now, I dont mean to get personal but from your comment I tend to think that you are one of those women that chooses not to breastfeed. That's perfectly fine with me (and it doesn't matter what any one else thinks). What you do is your business and I'm not judging you. But to call me pathetic for speaking my mind is just a reflection of how insecure you are with yourself and with other women's life choices. If you can't handle someone standing up for the positive imaging of breastfeeding (even if you don't bf yourself), then as Freud would say, I think you've got issues.
Maybe you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. Maybe there was no skinny milk left for your cornflakes. Maybe you feel lonely sitting at your computer at 11pm somewhere in America and are pisssed off with life so you thought you should tell me how 'pathetic' I am. Maybe you, yes YOU, are an angry person, 'like just angry'. Next time you want to post a comment here, sign your name and own your words. Why should I take you seriously if you have to hide? You know who I am. I've got nothing to hide. So bring on your blogger-hating mumbo jumbo because I miss writing angry (because I'm an angry person, remember?) posts because 99.9% of the emails and comments I receive are positive, heart-warming, and glorious in more ways than you could ever understand. And would you believe it? I actually have a waiting list of pregnant women/mothers who want to give me the privilege of interviewing them so they can share their amazingly INDIVIDUAL and UNIQUE stories. So I must be doing something right.
Before I sign off, perhaps you might like to find a synonym for 'angry' for your next comment. I was slightly disappointed that you used the same word three times. Fuming? Irate? Livid? Incensed? Outraged? Heated? Or maybe my personal favourite...CROSS.
You asked for it.
and another thing..
Yeah, and just how freaking responsible is it for this ridiculous show to say that 'Breastfeeding wrecked my boobs'?...After all of the hard work that lactation organisations do in trying to promote breastfeeding as a positive and healthy experience, network television has to mess it all up. Sure, breastfeeding is not the most positive experience for all women (obviously) but the suggestion that even the idea of feeding a child should turn someone off of parenthood is such an unbelievably irresponsible notion to plant into women's minds. This is why America and Australia have such high caesarean rates, for example. Popular culture paints a pretty nasty picture of pregnancy, birth and motherhood masked by weak attempts at humour but so powerful that young women actually start to believe it. I dont think we can take popular culture seriously enough! The media is extremely important for the fashioning of our cultural ideals.
I was perving on some clips of the show on You Tube (just type in 'Notes from the Underbelly' and you can find them all) and found this abhorrent and thoroughly annoying boob clip which I felt compelled to share.
I was perving on some clips of the show on You Tube (just type in 'Notes from the Underbelly' and you can find them all) and found this abhorrent and thoroughly annoying boob clip which I felt compelled to share.
07 April 2007
you have got to be kidding.
Seriously, I need to stop having these 'only in America' moments. Apparently, the ABC (an American network) is premiering a new mid-season replacement television series (12 April) called 'Notes from the Underbelly'. This is a show aiming for a humourous take on the 'politics of pregnancy' as a young couple (Andrew and Lauren) have just found out they are pregnant and can't keep it a secret in the first episode. On the official series webpage, it notes that Andrew will be narrating the episode "giving his wry and often sarcastic interpretation of the events that are going on around him". Isn't that interesting how the man gets to tell the pregnancy story? I mean how many more times do we need to hear just how 'hard' it is for men to 'deal' with their pregnant wives? Gosh guys, it's really pretty labour intensive for you to haul yourself to all of those o/b appointments (because god forbid, any network would even consider showing an alternative form of prenatal care) and laughing to yourself about your wife's cravings, mood swings and weight gain. Ha. ha. Ha. I mean are you the one who has to create new life at the same time you are carrying out your own? Is this really comedy? Saying that pregnancy is harder than parenthood is such an overblown and old stereotype. Keep it coming. It's like Blah blah.. Pregnancy is so hard. Men have it so tough...blah blah.. Women 'lose' their bodies forever. Andrew even "has to deal with the fact that (*shock* horror!!) Lauren may be getting stretch marks, but Andrew has to pretend that he doesn't notice them". Yeah because Im sure she is so insecure that all of her self-esteem is enmeshed in what her husband thinks of her pregnant body and if he even mentioned that he noticed a mark their entire relationship would be ruined. Kind of reminds me about the so often overplayed 'Do I look fat in this?'-woman-in a dressing room-with bored out of his mind boyfriend- who has to pander to his girlfriend's insecurity about her own looks. Boys, we can feel insecure all on our own without your help, thank you.
