BIRTH INDIA INAUGURAL SEMINAR

BIRTH INDIA INAUGURAL SEMINAR 2007
At the Rotary Club Juhu Tara Road Santa Cruz, Bombay

Friday November 30th / 10am to 7pm
Saturday December 1st / 10am to 2pm (Our AGM and action plan for change for Birth India members and international guests only will be from 3 - 6pm.)

Rs. 250 (Contributions would be most appreciated. We request anyone wishing to hand out their business card to please give a further contribution to do this.)

Papers presented on the following topics:

The risks of obstetric technology and obstetric procedures in maternity care
The role of midwives in conflict and disaster
Concerns re: obstetric practices and opening birth centers
The role of dynamic childbirth education in creating confidence in birthing women
Rural maternal health care and ANMs
Traditional Birth Attendants, women's rights and the work of the Society of Midwives
Alternative birth in the hospital environment: the value of Yoga.
The value of doula work and the need to integrate labor support into obstetric care
Indian cultural legacies of birth and the female body
Postpartum depression

Please RSVP to india.birth@gmail.com. To register as a sponsor, please contact zia@quantacare.org.

Movement and positions during labor

I've heard many accounts of women who've given birth in Bangalore who say that nurses and doctors in hospitals constantly ask them to lie in bed. This makes no sense! Especially when it's not to check the baby's heartbeat or to do a vaginal exam. I've never seen or even heard of a woman (who is not medicated for pain) want to be in bed. movement -- rocking, swaying, walking, squatting, etc. -- helps women cope with pain and uses gravity to encourage the descent of the baby.

here's a recent new york times article about how the hands-and-knees position helps ease delivery.

Bangalore Birth Network's first meeting

On sunday we had our first meeting of the BBN. five of us got together at my flat and talked about what we want the group to be. We spent the majority of the time coming up with a mission statement – not an easy task! This is a work in progress, so we are very interested in people’s feedback. We used a worksheet for guidance, and read mission statements of organizations doing similar work, such as the coalition for improving maternity services (CIMS). We all threw out words like education, support, informed choice, evidence-based, training, advocacy, trust, normal birth, accessibility, and continuity of care. Here’s what we came up with:

The Bangalore Birth Network is a group of professionals and concerned citizens in Bangalore whose purpose is to raise awareness of and promote safe and supported birth and evidence-based care, from pregnancy through postpartum. We aim to provide information and education to women and their families that enhance the understanding of birth as a normal life process and enable them to make informed decisions. Through education and advocacy, we seek to provide training to practitioners that will encourage this quality of care.

If you are interested in joining us, or know anyone who might be interested in joining us, PLEASE contact me! we're looking for doctors, childbirth educators, prenatal yoga teachers, prenatal fitness instructors, nurses, midwives, moms, moms-to-be, anyone who cares about how women are treated during childbirth!


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Click to join bangalorebirthnetwork

My new article and the Business of Being Born

Two unrelated topics, actually. My new article for the Chillibreeze expat newsletter is an account of three expats who gave birth in bangalore hospitals. Check it out here.

Secondly, I just saw Ricki Lake's award-winning documentary (out in US theatres soonish?), The Business of Being Born. It's excellent and I highly recommend watching it! I'm hoping to organize a childbirth film festival here in Bangalore in December or January where we'll feature this film. Stay tuned for more details!