Emergency Childbirth

This Blog is Not Functional

2008-06-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

Due to technical difficulties this blog is no longer functional. We are unable to edit outdated links or add features.

Please visit the new Emergency Childbirthing blog to view the original posts on this site, with updated links, as well as new posts on this vital topic.

Thanks,

Susana Baig
Mary Siever
Lori Ann

Being Fully Prepared

2006-01-06T18:03:00.000-08:00

This is short and sweet, but I have a couple of thoughts. We had our third unassisted birth at the end of September of 2005 and our daughter, is now just over 3 months old.

Anyway, to get to my point. I was prepared, of course, physically and even mentally. But I had some emotional preparation which wasn't quite complete. This created, for me, less integration of the pain. It hurt, dang it. With Regan I knew that and yet it wasn't even a quarter as painful as my first birth. With Aisling I knew that, but I had homeschooling, two busy children, a household, a calling etc etc etc to keep my mind off the much needed emotional, mental and spiritual preparation that is important.

Keep this in mind when preparing for a birth, whether at home, the hospital or wherever. Preparation doesn't just mean washing baby's clothes and diapers and having warm towels ready. It means connecting with the Lord and with your baby and being in tune with your own body. I will likely expand on this in the future, but we are busy packing to move and just with everything, I continue procrastinating.

Teaching Emergency Preparedness

2005-09-14T00:31:00.000-07:00

It is interesting how disaster softens hearts and broadens minds. People eagerly come together to help others, sacrificing their precious time and money. Disasters also uniquely motivate people to create change in an attempt to prevent such from occuring again. In the wake of hurricane Katrina we find an opportunity to share with our community, church body, friends, and family, principles of emergency preparedness, or Provident Living.

I know that many of my friends are interested in spreading the word and preparing those in their sphere for the next natural disaster or act of terrorism. Lori Silva is considering hosting an EMS emergency childbirth training in the rec. room of the complex where she lives. Sharon, an internet friend, approached the leader of her womens' group at church about teaching an emergency childbirth class. As she has done often over the years, Jenny Hatch plans to teach a Provident Living class in her home in October. I am considering formulating a class that incorporates babywearing, emergency childbirth, breastfeeding and other provident living principles.

Written by Susan Fierro-Baig

"If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear"

2005-09-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

In our search for emergency preparedness info, Lori and I have found some sources that we hope will assist those wanting to learn for themselves and/or possibly prepare others for the specific needs a pregnant woman has in a crisis situation. These sources are listed below. (My review is included in italics.)

I found this quote while searching Google, which partially explains why childbirth preparedness is so important:

"Otsego Memorial Hospital (OMH) welcomes Diana McMullen, R.N., to the Childbirth Education division of OMH’s Health Education Department... said McMullen. “My goal is to help parents experience the best labor and delivery possible. I aim to do this by making childbirth less of a mystery. The unknown is scary for most. The less fear parents have going into childbirth will hopefully decrease the pain and make the overall experience more enjoyable.”

Joseph Smith once said, "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear."
It is my belief that overcoming fear through parental preparation makes the birth experience more enjoyable, AND more safe, at all times, but critically so during a crisis situation. - Susan Fierro-Baig
*****************************************************************************
1) In reading all of the cited sources below not one of them mentions the fact Childbirth Requires Physical and Spiritual Preparation. Read the article I wrote.

2) The book, "Emergency Childbirth: A Manual" by Greg White, M.D.

This is a concise, thin book that every expectant couple should own, or at least read. You can find a link to this in the navigation bar on the left of this blog.)

3) A Service Learning Student Work Project entitled, "Emergency Preparedness for the Pregnant Woman" can be viewed via html or as a Power Point presentation.

