CARPAL TUNNEL IN PREGNANCY

About one quarter of women develop some symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome during pregnancy. Whilst the symptoms can appear at any time, they are most common in the second and third trimesters when there may be greater fluid retention. The symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome include pain and numbness in the hands and fingers which may occur in one or both hands. It may just manifest in the form of mild hand weakness through to severe pain that disturbs sleep during pregnancy.

WHAT IS CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs when the median nerve is compressed as it passes through the Carpal Tunnel, a tunnel formed by the carpal wrist bones and a band of connective tissue encircling the wrist, preventing the nerve from functioning properly.
The ‘tunnel’ contains nine tendons as well as the median nerve and so is a narrow place. The swelling and fluid retention of pregnancy can increase the pressure inside the Carpal Tunnel.

Other symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome include

• morning stiffness or cramping of the hands
• burning sensations in the fingers
• frequently dropping of objects

PREGNANCY

For pregnant women, the symptoms are most frequent at night or on waking. Shifting sleeping position and propping the arm up with pillows may help. Consult your GP or midwife if the pain and numbness interferes with your sleep or daily routine.

There is a lack of research into self-help treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome so you may need to find out what helps by trial and error. If in doubt, see a physiotherapist who may give you wrist splints, which can help take pressure off the nerves. The splints keep your wrists in a position which maximises the space in the carpal tunnel and has proved useful to many with carpal tunnel syndrome.

Therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic, naturopathy, yoga and massage have also been beneficial to some patients. Please ensure if you are seeking alternative therapies, that your consultant has experience in pregnancy.

THE GOOD NEWS!  symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome disappear after the birth.

If pain persists after baby is born, then consult a Physiotherapist or GP.  Occasionally simple surgery is needed to relieve the pressure on the median nerve, which runs down the arm into the hand.

Pregnancy and birthing are normal events in a woman’s life.  Why then do so many pregnant women hand over their power.

It is almost universally accepted that a woman needs a ‘person in authority’, to tell them how to be pregnant, how to give birth and how to parent.

GIVING AWAY YOUR POWER

Many women don’t think too much about this until after the baby is born and there is time for reflection, the anger about what went wrong rises to the surface very quickly.  The anger stems not from what actually happened but why didn’t I know I had a choice and why didn’t I speak up.

Many women say they feel ‘stupid’ and strongly resent that all their power was taken away.  Women say things like:

‘my life was in the doctors hands, so there was really nothing I can do’

‘ I just left it up to fate’

‘I didn’t know I was allowed’  (this is a very common statement)

‘They won’t let me……”

‘What’s the use of trying? The odds are clearly stacked against me’

Subconsciously, hospitals are associated with pain, fear, death.  And yet we have an accepted culture of having our babies in a hospital.  There is an immediate disconnect here, given that pregnancy and birth are normal life events. Hospitals are very intimidating places.  They are foreign environments to most couples.  Many women have never been inside a hospital until they are pregnant.

HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR POWER

If you choose to birth in a hospital then you must respect the institution, the staff and all the policies and procedures.  BUT understand you are NOT sick and nor is your unborn baby, so it is important to make 4 wise initial decisions:

• Midwife/doctor to care for you and your unborn baby. Midwives specialise in looking after normal healthy women and their unborn baby.  Doctors have specialised training in looking after and fixing sick people and their problems.
• Place to Birth – Hospital/Birth Centre/Home – shop around. Organise to visit your local hospital – what are the facilities – Delivery Suite and/or Birth Centre?   Homebirth – interview at least 2 homebirth midwives
• Choose a doula – shop around and meet at least 2 doulas. Your doula will encourage your questioning and decision making.  She will be your personal guide and advocate, representing only you and you unborn baby.
• Choose a prenatal class – this can be overwhelming as there are so many choices available and so many inadequate classes. Check out our Inside Birth® classes here where you can attend all the way through pregnancy:

https://birthright.com.au/inside-birth-delivering-antenatal-classes-differently/

The only way to make ‘informed’ decisions is to shop around and research your options.  A doula can help with these resources.  Start pregnancy by making confident choices and you will be on the way to maintaining your power.

REMEMBER:

• EVERY decision you make during pregnancy and birth is being made on behalf of your baby.
• EACH choice has an impact on your baby, so choose wisely
• TRUST your gut instinct. Pregnant women are extremely intuitive.  It is the beginning of parenting so TRUST.
• LISTEN to what your body and baby are telling you
• QUESTION everything! Why are you doing?……… What results can I expect if?……..How will this impact my baby?…………What if I do nothing?…………..
• BE O.K. with buying time to do your own research before making a decision
• KEEP YOUR POWER and let your unborn baby know that you will protect and keep him safe by making the best decisions and never handing over your power.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YES!

When I studied midwifery in the early 1970’s, men were just being ‘allowed’ in the labour ward.  This was certainly considered to be a progressive move.  They did however, need written permission from their ‘wife’s’ doctor, to be present at the birth (of their baby!)  It seemed to me, as a lowly student at the time, that most senior midwives did not ‘approve’ or like this idea.  Nor did most doctors.  It was thought that Dad would most likely faint, be sick, or just be a nuisance and get in the way.  It was routine for men to gather in the smoke filled (Yes, you are reading correctly), Dad’s waiting room, usually close to the labour ward, and wait for a midwife to announce the arrival and sex of their baby.

SO TIMES HAVE CHANGED…………….BUT

I see many women in my Hypnotherapy practice for a birth debrief and healing.  They are often extremely traumatised.  They are angry, questioning, and have very little understanding of the why, what, how and when.  They often come with their medical records, which can be very helpful in putting some decisions into context – according to the records.  However it is the very deep and painful emotional trauma where hypnosis and Time Line® Therapy works brilliantly and quickly.

WHAT ABOUT DAD

I am seeing more and more men who recognise how traumatic the birth of their baby has been for them.  All the attention and resources are focused on Mum and baby but men experience the birth in a very different way.  They often have nobody to talk to, or don’t know how to find the words to describe what it was like for them.  Many men are ‘observers’ of birth – even those that are closely involved – but birth is not happening to them.  They worry about the safety of their partner AND their baby.  Through hypnotherapy men can heal and it often only takes 1 session.  I always do separate session with a Mum and Dad.

WHAT ABOUT THE BABY

A couple will learn how important it is to heal the birth experience for their baby and will leave the session with lots of ideas about how they can do this together.  Through hypnosis the ‘blueprint’ of the birth experience for the baby, can be changed.

