Your Birth, Your Way

07/24/2022

IYKYK.

06/13/2022

WOW! Amazing. And so sad that they were put on a display.

Author's note:
I am working on the Multiple Gestation chapter of my upcoming book and wanted to share this sidebar on the fascinating story of the Dionne Quintuplets.

The Dionne Quintuplets were born unexpectedly in an Ontario farmhouse in 1934. Before their birth, there had been only 32 recorded cases of quintuplet deliveries, and none of these infants survived as long as 2 months. It is astonishing that they and their mother survived. Elzire Dionne, age 26, had delivered her 6 prior children at home with no prenatal care, including an impacted frank breech presentation. In May, 1934, she was approximately 29 weeks of gestation when she experienced signs and symptoms of what would today be diagnosed as severe preeclampsia (systolic blood pressure greater than 200 mmHg, proteinuria, severe pitting edema, vomiting, blurred vision, oliguria). Dr Allen Roy Dafoe evaluated Elzire and put her on strict bedrest. He did not suspect multiple gestation.
Sixteen days later, Dr Dafoe (who had been up all night with another obstetric case), was summoned to the farmhouse. He arrived to find that two babies had been born, a third was delivering, and two neighbors were serving as impromptu midwives. The last two of the quintuplets were born en caul. The placenta was single with no separation into sections and sprouted 5 cords of varying lengths (the girls were later determined to me monozygotic). Elzire had a massive postpartum hemorrhage and went into shock with “the appearance of a dying woman.” As the father “had disappeared” the doctor was required to fetch the priest for last rights, “'reluctantly leaving the midwife holding the fundus” – but upon his return Elzire’s condition was improving.
The babies, all girls, were wrapped in old napkins and bed sheeting and were placed in a basket on the corner of the bed and covered with a warm blanket. They were not expected to live. Neonatal intensive care units were not yet an option, and the first antibiotics were not available until the 1940s. There were no scales that could weigh the babies individually, but together they weighed 13 lb 6 oz. Before the third day, there was no incubator available, so hot water bottles were used to maintain warmth. The babies were fed nothing for the first 25 hours but drops of warm water from an eye dropper. Then they were started on “7-20 mixture" --cow's milk, boiled water, two spoonsful of corn syrup, and one or two drops of rum. By day 5 they were drinking donated breast milk. When the girls were a year old, the provincial government of Ontario removed them from their home (ostensibly to protect them from germs, potential kidnappers, and exploitation) and placed them on public exhibition in a sideshow-type exhibit called Quintland. Quintland earned the Ontario province $500 million in less than 10 years.

Text source: Dafoe, A. R. (1934). The dionne quintuplets. Journal of the American Medical Association, 103(9), 673-677. (quote is on page 675). Image:Wikimedia commons

05/30/2022

I couldn’t resist sharing this 😂😂😂😂😂

04/28/2022

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida mother made a special delivery with a new doctor’s hands-on approach for labor.Weighing in at 6 pounds,...

04/26/2022

Me too sis, me too😏

04/17/2022

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧-𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞.

She may need, and deserve help. But in essence, she always had, currently has, and will have the power

04/10/2022

The Tummy Cradle is a new development by chiropractors to allow women to lay face down and comfortably while being pregnant. The Tummy Cradle pillow was designed to allow pregnant women to lay belly down and face down, while also relieving pressure off of the lower spine.

04/02/2022

A dad of three shares five practical tips on supporting moms and we could not agree with him more. Read his 5 tips on supporting moms.

04/01/2022

We provide services and education that builds the support and socialization systems for infants and their caregivers during the ages and stages of the

03/24/2022

These initiatives are part of Mayor Adams' mission to reduce health inequities in New York City especially in Black and Latinx families.

03/13/2022

The International Association of Professional Birth Photographers recently announced its 11th annual contest winners.

03/09/2022

I’ve been the happiest since I’ve had children.
I’ve also been at my lowest.

I’m a much better version of myself.
I also haven’t always liked what I’ve seen when mirrors have been held up to me.

I’ve never been in more company.
And at times never felt so lonely.

Some days I don’t want to end.
Some days I wish away, oh and the guilt from feeling that when they grow so fast.

I’ve never been so sure of who I’m meant to be.
I’ve never wondered so much who I am.

I’ve never felt closer with my husband.
But at times, I’ve never felt more distant.

I believe in myself, I trust myself.
I’ve questioned myself and doubted myself.

I always want to be better for them.
But I’ve yelled and cried and wished I’d handled certain situations better.

I’ve never loved so hard and so fiercely.
And I’ve never felt so vulnerable.

I’ve never been more broken.
And I’ve never been more complete.

I’ve never smiled so much.
I’ve never cried so much.

I’ve never craved alone time more.
But when I am I always feel like somethings missing, like an arm.

I’ve never been so excited to watch them grow.
And simultaneously wished they’d stay little forever.

Some days I feel like I’ve achieved nothing.
But as I think of them at night, I know I’ve achieved everything.

I’ve never looked forward to so much.
And I’ve also, never looked back.

It’s one beautiful contradiction.
A journey of wrong turns that are probably still right.
And dreams of the future even if you don’t get enough sleep to dream.
Exhaustion but effortless love.
The hardest and most rewarding thing ever.

Motherhood. ✨




……………………………………….
✍🏼: Written by: Jess Urlichs, Writer
📸: O Trocatintas

02/24/2022

02/23/2022

Today in Black History Month we honor Anarcha Westcott. She was a 17 year enslaved girl who underwent roughly 30 operations without anesthesia for a vesicova**nal fistula ( abnormal connection between va**na and bladder= urine coming through your va**na).

She healed after this surgery. James Marion Sim (we refuse to refer to him as doctor) was the racist man who performed these surgeries on her, and is denoted as the father of Gynecology.

However, we would like to say Anarcha is the mother of gynecology. Without her strength, grit, and bravery she wouldn't have survived those procedures. We couldn't imagine doing surgery on someone without some form of anesthesia. Black history is America's history. The story must be told even when it's not pretty.

02/22/2022

This is a letter to other mothers who feel they don't have a village or community while raising their kids and having babies.

02/22/2022

"What’s very clear is that no one is coming to stand up for mothers if we don’t get angry and stand up for ourselves."
For the full article, "American moms: let's stop feeling guilty and start getting mad" by Katherine Goldstein: http://bit.ly/3bU2quk

02/20/2022

❤️❤️❤️

[Via: Andie and Ollie Photography]

02/17/2022

“Although the popularly desired outcome is ‘healthy mother, healthy baby,’ I think there is room in that equation for ‘happy, non-traumatized, empowered and elated mother and baby.’” – Midwifery Today -
Doulas can help create an empowered experience throughout pregnancy, birth and beyond.