This project was very well done, with colorful illustrations and is very informative. The participants assessed the level of emergency childbirth preparednesss in their county and created this presentation which they shared with hospitals, clinics etc. Although I find the childbirth instructions valuable, I do not support the recommendations to have a laboring woman breath "Hee Hee Hee" or to give a laboring woman perineal massage. The breathing pattern, "hee, hee hee" is recommended by Lamaze and is unnatural. The Bradley method teaches slow, deep breathing as we do in our sleep. As for perineal massage, as the presentation cited below, "The Evidence Speaks Out: Normal Labor and Childbirth" states, perineal massage hasn't been shown to be helpful. Also, many women I know find perineal massage indecent. Of course, I do recommend applying oil and hot towels.)

Exerpt from the presentation:

Access to healthcare
When under an attack, sometimes we can not get any healthcare. People may be confined to their homes, or running for their lives. This information can help a pregnant women prepare supplies and have knowledge of first aid preparation incase she is alone during an attack.
It is important to provide the community, especially the childbearing woman, with the necessary services and education in the event of an emergency.
It is important for the pregnant woman and her family to have as broad a base as possible so that they are better able to plan their next course of action.
Should an emergency occur, the potential for complications would be greatly increased due to a lack of education.
The knowledge about emergency preparedness for the pregnant woman could potentially drastically decrease complications.
The pregnant woman needs to be proactive in her own care.
The pregnant woman must become more self-reliant.
Childbirth classes should now include self-birthing instructions with written guidelines for reference in an emergency.
Pregnant women around the country and the world can benefit from this information. There are dangers of terrorists attacks all the time. If you and your partner are prepared for such as disaster, better outcomes will occur.

4) The "Online Emergency Preparedness Manual" can be viewed via PDF file.

I found this manual years ago, before Y2K. This was the first emergency preparedness source that I had found that included a chapter dedicated to emergency childbirth. The instructions are helpful, likely written by a Bradley Natural Childbirth instructor. I do take issue, however, with the recomendation to have the laboring woman lie on her back with her knees pulled back. This is totally erroneous. A laboring women should be free to labor as she feels the need. She can birth on her knees, while sitting, squatting, or laying on her side.)

5) Where There Is No Doctor , a village health care handbook by David Werner
with Carol Thurman and Jane Maxwell

(I haven't read this, though I am intrigued by the book description below.)

MOTHERS AND MIDWIVES will find useful the clear, easy-to-understand information for home birth, care of the mother, and child health.
The physical and psychological strain of coping with disaster can make it hard to remember what to do when disaster strikes. This book presents the basics of survival in an easy to understand format. Among the topics covered are: Choking, Heart Attack, CPR, Shock, Burns, Emotional Trauma, Bleeding, Fainting, Tending to Wounds, Broken Bones, Childbirth, Auto Breakdown, and Temperature Extremes.

6) "The Evidence Speaks Out: Normal Labor and Childbirth" can be viewed as a PDF.

7) "Organizing For Emergencies" a general emergency preparedness article from TheNewHomeMaker.com

Necessity and Birthing

2005-09-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

So I don't delay posting on here any longer... I am going to relate some of my personal experiences and thoughts about childbirth and the necessity of being prepared and NOT relying on someone else to take care of it for you.

Both of my children, now aged 6 and aged 4 were born at home without the assistance of a doctor or a midwife. My birth stories are posted elsewhere, and I won't go into detail here, but I am going to explain my reasoning for birthing this way.

(Also, I am going to be having my third unassisted birth in just a few weeks. So this isn't new to me.)

In light of Hurricane Katrina, and other natural disasters (and some not so natural) in these times, there is a growing need to be better prepared to rely on our own resources. In past years, women have been more resourceful in this area, able to live through hardships, fend for themselves without the modern conveniences we experience today. Now, I don't categorise birth as "hardship", but I do believe it is something that needs preparation, faith and understanding to accomplish.

When we chose to birth unassisted, we didn't do it under some notion to be "brave" or "better." We were seriously criticised from many angles for choosing this path, and probably still are (albeit not to our faces). However, we do not, nor ever will, regret making these choices. And recently, seeing how others have been "forced" to fend for themselves, and not being prepared to do so, I am doubly glad that we are able to do this.