NOW AND THE FUTURE

This healing gives invaluable insights into what they would do differently for the next pregnancy and empowers them with knowledge in future choices.

It is essential for the future emotional stability and well-being of Mum, Dad and baby to debrief and heal, so all three DO NOT live the trauma for the remainder of their life.  All three must be connected as one.

 

 

 

https://birthright.com.au/services/birth-debriefing/

WHAT IS GUT INSTINCT?

The brain uses a combination of logic and emotion when making decisions of any kind. … That specific emotion, innate to us as humans, is intuition. We possess the capacity to feel, and thereby the ability to know things without consciously reasoning. The “gut feeling” is real, and we use it all the time.

PROBLEMS FACED IN PREGNANCY

PROBLEM #1

Pregnant women are bombarded with information, medical advice, non-medical advice and lots of ‘emotional’ advice.  It comes from everywhere and is always overwhelming.

PROBLEM #2

There are many decisions that need to be made very early in pregnancy with very little time to research ‘appropriate’ information to make the right choices.

PROBLEM #3

Most decisions are made based on information from friends, family, the media, movies and Google.

PROBLEM #4

Pregnant women feel pushed and pulled, even bullied, into making choices, without any time to consider the consequences for each decision.

Meanwhile you have a new little person growing and developing deep inside your womb, and with phenomenal speed.  Cells dividing, organs forming – it is quite amazing and even magical.

SHOWING RESPECT FOR YOUR INTUITION

We spend our whole lives being taught to override our intuition.  We are taught to examine things in detail, research, think things through, really think about it.  But instincts are not thoughts.  They are grounded in feelings.  And learning how to see through a thought-based reaction, to the instinct beneath it, is a powerful way to guide yourself toward a happy, healthy and connected pregnancy.

HOW TO TRUST YOUR INTUITION

• You must quiet all the noise that surrounds you
• You must quiet the years of social training
• You must quiet the ‘white noise’ of social media
• You must quiet the barrage of advice

This is easier said than done.  Trust that no matter how long you have ignored your instincts, they are definitely still there and are never more accurate than they are in pregnancy.

During my years of working with women to heal their traumatic birth experiences, the most repeated comment is “I knew it wasn’t right, I just knew something was wrong, I just knew that was not what was happening, I just knew this was not the best decision – BUT – I felt that “they” knew better than I did, so I said nothing”.  This is the biggest issue for women to resolve, the overwhelming guilt and anger, all because they did not trust their instincts enough, to speak up for what they intuitively knew was right.

Today, it is more challenging than ever, for women to block out all the noise, to sit in quiet stillness and look inward, trusting and respecting their innate feeling.  It is always right.

PREGNANT WOMEN – Always trust your instincts, they are messages from your soul

TRUST and BELIEVE that no-one knows your body and your baby better than you do.  How could they??

Your body is a powerful intuitive communicator

Inside Birth® classes gives you confidence to trust and empower you to block out the noise.

https://birthright.com.au/inside-birth-delivering-antenatal-classes-differently/

 

A LESSON TO BE LEARNED

In Thailand a traditional midwife apprenticeship and training began in villages and involved her watching the water buffalo birth during several seasons.  The purpose was the following:  if the water buffalo were birthing and having a straightforward labour and birth, which was the norm, and the midwife trainee tried to get close to the water buffalo or ‘help’ the water buffalo during labour, the water buffalo would KICK the trainee.  If a water buffalo was labouring and birthing and was experiencing difficulties, which NEEDED help, which was rare, the water buffalo would ALLOW a human to come into its space.

Amazing learning for the trainee midwife – to know the powers of observation and to read body language during labour and birth – to only get involved when there are clear signs that help is genuinely needed.

MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS

Interventions in human labour and birth are regarded as almost ‘normal’ procedures in many hospitals.  It is often the interventions themselves that cause many complications.  It is commonly referred to as The cascade effect:  epidural can lead to a compromised heart rate for baby, ‘noted’ foetal distress, which in turn can lead to forceps, ventouse or caesarean section – to rescue mother and baby and on it goes….

The medical interventions are now so common they are well known – rupturing membranes, induction of labour, forceps, caesarean section, ventouse, foetal monitoring etc…..

SURPRISING ‘OTHER’ COMMON INTERVENTIONS

BUT there are many other interventions that may not be obvious including anything that might stimulate the neocortex of the brain.  The neocortex is the logical, rational part of the brain and interferes with normal birth physiology.  These include:

• Bright lights
• Talking – especially asking direct questions of a labouring woman
• Loud music
• Too many people in the birthing room who appear to be ‘observing’
• Loud noises
• Not feeling ‘at home’ in your birthing environment
• Not feeling safe in your birthing environment
• Imposed restrictions to a woman’s movement
• Having a midwife/obstetrician who is not respecting your choices
• Feeling alone
• Too hot/too cold

This can cause a rise of ‘fight and flight’ hormones and decreases the body’s capacity to produce Oxytocin (the main hormone that facilitates a safe labour and birth)

WHAT IS A NORMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL BIRTH?

‘Birth that is powered by the innate human capacity of the woman and baby.  This birth is more likely to be safe and healthy because there is no unnecessary intervention that disrupts normal physiologic processes.  Supporting the normal physiologic processes of labour and birth – even in the presence of complications – has the potential to enhance best outcomes for mother and infant’

In the animal world – if there is any outside interference with labour, birth or the early postpartum – a common consequence is that the Mother animal will REJECT her baby. This is because the interference disrupts the innate physiologic response that is REQUIRED for optimal labouring, birthing, bonding and attachment. Humans are mammals – in that we produce MILK to feed our young. When there is any INTERFERENCE (intervention) during our labour/ births/ postpartum period, there are consequences – be them large or small.

We must respect a woman’s right to birth uninterrupted, and acknowledge and honour a baby’s right to enter the world quietly and gently into his mother’s arms, without interference.  Hiring a doula is the best way for a woman to feel safe, emotionally supported and be your own true advocate.

https://birthright.com.au/doulas/find-a-birth-right-doula/

The definition of ‘romance’:

“a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love” and “a quality or feeling of mystery, excitement and remoteness from everyday life”. 

A perfect description of pregnancy and birthing – especially the feeling of remoteness from everyday life!  What a beautiful design.  And how many of us would like to experience this, even when we are not pregnant.

Creating a new human is the most extraordinary event you will ever experience.  Obviously the event itself can and should be exciting, albeit quite short, but then follows 40 weeks of ‘romance’ – falling more and more in love with your little person, growing and developing at such a rapid rate.

