Beloved Birth - Caru Geni

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Beloved Birth - Caru Geni

All things pregnancy and birth.

02/07/2023

So… I have now booked in for my doula course / retreat for September. Exciting times ahead!

I looked at many doula training providers during my search (I’ve been exploring doula work since having Tanwen 2 years ago) but Conscious Birthing Doula Training Courses has been really calling out to me for a while. Having exchanged some emails with Kate and learning more about her charity Doulas Without Borders I really feel this is going to be a good fit for me and I’m so looking forward to the course and what I’ll gain from it.

19/06/2023

Following on from the last post about antibiotics for GBS… what about other preventative measures for GBS infections?

Well, probiotics have been proven to reduce the likelihood of GBS colonisation and therefore reduce the risk of a GBS infection in a newborn when taken throughout the third trimester.

Lactobacilli are best, these specific strains are among some found to be particularly effective:
- Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1
- Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14
- Lactobacillus salivarius CECT 9145

Other benefits of taking probiotics include the treatment and prevention of:
- Bacterial Vaginosis
- Thrush
- Urinary Tract Infections

https://www.mindfulbirthny.com/reversing-gbs-colonization/ #:~:text=Two%20probiotic%20strains%20have%20been,and%20Lactobacillus%20reuteri%20RC%2D14.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6521265/

05/06/2023

Group B Strep (GBS) is a very common bacteria that lives in the body and is transient, meaning it comes and goes. It’s estimated that if we took va**nal swabs of every woman at the same time, up to 40% would have a positive GBS result.

When a baby is born va**nally, they come into contact with the beneficial bacteria living in their mother’s va**na. This is very important part of the birthing process and kick starts their immune system as well as their gut health. During this process many babies will come into contact with GBS.

The vast majority of babies who come into contact with GBS are unaffected by it. Very rarely, a baby will become ill with a “GBS infection” and of these ill babies a small number will die or be left with life long conditions. NHS guidelines say that all mothers who have ever tested positive for GBS during current or past pregnancies should be OFFERED an IV of antibiotics during labour. This is an offer and it’s your right to decline if you want to. It’s NOT a reason to be declined a homebirth of water birth.

What are the risks of accepting antibiotics?

Antibiotics will strip the va**na of good and bad bacteria, meaning your baby won’t get the same benefits to their immune system and gut health that they would have done without the antibiotics. Some longitudinal studies have shown that other infection such as E. coli actually increase in the babies of mothers who received IV antibiotics in labour. Thrush and yeast infections are also common side effects, which can interfere with breastfeeding.

What are the risks of declining antibiotics?

If you still have GBS by the time you’re in labour, there’s a 0.33% chance that your baby could develop a GBS infection. Of that 0.33%… 5.2% of babies die and 7.4% have life long disabilities.

https://www.rcog.org.uk/for-the-public/browse-all-patient-information-leaflets/group-b-streptococcus-gbs-in-pregnancy-and-newborn-babies/ #:~:text=GBS%20is%20a%20common%20bacterium,GBS%20will%20have%20no%20symptoms.

https://www.wihb.scot.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Understanding-your-babys-GBS-infection-1.pdf

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/birth/antibiotics-during-labour/

02/06/2023

Remember that syntocinon / pitocin is the artifical oxytocin (happy hormone) that providers use in an IV drip to induce or augment labour?

Well studies into autism have discovered that autistic children, on average, have lower blood levels of oxytocin than their non-autistic peers. And autistic children with lower levels demonstrate poorer social skills than those with higher levels.

Some autistic people also have genetic variants in the oxytocin receptor. This has led researchers to use intranasal oxytocin as an autism therapy. Studies have observed improved social skills post treatment in those who had low oxytocin levels pre treatment.

So what about synthetic oxytocin in labour? What long term effects could the intense, unnaturally high dose of synthetic oxytocin have on these babies?

Research is limited but a recent study of over 250 children found a significant difference in ASD diagnoses for children who were exposed to syntocinon / pitocin during labour compared to children who were not, with exposed children being 2.32 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism. The same study also found links between epidurals and autism too (2.77 times more likely compared to children who were not exposed to epidurals).

A very interesting study. Highlighting a big need for further research!

https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/the-connection-between-oxytocin-and-autism-explained/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4984315/

24/05/2023

This is what support in labour should look like.

Raw, real birth. I was transitioning here (hence the tears) and didn’t realise. I needed my partner more than ever.

His loving energy, gentle hands, supportive words meant EVERYTHING in this moment. I felt so much love here.

My partner gave me his full support for an unassisted pregnancy and freebirth. This was a man who was scared of even midwife attended homebirth 2 years ago.