Can you believe this absolute crap? I'm sure the actress playing the pregnant part will have a nice little contained 'bump' strapped on to her waiflike Hollywood hyper-feminine figure and look perfect throughout the series. Im sure some hot designer maternity wear will be prominently displayed for all of the 'average' American mothers to look at and want to cry. And you know what the worst part about this whole show is? I actually want to watch it....but damn it, living in Australia we don't get anything until a freaking year after it airs so I will have to read the reviews and gently coax my mother in America into watching it for me...
Oh and just a random fact, the actor playing the character 'Eric' (Sunkrish Bala, the first guy in the picture from the left), another expectant father who is friends with Andrew, was also on Grey's Anatomy playing the one night stand that Meredith picks up at Joe's bar, only to find that he um..can't lose his excitement for her..literally...the next morning when he shows up to the hospital. I can't get that scene out of my head when I look at him now.
This is the website for the show:
06 April 2007
freebirth!
Yesterday, I did a 36 week interview with one of the women in my study who revealed that she is actually going to freebirth her second child after a few weeks of careful contemplation. Up until now, no one in my study has done this (although many have had beautiful home births) so I am very excited and thought I would share. Freebirthing, or unassisted birth, is often referred to as one of the most extreme rejections of the perceived 'overmedicalisation' of childbirth in 'Western' countries. For those that don't know much about this experience, proponents of freebirthing argue that women are the only people suited to deliver children into the world.
The woman I have been interviewing throughout her pregnancy had a fairly negative hospital experience with her first child and decided that her second birth would be positive and totally different. In hospital, she felt out of control, uneducated and at the mercy of doctors and midwives who were telling her what to do. In this second pregnancy, she hired a homebirth doctor to look after her and then a midwife to assist with the actual birth. However, after a few hypnobirthing classes which she and her partner found to be really empowering, they decided that they would birth the baby completely on their own at home in a pool. She said that the only reason she initially thought she should have someone there with her was because of the fear that something would go wrong with the birth; that she didnt trust herself even then though they just wanted the doctor and the midwife to stay in the shadows unless they were needed. However, she didn't feel comfortable holding on to the fear of what could happen considering she already made the leap to having the baby at home without any pain relief or intervention. Freebirthing has been a way for her to shake those last vestiges of anxiety. I have to say I really respect her courage in stepping so far outside of the square and making a decision that I think alot of women would love to do but are definitely too afraid to actually carry out.
Also, her 2yr old daughter is going to be present at the birth (or for as long as she can) and they are definitely going to proceed with a lotus birth (maintaining the connection between the placenta and the baby until the umbilical cord falls off on its own). She also mentioned that part of her plan is to eat some of the placenta to maintain and reinforce her connection to the new baby, freeze the rest of it and perhaps give some to the baby at a later date. I've heard of mothers eating the placenta before but on some level it also means that the body of the mother and baby are not so abruptly separated as soon as the baby is born. By keeping the placenta attached to the baby and then later actually ingesting a piece of the placenta, it's as if mother and child remain connected as one body (like in pregnancy) and later on with breastfeeding.
Laura Shanley has developed a really useful site about unassisted birth with lots of amazing photos, videos and birth stories. This is a must-see for anyone considering freebirthing!
This is a link to a great article about catching your own baby:
http://unassistedchildbirth.com/uc/catch.html
The woman I have been interviewing throughout her pregnancy had a fairly negative hospital experience with her first child and decided that her second birth would be positive and totally different. In hospital, she felt out of control, uneducated and at the mercy of doctors and midwives who were telling her what to do. In this second pregnancy, she hired a homebirth doctor to look after her and then a midwife to assist with the actual birth. However, after a few hypnobirthing classes which she and her partner found to be really empowering, they decided that they would birth the baby completely on their own at home in a pool. She said that the only reason she initially thought she should have someone there with her was because of the fear that something would go wrong with the birth; that she didnt trust herself even then though they just wanted the doctor and the midwife to stay in the shadows unless they were needed. However, she didn't feel comfortable holding on to the fear of what could happen considering she already made the leap to having the baby at home without any pain relief or intervention. Freebirthing has been a way for her to shake those last vestiges of anxiety. I have to say I really respect her courage in stepping so far outside of the square and making a decision that I think alot of women would love to do but are definitely too afraid to actually carry out.