A baby conceived with love has the very best start in life.  Focusing on this very beginning of parenting, from conception, and getting to know this unique little person that you have created together, is the key to enjoying pregnancy and therefore birthing.

Falling in love with your unborn baby is indeed exciting and mysterious.  It is a special opportunity to connect on a very deep level and you have a whole 40 weeks to introduce him to you and your world.  This allows you to block out all the inane chatter that can easily fill your head with many fears.  Focus on the true romance of a new and developing relationship and deeply falling in love.  This must is the key to enjoying pregnancy, labour and birthing.

It is sometimes very challenging for a pregnant woman to block out all the negative ‘stuff’ that she will inevitably be exposed to – unfortunately.  So often you start out in the romance bubble with love and mystery and excitement, only to find there are many who burst that bubble.

SECRET TIPS

If you want to stay on track, or you have lost your way and the fears are creeping in, or you are doubting your birthing ability then I will introduce you to my secret hypnosis strategies for staying calm and re-connect you with your innate birthing power.  Make an appointment:

http://susanrosshypnotherapy.com/

 

Horror birth stories are damaging.  When first pregnant, many women have an idea about how they would like to give birth.  It is all very new, exciting and can be extremely overwhelming.  Once the happy news is made public, the ‘advice’ starts and comes in from every direction.  There is probably nothing else we ever do in our lives, all those big decisions, like buying a house, car, career change, that garners so much definitive and intrusive ‘advice’.

EVERYONE IS AN EXPERT

Or are they?  Women and men initially get plenty of advice from family, then close friends, then work colleagues, then ‘other’ not so close friends, then social media, magazines, books, DVD’s, the butcher, baker and supermarket checkout person.  And the list goes on………and then comes the medical advice from GP, midwife, naturopath, acupuncturist, yoga teacher, obstetrician……

Now you can think of this in two ways:  firstly isn’t it just lovely that a whole community is showing ‘interest’ in a newly developing human who will soon be entering their world. They feel so compelled to make sure you take advantage of their ‘expert’ opinion.  After-all it should take a village to raise a child.

Secondly:  where is my privacy?  Where is respect for my personal space?  My head is spinning and this constant intrusion is affecting my clear thinking decision making ability.

WHERE IS THE ‘EXPERTISE’ COMING FROM?

Mainly from personal experience – often after having just one baby.  The main spokespeople who directly take aim at a pregnant woman, are those who are reporting the horror stories.  All pregnant women hear and read them.  Interestingly the spokespeople who have had empowering and beautiful birthing experiences tend to stay quiet.  These are the women and men who sometimes feel guilty about their amazing birth experience.  The horror birth stories definitely outweigh the beautiful stories.  Then there is the medical expertise??  It is very important for a pregnant woman to remember that it is just that – MEDICAL! Often flavoured with a personal experience.  It is inevitably negative!  It is understandable that for a pregnant woman she finds the constant bombardment of really awful stories very quickly overrides any ideas of a beautiful normal birthing experience.

DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OVER YOUR PREGNANCY?

The answer, unfortunately is always NO!  But you should have total control.  Birth is not a medical ‘problem’ that needs rescuing or solving.

A pregnant woman should hold all the power in decision making. All decisions made have an impact on baby and all decisions made are on behalf of the unborn baby.  Horror birth stories are not only damaging for a woman but the anxiety caused transfers directly to the unborn baby.

TIPS FOR DEALING WITH HORROR STORIES – WHAT TO SAY

1. “I’m sorry that happened to you, and it’s good to know every birth is different”
2. “Stop them from continuing. Say STOP I am only interested in hearing positive birthing stories, especially as my baby is listening to all your words” (and they are)
3. All women deserve to heal from a difficult or traumatic birth experience. This is something I specialise in so feel free to pass on my contact.  My session does heal, Mum and baby and will ultimately prevent that person from passing on a horror story to yet another pregnant woman.

To increase your chances of truly being in control of your pregnancy and birth book an Inside Birth® prenatal class and enjoy the deep connection and hypnosis techniques that will empower you truly be in control.  These classes are not just a once only program but provide ongoing support throughout pregnancy.

https://birthright.com.au/inside-birth-delivering-antenatal-classes-differently/

 

Breastfeeding an older child unfortunately comes with some challenges.

All the marketing and media hype suggests breasts as being sexual, but they are there to provide food.

Data from Deakin University studied families between 2008-2010 and found at 18mths age 10% of children were still breastfed and by 3.5yrs old that reduced to 1%

Women are familiar with the so-called norm of breastfeeding for 6mths. but in western culture breastfeeding for 12mths is considered to be a long time.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends ongoing breastfeeding into the second year.  Not that this is very well publicised in Australia.  It is very common in other parts of the world to see older children breastfeeding and everyone just sees it as normal.  But in western culture, whilst it is biologically normal, it is not culturally normal.

BENEFITS FOR MUM AND BABY

Breastfeeding provides optimal nutrition for the child and is probably the most convenient way to settle an unhappy toddler.  Also provides essential nutrition for all those fussy toddler eaters.  It is also the most rewarding closeness, quiet time and deep connection for Mum and child and has been shown to produce contented, happy and socially engaged children.

ARE THERE DISADVANTAGES?

Short answer is NO, apart from minor things like no alcohol, drugs, eating healthy, exercise and sleeping well – now that sounds like a great plan!  And welcome to motherhood.

HOW TO DEAL WITH THE SOCIAL STIGMA

Mum’s who breastfeed older children become very skilled at doing this in public in a way that is not going to attract unwanted criticism.  It is often only other Mum’s who are tuned in to what is happening.  The advantage of the child being older and having language, you can negotiate.  I breastfed my second son until he was 3yrs old.  He had a special name for it which no-one would recognise as wanting to ‘breastfeed’.  There were a few tantrums, often in the supermarket (nice!) but most of the time he accepted to wait until we got home.  It was just so much easier than dealing with the glares.

I dream of a day where it is culturally accepted in this country and women who are in public and breastfeeding older children will be greeted with compliments of what a great job they are doing.

We live in a world that is fast paced, constant and what seems like ever increasing health problems. Health information and health contradictions can be overwhelming.  What to believe?  Who to believe?  Who is funding what research and does that influence results?

WHAT IF YOU could have a profound impact on making a positive change?

WHAT IF YOU could have a profound impact on how a new human was created, grown, birthed and parented?

WHAT IF this had a profound impact on changing lifelong physical, emotional and spiritual well-being?

If you have a desire to make REAL change happen then join our team and become a Birth and Postnatal doula, where you can guide and support healthy pregnancies which = healthy babies.