Giving birth without anyone in attendance doesn't crate fear or panic in me in any regard. I know it does for many others who have not considered this option. My belief though is that this needs to change. I am not saying that all births are going to be at home, without assistance, or without need for help. There are experiences where extra help is needed. However, I am also of the strongest opinion that women are entitled to and do receive divine inspiration in how to handle their births. In emergency situations where no help is at hand, or likely to be at hand, it is important to know what to do. This is apparent in many areas, but for a pregnant woman, crucially so.

I will expound on this some more (as time permits) in the future.

National Preparedness Month

2005-09-09T09:30:00.000-07:00

The Department of Homeland Security website states:
"September is National Preparedness Month.

Welcome to the National Preparedness Month Website. Thank you for your interest in this important initiative designed to promote public emergency preparedness. On this Website you will learn how you can participate in National Preparedness Month 2005 and prepare yourself and your family for emergencies....

During September, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the American Red Cross and the National Preparedness Month Coalition Members asks all Americans to take some simple steps to prepare for emergencies including getting an emergency supply kit, making a family emergency plan, being informed about different threats and getting involved in preparing their communities.

To learn more about how you and your family can prepare for emergencies or
get involved visit: www.ready.gov or www.redcross.org or www.citizencorps.gov

We invite you to review the National Preparedness Month information on this Website, and to participate in this important effort."

Slings for Hurricane and Tsunami Victims

2005-09-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

HUGS: Help Us Give Slings

The Gift of Baby Slings: Tsunami and Hurricane Aid

Why did HUGS Begin?
On December 26, 2004 my family woke up to the horrifying news of the earthquake in Indonesia and the subsequent tsunami that caused devestation in Southeast Asia. We were particularly shocked since our father lives in Jakarta, Indonesia as a representative of the United Nations organization, UNIDO- United Nations Industrial Development Organization. A year prior I visited Jakarta and received a beautiful selendang baby sling. I observed mothers and fathers carrying their content babies and toddlers with such ease and convenience. It was then that I decided to carry my future child in the same traditional manner. My son and I have enjoyed the same joys and benefits of carrying a “koala baby.” When he was an infant I was able to complete my chores with him snuggled up against me either watching the goings on or sleeping soundly by the sound of my heartbeat; now that he is a toddler I have switched him to my hip where he loves to interact. Since our family has such a convenient connection to Indonesia we thought that there must be something that we could do in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster.

How does HUGS make a difference?
This is our families attempt to contribute to the hundreds of mothers whose babies were born in the refugee camps, as well as our effort to promote the practice of “baby wearing” among parents in the United States. HUGS is selling the slings purchased in Jakarta, Indonesia to raise funds and to teach mothers the art of using the traditional baby sling. All monies are sent back to Jakarta to purchase more slings. While on mission with the UNIDO my father distributes the slings to mothers living in refugee camps in tsunami affected regions. It is our hope that the selendang sling will be received as a useful and beautiful gift.

HUGS: Helping hurricane victims
In light of the recent Hurricane Katrina, HUGS has collected and delivered sheets to refugees in Texas to use as emergency slings. A sling is particularly useful when strollers are out of the question and while a mother is trying to carry a child and what little belongings she may have. HUGS is teaching aid workers the very simple, practical and SAFE way of moving about with a child during an emergency situation through babywearing. Please join us to hear about our disaster relief efforts to assist mothers in tsunami affected regions in Indonesia, and hurricane Katrina in the United States.

HUGS offers babywearing demonstrations
Jun-Nicole will demonstrate how you can use everyday household items as emergency baby carriers and how to use two traditional Asian baby carrying methods: the Indonesian selendang sling and the Japanese onbuhimo back carrier. A variety of batik selendang slings and sarongs will be available for purchase. The material has many uses beyond the traditional baby carrier. We have used ours as a blanket, sun protection, and as a changing surface...the gorgeous prints could be used as wearable art as a sarong skirt or shawl; a decoration as a table or altar cloth, wall hanging, curtain or bed spread. The class is free of charge and open to all. HUGS asks for a donation of $5, the cost to donate one sling to a mother in an internally displaced persons camp.