Also, her 2yr old daughter is going to be present at the birth (or for as long as she can) and they are definitely going to proceed with a lotus birth (maintaining the connection between the placenta and the baby until the umbilical cord falls off on its own). She also mentioned that part of her plan is to eat some of the placenta to maintain and reinforce her connection to the new baby, freeze the rest of it and perhaps give some to the baby at a later date. I've heard of mothers eating the placenta before but on some level it also means that the body of the mother and baby are not so abruptly separated as soon as the baby is born. By keeping the placenta attached to the baby and then later actually ingesting a piece of the placenta, it's as if mother and child remain connected as one body (like in pregnancy) and later on with breastfeeding.
Laura Shanley has developed a really useful site about unassisted birth with lots of amazing photos, videos and birth stories. This is a must-see for anyone considering freebirthing!
This is a link to a great article about catching your own baby:
http://unassistedchildbirth.com/uc/catch.html
01 April 2007
skinny jean/skinny pregnancy
This is a great view from Liz Lange maternity wear. I posted about LL back in December when I was doing some research in New York. It just so happened that as I was flicking through the channels, I came upon a show about famous American business people and Liz was one of the panelists, revealing the secrets of her multi million dollar maternity fashion house. Now Liz Lange is bringing high fashion to the masses by dressing pregnant women across America in Target stores in a sort of democratisation of maternity wear. Now people that buy LL maternity wear from her stores know that high style does not come cheaply...until now. The pieces produced for Target stores (as you can see in the video) are beautifully presented, clean cut and sold at a much lower price point than in typical LL retail stores. However, in watching the video, I got the sense that although Lange is now dressing a wide range of American women, she still has the middle-upper class mother in mind. I mean Lange says 'Every baby needs to have these cashmere blankets...Hello? I can't afford cashmere for myself. How many women out there are actually splurging on luxury items for babies outside of NYC??
Also, in her ode to the 'skinny jean' at the start of the program, I kept thinking to myself, 'How many women do you see at Target buying skinny jeans even when they are not pregnant?' Surely, it's a good look for a pregnant model and if your legs don't change size because all of your weight gain is concentrated in one area. This just contributes to my theory about the cult of the skinny pregnancy (and this is especially prominent in NY and LA) where women can still be a size 0 even when they're pregnant.* Lange actually mentioned in the TV show I was watching in NY that they had to start making smaller sizes to cater to the 'petite' woman. I've actually been told of similar trends happening here in Melbourne by a few popular designers (such that certain high fashion, high fitness preggos are requiring their size 0s even during the pregnancy and are being forced to have certain items of clothing custom made as a result). Am I crazy? Does anyone think skinny jeans are just the slighest bit ridiculous when you are trying to grow another human being? Who wants to shove their body into denim (that is already uncomfortable when you're not pregnant) albeit 'skinny' leg denim after consistently putting on weight for 9 months?
It's like imprisonment for your bump. Women's bodies are forced to be contained enough just in normal life. Why corral the pregnant body into more restrictive clothing just because the rest of our culture is so freaked out by women taking up space (and that goes for overweight women as well)?
*In saying this, I'm not trying to say that all women need to gain heaps of weight in pregnancy in order to be 'real' pregnant women or to have an 'authentic' experience. Sure, there are women out there who don't gain much weight, are naturally a size 0 and have nothing to be ashamed of. That's fine, more power to them. I'm making a statement about the majority of the women in the world who are on average a size 12-14 even before they are pregnant and who haven't worn skinny jeans since the 7th grade (and even then, it wasn't really a good look).
30 March 2007
what, no vagina?
If anyone loves Eve Ensler (feminista genius and author of 'The Vagina Monologues' and 'The Good Body') as much as I do, you will be interested in this interesting tidbit...another 'only in America' moment.
'A theatre in Florida had to change the title of a charity production of The Vagina Monologues on its marquee, after a woman complained that it was offensive.
The new name? They decided on 'The Hoohaa Monologues'. '
The new name? They decided on 'The Hoohaa Monologues'. '
Another instance of women's reproductive bodies forced to be hidden from view, laughed off and literally re-named.