Most pregnant women experience stress and anxiety during pregnancy.  This does affect the baby in utero.  Research shows that a baby in utero who has experienced, and taken on board his mother’s stress and anxiety causes change in neurodevelopmental functioning, behavioural problems, sleep disturbance, poor cognitive performance, increased fearfulness, and later on, an increase risk of anxiety and depression.

Imagine a world where every baby is nurtured and loved in pregnancy where a deep connection and communication develops between Mum, Dad and baby.  Then imagine a joyous labour and birth where baby is welcomed into the world, where they are seen as amazing, conscious and aware beings.  As these babies grow we can see their capacity to love, to empathise with others, and to live in joy.  We then see the ripple effect grow to have greater learning capacity, emotional intelligence and creativity, and healthier families.

BIRTH & POSTNATAL DOULA TRAINING

This potential is unlimited!  And this is the very potential you will learn during your training to become a Birth Doula and postnatal doula.  The training will challenge you to become a critical thinker, giving you a deep understanding of the true value a doula brings.

Check out this SPECIAL OFFER:     https://birthright.com.au/training/birth-post-natal-doula-training/

THE SELF-SETTLING MYTH

There are many people, parents, experts who advocate the idea of teaching a baby to ‘self-settle’.  This is sold to parents as the only way to guarantee uninterrupted sleep and easier bedtimes.  It is certainly an attractive sales pitch for any sleep deprived parent.

But what if I told you that it is not possible for a baby to self-soothe or settle.  This is not something you can teach with sleep training or any other techniques.

You can, through sleep training ‘condition’ a baby NOT to cry out for attention and go to sleep without parental input, but this is NOT behaviour that is indicative of a baby who is calm or settled.  Self-soothing is a developmental stage that develops as the baby grows older.  You cannot teach something that their brains are not yet capable of.  You are not leaving your baby to self-settle you are leaving him to cry.

You are your baby’s safe place and their only way of approach is to cry out for physical contact, with you, particularly when they are not emotionally or physically developed.  Sadly many people refer to babies as ‘clingy’ or ‘manipulative’ and see the fact they need their parents to soothe them as a bad habit that should be broken.  So many experts seem to think that once a baby is fed, changed, winded and warm, then job well done and they have no further needs.  They do.  Their emotional needs are just as important as their physical ones.  Although babies experience the fight-or-flight response from a very young age, they are not neurologically developed enough to regulate the resulting emotions themselves.  They need us for that.

THE BABY’S BRAIN

At birth the baby’s brain is about a quarter of its adult size.  The brain stem and cerebellum, or the hindbrain are fairly well developed and are the first parts of the brain to develop throughout the first 18 mths.  This area of the brain is responsible for survival – temperature regulations, breathing, digestion and raw basic emotions.  The limbic system, our ‘feeling brain’, is the next to develop over the first three years.  It is responsible for emotions and relationship with others.  Lastly, the neocortex, our ‘thinking brain’, develops.  This is by far the most sophisticated area of the brain, and develops throughout childhood, adolescence, and even into the early 20’s.  This part of the brain is responsible for critical, analytical and rational thought.

Babies have incredibly underdeveloped neocortex.  Emotional self-regulation (self-soothing) is just not physically possible for babies, toddlers or pre-schoolers.  Their brains have not developed enough.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SLEEP TRAIN?

Practising sleep training, is not teaching a baby to self-soothe.  Something else is happening on a very basic primal level.  Let’s go back to the hindbrain and the fight-or-flight response.  What happens when those stress hormones reach such a level that they are toxic yet you can’t take flight or fight?  You ‘freeze’ all activity in order to try to preserve life.  Dr. William Sears calls this “Shutdown Syndrome”.  Research by Wendy Middlemiss in 2012 showed what happens during self-soothing teaching, highlighting how stressed the baby still is, despite their quietness and apparent sleeping.  Chemically we can now prove that the baby is neither soothed nor settled.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF SELF-SOOTHING

If a baby has been trained to be quiet and to not call for his parents to meet his emotional needs, then at some point the baby might not call out when they have an urgent need. A baby’s brain is not sophisticated enough to know that sometimes the parents come and sometimes they don’t, depending on what’s wrong.  Back to brain development, the research shows that the more nurturing you are toward your child in their early years, the greater their hippocampus volume, the part that is related to behavioural regulations and processing emotions.

EMOTIONAL SECURITY

Is it possible to alter your child’s brain so that they grow to have good emotions, self-regulation skills (or the real ability to self-soothe) when they are older?  Of course it is!  And the best way to do that is to pick them up, cuddle them respond to them.  Your nurturing parenting will pay dividends in the future – that is how you really help a child to develop the ability to self-soothe.

Being a parent is accepting responsibility to shape the next generation.  The techniques commonly used for teaching self-settling make the child less likely to ever learn this.

 

https://expectingscience.com/2016/04/21/the-middlemiss-study-tells-us-nothing-about-sleep-training-cry-it-out-or-infant-stress/

The word advocacy comes from Latin and means ‘to be called to stand beside’.

Every pregnant woman/couple needs an advocate.

In fact, everyone who walks through the doors of a hospital with a presenting problem needs an advocate.  It doesn’t matter if it’s for a ‘simple’ X-Ray, medical issue or complex surgery.
Advocacy is about helping a person to be heard in the decisions that affect their health and life.

WHY DO YOU NEED AN ADVOCATE?

Pregnancy and birth is a normal life event and a very important one.  It is a hugely emotional time often associated with many up’s and down’s.

You have no prior experience to draw on, especially if this is your first baby.  You are no doubt young, fit and very healthy and may never have been inside a hospital or had much to do with the health system.  AND this is the very reason you need an ‘expert’ to guide, support, advocate and negotiate (should this be necessary).  It can be a scary, confusing and complex system that you are entering into.  You and your baby deserve to be protected.

MEN BECOMING DAD

Many men believe they can ‘manage’ the role of advocate and negotiator in labour and birth.  They may have these skills in their professional life and believe this will seamlessly transfer to the pregnancy and birthing world.  IT WILL NOT.  Obviously there are many women who have these skills in their work environment – but not many pregnant women believe they will be able to access and use these skills effectively in labour.

Having a baby is a very special and private event in a couple’s life and understandably men, in particular, feel uncomfortable with having ‘another’ person present.  This is always an interesting argument as there is often ‘many’ ‘others’, not known to the couple, at a birth.

Having a doula allows a Dad to relax and enjoy becoming a Dad – whatever that looks like for him on the day!

