Wednesday, November 23rd, Noon

Rally  at Wesley Bolin Memorial Park, located at 17th Avenue and Adam, Phoenix

March to the AZ Dept of Health, located at 18th Avene and Monroe

Dear Arizona Birth Community,

We need your visible support!

The Rights for Homebirth movement has a critical meeting with Mr. Will Humble, the Director of the AZ Dept of Health, at 1pm tomorrow.  From this meeting, Mr Humble will decide if the moratorium will be lifted to open the rules and regulations for revision regarding homebirth in Arizona, or if this movement will have to go through the legislative process.  Obviously, lifting the moratorium is what we would prefer!

Need more information before deciding?  Check out the Rights for Homebirth website here.

We need as many people and children to attend as possible so that Mr Will Humble knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Arizona public wants the moratorium lifted!  Bring your friends, your partners, your neighbors, your co-workers.

Will you please join us?

SPECIAL BENEFIT SCREENING

Showing “Down on the Farm: Conversations with Legendary Midwife Ina May Gaskin” and “Special Deliveries: Celebrity Mothers Talk Straight on Birth”

DETAILS

• SEPTEMBER 10, 2011
• 1:00 pm
• Arizona Historical
• Society, Steel Auditorium
• 1300 N College Ave Tempe, AZ 85281
• $5.00 per person

Stop by Blossom Birth Center during business hours, or download the Order Form and mail it today.  Tickets are limited, so get them soon!

Donations of diapers and new/gently used baby items will be collected for ADOBE Doulas’ Baby Shower with Love for pregnant women in need.

“Let’s put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children” – Chief Sitting Bull

The Arizona Birth Network needs your help in creating a resource list of family-friendly local businesses.   We know how stressful it can be taking your family out and about in a culture that doesn’t seem to fully support the needs and energy level of children.

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to quickly browse a list of restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, professional offices, and other businesses that provide a comfortable and fun atmosphere for the entire family?

• If you have first hand experience with a family-friendly business, please take a few moments to fill out the form below by Friday, August 5th.   The AZBN will then compile all of the information and feedback and create a page on our blog for everyone to reference.

Both women had prior C-sections.   While Kate Hudson chose to have a VBAC, Victoria elected for her fourth Caesarean.

Help us keep protecting women’s rights to choose the manner and setting of the healthiest birth for their babies and for them – whether that is a VBAC or a C-section.    As Dr. Fischbein states in this article on the rise of home births:

“There’s room in this world for low-risk home birthing and for hospital birthing,” he says. “We really should support each individual woman’s right to choose how to deliver her baby.”

Once way you can help directly is by continuing to promote the signing of the Arizona petition to allow licensed midwives to attend home VBAC.

This petition still needs almost 2000 signatures to meet their 3000-signature goal.  We are confident we can reach that goal, with the help of you and all your friends!

Currently, laws in Arizona prevent a woman from choosing a licensed midwife to attend her birth at home if she has had a prior Cesarean section).   We need YOUR help to spur change and allow women the right to choose and manner and setting of their births.

A petition is being signed and forwarded to the AZ Dept of Health to allow licensed midwives to attend home VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean).   The group needs 2000 more signatures to meet their 3000 signatures goal!

ANYONE in ANY state can sign this petition.  It takes less than one minute to sign and could make a lifetime of difference to mothers, babies, and their families…and maybe even YOU.

The Arizona Dept of Health currently is not allowing women their right to choose the setting and professional of their choice for birth if the woman has experienced a VBAC in the past. We are petitioning AZDHS to change this decision and allow women full freedom of choice. We are collecting names from this online petition to add to a separate written petition that we will be submitting to the Arizona Dept of Health.

A copy of the petition verbiage is below:

In order to protect all women choosing to birth at home with licensed midwives, we the undersigned call on the Arizona Department of Health to open the rules and regulations governing licensed midwives. The rules and regulations currently governing licensed midwives in the state of Arizona are severely out of compliance with the current standard of care in regards to pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum care. We are demanding that the licensed midwives of this state be allowed to provide adequate, complete and safe care to all women choosing to birth at home. In addition we the undersigned, respectfully request that R-9-16-108 (A) (1) be removed allowing, with informed consent, women to birth at home after a caesarean section.

