Getting Ready

ICAN Canada's Stragetic Planning Retreat is coming soon and there is so much prepare for our innaugaural retreat. Thank you to our current board for all the wonderful work you are doing. I am looking forward to expanding our board as we fill the current vacant positions of Secretary, Membership Director, Vice President/Conference Chair, and Public Relations Director.

Travelling Again

Heading to Cincinnati very early tomorrow morning, I can't wait! Working holiday... spending the entire weekend at a strategic planning retreat as the Int'l Director of the International Caesarean Awareness Network. This organization has done so much for me and I continue on the board as my way of repayment. The volunteer work is truly a labour of love. I'll be home again late Sunday night. Catcha on the flip side.

Maternal Mortality on the Rise

It was only a matter of time before the statistics showed the effects of the dramatic increase in cesarean surgery rates. We have long known that one of the risks of major abdominal surgery is maternal morbidity and mortality. It was only a matter of time before the increased cesarean rate bode through to the sad fact that more mothers were dying because of it. CP reports:

U.S. women are dying from childbirth at the highest rate in decades, new government figures show. Though the risk of death is very small, experts believe increasing maternal obesity and a jump in caesarean sections are partly to blame.

The U.S. maternal mortality rate rose to 13 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2004, according to statistics released this week by the National Center for Health Statistics - the first time the maternal death rate rose above 10 since 1977.

"There's an inherent risk to C-sections," said Dr. Elliott Main, who co-chairs a panel reviewing obstetrics care in California. "As you do thousands and thousands of them, there's going to be a price."

Excessive bleeding is one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related death, and women with several previous C-sections are at especially high risk, according to a review of maternal deaths in New York. Blood vessel blockages and infections are among the other leading causes.

The New Normal - Ottawa Citizen

The Ottawa Citizen reported yesterday on how medicalized birth has become the 'new normal' and natural birth is becoming rare in today's society in Canada. The statistics prove this out with an extremely high epidural rate across the nation, a 26% cesarean surgery rate and only 5% of women choosing homebirth. Please take a minute to read this superb article. I found this especially poignant:

One of the most telling anecdotes in [Jennifer Block's] book [Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care] takes place at Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Centre in Sebring, Florida. When Hurricane Charley hit in 1994, it knocked the power out. The hospital had an emergency generator, but its capacity was limited. So the hospital sent most women home and asked them to come back when they were in active labour.

During the few days following the hurricane, nurses noticed a change in the way babies were being born: most babies made it into the outside world without medical intervention and within hours of their mothers arriving at the hospital; nurses saw no cases of fetal distress or respiratory distress in newborns; and the hospital's C-section rate dropped dramatically -- from more than 29 per cent to 17 per cent (six per cent if several scheduled repeat C-sections were excluded from the stats).

Prior to the storm, most mothers were induced so that their babies would be born during the day, and labours were electronically and chemically managed. Once life returned to normal, a number of nurses quit the hospital, convinced its management of labour was doing more harm than good.

Women in Red

No I'm not talking about the song Lady in Red (so love that classic... Chris de Burgh is an awesome artist). I'm referring to a new group I've joined called Women in Red Racers:

Women in Red Racers group is a sub-group of the larger Women in Red community. The idea started response to a discussion about accountability and support towards reaching our debt reduction goals. It is now a “racers” group where each person posts their current debts and updates each time they are paid.

This past year has been a challenge financially. Though I have always been financially savvy, this group has a lot of excellent financial strategies that I have learned, and continue to learn, which I am incorporating into my own financial plans. I've always seen budgets, accounting and financial issues as tedious necessities of life, but this group has made the journey fun... even exciting as we work together on our debt. Setting goals and reaching milestones personally and as a group has never been so enjoyable. I encourage you to check it out.

Being kid busy

The kids and I have had an awesome summer, busy around home and going several times to my sister's outfitting camp west of Rocky Mountain House. My love for horses only increases as I spend time with them again and my kids are catching the horse bug as well. Most of my pictures are in my camera which I accidentally forgot on my last trip to Ontario (it is being returned as you read this) so I hope to have more pictures soon. From my phone camera...

A picture of the view from our 'home away from home' window. Breanna is carrying one of Terri's puppies.

Here is a picture of Eric with his uncle Chuck at the summit after a four hour ride... he loved every second!

Here are five of the first string ready to go first thing in the morning.

Here is Eric in his 'new toy' out at camp.

Ontario Body Awareness Workshops

My first continuing education workshops held in Ontario were a blast! The one-day Body Awareness workshop I taught is a continuing education course for birth professionals and teaches:

· How to map a pelvis and teach pelvic mapping to parents
· The importance of knowing your pelvic shape and outlet as it pertains to movement and positioning during labour
· To understand and teach techniques to reduce internal pelvic tension - an important factor in second stage failure to progress
· To teach women how to effectively communicate when they experience, feel, hear or see something in labour
· How to communicate effectively through word and touch in response to a birthing mothers needs
· To teach the vital importance of using breath effectively as a focus for reducing tension and restoring themselves
· To understand, be able to teach and use effective new positions to open pelvic outlet diameters as they pertain to the mother’s pelvic shape and vital new birthing techniques to effectively progress labour
· How to teach effective assertiveness to birthing parents

Sudbury and Mississauga where my stops in July. Body Awareness workshops will be held November 3 in Alberta and late next March (dates to be announced) in Ottawa, London and Toronto, Ontario.