UNIQUE DOULA ADVOCACY

1. A doula knows and understands the hospital system
2. A doula understands the role of an obstetrician and midwife and what  underlines certain decisions being made.
3. The mere presence of a doula provides silent accountability for staff.
4. A doula has no ‘other’ agenda but to represent the woman and her baby, safely and respectfully
5. A doula has learned how to negotiate in this environment, with respect
6. A doula has spent many months getting to know and learn about the woman, her partner and family, on a very deep level.
7. A doula has attended pregnancy check-up appointments and helped to put the jargon into understandable language.
8. A doula ensures during the pregnancy journey that a woman is fully informed about her options and that every decision she is making, is on behalf of her baby.
9. A doula has explored the woman’s fears, provided information and education.
10. A doula holds a protective space during labour which allows a woman to birth with confidence, in privacy and with much love.
11. A doula is very aware of the woman’s wishes for her birth journey, and provides much needed guidance for a birth plan which will be respected by staff.

Advocacy focuses on the needs, wishes and rights, including protection of confidentiality, of that person, and is essential for all pregnant women.

Advocacy involves standing beside someone and supporting them. Advocacy seeks a satisfactory outcome for a person, so as to enhance their rights and dignity. It has a connotation of change, challenging what is unfair, unjust and wrong.

EVERY PREGNANT WOMAN DESERVES A DOULA         

 

Contact Susan to discuss or find the right doula for you here:

https://birthright.com.au/doulas/find-a-birth-right-doula/

Your Vision?

 

 

 

“the only thing worse than being blind, is having sight but no vision” – Helen Keller

5 Questions to gain a clear vision for your career as an Educator/Doula

1.  Where do you want to be in the future?
2. What do you want to accomplish?
3. What is the destination that you want to arrive at?
4. Why do you want to get there?
5. When do you want to get there?

Take some time to answer these questions as a means of working towards your vision for your Educator/Doula career.
A clear vision points you toward what you want to be in life.

Knowing your destination will keep you travelling on the right road.

In simple terms ‘goals’ tend to be the ‘how’ you achieve something and ‘vision’ is much more about ‘why’.

When you reflect at the successful completion of your educator/doula training:
1.  What do you want to see?
2.  What do you want to be able to do?
3.  How do you imagine and want it to be?

The Combined Training we offer at Birth Right will set you up for a career that will impact and change how babies are created, grown, birthed and parented.

Life does not begin at or after birth, as many still believe.

Your training will focus on how early imprints in the womb affect birth, attachment and parenting. Learning how to teach this to new parents will have a profound influence on the parent/baby connection in utero, during birthing and long into the future.

You will understand prenatal consciousness and how each baby has his own unique womb experience.

These prenatal experiences and the environment in the womb, influence a baby’s perceptions of life, sense of family and whether the world is safe or not. When parents truly enjoy this womb connection, from the beginning, it will have a profound effect on the remainder of their pregnancy and will positively affect birthing outcomes.

Creating and realising your vision is simple.  Start by envisioning the best version of yourself – in this career as a successful Educator/Doula – truly making a difference.

Get in touch and let’s talk

 

https://birthright.com.au/training/combined-training/

Susan Ross and the Birth Right team are hosting this documentary, followed by a Q&A

EVERY HUMAN SHOULD SEE THIS!

A mind bending look at just how early our life circumstances affect us.  An unmissable viewing experience if you have even an ounce of curiosity about the course of human events

IN UTERO is a cinematic rumination on what will emerge as the most provocative subject of the 21st Century – life in the womb and its lasting impact on human development, human behaviour, and the state of the world.

IN UTERO brings together for the first time convincing data that explains why some of us face challenges from the start while others thrive. Prepare to be surprised, intrigued, but no longer baffled by what the future holds for yourself, your loved ones, and the human race.

SYNOPSIS

IN UTERO is a cinematic rumination on what will emerge as the most provocative subject of the 21st Century – life in the womb and its lasting impact on human development, human behaviour, and the state of the world. Epigenetics, Alice In Wonderland, The Matrix, scientists, psychologists and doctors converge to prove that we are not what we think we are. IN UTERO brings together for the first time convincing data that explains why some of us face challenges from the start while others thrive. Prepare to be surprised, intrigued, but no longer baffled by what the future holds for yourself, your loved ones, and the human race.

Venue:  Kindle Hill, Lake Street, Wentworth Falls

Date:  Sunday, 8^th July, 2018

Time:  2.00p.m. – 4.00p.m.

Tickets:  $20 at door or book at Eventbrite.  https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/in-utero-doco-screening-tickets-47202018508

 

Come and meet some of our fabulous team

When does parenting really being?  When should we, as a society, pour resources into developing and educating babies and children?

Governments ‘talk’ about the importance of early childhood development, but I’m not convinced they really understand it is one of the best investments a country can make – to boost economic growth, promote peaceful and sustainable societies, eliminate poverty and inequality – simply by creating happy, healthy new humans.

It is the right of every child to not just survive but to thrive physically, emotionally and spiritually.

What is vital for healthy growth and development is that all children receive nurturing, loving care.

TYPES OF PARENTING

Everyone remembers Benjamin Spock who was an American Paediatrician whose book Baby and Child Care (1946) is one of the best sellers of all time.  I love this quote from him:  for mothers: “you know more than you think you do”

Spock advocated ideas about parenting that were, at the time, considered out of the mainstream. Over time, his books helped to bring about major change. Previously, experts had told parents that babies needed to learn to sleep on a regular schedule, and that picking them up and holding them whenever they cried would only teach them to cry more and not to sleep through the night. They were told to feed their children on a regular schedule, and that they should not pick them up, kiss them, or hug them, because that would not prepare them to be strong and independent individuals in a harsh world. In contrast Spock encouraged parents to see their children as individuals, and not to apply a one-size-fits all philosophy to them.

There has, of course, been a plethora of books on PARENTING since 1946, all of which promote various ‘types of parenting techniques’ – all presented with very strong beliefs that ‘their’ method is the ‘right’ one.  My observations over the decades has shown new parents are extremely vulnerable and are looking for practical solutions from ‘experts’ about how to raise their child.

Today there are plenty of parents who passionately believe in the importance of making sure their baby is in a ‘routine’, sleeps in their own cot/bed, and in their own room and who advocate letting them cry – the ‘let them know who is boss’ philosophy.

‘Attachment parenting’ is probably the opposite of the above and is a substantial movement of like-minded parents who believe a secure attachment is an advantage for a whole life time. The parent’s sensitivity to the needs of the child is a major determinant in whether a secure or insecure attachment will develop.