Note that even the ACOG (The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) agrees that for many women a Trial of Labor After Cesarean (TOLAC) and VBAC can have several benefits and fewers risks that a repeat Cesarean section.  While they reference hospital birth, read more on the safety of VBAC below from the ACOG website:

Attempting a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) is a safe and appropriate choice for most women who have had a prior cesarean delivery, including for some women who have had two previous cesareans, according to guidelines released today by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

After a successful TOLAC, many women will be able to give birth through the vagina (called a vaginal birth after cesarean delivery, or VBAC).

TOLAC is not the right choice for every woman, but it is a good choice for many women.

There are many reasons why a woman may want to consider TOLAC. Compared with a planned cesarean delivery, a VBAC after successful TOLAC is associated with the following benefits:

• No abdominal surgery
• Shorter recovery period
• Lower risk of infection
• Less blood loss

For women planning to have more children, VBAC may help them avoid problems linked to multiple cesarean deliveries. These problems include hysterectomy, bowel or bladder injury, and certain problems with the placenta.

Summer Pregnancy Tips Part One

Summer Pregnancy Tips Part Two

Some highlights from her articles:

“…Dehydration and hyperthermia can cause dangerous complications of pregnancy.  Remember you have permission to be a Drama Queen during the summer months!  Take it easy and take care of yourself as the temperature climbs. 

The simplest steps you can take are staying hydrated, getting rest, and staying out of direct sunlight and high temperatures.  Above all, good judgment is the best guide when you are out and about in the heat and sunlight…keeping track of your diet and fluid intake is of utmost importance, even more so in the summer.  Eat between 80 – 100 grams of protein per day.”

About Krystyna Robles-Bowman

My husband I are retired from our perspective professions.  He was the founder of a software company; I was a professional dancer and teacher/management trainer.  We have been married for 8 years and have three Bradley babies: 6, 4, and 2 years old.  We are preparing for our the arrival of our fourth baby this October and are very excited to be getting ready for a homebirth experience this time.

We now spend our time working from home.  Bruss is an asset manager; I homeschool and promote our Bradley Method(R) classes.  We are happy to be able to team-teach most of our classes so that the Dad’s can enjoy his “Coach’s Perspective” every week.

We became certified to teach The Bradley Method(R) in 2010 and have enjoyed team teaching over the last year.  It is a wonderful gift to help prepare parents for the birth of their children and their parenthood/partnership that follows.

Celebrity musician Pink welcomed her daughter Willow Sage on June 2nd.

While Pink had planned a home birth with midwives, her fate took a different turn after she labored for two days with her breech baby.    After deciding to head to the hospital, Willow Sage arrived happy and healthy via C-section.

Explains Pink to People magazine:

“She was in the frank breech position, which is head up with her legs up by her head in a pike position. We tried everything to turn her around. Turns out this little girl had other plans — she is my daughter, after all…It all turned out perfectly in the end, even though it wasn’t what we intended, because she is healthy and happy and so am I.”

The author of this article about Pink’s birth offers insightful perspective on when birth plans shift.

While it is wise to be prepared, educated, and supported on the plans for your birth, it is important to remain resilient and flexible.    Whether you are planning a home birth, a natural birth in a hospital or birth center, or choosing an epidural, birth may often ask that you reassess you options.    Throughout their experience, women deserve informed consent and evidence-based information on all of their choices.

While the health of the mother and baby are always priority, it is crucial that women feel advocated for and empowered in the decisions surrounding their birth.   This can be done by ensuring you have selected a supportive care provider and birth team, are educated on the birth process, and feel safe (emotionally as well as physically) in the setting of your birth.

Tell us about how you managed and learned from your alternate birth plans…

The “More Business of Being Born “project has $72,344 pledged towards their $100,000 goal.   This project will ONLY be funded if at least $100,000 is pledged by Thursday, July 14th.

We Will Match Your Pledge and Give You a Chance To Win!

