• Last updated 4/17/13 by Melanie Mayo

By Megan Leary   Out of all of my hippie ways, I surprisingly get the fewest inquiries as to why I decided to birth from home.  My theory is that people have already decided that homebirth is a bad thing and do not want to broach the topic in order to avoid awkwardness.  However, if you are one of these people I want you, most of all, to ask me about my decision.  If you have a hard time understanding why a mother might choose to homebirth, it is likely you are drawing conclusions about birthing at home from assumptions that are simply not true.    The most... read more

• Last updated 2/13/13 by Melanie Mayo

    Sometimes it seems that everybody wants something for nothing. Free advice all over the internet just there for the taking.  Free information.  Free samples, free printers, free encyclopedias and even religions.  I hate to rain on the parade, but I don't think there is a such thing as something for nothing.  Sadly, on this one point, my hubby just might be right- "You get what you pay for." The recent reports of that gal Jessica Simpson and her elective c-section to "avoid" labor pain (this isn't about JS so please don't comment about her.  Hold... read more

• Last updated 5/2/13 by AdinaL

Optimizing comfort during labor and birth can be achieved in many different ways: Environment: -- dim lights -- peaceful surroundings -- privacy -- music -- familiar objects Physical: -- walking -- pelvic rocking -- positioning pillows for comfort -- slow dancing with partner -- sitting on birth ball and swaying -- lifting up the abdomen -- "rebozo" sifting -- support from birth partner(s) Touch: -- massage -- stroking -- cuddling -- counterpressure against lower back -- acupressure Heat: -- deep tub bath -- shower -- heated rice... read more

• Last updated 3/7/13 by mamazee

“Birth” in Boston, Massachusetts, 2007   If you’re a mom with young kids any mention of bodily parts and their sounds – butt farts, mouth burps – has the potential to produce roars of laughter that could be heard on a boat off the Swahili coast of Lamu. In 2005 when I wrote my play “Birth”, a portrait of how low-risk mothers are giving birth in America today, the cesarean rate was 25% and rising. Not hugely uplifting material to present to an audience. I needed a laugh desperately. And that’s when I met a mother who gave me playwright... read more

• Last updated 3/11/13 by mamazee

I love the power of communities. If there is one thing I’ve learned since becoming a mother it’s that when mothers take action just about anything can happen. That’s why I wrote the play “Birth” – a portrait of how low-risk mothers are giving birth in America today – and why I started the BOLD movement so “Birth” can be produced by moms all around the globe and raise awareness and money to promote mother-friendly birth. We’ve raised over $250,000 in less than five years for organizations offering mother-friendly care to pregnant moms. While I think... read more

• Last updated 3/13/13 by mamazee

A Team of Doctor Perform a C-section (the doctors are huddled around the woman's abdomen working to extract the baby, the mom's view is blocked by the blue barrier sheet) I was at my friend A.’s birth two years ago. After laboring all day and well into the night, A. was getting exhausted. The fetal monitor showed that the baby’s heart beat was dropping during contractions and the labor nurses, who called the doctor (she was at home sleeping), were starting to act worried. The doctor made the call: A. needed an “emergency” C-section. The... read more

• Last updated 3/14/13 by mamazee

When I was 17 my friend John told me that his mother said having a baby was like trying to push a watermelon out your rear end. Sound like fun? Not really. “Fun” and “labor” aren’t two words you usually read in the same sentence. But labor actually can be fun. Really and truly. Here’s how: 1) Keep a sense of humor and have someone tell you dumb jokes: Laughter is better than valium when it comes to relaxing and when a woman in labor laughs her body loosens up and opens up. In my third labor I remember telling the homebirth midwife, “Okay, I’m... read more