‘Authoritative parenting’: is where the parent provides structure and sets limits, but explains reasons for punishments in an effort to encourage independence. … the theory is children will grow up to be emotionally secure and enjoy higher self-esteem when they learn to separate from their parents at their own pace.

‘Gentle attachment parenting’ : The word discipline comes from the word disciple and means to teach. The discipline advocated by gentle parenting families is internalised. They argue that to offer rewards and punishments overrides a child’s natural inclination to try. It teaches them to behave in certain ways for a reward, or to avoid punishment.

The time from conception to three years of age, is when the brain is most susceptible to environmental influences.  Education, nurturing and love from conception, not only promotes physical, emotional, social and cognitive development, it produces lifelong benefits for health, productivity, socialisation and emotional well-being.

During this time, from conception to three, the brain develops at an astounding pace.  This is the crucial age when children form their first attachments and develop their first concepts – optimistic or fearful – of the world in which they will live.

Dr. Marian Diamond, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor of integrative biology at the University of California, states:  ‘if governments put millions of dollars into early childhood development, but the appropriate brain to receive the education, has not been developed – then this is a waste of money.  It is important to be sure that the brain has developed well – in utero’

Dr. Thomas Verney, Psychiatrist, in his book “The Secret Life of the Unborn Baby” states “.

“The ideas and the love a mother has for her baby, the richness of their communication, all have a determining influence on the baby’s physical development, the landmarks of its personality and character predisposition.”

When parents tune into and respond to their children’s needs, they will develop a secure attachment to their mothers and fathers, a base from which they can thrive.

Children without secure parental bonds are more likely to have behaviour and literacy problems.

So the question:  WHEN SHOULD PARENTING BEGIN?

ANSWER:  IN UTERO –  from conception.  

Our Inside Birth® prenatal course (and training) will show you the philosophy behind IN UTERO connection, education and love.  You will have fun, you will learn to truly trust and rely on your own instincts because no-one knows your unborn baby better than you do, and you will accept the power of your deep connection IN UTERO – without ever having to refer to a parenting book.

https://birthright.com.au/inside-birth-delivering-antenatal-classes-differently/

Economic studies reveal how the lack of nurtured development creates immense long-term cost to families, society and governments.

https://birthright.com.au/training/inside-birth-childbirth-educator-training/

In a research study, one series of I.Q. tests were given to children aged 2 – 4 years. How many children do you think were found to be highly creative with curious, questioning minds and an ability for abstract thinking?

The results were: 95%. Now imagine what happened when the same children were tested again at age 7. Only 5% still demonstrated high levels of creativity. In those few short years, they had learned to conform; “If you want to get along, you had better go along,” is what they had discovered.

The Dangers of Conformity

They had learned to colour between the lines, to sit in neat little rows, to do and say what the other kids did and said, and to do as they were told. Over time, they lost the wonderful fearless spontaneity of youth and learned to suppress ideas and insights that were unusual or different.

Today this is often expressed on social media by jumping onto anyone who thinks ‘differently’ or expresses an ‘out there’ opinion.  We may think that humans in 2018 are intelligent and are free to express creative ideas and insights but in reality this is still a very conservative and conforming society.

Conformity does not lead to critical thinking and positive change

Many people are not willing or have lost the capacity to think outside the box for fear of not conforming and being ridiculed and criticised.  And to think it gets knocked out of children by the age of 7 is quite shocking.

HOW CAN WE MAINTAIN AND PROMOTE A CHILDS NATURAL CURIOSITY AND QUESTIONING MIND?

WHAT WOULD THE WORLD BE LIKE IF THEY GREW UP TO AGGRESSIVELY SEEK NEW IDEAS?

Creativity is a birthright and new parents can begin this with their unborn baby – yes, you are reading correctly!  Start the education and creativity in utero with lots of fun games and interaction.  This way of thinking will be deeply embedded in the baby’s unconscious mind, which they will be able to tap in to easily and quickly for the rest of their life.  They will grow up knowing that creativity and healthy questioning is normal with an ability for abstract thinking.

If you want to understand MINDPOWER and the way it works in utero, then Inside Birth® Training is for you.  This training will give you all the tools you need to start your own Inside Birth® antenatal classes.  You will be teaching parents about MINDPOWER and how to engage in a fun and intelligent way with their unborn baby.

The Inside Birth® training is ‘outside the box’, you will learn how to deliver antenatal classes differently.  Teaching the power of the mind is a skill, not just for pregnancy and birthing, but for life – for Mum, Dad & baby.  Let us teach our children the importance of a questioning, curious and creative mind, and lets start IN UTERO.

Take advantage of our Early Bird offer for our next training in Nov.

https://birthright.com.au/training/inside-birth-childbirth-educator-training/

Time Line® Therapy was developed by the wonderful Dr. Tad James in 1985, applying a therapeutic process to the concept of an internal memory storage system.  The result was a collection of techniques which produces long-lasting transformation very quickly.  These techniques provide the best method to make fast, effective, long-term changes in behaviour.

Your ‘Time Line’ is how you unconsciously store your memories or how you unconsciously know the difference between a memory from the past and a projection of the future.  Behavioural change in an individual takes place at an unconscious level.  People don’t change consciously.

The Time Line Therapy® process allows you to work at the unconscious level and release the effects of past negative experiences and change inappropriate programming in minutes, rather than days, months or years.

Time Line Therapy® techniques are a unique and unmatched method for creating powerful change in business, education, and therapy. Time Line Therapy® utilises a person’s own internal “Time Line” to work with their unconscious minds in a variety of ways; including, healing emotional traumas and eradicating unwanted thoughts, emotions and behaviours.

Time Line Therapy® has been so successful in its results that it has been utilized since 1986 by thousands of people including psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage and family counsellors, social workers, life and business coaches, and even sport coaches:

• To let go of Negative Emotions from the past
• To let go of Limiting Decisions from the past
• Create our future the way we want

NEGATIVE EMOTIONS

Time Line Therapy® techniques allow freedom from undesired negative emotions; such as fear, anger, sadness and anxiety by releasing these emotions from the memories that harvest them. You are then able to react freely to future situations – without the emotional baggage of the past

LIMITING DECISIONS

Limiting decisions and beliefs prevent you from achieving your potential. These decisions and beliefs have come about as a result of past experiences but may have stayed with you until today and have limited your life in many ways. Time Line Therapy® techniques allow you to leave these decisions and beliefs in the past where they belong and to learn from your experiences.