After 2 weeks of stop/start contractions, and a final 22 hour long labour, he caught my daughter who was born wrapped in her cord, took over 30 seconds to breath, and had some meconium. She also was mucusy which I resolved through sucking of her nostrils and some position changes to help her clear it herself.

My partner said afterwards that at no point was he scared or worried. We both knew that everything was a variation of normal and not an immediate reason for concern.

Choose your birth partners carefully. Will they bring unnecessary fear to the birth? What energy will they provide to your birth space? Will they trust and listen to you? Are they putting in the effort to learn / unlearn about birth?

Find me on Instagram ✨

19/05/2023

From the NHS website:

‘For consent to be valid, it must be voluntary and informed, and the person consenting must have the capacity to make the decision.

voluntary – the decision to either consent or not to consent to treatment must be made by the person, and must not be influenced by pressure from medical staff, friends or family

informed – the person must be given all of the information about what the treatment involves, including the benefits and risks, whether there are reasonable alternative treatments, and what will happen if treatment does not go ahead

capacity – the person must be capable of giving consent, which means they understand the information given to them and can use it to make an informed decision

If an adult has the capacity to make a voluntary and informed decision to consent to or refuse a particular treatment, their decision must be respected.

This is still the case even if refusing treatment would result in their death, or the death of their unborn child.’

17/05/2023

In a world that seems hell bent on making a mother’s body seem shameful (I had targeted adverts for “mummy makeover” surgeries popping up within a week of giving birth), it seems like an act of rebellion to actually LIKE your postpartum body.

This is my belly 6 weeks postpartum after my third baby and it is GLORIOUS.

It overhangs when I sit down.
I have ripples across the middle.
It wobbles like jelly (as my eldest likes to tell me).

It’s evidence of the three miracles I have been able to carry and birth. Evidence I’ll carry with me forever.

It’s always a journey learning to dress a new body, but I’m proud of this transformation.

It’s a far cry from how I felt after my first, where I was constantly monitoring my bodys “progress”.

Also, why is everyone’s first comment when you’re seen out with a newborn something along the lines of “you’re looking great” as they look you up and down?!?

Tell me I’m glowing.

Tell me how happy I look.

Tell me motherhood suits me.

… but why comment on my figure?

I know it’s all meant well. But why is our body such a focal point?!

What do you think? Should we stop commenting on postpartum women’s bodies? Even if it’s to say something positive?

Let me know below 👇

14/05/2023

More on the iHOLDS trial…

These are the suggested phrases for hospital staff when discussing the trial.

From the iHOLDS manual for hospitals.

NO discussion of risks.

NO informing them it's a double dose, just "higher".

"May decrease your chance of having a CS" even though we have no robust evidence
to suggest this.

I’ve emailed the trial organisers and requested their Patient Information Leaflet and Consent Form (they don’t mention a consent form so will be interesting to see if they do have one).

Update to follow!

13/05/2023

Absolutely heartbreaking waking up this morning to some horrific stories of induction / augmentation with syntocinon. Thank you for sharing your experiences with me.

One mother has very kindly shared her experience of the iHOLDS trial.

My heart hurts for her, her baby and her partner.

This is NOT what birth should look like.

I’ve had a good cry this morning. Praying that this mother can have the birth of her dreams one day.

Everyone deserves an incredible birth.

12/05/2023

What is the iHOLDS trial and why should you care? 🤔

WHAT IS IT?

The iHOLDS trial is a randomised, double-blinded, clinical trial being rolled out in NHS maternity units across the UK.

The research is being done by the University of Birmingham and is funded by an NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme grant.

The NIHR is a UK government-funded research institute and a HTA programme grant “funds research about the clinical and cost-effectiveness, and broader impact of healthcare treatments and tests, for those who plan, provide or receive care from NHS”.

The trial will be targeting first time mothers who are having a long first stage of labour and are being given the syntocinon IV drip to augment (speed up) their labour.

The trial wants to see what happens if the mother is given a higher dose of syntocinon.

The current guidelines for IV syntocinon is:
2mU/min increasing every 30 minutes to a maximum of 32mU/min.

The proposed dose of IV syntocinon for this trial is:
4mU/min increasing every 30 minutes to a maximum of 64mU/min.

They don’t wait to slightly raise the dose, they want to DOUBLE the dose.

