Steel City Homebirth

12/06/2021

Hey y'all. I just wanted to let everyone know that I have decided to hang up my midwife hat for good. At least for the foreseeable future. It was a hard decision to come to, influenced by my experiences with local midwives, including my own birth experience. My identity has been wrapped up in my desire to be a midwife, but being repeatedly burned by them, added to the cl*******ck that was practicing in a pandemic... frankly, I'm not sure I'll ever be healed enough to return to it.

I'm currently working at AHN's Center for Inclusion Health as a doula for immigrants and refugees. I love what I'm doing, the folks I do it with, and above all the folks I do it for. (Hearts to Michaela Pershe and Lily Johnson for encouraging me to apply.)

I can't imagine my work will ever take me far from perinatal health and reproductive justice. Defending the rights of all people to choose if, when, how, where, and with whom they birth will always be my heart's work.

Thanks to those of you who've supported my practice in big and little ways.

11/02/2021

There are some stunningly good reasons to offer to induce someone’s labour.

Serious pre-eclampsia, for one. That’s a brilliant reason to recommend induction.

Or where the baby has a health problem or condition that will certainly get worse if they stay in the womb for longer. Also a great reason to recommend inducing labour.

Being Black, Brown, Asian or mixed race?

🙄🤦🏿‍♀️

Being older or a bit fatter than average? Or having conceived via IVF or ARTs?

Having a suspected big baby, when we know that there’s a 15% margin of error either way on ultrasound estimation?

In some of these situations, some data show that there’s a slightly increased chance of stillbirth in those groups compared to some other groups.

But it’s complicated.

Sometimes, different studies show different things. The difference can be tiny. Most importantly, we often don’t have any robust studies showing that inducing labour will reduce the risk. And we DO have studies showing that induction has short, medium and long-term health consequences, leads to more intervention, can cause distress and trauma and a whole load of other things that aren’t ideal.

So there’s more to it than just recommending induction for anyone who is deemed to be “at higher risk.”

If you want to read more about the evidence, see www.sarawickham.com/iol

Because there’s nothing wrong with induction when it’s appropriate, justified and done after someone has made an informed decision that it’s right for them.

It’s just that this isn’t always what’s happening.

Yes, please feel free to repost, tag and share the original pic with my text and credit intact.

09/09/2021

09/04/2021

*pregnant people

"Pregnant women infected with COVID-19 are 22 times more likely to die than pregnant women not infected with COVID-19," SIU Medicine Dean and Provost shared in a special column in the State Journal-Register earlier this week. "In other words, COVID-19 infection increases maternal mortality by 2100 percent. For their infants, severe illness and death are tripled."

The bottom line: Pregnant women should receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/healthcare/2021/08/29/siu-school-medicine-obligations/5618505001/

08/01/2021

07/27/2021

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but attachment parenting in a detached society is exhausting.
No. It’s not your baby.
There is nothing wrong with them if they want to be held all the time.
No. It’s not you.
You’re not doing it wrong.
Your feelings of exhaustion and depletion and being touched out are normal- considering the weight you’re carrying. Those feelings, and the deep ache underneath them - are a reminder that you were never meant to do this alone.
Babies want to be held. And we want to hold them close. Exclusive/extended breastfeeding, cosleeping, babywearing- all of these are intuitive, ancestral practices that have kept our species alive throughout history. Attachment parenting is just parenting!!
But never before have we parented in such isolation. There were always other hands stirring the soup pot, other aunties, and sisters, and uncles and grandmas, and cousins, and neighbors helping with the daily tasks and child rearing. Other arms carrying the weight of raising humanity. Together.
And now, it’s just you. Alone in the kitchen, trying to stir the soup and bounce the baby and play with the toddler and keep an eye on the big kid and answer the phone and sweep up the mess and tackle the laundry and .....
No matter how magical your baby wrap is — it can’t take the place of a whole village.
So no, you’re not doing it wrong. You’re just trying to stay connected in a world set on tearing you apart.
But don’t give up mama. I know you’re tired and touched out, but you’re giving your baby exactly what she needs. And maybe one day, when she’s raising her own babies,there will be a village around her, helping her hold it all together.