CREATING YOUR FUTURE

Finally, having resolved the unresolved issues in the past, Time Line Therapy® gives us a specific way of creating our future dreams and goals in a simple process that produces results. The process involves using our imagination to create a compelling future that is inspirational and which brings about the desired outcomes.

I am always amazed at how quickly a client gets results from Time Line® Therapy. If you are frustrated by ‘talking therapies’ that take weeks, months or even years, and have not experienced the results you want, then make an appointment today and experience the value from Time Line® Therapy.

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TODAY:

CONTACT SUSAN:  0419 606 171

FACE TO FACE APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE 

IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS or in the privacy of  your home via Skype

 

‘Free birthing’ or ‘unassisted birthing’ is the process of intentionally giving birth at home without the assistance of a midwife.

Many in society would be shocked to think that a woman would even consider this option because we have been so conditioned to believe and accept that a birth should happen in a hospital, and many also believe it should be with a doctor.  There are still, today, many people who do not know or understand that having a midwife as a caregiver is an option – unfortunately not for all women in all parts of Australia.

A doctor is trained to diagnose and fix parts of the body that are broken – and for the most part they do that well, except there is nothing medically wrong with pregnancy and birth so what needs fixing?  A midwife is specifically trained to care for normal pregnancies, normal labour and birth and to recognise when a problem arises and to refer to the appropriate specialist. 

Problems in pregnancy and birthing are, of course, rare events – but once again that is not what our society has been conditioned to believe.  Women are bombarded with horror birth stories from an early age, from their own mother and family, movies, books and the intense over-sharing social media – and so it becomes ‘the norm’!

Just to clarify that ‘free birth’ is not home birth.  There are registered home birth midwives who provide an amazing service to women during their pregnancy, labour, birth and postnatally.

What makes women choose a ‘free birth’?

1. Women who have experienced a very negative previous hospital birth that has been emotionally and physically devastating
2. Women who have been abused in some way, emotionally, psychologically, verbally and sometimes physically – these women have NO trust in the system or the staff
3. FEAR – this is the underlying reason for many of these choices. It is often not a conscious fear but one that has gained momentum, in the mind, over a long period of time.  Extreme fear of hospitals (nosocomephobia).  Fear of doctors (latrophobia), or fear of medical intervention (often from stories they have heard)
4. A strong belief that birth is normal and does not require any medical monitoring. Interference in a birth comes with huge risks which happen only in hospitals.
5. This last one is important and that is You don’t know what you don’t know!  A midwife has many years of training and experience in recognising a problem which would benefit from medical attention.  And whilst we have incredibly high medical intervention rates in this country, most of which are unnecessary, medical care and attention has its place.

HOW TO ENSURE A WOMAN FEELS SAFE, PROTECTED AND HAS CHOICE

Firstly the FEAR must be addressed.  Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool for tapping into the fear in the unconscious mind and healing – quickly and easily         https://birthright.com.au/#

Secondly helping women to truly explore their choices, and how to shop around for the ‘right’ midwife, for a homebirth or birth centre experience.  Acknowledge and respect the midwife’s extraordinary training and skills.

Thirdly – employ a doula – the right doula who can provide a safe, respectful and dignified space for women to travel through their pregnancy, labour and birth in their own way, understanding the rights of the baby to enter the world gently, quietly and in his own time and SAFELY.  One who knows how to advocate on behalf of the woman and her baby with respect.  https://birthright.com.au/doulas/find-a-birth-right-doula/

“Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.” – Francis Bacon.

We live in such a noisy world, especially if you are in a large city.  We are bombarded with many difference sounds throughout the day – some pleasant, some not.  It is quite rare to experience true silence.  I am lucky enough to live in the beautiful Blue Mountains in NSW, in a particularly quiet space.  I spend 1 or 2 days per week in the inner city of Sydney.  I love to sit by the harbour and soak up the wonderful sounds emanating from life on the harbour – I even feel very peaceful and quiet, until I get back to the Blue Mountains where true quiet reigns supreme, and realise quiet, stillness and silence is almost impossible to experience in a big city.

WHY SILENCE MATTERS

Research throughout the past century has linked noise pollution to an increase in heart disease and tinnitus. The World Health Organization likened it to a “modern plague” and stated that “there is overwhelming evidence that exposure to environmental noise has adverse effects on the health of the population.”

It is not just the general noise around us, that we have no control over, we actually choose to bombard our body with radio, music, phone, TV, news, podcasts and conversation daily.

As the noise in our lives gets louder, more people are beginning to seek out silence, by meditating for 10-30 minutes a day or attending a silent retreat.  In 2011, 100 scientists took part in a silent retreat and discovered that shutting off speech heightens awareness in other areas. They practised vipassana meditation in silence, which aims to promote overall well-being.

10 days in absolute silence is not for everyone but finding time for silence in your life is something that will bring you and your brain much reward.

SILENCE RELIEVES STRESS

Noise has a pronounced physical effect on the brain, which often leads to increased production of stress hormones. Sound waves arrive at the brain in the form of electrical signals via the ear, which the body reacts. In particular, the amygdala (the part of the brain that is associated with memory formation and emotion) is activated, which leads to the release of the stress hormone cortisol.

A 2006 study to feature in the Heart journal showed that silence can release tension in the brain and body in just a couple of minutes. Researchers found silence to actually be more relaxing than listening to so-called “relaxing” music.

SILENCE REPLENISHES MENTAL RESOURCES

The never-ending attention demands of modern living place a significant burden on the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is involved in high-order thinking, decision-making and problem solving.

All the decision making processes we go through in a day drains these resources. Noise and incessant sound drains it even further.  This can affect our focus, to solve problems and to think about new ideas.

Meditating in silence, or in the quiet stillness you find when walking alone in nature, or swimming, gives your brain the chance to let down its sensory guard.  We can once again tap into our creativity, we can reflect and enjoy the other restorative benefits. As Herman Melville wrote, “All profound things and emotion of things are proceeded and attended by silence.”

THE BRAIN’S DEFAULT MODE 

In silence the brain is disengaged from all that external stimuli, and we get to go deeper into our unconscious mind, rather than being constantly held in the shallow surfaces of the mind, with all of life’s daily distractions.

SILENCE IMPROVES SLEEP

Evidence suggests that periods of silence throughout the day can enhance sleep and lessen insomnia.

SILENCE IMPROVES MEMORY

Simply going for a walk in nature alone can cause brain growth in the hippocampus, which also can lead to better memory function. A 2011 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that adults who walked for 40 minutes three times a week for a year had brain growth in the hippocampus, the area of the brain associated with spatial memory. Silence does this and immersing ourselves in nature helps the brain to have better memory consolidation.