Everyone should love the vagina. We shall not be ashamed!!
29 March 2007
antenatal depression
I was pleasantly surprised to read in the papers this morning that the Australian Government has finally decided to recognise post-natal depression as a serious reality of motherhood and as such, are going to screen new mothers starting in 2008. The statistics tell the story: 1 in 7 mothers will develop depression, often which goes undiagnosed. Now, this is all well and good (any recognition of motherhood is a step in the right direction). But (and there is always a but..) I am interested to know why no one ever talks about antenatal depression. Mothers are not only getting depressed after birth, they also get depressed during pregnancy.
Antenatal depression affects between 7 and 20% of pregnant women and quite often women who are depressed during pregnancy (at least 40%) are more prone to being depressed after the birth as well.
One young mum in my study was diagnosed with antenatal depression about 24 weeks into her pregnancy. Not particularly thrilled to have her body changing, feeling 'fat' and lonely, this woman went to find help and to her surprise could not find any. All of the support groups in Melbourne cater to postnatal depression so she was forced to hire a private psychiatrist for treatment.
As a result of all the associated hormone changes, feelings of fatigue and body image anxiety during pregnancy, antenatal depression is often very difficult to diagnose. However, women must be aware of the signs of depression not just after they give birth but most importantly during pregnancy.
Antenatal depression affects between 7 and 20% of pregnant women and quite often women who are depressed during pregnancy (at least 40%) are more prone to being depressed after the birth as well.
One young mum in my study was diagnosed with antenatal depression about 24 weeks into her pregnancy. Not particularly thrilled to have her body changing, feeling 'fat' and lonely, this woman went to find help and to her surprise could not find any. All of the support groups in Melbourne cater to postnatal depression so she was forced to hire a private psychiatrist for treatment.
As a result of all the associated hormone changes, feelings of fatigue and body image anxiety during pregnancy, antenatal depression is often very difficult to diagnose. However, women must be aware of the signs of depression not just after they give birth but most importantly during pregnancy.
23 March 2007
katie price: mother of the year!
I just read that Katie Price (aka Jordan) has won 'Celebrity Mum of the Year'..isn't that interesting? Considering this blog is all about the celebrity backlash, you'll love this piece from Rachel Johnson from the Times Online 'Less yum, more mum':
"I take my hat off to any woman with the iron will to restore herself to bikini-ready shape weeks after giving birth in order to do a photo shoot, and I have only admiration for confident beauties who light up the red carpet. But I do think that once you’ve given birth, you pass the baton. Becoming a mother is nature’s way of calling attention to the next generation, not the current one.
So I don’t like it, I admit, when glitzy, gorgeous women wheel out their children as a means of jacking up the amount of slavishly admiring attention that they themselves might receive. Which normal woman does?
21 March 2007
hollywood hooters
Speaking of feeding, here is a great commentary from The Mother's Movement Online about Angelina Jolie, her babies, and the lack of celebrity mothers who breastfeed (at least in public!):
Hollywood hooters http://www.mothersmovement.org/opinion/07/janssen_0702.html
Isnt it strange? When you think about how often we see baby bump porn in the tabloids and obsessive coverage of Hollywood mothers, we never actually see any celebrities breastfeeding. They claim they do....But we never see any pictures of them actually doing it. Am I wrong? Why is that? Considering we are pretty much completely de-sensitised to images of breasts because they are so omnipresent in our visual culture, it is bizarre to think that sighting the celebrity breast is taboo.
Hollywood hooters http://www.mothersmovement.org/opinion/07/janssen_0702.html
Isnt it strange? When you think about how often we see baby bump porn in the tabloids and obsessive coverage of Hollywood mothers, we never actually see any celebrities breastfeeding. They claim they do....But we never see any pictures of them actually doing it. Am I wrong? Why is that? Considering we are pretty much completely de-sensitised to images of breasts because they are so omnipresent in our visual culture, it is bizarre to think that sighting the celebrity breast is taboo.