I spent several extra days on holiday in Sudbury. The weather was fabulous, the friends I met were amazing and I had a wonderful time. Thanks Ontario!

Cesarean section adhesions linked with delayed delivery

In the latest AJOG is a retrospective study assessing the risks of pelvic adhesive disease after cesarean section and its impact on delivery.

The study found that 4 percent of women undergoing primary cesarean delivery had documented adhesions. This rose to 46 percent in the 217 women with a second cesarean section, 75 percent of the 64 women undergoing a third cesarean delivery, and 83 percent of the six women undergoing a fourth cesarean section.

The mean time from skin incision to delivery of the infant was 10.7 minutes in a primary delivery, and this lengthened by 5.6, 8.5, and 18.1 minutes for a second, third, and fourth cesarean birth, respectively.

Morales et al conclude: “Each additional cesarean delivery, with the associated increase in the severity of pelvic adhesive disease, delays delivery of the infant and may compromise fetal health.

Morales et al. Cesarean section adhesions linked with delayed delivery. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2007; 196: 461.e1-e6”

I found this interesting as I have 'significant adhesions' from my three cesareans and it is well known in obstetrics that any subsequent cesarean delivery is like working through 'cement' (term used by obstetrician friends) because of the scar tissue. I would like to put forward that not only does scar tissue increase delivery time of surgical deliveries, it may have an impact on vaginal delivery as well. If there were pelvic adhesions, could this not possibly slow fetal descent? I can attest to the fact that it can significantly increase pain, what a huge difference in labour pain with adhesions compared to without, so could adhesions have further impact on vaginal as well? Hmm...

It's Official...

Velocity Web Design has been launched! One of my easiest 'babies' to birth, my new business is well on its way through childhood and growing like crazy. I have been designing websites for years for friends and non-profit organizations I have volunteered for, so why not get paid for it? I love the design aspect and am busy already with two new clients, D&R Engineering and Wild Deuce Retreats & Outfitting.

ICAN Conference

For those of you who were unable to be there... we all had an awesome time last weekend at ICAN's 25 anniversary conference in Syracuse, New York! To meet all of the former presidents, and spend time with our current and upcoming presidents was an incredible experience. The passion that brought them to ICAN was so apparent and spending so much time with them over the several days we were together was incredibly empowering.

To further enrich the experience, Nancy Wainer, Henci Goer and Mardsen Wagner where also there. Each has had an incredible impact on ICAN in their own right with Nancy's impact on the founding of ICAN, Henci's research wisdom supporting women informationally, and Marsden's role not only with WHO's birth guidelines, but his unflagging pursuit of returning normal birth to women. And that was only the tip of the iceberg, Dr. Mark Langdon brought his wealth of knowledge surrounding VBAMC safety, Gretchen Humphries made everyone cry as she showed the reality of cesarean surgery and... well lets just say every single speaker brought great wisdom to impart on each of us there.

All of that made my contribution pale in comparison... the signing of the affiliation agreement I wrote, with the help of so many, for ICAN's first official affiliate - ICAN Canada! As International Director for ICAN International, I am very proud of this accomplishment for ICAN and am excited about the future growth of ICAN beyond North America. As ICAN Canada president, I am extremely proud of the continued expansion of ICAN Chapters across Canada, bringing much needed support to women in their communities.

I truly cannot wait to spend more time with the board at our upcoming Strategic Planning Retreat and our next conference!

You paid attention during 74% of high school!

68-84% Pretty good, you know that there are libraries and newspapers, and you remember what you've read. You were a child that wasn't left behind!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz

New Normal

Life is full of lessons, some wonderful and some painful. I am learning a lot and having a lot of fun on this new journey. My new life is taking me back to my roots, to what I knew and love and lived for before my marriage. Horses have once again taken precidence, for a while at least, as I spend a lot of my time helping my sister train horses. Even if I don't continue that, I have been hired by her and her business partner as their new business manager. I have owned/managed businesses for a long time now and though its a completely different field from what I have done thus far, management is managment. I'm not sure where this will lead, but I am loving every second of it!

Given that, Rosenthal is going strong and I am excited about it's future as well. The spring classes are filling as you read this and I cannot wait to teach the spring sessions. I've also been working with several mothers planning VBAC's and it still amazes me how strong women are despite of and as a result of their experiences.

And thanks to everyone who has sent notes, emails, called and left messages. Your thoughts, prayers and support have been so wonderful and have lifted my spirits a lot in the past few months. ~hugs to all~