Have you seen Al Jazeera’s new documentary – “Birthrights” – about cesarean and VBAC in the United States? It features ICAN of Atlanta and others in our birthing community. Check it out!
DVD Review – Dance of the Womb: Belly Dance for Pregnancy and Birth
This review comes to us from ICAN Education Director Krista Cornish Scott. The DVD is available from the ICAN online bookstore for $39.95. Click here to check it out!
DVD Review: Dance of the Womb: Belly Dance for Pregnancy and Birth
By Maha Al Musa, 2009
http://www.bellydanceforbirth.com
This elegant and arrestingly beautiful DVD is a very personal and heartfelt offering from Maha Al Musa, a dancer with a passion for birth. She was born in Kuwait to Lebanese and Palestinian parents but has spent most of her life in Australia where she now resides. Although when I first heard about this DVD I was most interested in the practical belly dancing aspect, an unexpected bonus was the artful and inspiring video and stills of the birth (at age 46!) of her third child, a daughter. A wonderful conversation about birth with her midwives is also interspersed with the footage.
I am not one to promote the idea that all women should have a particular experience of childbirth, and I do not believe that all of us were meant to have a painless experience. Al Musa and her midwives talk frankly about pain as well. Yet seeing beautiful labors and births like this should inspire and encourage those trying to block out the intense and all-pervasive cultural message that birth must be frightening and painful, and that women in labor are screaming and out of control. The beautiful images of Al Musa swaying, dancing and undulating to her own internal rhythm as she labors are enhanced by the gorgeous accompanying music and some wise words about birth that come from her midwives. Their clearly close relationship and care for her are evidenced in their thoughtful reflections upon her recent birth. Seeing Al Musa effortlessly meet her young baby’s needs while they sit and chat was a great reminder of how deeply personal and yet how completely open this DVD is to the observer.
If the birth video “bonus” were all that were on this DVD, it would still be worth the price. But luckily for pregnant women looking for something a little exotic and nurturing of their new shape, the DVD’s main focus is an easy-to-follow guide for prenatal belly dance. Even a woman who has previously taken belly dance lessons will gain from this DVD as movements during pregnancy are certainly different than those one would undertake when not pregnant. After a gentle but thorough warm-up and stretches, there are individual chapters which go more in-depth into belly dance moves. This would be a great addition to any pregnant woman’s prenatal self-care.
WARNING: Watching this DVD made me yearn to get pregnant again just so I could dance. Perhaps it will have the same powerful effect on you! You can order from the ICAN Bookstore.
Best of the Birth Blogs – Week Ending July 25th
Your weekly one-stop for highlights from the birth blogosphere. Visit weekly for the latest on childbirth, especially related to cesarean prevention, recovery, and VBAC. To nominate a blog post to be featured here, email me at blog@ican-online.org.
Of course, the birth blogs lit up this week with news of new VBAC guidelines. Birthing Beautiful Ideas posted a nice summary of differences between the 2004 and 2010 Practice Bulletins. And do not miss Well-Rounded Mama’s excellent, thorough analysis of what the guidelines mean for women hoping for VBA2C. But let’s not rest on our laurels! Be sure to read our Mother-Sized Activism post and take action to help seize the moment and bring back VBAC.
Also, last week, Heather Cushman-Dowdee posted her YouTube video called BirthsMART (the video):
Best of the Birth Blogs – Week Ending July 11th
Your weekly one-stop for highlights from the birth blogosphere. Visit weekly for the latest on childbirth, especially related to cesarean prevention, recovery, and VBAC. To nominate a blog post to be featured here, email me at blog@ican-online.org.
The blogosphere lit up this week with reaction and analysis of the much-hyped American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AJOG) article on the safety of home birth. Read Jennifer Block’s post on pushedbirth for a good summary of the controversy and Amy Romano’s breakdown of the article’s research method at Science and Sensibility.
Jill at The Unnecessarian also highlights an article on home birth (published in the same journal), by Eugene Declercq, PhD, Marian F. MacDorman, PhD, Fay Menacker, DrPH, CPNP, and Naomi Stotland, MD has that not received any media attention. This article points out the need to distinguish between planned and unplanned home births in research studies, something that the other study is being roundly criticized for failing to do.
On a happier note, Gloria LeMay has posted a lovely home birth video complete with daddy catching baby girl!
VBAC: Is it Safe? (VIDEO)
Thanks to Cesarean Epidemic for posting this video of Dr. Stuart Fischbein discussing the relative safety and risks of VBAC vs. repeat cesarean. He also touches on informed consent and ACOG.