volume 1 issue 1 ©2007 indie birth publishing · become a pretty standard part of hos-pital birth....

WARNING: Strong Opinions About Birth Inside

Here’s the purpose of Indie Birth:

To fire up the minds of modern-day mamas, so that they are inspired, educated and aware of all the choic-es surrounding them con-cerning their pregnancies and births.

To cater to those that are already independent, free-thinking and maybe a little bit radical... and to trans-form those mamas not yet in touch with their instinc-tive abilities to birth and nurture naturally.

To present ALL mamas with an opinion, one opinion sometimes, with an hon-est invitation to challenge this opinion, to speak out against or for this opinion, and most importantly to be daring enough to come to her own conclusions. Dare to challenge what you read, what you hear and what you see. Don’t take anything we print or say as “truth”- accept the responsibility to be

responsible, and use your intelligence and intuition to guide you.

In fact, if you don’t dis-agree with something we say, you’re probably just not thinking enough...

We strive to be, but are not limited to creating commu-nity among women with any of the following attributes:

independent... free-think-ing... radical... individual... those who insist on informed choice... those who don’t care what others think... instinc-tive... responsible... al-ternative... crunchy... crazy... hippy... differ-ent... non-conformist... real... confident... open... honest... natural... raw... intelligent... bold... opin-ionated... political... liberal... skeptical... un-phased... daring... influen-tial... powerful...

If Indie Mamas are free-thinking and independent (and so they are), there are many ways to have a baby. Unassisted, or “free birth” is one way and I have absolutely no prob-lem with that. In fact, my next baby may very well happen that way. But because homebirth is my thing, both personally and professionally, here goes.... Honestly, I think the act of hav-ing your baby at home just really isn’t that genius. I mean, come on, women have been having babies for millions of years and the whole hospital routine is relatively new. So, there really isn’t anything out of the ordinary in that context. The home, as a place for birth, is really natural and not necessar-ily special but normal. It wouldn’t have been an “indie” choice hundreds of years ago, it would not have been a necessarily educated or liberal choice but the only option.

Why and How Have Things Changed?

But in the context of our rights as women (which in the big picture is also a new concept), our need to protect our babies and our bodies from the “powers that be” can be in-tense...and then homebirth is a very important, very amazing choice that is a political statement as well. I like to call it the “Don’t tell me how, when, where or why I should

birth my baby”. Home is safe, home is the natu-ral place for birth and our babies’ entrance into this world. As I said, this has always been the case. But as doctors and hospitals have started the campaign to obliterate natural birth, it has been an act of protec-tion, an act of defiance for some of us. I feel very strongly about it- I choose and support homebirth, I educate women about homebirth be-cause it is their right to birth confi-dently and safely, without strangers, without machines and technology, without a man in scrubs who has a lawsuit hanging over his head if the women’s body doesn’t perform like a predictable machine. It is our right as birthing women to not think during birth, but to be in touch with our bodies and our babies and our instinctive selves. It is our right to birth our babies in peace and love and without violence or interference (or drugs) of any kind, no matter how “minimal” they might be. These have always been our rights, but our rights have never been so close to being obliterated as they are now. I struggle every day with who or what to blame, and I am not definitive on that one, or even if it is worth blaming anyone. I hate to blame- I’d rather encourage

Birth the Indie Way or “Don’t Tell Me Where or How

to Give Birth”

(continued on next page...)

the OBS and medical doctors to get in touch with themselves and real birth, somehow. I think they have been desensitised, maybe rightfully so by working for the hospital busi-ness machine. But as long as money is involved, that is probably an idea that will never see the light of day. More importantly, I’d like to inspire and encourage all women- the mamas, the mamas-to-be, the teenagers, the children- that we have power as women. We are so strong, we are able to turn birth back into the normal thing it was (and still is) if we want that. If women got the education they need, and were able to get back to their instinctive mothering selves, there would be no need for hospital birth.

Can You Believe That??? There would be NO need for normal birth to happen anywhere but home. Society would probably at first be shocked at learning what normal birth really is. And women would not have to put up the fight, emotionally and physically, to birth naturally. Babies would be born without violence, and would not be denied the instinctive bonding and nurturing that is their birthright. It is vital that we support and fight for homebirth. Not because homebirth is anything but normal and almost ordinary, but because it symbolizes our rights and intense power as women. Birth at home represents our abil-ity to make our own decisions, and to connect with what we know is right for ourselves and our children.