19 March 2007
feeding
Considering most of my days have been spent doing post-baby interviews, meeting all of the new bubs from The Baby Bump Project, and chatting about labour and delivery, I have been thinking alot more about breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is one of the most potent topics of conversation in the post-birth interviews for good reason; for alot of the first-time mums I've interviewed, it's hard. Damn hard. Hard like they never expected and no one ever told them. Sure, there are a few women who have babies that latch on without any fuss and the feeding is simply a pleasure. For most, however, feeding takes work and practice and alot of consultation to get it right. One woman in the public system here in Melbourne was having so much trouble feeding, she was referred to a lactation consultant. Sure, that's all well and good but she couldn't get an appointment for 10 days. 10 days! In that ten day period, she developed mastitis and a severely cranky baby because her nipple was too banged up to feed and no one told her to continue through the pain. So, for any women out there who need some help, I give you this:
I came upon this resource which has a clever name and great information and products:
The Pump Station http://www.pumpstation.com/pumpstation/
You're probably saying, 'Meredith, The Pump Station is in America and I'm in [insert your country here]. How is this going to help me'?
Have a look at the resources in the upper left hand corner of the website, Helpful Tips. There are videos, articles and maternity bra guides all at your fingertips, so it doesn't matter where you live.
Also, I read another blog about motherhood called The Washing Line http://thewashingline.blogspot.com/ and there is a great post about the 'Fourth Trimester' and one mum's reflection on being connected to her son through breastfeeding.
I came upon this resource which has a clever name and great information and products:
The Pump Station http://www.pumpstation.com/pumpstation/
You're probably saying, 'Meredith, The Pump Station is in America and I'm in [insert your country here]. How is this going to help me'?
Have a look at the resources in the upper left hand corner of the website, Helpful Tips. There are videos, articles and maternity bra guides all at your fingertips, so it doesn't matter where you live.
Also, I read another blog about motherhood called The Washing Line http://thewashingline.blogspot.com/ and there is a great post about the 'Fourth Trimester' and one mum's reflection on being connected to her son through breastfeeding.
15 March 2007
join in the baby bump fun!
Hi everyone,
I've been noticing on the site metre (my latest obsession) that alot of you folks out there reading this blog are from all over the world. What fun! I would love to post some of your experiences of being pregnant, weight gain, baby bumps, celebrity pregnancy, anything related to maternity or motherhood.
I would absolutely love to see your photos as well. If you have any images of your pregnant bellies, postbaby bellies, stretch marks or anything pregnancy related and you would like to contribute to our supportive community, send them through.
I'm all ears, all the time: babybumpproject[at]yahoo.com.au
Oh and one more thing, feel free to link to me if you have a blog or a website yourself:
http://babybumpproject.blogspot.com
Thanks for reading!
Meredith
I've been noticing on the site metre (my latest obsession) that alot of you folks out there reading this blog are from all over the world. What fun! I would love to post some of your experiences of being pregnant, weight gain, baby bumps, celebrity pregnancy, anything related to maternity or motherhood.
I would absolutely love to see your photos as well. If you have any images of your pregnant bellies, postbaby bellies, stretch marks or anything pregnancy related and you would like to contribute to our supportive community, send them through.
I'm all ears, all the time: babybumpproject[at]yahoo.com.au
Oh and one more thing, feel free to link to me if you have a blog or a website yourself:
http://babybumpproject.blogspot.com
Thanks for reading!
Meredith
14 March 2007
pregnant silhouette
I love this photo, again from Torrie on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/torrie/414888862/
She says:
I decided to challenge myself today- try to embrace my pregnant body, while I was feeling quite unattractive. It's amazing how a photograph can sometimes make you feel so much better about yourself and show you beauty didn't know you had.
12 March 2007
'fat' answers
Considering my last few posts about 'fat' and pregnancy, I just came across this really thoughtful post on a UK website, Chocolate Brownie, from a self-described overweight woman reflecting on her pregnancy. She deconstructs alot of the 'myths' I was posting about particularly surrounding the idea that 'fat' women cannot produce and deliver healthy babies...
Here is the link: http://www.chocolatebrownie.co.uk/site/content/view/24/51/
According to the BBC, maternal obesity is a public health 'time bomb':
"Obese mums-to-be are more likely miscarry, experience pre-eclampsia and dangerous blood clots or need a Caesarean section to deliver the baby, which is likely to be larger itself."
For full article see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6301313.stm
Definitely a fantastic read......I love myth busting :)
Here is the link: http://www.chocolatebrownie.co.uk/site/content/view/24/51/
According to the BBC, maternal obesity is a public health 'time bomb':
"Obese mums-to-be are more likely miscarry, experience pre-eclampsia and dangerous blood clots or need a Caesarean section to deliver the baby, which is likely to be larger itself."
