pregnancy is not a disease: nutrition for gestation

Pregnancy is the only moment in a woman's life where she is potentially probed and pricked in health. She is scrutinized for all the potential complications that could happen, should she deviate from the "norm".

One of the things to be noticed is that all the focus and energy is spent on the "what ifs" and on disease, rather than focusing what a woman can do for her health and the well-being and that of her baby. One of the most important part of prenatal care is what a woman does for herself, mainly in the area of emotional, spiritual, psychological, and yes, physical well-being.

In terms of physical well-being, exercise is an important factor to remember, and so is nutrition. In Holistic Midwifery (vol. 1), Anne Frye writes: "Adequate nutrition is the single most important physical factor in determining the outcome of pregnancy." (p. 204) On his part, Tom Brewer, M.D., writes: "On my list of concerns about my pregnant patients' welfare, nutrition ranks second only to breathing. The reason is simple: well-nourished women develop far fewer complications in pregnancy, have more efficient labors, and give birth more easily to healthier babies than do their poorly nourished sisters.” (http://www.drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/id94.html

Too often, women are stuck to a number ~ that of pounds to gain ~ or to the societal obsession of weight gain and its pressure of "beauty". In pregnancy, however, the weight gain is primordial for baby's growth ~ not only physical growth, but also development, including the brain.

Proper nourishment not only insures proper development of a baby's potential, but it is also protective: it "allows the blood volume to expand adequately, preventing toxemia and bringing the mother and baby to labor with the maximum reserves for withstanding the stress of birth." (Holistic Midwifery 1, p. 204) Or as Dr. Tom Brewer writes: “[nutrition] is an insurance policy, a form of protection against some of the most common and most serious problems that could befall you or your unborn baby--those caused by poor nutrition.” (http://www.drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/id94.html)

Instead of counting a woman's weight gain in pounds, can we start calculating it in grams of love, commitment, faithfulness to her health... and trust in her body?

bearing witness and birth healing

A little update may be needed since the summer post. Life has been full in Vermont ~ between studies, apprenticeships, birth support, placenta encapsulation, child birth education... Fullness!

Regardless, there is still desire to tell the truth: birth is safe. Especially when not hindered and interfered with by a provider.

Something else I've witnessed in the past few days: we all have our birth stories, and are eager to heal.

As I taught a CBE class last week, I found myself with a client and her educator. As I went through the information I had gathered for this purpose, I realized that the educator, who had gone through the childbirth process four months ago, had not processed her birth. Sadly, there was a need that could not be met in this forum, as I could not bear witness while trying to teach.

O, how do we need such a service for women and families... Perhaps this should be a new title to add to my competencies: bearing witness and birth healing...

CRH: what the research says

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducted a study that focused on CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone), an hormone produced by the hypothalamus, and an important stress reducer. It was found that the placenta secretes CRH in pregnancy, and that in the third trimester, the levels in the bloodstream increases threefold.

However, in the postpartum period, the lower than average levels of CRH triggered depressive symptoms. This led researchers to conclude that the production of CRH by the placenta in pregnancy brought the hypothalamus to stop its production; after the birth of the placenta, women found their bodies lacking in CRH, and that it took considerable time for the hypothalamus to compensate and start its production of CRH.

The placenta has been used in Traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. A 1954 study has shown positive results (86%) in increasing milk supply in women expected to have a difficult lactation by giving them dried placenta to consume. More recently, research has shown that placentophagy may enhance pain tolerance by increasing opium-like substances activated in childbirth.

those days of waiting...

the last few weeks of pregnancy are, for some, moments of anticipation and excitement. when the moment of birth feels delayed, this moment can be particularly difficult for mothers: not only do mothers have to sustain physically her child, and her own anticipation, but she also has to endure others' impatience too ~ the constant various nagging comments that go from "so, when are you going to pop that baby?" to the "it's only getting bigger" of impatient caregivers. just bear in mind that time-related comments are just not the best humor for mothers waiting for their child's birth.

to clarify a few of these issues, let's note that unless there is some reason to suspect that something is not going fine, there is no need to induce. babies don't grow bigger overnight, and even at 42 weeks, the weight babies put on is extra body fat: the head does not grow that much bigger over night either. and it is the head that needs to come through smoothly ~ the body fat doesn't have much impact on the delivery itself.

