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| February 13, 2009
Dear Friends:
Happy 2009! There is so much great stuff coming up to tell everyone about:
Plan a Community Event with Us!
Our book YOUR BEST BIRTH by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein is being published May 1 by Wellness Central and we are organizing events all around the country for the month of May to encourage women to take back the birth experience and raise awareness about their local birth options.
Many of you planned or attended grassroots screenings of BoBB, which were tremendously successful to raise awareness and funds for community groups and local chapters of national birth organizations. We heard countless stories from women who changed their birth plans after seeing the film and hearing Q&A panels afterwards. Our hope is that with similar events for the book, birth advocates and professionals can bring resources and empowerment to the women and parents-to-be in their community.
Anytime during the month of May you can host a book event in your home, a local bookstore, yoga studio, baby store, or any venue that will attract pregnant women and parents. We can arrange for to you purchase a stock of books at a 40% discount which can then be sold at your event at retail price, with proceeds to cover event costs or be donated to local birth-related non-profits (any unsold books can be returned and refunded). We also are preparing for a live web cast of Ricki and Abby discussing the book, which can be shown at the event. We invite you to celebrate the book launch with us by bringing people together to discuss their birth options and introduce them to local providers in your community. Contact us at info@thebusinessofbeingborn.com for more details.
Report From Rio
Abby was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil over the holidays, doing a little shooting for our next DVD, and she reported back on the state of birth options there. The shocking 93% cesarean rate for the middle class is part of what she found and wrote about in her recent blog post:
By all outward appearances, Rio de Janeiro (and Brazil in general) is amazingly baby-friendly. At the airport, there is a special line for families with children and pregnant women, there are little baby seats attached to the luggage carts when you collect your bags, and on domestic flights there is one bathroom reserved just for women which is very clean and large. (Can you imagine such civility in US airports?) The beach in Rio has special baby-friendly areas with shaded diaper stations and roped-off play centers. Pregnant women proudly stroll the beach at full term wearing tiny little bikinis and new mothers breastfeed everywhere in public. The entire culture is pretty much baby-crazy and everyone stops you on the street to peer into your stroller and offer some unsolicited advice. But what is most amazingly un-baby friendly about Rio is that a recent medical report shows that Rio’s middle class boasts a cesarean rate of 93%. Yes, that’s right - 93%.
To read the rest of Abby’s Report from Rio click HERE
Yes, the 20/20 Segment Did Finally Air!
The interview that Ricki and Abby did with Elizabeth Vargas for 20/20 last May aired on January 2nd. Sorry that we weren’t able to give you a heads-up due to the holidays but you can still watch the segment online HERE.The segment about homebirth and unassisted birth was part of a program about motherhood, which also featured Debra Pascali-Bonaro and her film “Orgasmic Birth.”
Birth Documentary Contest with Birth Matters Virginia
Birth Matters Virginia was so successful with their screenings of BoBB last year that it has inspired them to create a documentary contest of their own, to encourage short videos about birth that promote an evidence based model of maternity care. First prize is $1000! Find out about how to submit at this link.
AWHONN (Assoc. of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neo-Natal Nurses) Editorial on Homebirth
The current Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neo-Natal Nursing from AWHONN includes an editorial about ACOG and the AMA’s 2008 resolution to lobby against home birth as an option for women and against home birth providers. The journal’s editor Nancy Lowe looks carefully at research on home birth and responds to the resolution by saying:
To pretend that a normal healthy woman cannot give birth safely without the trappings of a U.S. hospital is not only audacious but also uninformed. Perhaps it is time for a new woman's movement, one that embraces the normalcy of childbirth and puts mothers and babies back on the center stage rather than the system's need to defend the interventionist subculture it has developed and that it must financially support. This system has not improved outcomes for mothers or babies while the cost of care has continued to escalate keeping pace with unnecessary intervention. The recent initiatives of our medical colleagues, the "authorities," simply highlight the painful reality that the "Emperor has no clothes!"
To read the full article Click Here.
The First 8 Days of Being A Mom – Now Available
Originally written in the Netherlands by a team of a midwife, pediatrician, lactation specialist, children’s nurse and moms, Gea Nietsch has translated this Dutch guidebook to English for parents here. Short and simple because you don’t have time to read an encyclopedia when you've just had your baby, this is a practical manual that covers how to take care of the new mom as well as the newborn! Volume discounts are available for health professionals.
Books can be purchased at thefirst8days.com.
Baby! International Film Festival Screening in Maryland
This film festival shows a collection of films at venues all over the US to actively inspire women to perceive birth in a new light. They will be screening BoBB as part of their program on March 21st at 1pm in downtown Silver Spring, MD. Click Here for schedule and ticket information.
Midwives Deliver: LA Times Op-Ed by Jennifer Block
Just before the holidays our friend and author Jennifer Block wrote a great op-ed for the LA Times called “Midwives Deliver”. If you didn’t get to read it, you can find it by clicking here.
BoBB Online Rental
We know we’ve said this before, but it IS coming soon. We promise! You will be able to rent and watch the film on your own computer in a matter of WEEKS. This will be a great asset for those of you outside the US where the DVD is not as accessible and shipping times can be long. We will let you know as soon as it is ready and you can pass along to your clients and friends.
Give Moby Wrap to a Mom for Valentine's Day
Our "Born Free" Moby Wraps make a great Valentine's Day gift and are a safe and comfortable way to carry your baby. They come in Chocolate and Sand and can be ordered at mobywrap.com.
Midwife Carol Leonard's Book Events
BoBB participant, Carol Leonard, will be in NYC for two upcoming events, reading from and discussing her new book, "Lady's Hands, Lion's Heart, A Midwife's Saga." February 20 at RealBirth 6:30-8:30 pm, to benefit NewSpace for Women's Health, and February 21 at Bluestockings at 7pm. Or to order a copy of the book, Click Here.
Mayra's Latest Blog Entry
For those of you who are following Mayra's pregnancy blog, click HERE to read her latest two entries about finding out the baby's sex, seeing pics at her 21 week ultrasound, and then trying out hypnotherapy.
Warmest,
Ricki, Abby & BoBB Team | | |
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