[ozmidwifery] "Unconventional Births" on Discovery Channel

[Marilyn Kleidon]

Title: Message

This might be a  nice change for birth on TV. These are both birth centers i attended births at in Seattle and midwives I worked with. I hope some of you have access to Foxtel or some pay TV service that has the Discovery Health channel. I don't, but I will actually be in the USA visiting my daughters when this is broadcast.  Please note that the times are for the East Coast and the Pacific Coast of the USA.   marilyn     From Jo Anne Myers-Ciecko in Washington State:   Dear Friends,   We have exciting news -- "Unconventional Births," a special prime-time program featuring three families who choose midwifery care and have their babies at home or in birth centers, will air on the Discovery  Health Channel in June. Drawing attention to this program in your community could be a great opportunity to educate people and generate discussion about birth, informed choices, and the benefits of the midwifery model of care.   The three births, all attended by Licensed Midwives, are informative and inspiring. One woman chooses to have a home birth; one birth takes place at the Community Birth and Family Center in Seattle and the other at Puget Sound Childbirth Center in Kirkland, Washington. The evidence regarding safety of out-of-hospital birth, the values that affect the choices made by these families, and the decision-making process itself are revealed in interviews with each of the women, their partners, and their midwives.   This hour-long program will premiere at 8:00 pm EDT on June 7th and will be re- broadcast several times throughout the month. We encourage you to  promote this program in newsletters, websites, press releases, and other venues appropriate to your community. In our area, we anticipate scheduling speakers on radio talk shows and afternoon television programs. We are also sending postcard announcements to various organizations concerned with maternal-child health, to legislators and other public officials, and to midwifery clients.   Confirmed broadcast schedule:    6/7/04 8:00 pm EDT    6/7/04 11:00 pm EDT    6/12/04 10:00 pm EDT    6/13/04 1:00 am EDT    6/13/04 12:00 pm EDT Note that programs on this channel are not delayed across the country so, for example, a program airing at 8:00 pm EDT will be seen at 5:00 pm  PDT. For additional broadcast times and other updated information, check the Discovery Health website at .   We have prepared a discussion guide based on a preview of the program (below). The final edited version may be somewhat different than the one we previewed, but we expect the main points will be relevant if you are facilitating a discussion with expectant parents in childbirth education classes, college students, community groups - wherever you might be talking about this program.   Thank you for spreading the word - and for all that you do to educate and support childbearing women and their families!   Jo Anne Myers-Ciecko and Ali Toperosky On behalf of the Midwives Association of Washington State   Unconventional Birth Discussion Guide (draft):     "Unconventional Birth" Discussion Guide A Primetime Special to be aired on the Discovery Health Channel in June 2004   Why do these women choose midwifery care; plan to have their babies at  home or in birth centers?    �     Safe, comfortable place to give birth    �     Feel respected, part of care    �     More personal care    �     Take control of the birth process    �     Birth at own pace   What do midwives do?    �     Prenatal care - hour-long visits to get to know the family and to  provide all of the information and support they need to make decisions about their care; evaluating the health of the mom and fetus.    �     Labor support - a variety of comfort measures to create a calm, loving space and ease the pain of labor.    �     Birth care - careful monitoring of the labor and birth process, intervening only if the mother or baby need assistance, staying with the mom and baby for two to four hours after the birth.    �     Postpartum care - home visits to assess the health of mom and baby, provide education and support for breastfeeding and parenting.    Interesting points, highlights of the program:    �     Different ways women respond to pregnancy and labor    �     Water birth - laboring and/or giving birth in water    �     Sibling "catching" the baby with midwife's help    �     Use of acupuncture, chiropractic, castor oil, blue cohosh, and other treatments    �     Meconium in labor; cord wrapped around the baby's neck and torso    �     Use of birth stool    �     Delayed cord clamping    �     Skin to skin contact - mother with partner in labor, mother with newborn    �     No separation of mother and baby to do newborn assessment    �     Fathers' reactions throughout, affirmation of the power and joy of birth   Just a few of the many resources available for more information:     �     Finding a midwife ~ Citizens for Midwifery                        http://www.cfmidwifery.org/find/     �     Making informed decisions ~ Maternity Center Association                        http://www.maternitywise.org/mw/     �     Improving  care for childbearing women ~ Coalition for Improving Maternity Care                                 http://www.motherfriendly.org/      �     Becoming a midwife ~ Midwifery Education Accreditation Council                               http://www.meacschools.org/programs/programs.html             and the North American Registry of Midwives                               http://www.narm.org/htb.htm    �     Midwives featured in this program ~                         http://www.washingtonmidwives.org/   ----- End forwarded message -----