The PRIMARY (main) outcome they want to look at is:
- the c section rate

The SECONDARY (less important) outcomes they want to look at are:
- maternal and neonatal birth outcome data
- maternal psychological outcomes 2 weeks after the birth

The OTHER outcome they’ve specified (which hasn’t been allocated a priority):
- cost comparison outcomes

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

1 - The study refers to syntocinon as oxytocin in the study which can be misleading.
Oxytocin is the happy hormone your brain naturally produces during labour. In labour, your own oxytocin is released in low amounts in your brain and travels through the body in pulses which causes the uterus to contract as it should be, prepares your brain to bond with your baby, and helps reduce stress and pain. This happens to all mammals during labour and birth.
When syntocinon is used, the infusion is put directly into the blood stream and is released in constant, high amounts. This results in: contractions that are stronger and closer together. This means that the contractions are more intense and painful for Mum and harder on baby too. It also doesnt provide the same effect in the brain and some research suggests this decreases your own release of oxytocin.

2 - We already know through numerous research studies that inducing or augmenting labour using syntocinon:
- increases risk of a hemorrhage
- increases risk of a uterine tear
- increases rates of PND (post natal depression)
- increases use of pain relief, especially epidural
- increases chance of an instrumental delivery
- increases chance of a c section
- increases chance of an episiotomy
- negatively impacts babies ability to breastfeed at birth
- reduces blood and oxygen supply to baby, resulting in increased rates of hypoxia
- can cause your baby to go into distress (this is why baby’s heart rate has to be constantly monitored during a syntocinon induced/augmented labour)
- … and more!

3 - Informed consent for syntocinon is already rarely gained. Most women who have syntocinon report that they did not know any of the risks or side effects. To gain informed consent, the benefits and risks of an intervention versus the benefits and risks of not having an intervention must be explained and understood. Informed consent is NOT using coercive methods (eg - telling mothers that their babies could die), or purposely withdrawing information so that they take the intervention.

4 - A long first stage of labour is normal and healthy, especially for first time mums who typically will have a longer first stage anyway. Estimates are between 8 and 18 hours long.

WHY, OH WHY, WOULD THEY DO THIS TRIAL?

There have already been many similar trials to this one done before and yet the 2014 Cochrane review found NO robust evidence to suggest that high doses of syntocinon reduce overall c section rates. So why are they doing this?

Well, higher dose syntocinon DID reduce the total labour time, meaning women are taking up labour ward beds for shorter periods of time.

However higher dose syntocinon also FURTHER increased:
- chance of haemorrhage
- the amount of babies going into distress and needing c sections
- instrumental births

A lot of other outcomes were omitted from the data / not recorded.

Most likely, this comes down to higher dose syntocinon being a quicker augmentation method that is more cost effective for the NHS and frees up labour ward beds quicker compared to using the standard dose.

DO NOT TAKE PART.

DO NOT BE THEIR GUINEA PIGS.

YOUR BIRTH MATTERS!

https://www.sarawickham.com/articles-2/synthetic-oxytocin-looking-beyond-the-benefits/

https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/fda/fdaDrugXsl.cfm?setid=6d4b2c25-2e5d-49b5-93bc-2ae8a20916d1

https://www.britishjournalofmidwifery.com/content/legal/coercion-or-consent/

https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD009701.pub2/full

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/bctu/trials/womens/iholds/index.aspx

12/05/2023

Hey 👋🏻

I’m Amy and I’ve created this page as I embark on my birth work journey.🤰🏻

After two traumatic hospital births, I freebirthed my third child at home with the loving support of my partner, my doula and my (almost) 4 year old son. 💕

I’ve been interested in birth work for a long time. At some points I even considered midwifery, but after a horrendous experience in hospital with my second baby, I knew in my heart that pregnancy, labour, birth and postpartum should have been worlds apart from what is often experienced under the western medical model. So, I spent the next 2 years unlearning and learning all over again and eventually, freebirthed. ✨

I’m not entirely sure how my birth work journey is going to unfold, but join me here as I discover. In the meantime, I’ll be sharing all things pregnancy, informed choice, birth rights, freebirth, birth, breastfeeding and postpartum on this page.🤱🏻

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This is what support in labour should look like. Raw, real birth. I was transitioning here (hence the tears) and didn’t realise. I needed my partner more than ever. His loving energy, gentle hands, supportive words meant EVERYTHING in this moment. I felt so much love here. My partner gave me his full support for an unassisted pregnancy and freebirth. This was a man who was scared of even midwife attended homebirth 2 years ago. After 2 weeks of stop/start contractions, and a final 22 hour long labour, he caught my daughter who was born wrapped in her cord, took over 30 seconds to breath, and had some meconium. She also was mucusy which I resolved through sucking of her nostrils and some position changes to help her clear it herself. My partner said afterwards that at no point was he scared or worried. We both knew that everything was a variation of normal and not an immediate reason for concern. Choose your birth partners carefully. Will they bring unnecessary fear to the birth? What energy will they provide to your birth space? Will they trust and listen to you? Are they putting in the effort to learn / unlearn about birth? Find me on Instagram @amyfreebirths ✨

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