Music of Motherhood

Kate Bush is back and has remade her album The Sensual World. The new album is titled, The Director's Cut, and you can read the interesting story about the remake and hear the new album on NPR's First Listen.

Hearing the new album, particularly the song This Woman's Work, brings me back, way back; for me it touches a deep place of mystery about the work of mothering as well as the anguish in the outer fringes of anticipation. This Woman's Work was paired well with the cesarean birth scene in the movie She's Having a Baby. Up until I read the book, Baby Catcher, this scene was my only vision of birth; I think, while I was about to birth my second child, I even said the same thing that "Kristy Briggs" says in that scene.

This is the scene and the song; it may be a trigger for you if you have had a traumatic birth experience, so use your judgement in deciding whether or not to watch.

Also on the She's Having a Baby soundtrack, though not by Kate Bush, is another favorite song of mine about the tenderness of mothering--Apron Strings by Everything But the Girl. Sigh...I love this song....

Cesarean Scars Shared

For mamas who have had cesarean births, on CesareanScar.com you will find a place to share your story and a picture of your scar. This is a website much like The Shape of a Mother but is dedicated solely to cesarean scars. The creator of CesareanScar.com started the site to provide a space for cesarean scars to find their voice. The pictures and stories, as the site creator writes, tell "tender, painful, wonderful, awful stories".

NPR Report on the Examination of VBAC Risks/Benefits by NIH

ICAN's VBAC Webinars

If you have had a cesarean birth and are planning to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), please check out International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN)'s two part webinar on VBAC information.

ICAN Online Webinars

Journey to VBAC: What You Need to Know

Presented by ICAN with Gretchen Humphries and Rose St. John, Journey to VBAC: What You Need to Know is a must for women planning a VBAC and their partners. You will learn about the basic issues surrounding VBAC plus answers to common questions such as, "Am I a good candidate for a VBAC?" and "How can I maximize my chances of having a vaginal birth next time around?" We will also discuss one of the most important but often overlooked issues while planning a VBAC: the father’s role in preventing a cesarean.

This webinar is FREE to paid ICAN subscribers and has been approved for 1.5 contact hours* from CAPPA. There is no additional charge for CAPPA contact hours.

Non-subscribers: $30. There is no additional charge for CAPPA contact hours.
-or-
Become an ICAN subscriber at the Supporting ($30) level or higher: United States - Canada. (International: please contact the International Director for rates by country.)

Part 1: Planning Your VBAC with Gretchen Humphries
Sunday, September 27 - 9:00 pm EDT
90 minutes
•VBAC basics: history, risks, and success rates by birth setting
•Are you a good candidate for a VBAC?
•Cephalopelvic disproportion
•Vaginal birth after multiple cesareans
•How long should you wait between pregnancies?
•Single vs. double-layer sutures
•How to increase your chances of having a VBAC

Part 2: The Father’s Role in Preventing Cesareans with Rose St. John
Sunday, October 4 - 9:00 EDT
90 minutes
•What the father provides to the laboring mother
•The quantifiable impact of a well-prepared father
•Intangible benefits of a well-prepared father
•Giving fathers the preparation they need
•The impact of the father’s adrenaline levels during labor
•Best practices for the laboring father

*To receive CAPPA contact hours, participants must at least attend Part 2: The Father’s Role in Preventing Cesareans.

Click here to register.

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ICAN: Cesarean Prevention Birth Webinar

A Facebook friend posted about ICAN's (International Cesarean Awareness Network) Webinar. If you are preparing for birth, this looks like a great supplement to birthing classes or a great addition to your exisiting wisdom.

http://ican-online.org/none/ican-birth-class-cesarean-prevention

ICAN works to prevent unnecessary cesareans through education, VBAC support, and cesarean recovery.

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April is International Cesarean Awareness Month

You can find information about International Cesarean Awareness Month at International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) which has a focus of prevention, recovery, and advocacy. ICAN works to educate women, health care providers, and society about the prevalence, causes, risks associated with, impacts and effects, and prevention of unnecessary cesarean birth procedures. ICAN also provides information about recovery (including emotional recovery--birth trauma, postpartum mood disorders, and grieving the loss of a vaginal birth experience) as well as vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC). There is a Portland ICAN chapter with monthly support group meetings.

In her book, Birthing From Within, Pam England uses the term "Cesarean-Birth" instead of cesarean section or c-section. What a powerful way to shift the dynamic of a term and to honor a mother's cesarean birth as a personal experience. At Nurture, we honor each mother's birth experience and have a range of services that provide emotional and physical support for mothers before, during, and after a birth experience. The Birthing From Within website has an article about and titled, Having a Cesarean-In-Awareness. In addition to being aware in prevention, recovery, and advocacy; being prepared emotionally for coping during and after a cesarean is an awareness that can prevent or lessen the emotional impact should a cesarean be necessary.