Beautiful words and Pic by on Instagram

07/15/2021

07/15/2021

Still a good parent.

07/10/2021

Repost from
•
This weeks theme, in case you haven’t quite caught on yet, is Confidence. So what does the vaginal birth rate have to do with Confidence?
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Uno: when we “can’t” birth our babies the way we think we’re supposed to be able to, we blame ourselves. Ladies, can I get an AMEN? It’s true! When a woman or a family has a c-section, they usually say “I had to have a c-section,” which is often followed by: “my baby just wouldn’t come out,” or, “my cervix just wouldn’t dilate,” or, “the baby’s heart rate was going down.” No matter what the reason for the surgery, our minds tell us surgery is not what we had in mind. I’ve never met someone who said, “i felt so much more confident after my c-section.” A c-section implies we needed help and couldn’t birth on our own power. I’m NOT saying c-sections are bad. They are not. What sucks is if they are unnecessary and undermine a woman or a family’s faith in themselves.
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Now, contrast confidence levels with vaginal birth. Everyone knows “birth is hard.” So when you accomplish something hard, you are like, “LOOK AT ME, WORLD! I did it!” You BUILD confidence. YOU are the HERO/INE of your story. Among folks who plan home births but don’t “stay home” to birth their babies - among folks who use an epidural or Pitocin to help their process - the act of pushing their babies out means THEY did it. It means a lot to families. It means a crown of accomplishment and personal satisfaction. It BUILDS you up. 5% of planned home and birth center births require a c-section. Compare that with 30% of planned hospital births. It’s a stark contrast.
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If you’re thinking about having a home or birth center birth- you CAN go towards your dream with confidence. Your chances are MUCH HIGHER of success and your chances of confidence in yourself are drastically increased as your chances of having the birth that satisfies you increase. You CAN DO IT.

07/09/2021

Before [people] returned to what they know best.

As LL Cool J said in 1990, “don’t call it a comeback, I been here for years” midwives have been catching babies and providing care since the beginning of humans. It’s not a comeback. It’s not a trend. It’s safe, valid, evidence informed care. Posted •

07/07/2021

07/07/2021

Listeria warning!

LISTERIA RECALL: Do not eat, serve, or sell recalled frozen, fully cooked chicken produced by Tyson Foods and sold under various brands. Products include fully cooked chicken strips, diced chicken, and pizzas made with fully cooked chicken.

Listeria is particularly harmful to people who are 65 years or older, pregnant, or have a weakened immune system.

Get more details and a full list of recalled products by visiting our website:
https://bit.ly/3xdjw0r

06/30/2021

Today 2020 Olympics organizers announced that athletes who are breastfeeding will be able to bring their young children to the games in Tokyo, Japan. No one should have to choose between their dreams, and keeping their baby healthy and strong. Breastfeeding helps babies grow and protects them from infections and illness. Get breastfeeding resources and tips at bit.ly/3w7ZD9R.

Athletes had said they didn't want to choose between breastfeeding or competing in Tokyo.

06/29/2021

The mom-to-be competed in all seven events in nearly 100-degree temperatures.

06/28/2021

Human “littles” need holding to help regulate their emotions.
Open your arms and take them in!


Want more science about the beginning of life? Join us!
www.birthpsychology.com

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06/28/2021

The amount of alcohol in your blood is the same as the amount of alcohol in your milk!

A 175lb woman who drinks 2 glass of 12% wine would have a BAC of 0.06%.
Now in your blood that matters...but in a drink you are consuming?
If your milk has 0.06% alcohol, thats about 10x LESS than the average glass of juice or kombucha.
Seriously.

Even for a baby, who metabolizes alcohol much slower than an adult, that is an insignificant amount.

Want to know more? Check out Episode 62 of the Milk Minute Podcast! We go in depth about alcohol and lactation.

If you want to calculate your BAC you can do that here: https://www.alcohol.org/bac-calculator/

Listen here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/milk-minute-podcast-breastfeeding-chestfeeding-lactating/id1521075273?i=1000525992633