For full article see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6301313.stm
Definitely a fantastic read......I love myth busting :)
10 March 2007
Naomi and her bump
Okay, now that everything is out in the open, Naomi Watts is finally pregnant after many tenuous tabloid moments of is she or isn't she? According to Access Hollywood (my favourite source for juicy American gossip) Naomi's partner, Liev Schreiber said that he thinks Naomi's baby bump is mad hot and 'probably the best bump' he's ever seen (http://www.accesshollywood.com/news/ah4352.shtml
This is what intrigues me. In the picture to the left, alot of sites have captioned the photo 'Naomi Watts and her bump at the Oscars'. To me, the AND HER BUMP implies that other people think of the baby as separate from her body, like the 'bump' is a different person from her. That's pretty interesting considering at only 12 weeks or so pregnant, Watt's baby would be unable to survive outside of her body. Alot of the women I've interviewed seem not to think of the baby as a person until at least they feel some movement and very few women feel like the baby is actually a separate person until the third trimester. The fact that 'bumps' are becoming babies earlier and earlier is exactly why fetuses often have more rights than a 2 yr old child in a court of law. Not to ruin my light hearted moment, but the laws supporting fetal rights (particularly in America) potentially create an antagonistic relationship between mother and fetus and also may encourage doctors to compel women to undergo certain medical procedures (for example, caesarean sections) in favour of the protection of fetal life. Just something to think about....
09 March 2007
im not fat, im pregnant
And another thing...why is it that women have to wear t-shirts reassuring everyone else that they are pregnant and not 'fat'? Or is it really just reassurance for themselves because strangers feel the need to ask you how much weight you've gained, whether you having twins and if you really need that muffin with your latte (oh that's right, pregnant gals aren't supposed to drink coffee either, thanks for reminding me)
Speaking of interesting coffee encounters, one pregnant woman told me she was taking a taxi to work and had the driver stop for a minute so she could grab a coffee on the way. The driver then proceeded to berate her for 1) wanting a coffee 2) even considering drinking it. She looked at him, smiled and kept on drinking.
I'm really sick of the world we live in.
08 March 2007
fear of fat
Has anyone else noticed the recurring 'fat people are bad' theme in the media? In light of the popularity of The Biggest Loser (which I admit I watch with such intensity and excitement I surprise myself) I guess it's no surprise that fear of fat has possessed Australians with such force that people need diet-centred reality television shows to get them off the couch. However, my interest in fatness and maternity has been sparked by the woe-is-me fertility obsessed Munnalita (she's a bit of a drama queen, her bio on TBL website calls her an 'emotional character' http://www.thebiggestloser.com.au/default.aspx?page=contestant&ID=15 ) from the Red Team who says will not be accepted for IVF treatment unless she loses a significant amount of weight. Munnalita is so set on having children, one of the first episodes of TBL shows Munnalita in her nursery at home that is all set and ready to go for a baby with an entire cupboard filled with baby clothing. It's hard not to feel for the poor woman but what really irks me is that now the media has taken a sort of perverse delight in publishing articles about how obsese or overweight people cannot have children easily (for example, in the Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42614-2005Feb21.html) . Undeniably, as in Munnalita's case and I'm sure for many other women, weight can play a significant role in one's ability to get pregnant (on both ends--weighing too much or too little). However, no one seems to talk about the horrific discrimination overweight women face when they do become pregnant, particularly in hospitals and from midwives even here in Victoria.
On Big Fat Blog (www.bigfatblog.com), a number of self-described overweight women recount their experiences of discrimination and harassment for being pregnant and overweight. This experience is particularly poignant for a number of contributors on the blog:
A pregnant woman says she has been told she cannot have her baby in a Victorian hospital because she is too fat. "[A hospital staffer] weighed and measured me, then sat down with her calculator and worked it out and just told me sorry you're 41," [the woman] Lisa said. She said she was told by the staff member she would have to lose 8kg if she wanted to have her baby delivered at Werribee Mercy hospital. "I've only got nine or 10 weeks left in my pregnancy, basically that's drop a kilo a week."