Contact Hugs:
jnmatsushita@mchsi.com

HUGS Project

2005-09-05T23:58:00.000-07:00

Read this article: HUGS: Help Us Give Slings Local Family Personalizes Tsunami Relief with Gift of Traditional Baby Carriers

UN worker, Masayoshi Matsushita, and his daughters give traditional selendang slings to mothers living in refugee camps and tsunami-
affected regions. A $5 donation buys 1 new sling for an Indonesian mother. The selendangs are also for sale to American mothers for $20.

Selendang fabric samples

Written by Susan Fierro-Baig

Babywearing As Emergency Preparedness

2005-09-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

Susana Baig of Emergency Childbirth was the first person I heard talk about baby slings
being emergency preparedness items. Our family has benefited immensely from the practical use
of babycarrying since the birth of our first child, nine years ago. My sling has come in handy as a
lightweight baby blanket, as a changing pad and pillow when on the go, as a discreet covering when
in the predicament of needing to nurse in public, to free my hands so that I can get housework done
while holding my baby and to ward off well meaning, but aggressive baby "snatchers" at church
services or elsewhere. Besides all of that, slings are fun. They're the best way for new parents and
grandparents to show off their new gift from God. Sweetest of all for me has been the mother -child
bonding which is inherent in babywearing, long after the very deep maternal-infant bonding that takes place directly after a well-managed birth. Yet, with all of
the ways I've used a carrier, never once did I consider it to be an emergency device.

This morning, Susana shared with me a link to WearYourBaby.com which is currently
featuring video demonstrations of emergency babycarrying in lieu of Hurricane Katrina.
Shortly thereafter, I came across this article , "New Orleans Disaster Has Message
for Our Country," which analyzes the lesson the New Orleans disaster has for us, saying
that "Americans are great at improvising responses to emergencies, and at rushing aid to
their neighbors," but that "Americans are often not good at preparing for attacks and
emergencies, even when the handwriting is on the wall in letters 10 feet high." The writers
conclude with a powerful warning, "In spite of our best security efforts, a major terrorist attack
-major enough to make 9-11 look like a prelude -is possible. And the potential for gigantic natural
disasters isn't limited to the Gulf Coast. If what happened in New Orleans doesn't wake this country
up to its deficiencies in emergency planning, it is not just sleeping but comatose."

The woman at demonstrating emergency babywearing at WearYourBaby.com may not be a Christian,
but I felt the Holy Ghost in what she is doing and in her kind words to fellow victims of Katrina. The brunt of Hurricane Katrina may be past. But who knows what's in store for the future in the United States?
Visit WearYourBaby.com. Let your children lead the way in reviewing the videos over and over until they
have mastered and are teaching you and others the art of emergency babywearing.

If you are one of the growing numbers of mothers who carry their babies as a matter of
habit, be sure to mention to anyone who comments on your sling, what a wonderful
emergency preparedness device and practice it is and how it is one that they should have too!

A final note: Keep in mind that neither babywearing, with it's myriad benefits, nor studying
emergency childbirth procedures or basic emergency preparedness (including the storage
of clean, drinking water means anything if one hasn't taken the primary step -the essential and
first step of readiness in obeying the everlasting gospel.

Teaching Emergency Childbirth Procedures

2005-09-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I e-mailed two, local Red Cross chapters inquiring about emergency childbirth classes. I have yet to hear back from either of them. We live in Los Angeles, a major city. Just now, I called our local, Red Cross, Health Education classes phone number, only to find that they do not include emergency childbirth in their emergency preparedness courses. They do offer disaster classes without childbirth instruction. But those classes are only available to REd Cross employees or volunteers and not the public.

Basic childbirth procedures should be at least as common knowledge as CPR. In times of emergency, anyone might be called upon to assist a woman giving birth. An understanding of the birth process is helpful, not only for times of national disaster, (when hospitals are jammed or destroyed,) but also in the event of precipitous labor. One man, fleeing Hurricane Katrina, just days ago, who had a woman in the back of his car in labor said, "I just didn't know what to do."