We Want to Hear From You!

The purpose of Indie Birth is to build a community. And to do that, we need your help.

If you have a birth story, an article, research or anything else you feel would help our readers to think for themselves when it comes to birth... then send it in!

We can’t promise everything will get published, but we sure can promise that we’ll look at it

and send you a big thank you.

Send all of your submissions by

email or mail to:

Indie Birth4560 E Wild Elk TrailFlagstaff AZ 86004Tel: (812) 756-5103Fax: [email protected]

NOTE: Sorry, but we cannot return submitted materials. All submissions will become property of Indie Birth Publishing. By you are authorizing us to publish your submission in its original or edited form.

Home Birth

Deliver unto me a full work-up, though know I’m fully capable of getting worked up.Together, let’s work it through: I was delivered,delivered you, was not delivered but worked, labored at the crosshairs of that fat red hatch, worked outside of the white H on blue.This was my labor. There was never any work-up but I worked my way into your way out, did not give over, worked like a bolt, or was I the screw?Or was I screwed too tight, too worked-up to let you come through?

No, I was fine, and plain.No one doctored me, fixed me up, a plain cake mix into a beautiful dessert.I was left to be, undoctored. At the crosshatchof two thin red hairs I was let to be, be drained of my meaning.If I ever had beauty I did not want it doctored now. Love comes in a long open scream, a stream, a river, a rain that is the inside hem of imagining. Imagine the layers of ice inside a cake.

My milk wells up to pour out, a great white sorrow, the purse of love. It does not come unbidden from me,some bolt of lightning from the other side of my undeliverable body.I was not doctored, so I nursed. I thrill to nurse. Because of you and me there was no nurse and I nurse you still, nurse you into stillness, the broad white H dissecting some other sky. The snakes work their slither around a staff while we are unstaffed, unsnaked, a slither of embroidered work—blood, milk—working its path down our means.

©2006 Arielle Greenberg

© 2007 Juan Alberto SeguraFor custom birth artwork quotes, please contact:

[email protected]

Will You Choose to Not Bond With Your Baby?

The latest research headline reads, “Epidural During Labor May Hinder Breastfeeding”. Let’s be real here. What this study is really saying is that interventions (here, epidurals) mess with the entire birth process and create serious problems. Breastfeeding problems are serious enough, but what they are really saying is that interventions get in the way of bonding. Bonding. Those first few moments af-ter birth when the world stands still and you meet your baby for the first time. If it was a perfect world, every woman and baby would meet this way. There are very specific “chemical reactions” that occur when you are in labor that lead to the ability for you and your baby to connect. As labor progresses and the baby is getting ready to be born, your body releases high levels of endorphins which give you a “high” feeling, and plenty of oxytocin (the “love hormone”). Both of these are produced in higher and higher levels as labor pain intensifies so that you can deal with the pain. The pain is a good thing, and is actually needed so that this entire chain reaction can occur. So, when we mess with the natural ability of the body to deal with pain (getting an epidural), we screw up the process of birth and bonding. It’s really that simple. Not to mention that any drug used during birth does get to the baby, and as this study illustrates, can affect the baby’s ability to suck. Although totally predictable, the part

that makes me most angry is the quote from the study’s lead author, Dr. Tor-valdsen: “I think the most important message for pregnant women is to get good ad-vice and help with breastfeeding.” What??? That’s not fixing the prob-lem, that is just trying to take a rather pathetic stab at masking the symptoms. Breastfeeding isn’t the problem, the epidural is! The problem is that epidurals have become a pretty standard part of hos-pital birth. Many women have no idea that there are (like any intervention) side effects, risks and even seemingly “harmless consequences” like destroy-ing after-birth bonding. So, if that’s the problem, what is the solution? We need to teach, encourage and give women back the power to have babies without epidurals. So many women say that they cannot even think of having a baby naturally. Often, I agree with them... having a baby in the hospital, hooked up to an IV, being watched, laboring flat on your back would make anyone think (rightfully) that she needed an epidural! Have your baby at home. Set your body and your baby up for the best ex-perience possible by allowing the birth process to flow as it should. It’s not about one isolated feeling or event, like labor pain or breastfeeding. The ultimate goal is an experience that changes you, and allows you to create a lifelong bond with your baby. It is your right and your baby’s right to birth and bond in peace. You can get the original Reuters article at http://www.indiebirth.com/issue1 ***

The Best Book About Birth (and Spirit) That You Need to ReadNever have I read a book about birth with which I so closely identify. I need to tell every woman I meet about this book, and I am already considering making it a “required read” for my

homebirth clients.