Or this:
The mainstream approach to childbirth really bothers me. You realize just how researchers can ignore the data about obesity when they do the same thing with childbirth. It's not a disease, but OBs are trained to look for the pathology so they do. I was supposedly a high risk pregnancy with my last because of my age (36 at the time) and maybe my weight (about 258 before conceiving) even though I had no problems in my first pregnancy and never had a problem in my second..
There are plenty of overweight women who give birth to healthy bubs--heck, look at all the plus-size maternity wear (http://www.plusmommaternity.com/) and lingerie that is available now. If there is enough of a mainstream market for plus-size maternity wear, there must be more than a few overweight women getting pregnant and having babies...and no one should be told they have to lose weight in order to deliver in a hospital.
06 March 2007
Is rehab the new baby bump?
So who else out there is feeling terribly sorry for Britney Spears? As the media continues to portray her as a nutcase, parading around with no underwear, shaving her head, attacking paparazzi cars with a golf umbrella and all of the failed attempts at rehab, no one has been talking about what some insiders claim is the real cause of Britney's pain: post-natal depression. Whereas Brooke Shields became the poster girl for PND awareness coupled with her best-selling account of her darkest times, our dear Britney, once heralded as America's sweetheart, is the next celebrity in line to go to rehab (with no mention of her PND). Has rehab become the new baby bump?
Also, I was just perusing The Guardian this morning and found another article about Gwen Stefani (see previous post) and how much she hated being pregnant. This is incredibly interesting to me because Stefani is consistently quoted as loving motherhood and not being able to wait to have a second baby. She says:
"I was surprised how much I didn't enjoy pregnancy," she admits. "Having something growing in your stomach feels so unnatural. Your body's changing and you can't control it. You just feel gross. I was having to get up on stage wearing bathing suits, looking fat. Nobody knew I was pregnant except me. They were constantly having to add extra panels into my costumes. To be honest, I was feeling pretty bad about myself."
(for full article see http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2024019,00.html)
When did women start referring to themselves as 'fat' in pregnancy? My own research is trying work out what the fear of fatness in pregnancy means. Out of the 40 women participating in The Baby Bump Project, I have been amazed by the number of women that refer to themselves as 'fat' and not pregnant as if the weight gain is a failure more so than biological necessity. Pregnancy brings not only a changed body but also a changed lifestyle. My thought is that some of this fear around fatness has to do with anxiety around having children. Wearing maternity clothes and seeing the numbers rise on the scale means that you are not yourself anymore. The body you have always known is different. Many women are consumed with 'getting back into their jeans' because it's a sign of more than just getting the top button done up; it represents a return to the old 'you'. As Stefani says, 'Then after three months, I was like, enough's enough, I want my life back. I'd gained 40lb, so I went on a diet.' Regaining control of the postnatal body is equivalent to regaining a sense of identity.
Also, I was just perusing The Guardian this morning and found another article about Gwen Stefani (see previous post) and how much she hated being pregnant. This is incredibly interesting to me because Stefani is consistently quoted as loving motherhood and not being able to wait to have a second baby. She says:
"I was surprised how much I didn't enjoy pregnancy," she admits. "Having something growing in your stomach feels so unnatural. Your body's changing and you can't control it. You just feel gross. I was having to get up on stage wearing bathing suits, looking fat. Nobody knew I was pregnant except me. They were constantly having to add extra panels into my costumes. To be honest, I was feeling pretty bad about myself."
(for full article see http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2024019,00.html)
When did women start referring to themselves as 'fat' in pregnancy? My own research is trying work out what the fear of fatness in pregnancy means. Out of the 40 women participating in The Baby Bump Project, I have been amazed by the number of women that refer to themselves as 'fat' and not pregnant as if the weight gain is a failure more so than biological necessity. Pregnancy brings not only a changed body but also a changed lifestyle. My thought is that some of this fear around fatness has to do with anxiety around having children. Wearing maternity clothes and seeing the numbers rise on the scale means that you are not yourself anymore. The body you have always known is different. Many women are consumed with 'getting back into their jeans' because it's a sign of more than just getting the top button done up; it represents a return to the old 'you'. As Stefani says, 'Then after three months, I was like, enough's enough, I want my life back. I'd gained 40lb, so I went on a diet.' Regaining control of the postnatal body is equivalent to regaining a sense of identity.
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