Beautiful Homebirth Slideshow

Today I was sent a link to a lovely homebirth slideshow (scroll down through the photos and story to get to the slideshow link—-the story is worth reading too. It has some good observations about why birth matters: “If you have scene the movie The Business of Being Born there is a seen where one [...]

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New Edition of The Guide to a Healthy Birth!

One of my favorite resources to hand out in birth classes and to give to pregnant friends is Choices in Childbirth’s booklet “The Guide to a Healthy Birth.” I’m so excited to learn that the second edition of the booklet is now available! (Thanks to Teri at Passion for Birth for the tipoff!) You can [...]

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Birthing Poem

the woman speaks of birthing
After Langston Hughes’s The Negro Speaks of Rivers
I’ve known birthing
Before creation
And older than the labor of mankind
My womb is the mother of life
I carried Adam when seeds
In the garden were gestating
I pushed the head of Cronos from
Between my legs and swaddled
Him in the sands of time
I was midwife to the moon [...]

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Timing Poem

I recently finished reading Teaching Natural Birth. In it, the author shares a poem called Timing, by Anne Clark. I haven’t read it anywhere else and a google search didn’t turn it up, so I wanted to share it here. I especially liked the closing paragraph.
Timing
by Anne Clark
Some people live life at fast and furious [...]

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Talk Birth Word Cloud from Wordle

I had great fun using Wordle to create the image above (automatically generated based on frequently used words in this blog–I assume words used in the last few posts only, because I doubt that I use that spelling of “labour” that often)

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Just Relax?

Most approaches to birth preparation emphasize “relaxation” and being able to “relax” during contractions. Some people have noted that the word “relax” isn’t very descriptive to women in labor–or, it can irritate them (“Just relax?!”) while at the same time not really giving them anything specific  to work with. I recently finished a really incredible [...]

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Breastfeeding with Comfort & Joy Book

One of my fellow birth bloggers, the fabulous Kathy of Woman-to-Woman CBE is celebrating her 100,000 hits with a giveaway. She is giving away a copy of the new book Breastfeeding with Comfort & Joy, which looks like a real treasure. I hope I get a chance to read it someday soon. Kathy also has [...]

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Birth Power Pendants

I just put a couple of my birth power scrabble tile pendants onto Etsy here.
I’ve also been admiring this artist’s work here.

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Baby Carriers

During the last week of my classes, I usually talk briefly about different types of baby carriers. I bring along a pouch (New Native), an adjustable pouch (Mamma’s Milk), a sling (Maya Wrap), a mei tai (I made), and my Ergo (structured soft pack). I enjoy each of these carriers for different reasons, but if [...]

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The Umbilical Card

A few weeks ago, I got a package of some adorable cards from The Umbilical Card. These cards are SO cute! I wanted to post a quick post to suggest you check out her website and get some for yourself (or for a doula, CBE, midwife, L & D nurse, or other special friend!). The [...]

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