In contrast, another Katrina survivor gave birth to her son while stranded in an attic, with the help of loved ones who did know what to do. The baby was delivered by his father with the help of other family members. They attributed their being prepared and knowing what to do to watching the Birth Channel.

Last, there are growing numbers of women dissastisfied with hospital birth settings who are choosing to birth at home. These women will be capable of giving birth or assisting at birth in times of local and national disaster. If you know a woman who has given birth at home, be sure and pick her brain to find out what the essentials of emergency childbirth are and stay in touch with her. She may prove to be a valuable resource to you or someone you know down the road.

In all fairness to the Red Cross, the young woman I spoke with was very kind and more than willing to send my request for emergency childbirth classes to her supervisor as well as my suggestion that childbirth procedures be added to Red Cross Emergency Preparedness courses.
If we can get the Red Cross to offer Emergency Preparedness, including standard, childbirth procedures for the public, maybe we'll be getting somewhere.

Written by Lori Ann with contributions from Susana

Babies Born, Suffering and Dying During Hurricane Katrina

2005-09-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

A photo is worth a thousand words: Mothers and babies suffering and in jeopardy of dying. Emergency preparedness saves lives. Information about medically unassisted, or emergency childbirth, breastfeeding and sling wearing are integral to emergency preparedness and can reduce suffering and save lives!

This link contains exerpts from news articles reporting babies' births and deaths during the hurricane and its aftermath, as well as the conditions surviving mothers and babies are experiencing.

More Photos:
mom carrying baby
http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/nm/20050903/2005_09_03t031220_450x320_us_weather_katrina_wrap.jpg?x=380&y=270&sig=5dsGBWEfcGzvZpOzlLlZrw--
young girl cries for mother
http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/rids/20050903/i/r62582564.jpg?x=380&y=318&sig=MNYxwInvcsOjhmiC1KBMvQ--
order copies of photos
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/ts/080304tropicalweathe
A two day old baby rescued at Superdome
Picture of naked baby:
Newborn

Thoughts on the Effect of Hurricane Katrina on Mother & Babies

2005-09-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

I recently published an article on my website that I conducted with Jenny Hatch about Providen Living. Jenny is amazing and has always informed and inspired me about many things related to motherhood.

As I read about the devastation taking place now due to hurricane Katrina, Jenny's interview comes to mind, (and also an article she has written about emergency childbirth.) Specifically, I am concerned for expectant mommas, and mommas with babies.

Here are some exerpts from news articles about Katrina that I read tonight and the thoughts they evoked.

Doctors in their scrubs had to use canoes to bring supplies to blacked-out-hospitals... Hospitals were running out of power and scrambling to find places to take their patients...

"It's like being in a Third World country," said Mith Handrich, a registered nurse manager at Charity Hospital where nurses were ventilating patients by hand after the power and then the backup generator failed. Some 300 patients had yet to be evacuated, but the babies in intensive care had been flown out.

"We're just trying to stay alive," Handrich said. ( Source: Advanced AP Crisis Grows As Flooded New Orleans Looted. )

My thought: If "(i)n the United States, 99 percent of births occur in hospitals, including most midwife-attended births," what happens when the United States becomes like a Third World country without power, supplies, or enough physicians?

One childbirth website states that "Currently 25% of babies born in the United States are surgically delivered from their mothers' bodies. Another 50% are born to mothers who are numb from the waist down and tangled in a web of tube and wires." What happens during chaotic times when hospitals are under supplied, short of hands, in ruins, maxed-out, or impossible to reach?

(Actually the cesarean rate is even higher than the statistic cited above. A recent USA Today article stated, "C-sections hit an all-time high of 27.6% in 2003, the most recent year for which information is available.")

