tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410440710208780456.post3353784842727026282..comments2023-11-03T02:48:53.179-07:00Comments on Birth Faith: Pushed and preoccupiedLanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07513306977618928729noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410440710208780456.post-35260236518442909482009-05-26T16:43:55.946-07:002009-05-26T16:43:55.946-07:00Wow. I really want to read Pushed now. I never tho...Wow. I really want to read Pushed now. I never thought about Doula's that way before. I can't even imagine what some doulas go through when watching the way some women are treated in the hospital. What an interesting thing to think about.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410440710208780456.post-62614854360986592842009-05-15T10:25:00.000-07:002009-05-15T10:25:00.000-07:00I loved this book too. I've read it twice cover t...I loved this book too. I've read it twice cover to cover and have re read parts of it 4 or 5 times. In fact, I have it here by my comptuer, and since my computer is soooo slow, I often read a couple of paragraphs while I'm waiting for it to load. I really want everyone to read it!<br /><br />I think her coverage of a doula is very interesting and true. Right now I just feel gung-ho about being a doula because it means I get to be around birth and support women, but I can see how burn out would easily occur. The doula who trained me said she's mostly done with hospital births except for repeat clients, and instead wants to do mostly home births. She also said that you have to get together with other doulas to unload some of the things you see. <br />Anyway, I love your blog and all the great information you put out there. I think you would make a great childbirth educator and a doula if you decide to pursue that.Sarah Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10354454314458661062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410440710208780456.post-61047473083847928262009-05-11T11:47:00.000-07:002009-05-11T11:47:00.000-07:00I know what you mean. Its easy to put the blame on...I know what you mean. Its easy to put the blame on the hospital and say the interventions are abuse. And part of me wants to agree with that statement.... but I just was thinking more and more about it and this is what I came up with:<br /><br />A Dr, Midwife, Hospital and even Doula cannot make a woman make a certain choice about her birth. So, what we need to do (and Doulas do a LOT of this) is educate our moms to educate themselves. We gotta put out the pros and cons and let them decide. We have to EMPOWER them to VISUALIZE how they want their birth and then make it happen.<br /><br />Does this make sense? As a doula, you would be a prenatal educator and everything else that comes along with being a doula. =]<br /><br />Liz-- I just read what you wrote- you CAN be that type of doula that says 'uh, you dont HAVE to do that'. My doula was JUST like that and i loved it. They wanted to start and IV and my doula was like 'cant she just drink to stay hydrated' bc she knew that was what i wanted.Holly Steffenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05425518881230704706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410440710208780456.post-58257296221854228672009-05-10T08:35:00.000-07:002009-05-10T08:35:00.000-07:00This is on my "must buy" list already. I have hear...This is on my "must buy" list already. I have heard great things about it. Thank you for the feedback and recommendation. I'll pick it up!Faithful Lurkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410440710208780456.post-71276262046909864202009-05-09T23:06:00.000-07:002009-05-09T23:06:00.000-07:00I haven't read the book but now I am really intere...I haven't read the book but now I am really interested!<br />The whole Doula thing is interesting.<br /><br />I am so grateful that with my last labor and delivery, I had a WONDERFUL nurse who got me through it with the least intervention possible. I had to be induced due to PPROM at 31 weeks and Group B Strep. I decided before I started that I was not getting an epidural and I was not getting pain meds while in labor. Because my baby was so early (9 weeks) and I was being induced they made me keep the monitor on. I told my nurse that I needed to be up and walking and moving as much as possible to do this the way I wanted. This nurse let me be up and moving and doing my thing and if the monitors came off she would move them, trying in the process, to bother me as little as possible and she was excellent at it. She helped me when I needed it by keeping me focused and left me alone when I needed to be. She also told the anesthesiologist where he could go when he came and asked her if I needed an epidural now. She told him that I wasn't getting one and he said "She'll be upset when she wants it later and it's too late." and the nurse told him I didn't need or want it and to leave me alone. I never saw him, for which I am grateful. <br />This nurse not only stayed after he half shift that she was filling in for someone to finish out my labor but she also stayed a couple of hours after everything was done to make sure I was ok and keep me company while my husband was up in the NICU with my very sick baby and I had not heard how my baby was doing!<br />My doctor (a family practice doc) was there for the last hour and a half of my labor as well. He helped me stay in control a few times too and was very supportive of what I was doing and how I was doing it.<br />To me, this nurse (and my doctor to an extent) are the type of people who are changing the system!Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14225747524817815439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410440710208780456.post-33526910428259293922009-05-09T07:38:00.000-07:002009-05-09T07:38:00.000-07:00"Pushed" is definitely one of my all-time favorite..."Pushed" is definitely one of my all-time favorite books - horrifying, but amazing!! I thought the same thing that you did about being a doula - I don't think I could take it. Who knows??? It's an interesting question to ponder.Dianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10301075330910381544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410440710208780456.post-50691269929594076082009-05-09T05:19:00.000-07:002009-05-09T05:19:00.000-07:00"The doula ultimately can't throw herself in front..."The doula ultimately can't throw herself in front of the scalpel, but she can figuritively throw herself in front of the woman's psyche."<br /><br />Wow, what a powerful sentence. I don't think of myself as an enabler but I can see why some might think that. If a doctor wants to do an episiotomy, I always look to my client and say, "Dr. X is going to do an episiotomy, do you have any questions?" I think returning the focus and power to her is such a powerful thing we do as doulas.Jamiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06049003809512740539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410440710208780456.post-36162612581565316652009-05-08T21:45:00.000-07:002009-05-08T21:45:00.000-07:00I found this book so fascinating/scary . . . it's ...I found this book so fascinating/scary . . . it's amazing what it points out about what's going on in the world of American births!Hilaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03781058037409966491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410440710208780456.post-83736967060671483872009-05-08T21:24:00.000-07:002009-05-08T21:24:00.000-07:00Sounds like a great read! I will definitely pick t...Sounds like a great read! I will definitely pick that one up.<br /> I was just at an ICAN meeting last night when a midwife said something very similar to that quote. She gave up being a doula because of how hard it was to witness these sort of things in the hospital. At the same time I feel that doulas that do assist women in hospital births have the ability to make such a huge impact.Missyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10713932053619413703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-410440710208780456.post-48956920854601884152009-05-08T20:14:00.000-07:002009-05-08T20:14:00.000-07:00Pushed was AMAZING. I loved that book. Definitel...Pushed was AMAZING. I loved that book. Definitely Top 3 favorite birth books.<br /><br />I wonder the same thing about being a doula. I wonder if I'm really cut out for it, or whether I could best fill the role that a doula has... I feel like I'd be better as a "You don't have to do that! You can say no!!!!!!" type of person, rather than the enabler type. I dunno. This dilemma is why I keep postponing the monetary investment of certification.Liz Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07549586800620411712noreply@blogger.com