Science says that silence is good for your brain and general health, but common sense also tells us that spending some time in silence (in your mind) each day is good for you.

RECOMMENDATION:  If you do not practise any form of meditation and do not spend any time in silence, then do yourself a favour and start right now to experience the enormous benefits.  Start slowly, just 5 minutes a day and once you build up to 15 or 20 minutes you will find you cannot live without a regular practice of pure silence in your day.

The power that comes from intuition has gone for many pregnant woman.  The gut instinct that is so profoundly tuned to what is happening for a pregnancy and baby.  It has been lost, slowly eroded over time due to ‘other’s’ fears and inability to believe that what a pregnant woman knows about the health of her unborn baby, should be trusted.  It is all very well to say trust your body, follow your body’s lead, trust your baby, because mostly that is the opposite of what a pregnant woman is hearing, seeing and reading about.  These powerful suggestions prove time and time again to suppress and dampen a woman’s innate intelligence.

When women are relaying their traumatic birth experience in a hypnotherapy session, I hear over and over again women saying “I knew this wasn’t right, I just felt that my baby was actually O.K. and what they were telling me was not what was really happening, I had a gut feeling that I did not need this medical intervention…..”  BUT I felt all my power was taken away, and in a split second, all decisions were out of my control.  This common reporting is deeply disturbing.

One of the basic problems is a culture has developed that sends the message to women that you need medical help to have a baby.  This culture says it is quite normal to choose a doctor and a hospital to give birth.  Just think for a moment about that.  What is a doctors skill?  A:  to diagnose and fix a medical problem.  And many of them are very good at doing just that.  What is a hospital for?  A:  to fix sick people who have disease or are injured, or need surgery.  What needs fixing about pregnancy and birthing?  A:  nothing!

GETTING THE POWER BACK

True intelligence activates natural nurturing during pregnancy, birthing and bonding.  All these capacities are deep within every woman and have been built up over millions of years.  Women change when they become pregnant.  They are acutely aware of their true intelligence and connection with their unborn baby.  And then…… the onslaught of advice, classes, hospitals, doctors, midwives, books, media, movies and a society with a very flawed view of birthing hit her like a tornado, and is so overwhelming and confusing that it has become difficult, if not impossible for a pregnant woman to just connect with her true intelligence and trust herself and her choices.  If we can just get the intellect out of the way, all of these natural processes unfold spontaneously and brilliantly and are expressed naturally because the baby opens up innate intelligences within the mother.

When you have a system that TEACHES women how to have a pregnancy, how to give birth, how to bond, how to breastfeed, and how to parent it is hugely disempowering.  We must stop this intellectual interference in childbirth.  When you teach these things the message is very clear to the pregnant woman – You do not know how to do any of this and you must follow my (the expert teacher!) instructions and I will show you how.  This could not be more damaging.

At our Inside Birth® Educator Training you will learn to inspire women, deep within their inner mind, to get the ‘intellect’ out of the way to allow all their natural processes to unfold spontaneously.  We don’t teach the ‘how to’!

At Inside Birth® we specialise in reconnecting the true intelligence in women, to believe and trust in their instinct or gut feeling because they are always right.  Take advantage of early bird offer.  I will show you how to set up a powerful business teaching Inside Birth® and reconnect women with their true intelligence.

https://birthright.com.au/training/inside-birth-childbirth-educator-training/

BLIND FAITH is “belief without true understanding, perception or discrimination”.

So BLIND FAITH is when someone puts their faith into something without any evidence.

Once upon a time – not so long ago – most people had absolute blind faith in teachers, doctors, dentists, psychologists, psychiatrists and everyone had blind faith and respect for their parents.  Children were taught this from a very early age and so grew a generation or two that did not question anyone in ‘authority’.   As many adults could now report, as a child, it was simply not in ones DNA to question.  This indeed made for a simple life in many ways, well, certainly for those in authority.  As a child I did exactly as my parents told me and had a strong understanding that I must have total respect for my teachers and anyone wearing a uniform.  It was a given.  Those in ‘authority’ were right – end of story!

The problems this thinking created was unprecedented power to those in authority, many of whom abuse this in sometimes quite shocking ways.  It provides an unbalanced and unhealthy relationship.

THE BENEFIT OF QUESTIONING

Questioning is a major form of human thought and interpersonal communication. It involves employing a series of questions to explore an issue, an idea or something intriguing. Questioning is the process of forming and wielding that serves to develop answers and insight.

No-one can make a truly Informed Decision without questioning, without doing due diligence, without shopping around so you can make the right choice for you.  Having BLIND FAITH simply gives all the power to one person and in the case of pregnancy care and birthing choices, every woman has the right to question as all her decisions are being made on behalf of her unborn baby.

Take the case of one young ‘pregnant’ Dad, a 38 yr old professional whose partner was due to give birth in a few weeks.  Booked with a private doctor and private hospital and when invited to ask questions his reply was  – “I don’t have any questions or concerns, I haven’t done any reading or Googling because I have total faith in the doctor and hospital to deliver my baby and do the right thing”!  WOW!  So no faith in your partner to birth your baby???

This is quite extraordinary and concerning.  Once you become pregnant you begin your parenting journey – from conception.  Every test, ultrasound or other invasive procedure impact the unborn baby.  You have a responsibility to question – everything!  To show the baby you ‘have his back’, to reassure you will not let anyone do anything to jeopardise his physical, emotional and mental well-being in utero or on the outside.  This is a basic human right for the unborn baby.  Do not hand over your child’s welfare to anyone without questioning.  It is Your labour, Your birth, and Your baby.  It is no other person or institution’s responsibility.  Begin at conception and always teach your baby/child to question.  A hospital is not going to ‘deliver’ your baby.  A doctor is not going to ‘deliver’ your baby.  You are a birthing woman and you can birth your baby.  Pregnancy and birth is not a medical issue.  It is a very normal event in a woman’s life.  Take charge and be empowered and question – everything until you are satisfied with the answers.

When pregnant for the first time, it is a brand new event in a couple’s life.  It does not come with a manual, although there have been many attempts, in the form of books, television, and movies and with no previous experience it is often difficult to know what to ask and most importantly what answers you should be getting.

This is why I highly recommend hiring a doula who is experienced in guiding you through this process, protecting your rights and empowering you to make the right decisions for you and your baby     https://birthright.com.au/doulas/find-a-birth-right-doula/

You can also find a list of questions to ask in my book:  Birth Right

https://birthright.com.au/product/birth-right/

Most importantly do not hand over your birthing power to anyone.  It is yours to keep and hold onto.