Blooming Within Birth

A Birth Doula blogs

[catafalques]

Obstetric phantom, Italy, 1701-1800: Manipulating the cloth ‘baby’ in the womb of this almost life-size model of the female torso shows how birth takes place. It also shows how abnormal positions of the child affect the process. The wood and leather model was used to teach medical students, and possibly midwives, about childbirth. Using instruments to intervene in delivering a live child was still quite rare in the 1700s. Caesarean sections were rarely attempted. The obstetric phantom came from the Hospital del Ceppo in Pistoia, near Florence, Italy. This is one of the earliest hospitals in Europe, founded in 1277.

[eponymsaretheworst]

Gaskin maneuver, or Gaskin Position

A delivery position, useful in shoulder dystocia. Named after Ina May Gaskin.

“The Gaskin position. The “all fours” position exploits the effects of gravity and increased space in the hollow of the sacrum to facilitate delivery of the posterior shoulder and arm.”

From Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics - Volume 34, Issue 3 (September 2007)

[birthjunkie-blog]

Hey Birth Junkie!!! If u love the “Gaskin Maneuver” then donate to ‘The Birth Movie’ and let people all over the world see the maneuver live on the big screen!! (Yes, there is a shoulder dystocia in the movie!) click below to support financially (you can even show your support with a dollar!!)  and/or press the re-blog button below! 4 days left to do so!!!!!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/birthstory/birth-story-pushes-on-to-the-los-angeles-film-fest

[kitten-heels-and-lace-corsets]

[artpedia]

Mary Cassatt - Mother Jeanne Nursing Her Baby, 1908. Coloured pastel and chalk on paper

[bloomingwithinbirth]

Check out my awesome profile on Offbeat Mama! 

[vandabukowski-deactivated201501]

Birthmarks by Erin.

[birthjunkie-blog]

Stunning!!   We need to see more photos that show the beauty and truth of a life lived!

[georgiacostanza-blog]

so apparently the nursing madonna is like this whole…thing in catholic art history. it’s called a “maria lactans.” WHO KNEW? usually she’s feeding baby jesus—check out the one where she’s using a medieval boppy!—but there are a few paintings that show a lucky saint bernard catching a holy squirt mid-air. click here for a full credited gallery and more creepy renaissance baby faces than you can shake a stick at.

this is not the first time we’ve come across images of a lactating feminine sacred. remember when hera created the milky way?

[birthisbeautiful]

Fabulous!

[invincibleesummer]

[birthjunkie-blog]

January Jones shares her secret to staying high energy - her DOULA and Placenta Pills!!!

“Jones’s secret to staying high energy through the grueling shooting schedule? “I have a great doula who makes sure I’m eating well, with vitamins and teas, and with placenta capsulation.”

You read right: Jones is eating her own placenta. “Your placenta gets dehydrated and made into vitamins,” she explains. “It’s something I was very hesitant about, but we’re the only mammals who don’t ingest our own placentas.”

Jones has taken the capsules every day since right after she had her son, and also anytime she feels tired or down. Jones insists, “It’s not witch-crafty or anything! I suggest it to all moms!” - People Magazine

[bloomingwithinbirth]

Another reason to love her.

[mrs-poomz]

Alice Dreger is a professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. She has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

She writes about her choice for a midwife and doula in the article above. Check it out!

[ana74x-deactivated20141214]

Doula: mothering the mother.

[bloomingwithinbirth]

My client is in early labor, so it's time to jump in the shower and get ready to join her!

I knew this wild storm would start something!

[birthjunkie-blog]

Yet another lovely birth video to add to your repertoire of ‘normal’.

[bloomingwithinbirth]

One of the most beautiful births I've ever seen. The mom is a doula, and the birth photographer is a doula, and they're local to me. So lovely. I especially love the photos of the other kids supporting their mama.

[bloomingwithinbirth]

Ina May talks to Amy Goodman on Democracy Now

[birthjunkie-blog]

Another stunner of a well edited and beautiful water birth video, including all the realities the of the sounds a mom makes and how a bit of stimulation and oxygen at a birth does not denote an emergency.  …AND… birthed at noon in the hospital and home by 5pm.  They sure know how to do a hospital birth right in Australia!!  LOVE IT!!!

[artof-poetry-deactivated2016031]

[birthjunkie-blog]

Erykah Badu is another one of us, another Birth Junkie!

“Badu, now an International Center for Traditional Childbearing spokeswoman, hopes to get midwife certification (she needs to assist in 17 more live births) and open inner-city birthing centers. Though she still makes music, she’s happiest as “Erykah Badoula,” as her clients call her. “Nothing gives me more pleasure,” says Badu, “than being the welcoming committee for a mother’s new joy.”