February 8, 2011

GET IT ON VIDEO

By Myriah C. Boudreaux

I am Wonder Woman. My friends say so. This status is earned because I have birthed all my babies, including a ten-pounder, drug free. My fifth time around, I wanted my labor and delivery, a homebirth, on video. Would this dispel or confirm my growing legend? I wasn’t sure. But I wanted the option of later experiencing the event objectively, or at least with my eyes open.
Video-taping kept me at my best.
1. It encouraged me to look great. I bought a turquoise knee-length Greek goddess style dress for the occasion, which I wore until my Tarzan cries convinced me to strip and forego the Jane look.
2. It discouraged me from doing anything regrettable, such as biting my husband’s shoulder when my vocalizations had gone from “mmm” to “AWWW” to “O God, O-God, O-GOD!”
As pushing time arrived near the end of my three-hour labor, I leapt onto the bed and with a mighty cry single-handedly delivered my nearly-nine-pound baby while in lunge position, and sporting a gleaming smile.
Wait. The video tells another story.
Kneeling on the bed on one knee, nuzzling my forehead against my husband’s neck, clinging onto him, I yelled, “Catch it, catch it, CATCHIT!” – whereupon my husband single-handedly received the baby – and I shouted “Praise God!”
The video did confirm the following:
1. My sons are always impressed by warrior cries.
2. My daughters appreciate that mothers willingly sacrifice for great rewards.
3. I am Wonder Woman, even if not quite a legend.
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January 14, 2011

"What led you to BirthWorks?" 24 Hours in communication

If you're like so many future parents and educators, you delve deep before
making a decision to entrust your education - and in some instances, your
child with an organization. This intrigued the staff of BirthWorks
International and led us to ask one question - "Why did you choose
BirthWorks". This question, posted online on our Social Networks, for 24
hours led us to hundreds of responses.

Answers like "because my mother told me that VBACs were a thing of the past"
and "because my OBGYN told me that using a midwife for a home birth is no
better than having a back alley abortion." were some of the most mind
boggling responses ever.

Some answers like "because I was denied entrance into other organizations
because of my need to have an epidural" and "because I was removed from
another organization because I had a cesarean" were absolutely appalling.

An answer like "because after being an instructor with another organization
for seven years, I was dismissed an stripped of my income because of my
mandatory cesarean" nearly brought us to tears.

We even received answers like "because BirthWorks encouraged me to make
educated decisions instead of letting someone make them for me". Answers
like this one, is exactly why we do what we do at BirthWorks.

Some answers were quite honest, "because BirthWorks was the only
organization - of its kind, to have a clear and informative website".

However, in all of our 117 responses, eleven stood out because they had a
powerful message. They weren't prolific responses, written by noted doctors
and educators, but they were simply women - women that came from all walks
of life and were searching for an organization like our own. And their
answer, written in four short words, was loud and clear - because
"BIRTHWORKS CHANGED MY LIFE".

The answers we received from our past participants and current members, are
the reason why we love what we do. Like us, our Members understand that
BirthWorks thrives because our members succeed and like excellent customer
service - it's ancient.


Written by:


Jamia "Mia" Bell

Program Director

BirthWorks International

We encourage you to answer the question "What led YOU to BirthWorks" in our comments section below