Re: [ozmidwifery] pregnancy mag

[rem & melissa bruijn]

Title: Re: [ozmidwifery] pregnancy mag

Hi, Pinky... your email comes the same day that I have looked at the She Magazine's Having A BAby 2002 edition at the shops today.  I remember someone on Ozmid (can't remember who, sorry!) has chucked a whole lot of these mags out of the hospital where they work, because of an article entitled "Too Posh to Push?", so I wanted to check the article out. I actually found this article to start badly and finish well.   It ends on a cautionary note, listing some of the risks of a cs, and making note of the importance of Birth as preparation for motherhood.  But it starts off quite flippantly.  I actually thought it was quite a good article for mainstream mums, as it "gets you in" at the start, talking of which celebs have had a cs, and about why women "choose" an elective cs...but then it goes on to talk about the health risks. Anyway - it got me thinking...I am always looking for a "way in" to get women to that "AHA!" moment, when they suddenly realise that this lovely system they thought was set up for them to have a safe birth, is actually setting them up for a host of interventions, and possibly major abdominal surgery.  There are a few ways that I have found work to get women thinking : - listing the benefits of staying at home in labour as long as possible (most have NO IDEA about this, but also want a "natural" birth) (I used this the other day when I met a woman 20wks pg and she said how she was going to the hosp as soon as anything happened...she had never heard of the idea of staying home as long as poss) - mentioning that their OB will not be with them throughout their labour - a midwife they don't know will.  I often then throw in some info about the benefits of having continuous care from a known midwife and suggest a support person/Doula. - mentioning the fact that OB's are trained to specialise in abnormal pg and birth, and that most have never seen a natural birth.  Oh, and midwives are trained to deal with normal healthy births, so why not have a midwife attend, and you can call the specialist if you need it.  Most women have NO IDEA that OB's are trained to speciailise in the pathology of women's reproductive organs. Where I live, most of the women I know have had 2 to 4 c/secs each, so I get to hear a lot of the false information they convey to each other.  Sadly, I once believed it too. Good luck with the article, Melissa From: "Pinky McKay" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [ozmidwifery] pregnancy mag Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 7:45 AM Hi,   I have been asked to "update" (and add to) a pregnancy tips magazine I wrote in 1996 - it is fairly conservative - the brief at the time was purely "tips"  and I actually took quite a lot for granted that people naturally aspired to a natural birth - the brief at the time was for "light" info.   Whether the climate has changed  - ie Caesarean/ intervention rate increase - or I am less naieve, this time, I feel there is an urgent need to include more info re natural birth and the reasons WHY it is best, and refute some of the fear mongering - any suggestions for important topics that SHOULD be included/ will make a difference to birthing women who browse newsagents - ie not necessarily women who actively seek information - or at least anything other then the tripe that passes for informed choices!! Please tell me so I can include this - I intend to include interviews / birth stories too.   In my local A and R bookshop yesterday, there was a prominent sign of top ten pregnancy and birth books - 1) Up the Duff, 2) Babylove (not birth or preg) 3) What to Expect When you are Expecting - and so forth I cant remember the exact order from there, but it included Toddler Taming (Neither pregnancy nor birh) and did include one book from the Better Babies Series but nothing from Sheila K.  Just the same old, same old - I think it is a vicious cycle - because these are the books that shops stock these are the ones that have to sell because they are on the shelves and pregnant women arent aware what else is out there to ask for - books that arent stocked can't be sold can they???So of course these "best sellers" continue to be 'best sellers'.  VERY sad!!   Maybe we should all visit bookshops and ask -can you order??? (fill in the blank!!) there is no obligation to buy when the book arrives but it will be on the shelf - or say "I am a midwife/ childbirth educator and I am disappointed that you dont stock XYZ - can I give you a list of MY top ten birth and baby books!!! Then refer your mums to the "Birth/ baby friendly"bookshop(s).   I need to put my own brief for this magazine in "moronspeak" (according to my agent) for final approval by the publisher(he is haggling) - am hoping to begin photography next Friday too as my daughter has use of her college studio before it closes for Christmas hols, so I need to organise some pregnant women - at least have them on standby for photos. There is still the possibility that I will not get the go-ahead for this project (they could take my brief and do it in-house - I have had sneaky things like this done before).   If anyone in Melbourne has happy healthy mothers who would like pregnancy photos I would love to hear from them. There is no payment/ budget for models but they can have photo copies at cost.   All suggestions welcome.   Pinky www.pinky-mychild.com <http://www.pinky-mychild.com>