The reason is simple: Birth is spiritual. No matter what your religion, giving birth is a mystery, a gift to women, and as Marcie says, “a leap of faith.”

Birth is spirit, and our society has forgotten this.

Spirit is what is essential, and what is missing in “medicalized” birth today. Marcie’s book is unabashedly bold, so honest and raw and emotional, and makes no apologies about this fact. That is what I absolutely love about it. I love that although some women may be offended by this boldness at first, everything she says can be identified by every and any woman if she just digs deep enough.

Her idea of spirit in birth is the obvious reason women have become so irresponsible in birth. Epidurals, scheduled c-sections- it all comes down to the fact that birth can just be this thing that happens to women that haven’t found their strength, those that haven’t been informed of “the Truth.”

And “the Truth,” in Marcie’s words, is this: “You are capable. Your muscles, bones, ligaments and skin were made to birth. Your soul, your heart and your Spirit were created to support you in this task, and


your intellect was designed to support your confidence, not undermine it.”

There is something for every woman in this book. For the passionate homebirther like me, there is a feeling of sisterhood and delight about seeing these words on the page for everyone to read. For someone who has had an undesirable birth experience, there is compassion, healing and hope for better. And for women that have never given birth before, there is unbelievable optimism and promise and truth about what birth really is.

This wonderful book is almost a personal dialogue with the reader, one where you feel connected to the author. Interspersed are provoking questions, workbook-like sections encouraging the reader to get down on paper her own emotions and beliefs. Whether you have birthed before or not, these journaling questions are invaluable and something I would like every pregnant woman to have. The quotes and medita-tions (written by Marcie) on birth are so beautiful and thoughtful.

Read this book to empower yourself, read it to nurture yourself and to help stir up the power that is inside of you that is your birthright as a woman.

Perhaps my favorite idea presented in this book, and the one I believe to the absolute core of my body and soul is this:

Birth is just as it is meant to be.

In my own words, this comes down to respecting birth, my cardinal belief. We cannot control birth any better than we can control other natural processes, like death. We can only go into our experience without fear and with trust and with faith. This book exemplifies that principle like no other and will make every woman want to find this trust and faith within herself.

Marcie writes that birth is “powerful, beautiful, instinctive.” Prepare with this book, and experience birth as spirit for yourself.

Marcie Macari is an author, speaker and workshop facilitator. She can be reached at: 1-888-432-7171, or by visiting her site: www.shebirths.com

How to Eat to Avoid Morning SicknessSunny Lee Savage, Indie Birth Contributor

As many of you know already, or soon will find out when you open the bar-rage of books on pregnancy, there is a lot to learn about nutrition during this wonderful season of life. There is plenty of information out there about 3 servings of this or that, and which supplements to take to make sure you and your baby are healthy. But, before you get overwhelmed, let’s take a step back and talk about basic nutrition. After all, good nutrition during pregnancy is the most important factor in making sure that you have a successful, posi-tive natural birthing experience.

To begin with, let’s remember that our bodies instinctually know what they need and if you allow yourself to tune into this, you will gravitate to what your body needs at any given time. Pregnancy is no exception. When you are pregnant, your body will crave foods that have the vitamins and minerals that you need to maintain a healthy pregnancy, and what your baby needs to be healthy and strong.

Many pregnant women worry about morning sickness, and how they will get all the nutrition they need when they either can’t eat, or what they do eat is coming right back up. If you know the basics of how your body responds to food, you can develop a program for eating that will minimize morning sickness symptoms and keep you energized all day. First off, let’s look at when to eat. The natural cycle of your body is to eat very little between 7pm and 10am, so having small, light meals during this time will keep nausea to a minimum. Between 10am and 7pm our bodies naturally will want to get the majority of its calorie and nutritional needs met. Having more nutritionally dense foods frequently throughout this time of the day will again keep those morning sickness symptoms at bay.