So when a crisis occurs, what happens to women who depend on obstetricians and nurse midwives to deliver their babies? I know it took me years of study and prayer and epiphanies to be able to birth at home with ease. What took so long was reprogramming my brain from all the years of being brainwashed. I needed to shed the dependence on medical professionals that I had been indoctrinated with all my life.

I needed to learn to trust God, my body, and the birth process. I have now given birth at home 4 times, the last 3 with just my husband and family assisting me. I now know that I can give birth without medical help - even without bothering to time my contractions or checking for dilation. What would I have done if the hospital was unavailable all those years ago when I had been told that I needed to check-in once my contractions were 5 minutes apart? What would I have done without having a hand inserted into me and being told when it was ok for me to "push?"

It brings to mind something Brigham Young once said,

"...here is a growing evil in our midst. It will be so in a little time that not a woman in all Israel will dare to have a baby unless she can have a doctor by her. I will tell you what to do, you ladies, when you find you are going to have an increase, go off into some country where you cannot call for a doctor and see if you can keep it. I guess you’ll have it, and I guess it will be all right, too." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 15, pg. 255)

This statement was made long before the c-section rate was 1 out of 4 births. Now all these cesareans that are occuring make this statement less favorable for a woman who has previously given birth via abdominal surgery. Although VBAC's can safely occur, there is of course a concern involved in vagnal birth after cesarean that a woman who has never had a cesarean doesn't share.

I think that most of the births that will occur during a crisis (like the one now caused by Katrina) will be complication free. Even so I am sure that the unprepared women and those around them will be terrified. I have watched several episodes of Amazing Births and I have seen frightened fathers drive crazily, one father driving about 100 miles an hour with his hands off the steering wheel even, just to try to get to a hospital before the baby was born. I once wrote an article about this entitled Safe At Home. I wish such parents knew that homebirth is safe and preferable to risking lives in a fast moving vehicle.

In reading through the coverage about hurricane Katrina I read through several emergency preparedness lists for future possible disasters. I didn't see anything about preparing for disasters by avoiding cesareans and studying homebirth as well as emergency childbirth.

Which leads me to the second point I want to make. I also didn't read anything about the importance of breastfeeding and sling wearing from an emergency preparedness standpoint.

I did read this though:

The federal government began rushing baby formula, communications equipment, generators, water and ice into hard-hit areas, along with doctors, nurses and first-aid supplies.

...They were brought by the truckload into shelter, some in wheelchairs and some carrying babies, with stories of survival and of those who didn't make it.
(Source: Dozens killed when hurricane roars onshore Allen G. Breed, Associated Press)

My thoughts: Thank God for breastfeeding! Warm milk in our bodies, readily available and free! Priceless, life-giving-liquid-gold. What could happen to babies without it? Death.

Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Isaiah 49:14-16

What will moms who forget their childrens' needs and put their own desires first, (by choosing to bottlefeed) do in a crisis? What will happen to the babies of ill-informed, misguided, or uneducated mothers if the government can't get formula to them? Hopefully they meet a breastfeeding mother who will nurse their child. A mother with plenty of priceless breastmilk.

Another thought: How wonderful to have a sling! When I watched the coverage of the tsunami months ago I thought of how easy it would be to have your baby swept out of your arms in a flood. I held my baby closer and thought how much safer babies would be in any crisis if they were carried in a sling. I carry my little girl in my sling most of the day and she holds on to me snuggly. I often marvel at how secure she obviously feels with her little fist balled around my shirt or her arm holding mine. She falls asleep so easily in the sling and she just melts into dreamy sleep. If I have to bend over while holding her she holds on tight! Every mom should wear a sling about her. I realized today that this is one emergency preparedness item I already own!

The last point I want to make before retreating to my bed that I share with my husband and baby, is related to this statement:

At a drug store in the French Quarter, people were running out with grocery baskets and coolers full of soft drinks, chips and diapers.
( Source: Advanced AP Crisis Grows As Flooded New Orleans Looted )

My thought: I guess this is one reason for stocking cloth diapers in an emergency preparedness kit. It is also another reason for my learning more about elimination communication.

Written by:Susan Fierro-Baig