• We are so excited to announce that the Arizona Birth Network will match your donations, up to $515!  We hope this will give the project a little bit of extra boost that it needs to get funded.   If this project does get funded, then the Arizona Birt Network is hoping to plan a screening of the new “Business of Being Born” films once they are released.
• We will also be selecting a donor at random for a surprise giveaway.
• Certain pledge amounts receive a gift back – like a copy of the DVD, digital rental of the DVD, signed t-shirts and books, and much more!

If you are interested in helping fun “More Business of Being Born”, then consider donating any dollar amount of $1 or more by the deadline via the “More Business of Being Born” Kickstarter website.  Your pledge will ONLY be accepted/charged if the project meets its financial goal by July 14th.

From the Kickstarter website:

“More Business of Being Born” is our new series of four  films that deepens the conversation about childbirth options, supporting every woman’s right to empowerment and accurate information during the birth process.   We’ve also completed a 28-minute Classroom Version of “The Business of Being Born” with a comprehensive study guide to reach younger women in University settings.”

To participate in our funds-matching drive:

1. Log on to Amazon.com and set up an account with your financial information (Kickstarter currently only accepts funds through Amazon)
2. Visit the MBOB Kickstarter page and take 1 minute to pledge your support.
3. Kickstarter will email you a confirmation (this confirmation does not include any of your credit card information, only the dollar amount you pledged)
4. Forward the confirmation to leighasteele@gmail.com and the AZBN will match your donation!
5. We may publish your name (but not pledge amount) on our blog.  However, if you’d rather be listed as anonymous, please just let us know when you forward the confirmation.

Abby Epstein and Ricki Lake, creators of the groundbreaking film “The Business of Being Born” need your help in creating the next series of informative movies about birth!  They are asking for donations – large and small – to help fund this exciting project.  

This project will only be funded if at least $100,000 is pledged by Thursday Jul 14, 1:03pm EDT.  Currently the project has $46,181 pledged already towards their goal.

From their website:  “More Business of Being Born” is our new series of four  films that deepens the conversation about childbirth options, supporting every woman’s right to empowerment and accurate information during the birth process.   We’ve also completed a 28-minute Classroom Version of “The Business of Being Born” with a comprehensive study guide to reach younger women in University settings…We need a budget to promote and market these videos, to make sure that they reach as many expectant parents as possible. To acquire that budget, we need your help.”

The Business of Being Born, and the companion website and book My Best Birth, were instrumental in the birth choices and experiences of so many women and families.   Thanks to the information and advocacy of this project, an immeasurable number of women were able to birth their babies with a sense of empowerment, options, and support.  Ricki Lake writes more about this new project HERE.

Now it’s our turn to give back by GIVING!

Click HERE to read more about this project and to donate.  Note that all levels of donations in increments above $5 receive a gift back!

**************Tell us:  How did The Business of Being Born impact your life?******************

to be a guest blogger.

• Have personal experiences and wisdom about pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum to share?
• Want to publish your views on current topics and news related to the birth community?
• Have a burning desire to share your passion for women, babies, and birth with us?
• Please review the AZBN Guest Blogging Guidelines before submitting a post.
• You may also submit all of the information to Leigh Steele at leighasteele@gmail.com.

We are welcoming submissions for guest bloggers for this year.  Please contact Leigh Steele at leighasteele@gmail.com for more information.

Possible topics could include stories, news, advice, pros/cons, science, history, cultural viewpoints, rituals, techniques, theories, personal wisdom on the following topics:

• Breastfeeding
• Midwifery
• Natural & Alternative Medicine
• Labor and Birth
• Birth Trauma
• Baby Loss and Remembrance
• Adoption
• Surrogacy
• Fertility
• Family Planning
• Pregnancy
• Children’s Activities & Toys
• Bottle Feeding & Formula
• Cultural Rituals around Pregnancy and Birth
• Community for Mothers
• Nutrition
• Upcoming Events & Classes
• Local Artists and Businesses
• Body Image
• Parenting
• Baby & Mama Sleep
• Marriage
• Informed Consent (Pregnancy, Labor & Birth)
• Doulas
• Childhood Development
• Pre & Perinatal Psychology
• Spirituality
• Poetry
• Birth Stories
• and more!