o, those last few days, weeks ~ how difficult to develop the patient to just wait, and be so dependent on ~ who's will? these are difficult moments, but they only prepare for motherhood in the sense that they stimulate those needed patience genes, and the awareness that sometimes, things don't go as planned.

blessings on all you mothers, out there, waiting for baby, exerting your patience...

holding in my heart

being a doula is one of the most wonderful activities there can be ~ supporting women and families in birth is truly rewarding: seeing birth become an empowering experience is the best reward there can ever be.

and then, there are moments ~ long stretch of times where the human spirit is darkened by fear. when providers impose an irrational protocol on a human being ~ trying to make her fit within statistics... when technology becomes intrusive, that's when we know we've gone too far.

at times, when mother and family agree with procedures, and they have been fully informed, i grind my teeth, breathe deeply and let it go: i can support without judgment even in disagreement. but when i feel within my soul how hurt the family feels, how opposed they are to the procedure, that's when my duty becomes the most painful thing in the world: protecting against the damages of technology, and others' [e.g doctor's] fears.

the line is thin, though. as a doula, i am here to empower the family to make their own choices, not to make choices for them. i'm here to point to the alternatives, not to impose them. the second i start managing a labor, i become a mere mirror of what i've been avoiding: another disempowering human being.

i do not want to be such.

i want to inform, support, witness, forgive, love, hold, laugh, cry, too... i want to be an ally on the powerful empowering journey that birth is... i want to trust.

o guan yin, buddha, jesus, allah, and all of our gods and goddesses ~ support me in these times of darkness. give me the strength to stand, with my higher self, and hold in love and kindness all around. give me the strength to speak the truth without fear or anger. hold me in peace and sisterhood.

best case scenario ~ a story as i remember...

there was not much pain, really, it was simply a bleeding - nothing much. and if she hadn't been six months pregnant, she wouldn't have thought much about it.

but she was.

she could have been scared like the time her sister could have died - the time she was in san christobal on new year and the civil upheaval happened; she had decided to leave the friends that she was traveling with, and a few minutes later, bullets covered the seat where she would have been sitting.

she could have been terrified, but she wasn't, really. as if she knew deep down that she was going to be all right. no, she really wasn't scared, or she hid it quite well, even to herself.

so there it was - a drive to the hospital to confirm [what ever there was to confirm], imagining the worst, and telling herself that she'd be somewhere in the middle of the worst case scenario, and that she would be all right.

if she had been studying midwifery, she could have made several diagnostics - placenta abrutio, premature labor, ... but she wasn't, and the blood that felt like a menstrual period was just that - blood.

the night stay was nothing more than a night stay, waiting for the morning ultrasound, but sleeping regardless in the crowded room with her husband and her small boy. not the best of sleep, surely, but a sleep.

the morning ultrasound, anxiety slightly rising as her bladder filled, and waiting absolutely uncomfortable, for the permission to relief the urine-filled bladder.

and waiting, again, with a playful toddler running around for the results...

time seemed to stretch, endlessly.

- "all is fine. maybe a little blood vessel due to a contraction? it looks like you have a placenta previa - we will need to check on this later in the pregnancy, to make sure that you can have a vaginal birth..."

- "what about the baby?"

- "fine. everything's fine."

everything was fine. really. the worst case scenario was rejected for a much more pleasant one. one where there was really nothing to worry about. besides insurance paperwork, which seemed nothing compared to the worst avoided.

freedom and utter joy filled her heart as she rode back home. home sweet home. once again.

humanity in becoming

i am only human - with my own impatience. at times, i've cross that boundary - the one i've never wanted to cross. that one i've been working so hard not to cross - that distinction i want to have from the past, to the present, and into the future. guilt raises, yet it is unhelpful.

as a human in flux, in becoming, i long for the wisdom. for the patience. for the understanding and insight.

how much work is involved in becoming this perfect being that i long for. but only forgiveness can bring me there.

apologies, my beloved, for my shortcomings. for being more human that i wish for.

i forgive the universe itself, for being what it is, and maybe in my forgiveness, will i find the empathy for all of the beings around me, and find the patience for their own shortcomings. the patience for wisdom. the patience i need to be me.