Next, let’s look at what to eat. This is often a tricky subject with so many different types of eating/food choices out there. Women often get conflicting messages about what they should be consuming. But, if you keep in mind that as long as you are eating a well rounded diet, high in vegetables and fruit, and you let your body guide you, you will not only get all the nutrition you need, but you will also experience much less fatigue, and nausea. Why high vegetables and fruit? Because vegetables and fruit are the easiest for our bod-ies to digest. When foods are easy to digest, our stomachs produce less acids, and less acids means less morning sickness. You may be wondering, what about protein? Fruits and vegetables have a lot more bio-available protein in them than dairy and meat. However, to get all that protein you would have


to eat a TON of fruits and veggies, and most of us don’t have time to “graze” all day long to meet those needs. Two great options to increase your protein are to drink green smoothies (see recipe below), and to incorporate raw nuts and seeds into your diet. This basic combination of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds will provide maximum nutrition and protection against morning sickness. Grains can be added as needed/ wanted to make for a full meal. Of course, not all of us are vegan, or even vegetarian, and that is o.k. The next on the list of “best foods” to add into your diet would be dairy, and then meat. These should be compliments to your meal, not the main course, as dense animal-based proteins can increase morning sickness. But, many women find that if they follow the vegetable, fruits, nuts, and seeds “guideline” and add in some grains as needed, that they don’t feel that they need to eat as much of the animal-based proteins. In return, they have more energy and experience less nausea.

The one category that experts agree to avoid during pregnancy is pre-pack-aged and processed products, especially those made with hydrogenated oils. These products have little-to-no nutritional value and often contain chemicals that are not good for you and your baby. In addition, they can increase morn-ing sickness and fatigue and leave you feeling more hungry shortly after you have eaten them because your body didn’t get the nutrition that it needs. Food is always best eaten and assimilated in its most natural state. Following that rule will make it easy to stay away from pre-packaged and processed foods.

Unfortunately, studies have shown that our countries food supply as a whole has less nutritional value than it did even 75 years ago. So, to make sure that you are getting the best possible nutrition, eating organic foods is the best choice. If organic foods are not an option, than just make sure to wash your produce thoroughly with either a commercially available produce wash, or good ol’ soap and water with a vegetable brush. In addition, taking a high quality prenatal vitamin is essential. There are many brands to choose from, but the best brands are the ones made from whole food ingredients. If they are not made from whole foods, the supplements can be very hard on your system, specifically your liver. Often times, these are the prenatal vitamins that many women say they throw-up when they have morning sickness.

Eating a healthy, well rounded diet doesn’t have to be overwhelming dur-ing pregnancy. If you remember to listen to what your body is saying that it needs, and eating a well rounded diet throughout the day, you and your baby will be well on your way to happy, healthy, morning sickness free days.

For recommended reading and the green smoothie recipe, go to http://www.indiebirth.com/issue1 ***

Packing for the Trip... The Miracle of Birth Supplies

When I am getting ready to have a baby, buying birth supplies feels like its own rite of passage. It seems so practical, so imper-sonal, maybe even silly. But I look forward to this ritual with anticipation, because it means so much more to me than just filling my cart with new towels, or underpads.

Everything I check off my list sparks my excitement to meet my new baby, and with every item I find I imagine the “sacred-ness” in which it will first be used.

There is nothing in the world as remarkable to me as having a baby. And there are few things that get me in touch with that faster than planning my own baby’s birth at home. It is a privilege, an absolute honor to be able to attend other women’s births with the regularity that I do. I am so grateful for that per-spective, and somehow it makes it even more special to me to plan the birth that will involve my family, change my life again in a way I can’t imagine.

The mirror I put into my basket that will be used to catch the first glimpse of my baby’s long-await-ed head as it comes out of my

body in the water. The simple, special fact that my daughter helps me pick out the mirror so that she can be a part of her sib-ling’s birth in a whole new way. And next is the flashlight, looking so inconsequential in it’s pack-age. But the first glimpse my family will be able to get of her beautiful hair (what color is it??) in the dark room, in the barely lit pool. This is especially important to my daughter, the oldest. She is focused on this flashlight with a new intensity and asks not only if she can hold it now, but if she can hold it for our midwife when the time comes.

And my husband and youngest child pick their objects as well.

Insisting we buy a brand new hose to fill the pool seems typi-cal for my husband, and it is a practical idea. But behind that is the excitement, the respon-sibility for filling the pool when “it is time”, the crucial step that will determine if our child is born a “waterbaby” or not. (My last child just barely made being born in the pool, so this is in fact a very valid concern in our plan-ning!)

And my youngest, well, he is not much more than a baby himself. But as he rubs the new towels that will be used to dry off either me, or the baby (or both) I see the glimpse in his eye that means he knows more than he


lets on. In my mind’s eye, I can see him with this towel, and with this new baby, and I smile.

And as for me, I have my typical end-of-pregnancy worries and doubts and fears. But my family, and this trip, puts it all in per-spective somehow.

It’s not just about bringing stuff home, or giving into this variation on the nesting instinct. Buying birth supplies is our way of bond-ing before the birth, and enjoying our life as we know it this mo-ment. It gives us all the permis-sion to reflect on what is about to happen, how miraculous it will be and how, no matter what, we’ll never be fully prepared.***

“Do nothing because it is righteous or

praiseworthy or no-ble to do so; do noth-ing because it seems

good to do so; do only that which you must do and which

you cannot do in any other way.”

-Ursula K. Le Guin-

PUBLISHER/EDITORMaryn Leister

Indie Birth Publishingwww.indiebirth.com

812-756-51034560 E Wild Elk Trail

Flagstaff AZ 86004

Publisher’s NoticesWe hate legalese. But some folks have way too much time on their hands and so... The information provided on this site should not be construed as personal medical advice or instruction. No action should be taken based solely on the contents of this document. Readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being. The information and opinions provided here are believed to be accurate and sound, based on the best judgment available to the authors, but readers who fail to consult appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. The publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions.

Behind the scenes at Indie Birth...Maryn Leister, Indie Birth Publisher/Editor I became interested in pregnancy and birth in 2002, before the birth of my first child, Amelia Gray. Interested primar-ily in natural pregnancy and birth, I was disappointed and disillusioned with my first birth experience. So when I got pregnant again in 2004, I chose to have a waterbirth at home. It was a wonderful experience with the birth of my son, Egan Andrew. The latest addition to my family is my

daughter Talula Skye, born safely at home on October 29, 2006. Right now, I’m in the process of finishing my midwifery apprenticeship with Shell Walker. I’m accepting clients and in just a short while, I’ll be a licensed Arizona midwife and CPM. I am most passionate about educating, supporting and loving pregnant women and their babies. There is nothing our bodies know how to do more naturally than be pregnant and give birth. Most of all, I’m dedicated to “walking with women” during this time and helping every woman realize the incredible power she has to grow and birth another human being!

Arielle Greenberg, Indie Birth Contributor Arielle Greenberg is the author of My Kafka Century(Action Books, 2005) and Given (Verse, 2002) and thechapbook Farther Down: Songs from the Allergy Trials(New Michigan, 2003). She is co-editor of two forthcom-ing feminist poetry projects: with Rachel Zucker, Women Poets on Mentorship: Efforts and Affections, an anthology of essays and poems (Iowa, 2008); and with Lara Glenum, Gurlesque, a theory-driven poetry anthology (Saturnalia,

2009). She is an Assistant Professor in the poetry program at Columbia College Chicago and lives in Evanston, IL with her family.

Sunny Lee Savage, Indie Birth ContributorSunny Lee Savage is a practicing doula, childbirth educa-tor, energy healer and pediatric occupational therapist in Flagstaff, AZ. She is a crunchy mama to Justin, age 14, and Ivy, age 3. Together, Sunny and her husband Lee are raising a raw family with a goal of raising happy, free thinking children. Sunny gave birth to Ivy in a birth center, without interventions, and with no pain. She has attended many births in the past from homebirths to

c-sections during her time as a doula. She is currently focusing attention on just supporting homebirths. Her childbirth classes are also taught specifically to homebirthing mamas. Sunny has a passion for educating families on nutrition, and the benefits of attachment parenting. In addition, she will soon be starting studies to become a midwife assistant.

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volume 1 issue 1 ©2007 indie birth publishing · become a pretty standard part of hos-pital birth....

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