Why Most Women “Can’t” Breastfeed

| Lillian

Este artículo en Español –> https://yournaturalbirth.co.uk/2015/10/26/por-que-la-mayoria-de-las-mujeres-no-pueden-amamantar/Photo Credit: Lillian Sediles Photography | lilliansediles.comBreastfeeding versus Formula Feeding is a hot debate. Mothers feel judged, whether they choose to breastfeed or not, and we are in the midst of Mommy Wars. Mothers who breastfeed feel like society shames them for feeding in public. Mothers who formula feed feel like they are lambasted by lactivists for ‘being lazy’ or even ‘poisoning‘ their child. I’d like to shed some light on why so many mothers cannot breastfeed. Continue reading →

7 Things Hospitals Do During Labour That You Are Told to Avoid While Pregnant (with Pictures)

| Lillian

There are some strange things happening in our society with regards to birth. Women feel less and less able to birth naturally, yet industrialised countries like the US and the UK are seeing maternal and infant mortality rates on the rise. What is going on? I’d like to present 7 Things that hospitals do for labouring women that are NOT RECOMMENDED for pregnant women! It doesn’t make sense that these things are overlooked and treated so lightly. If they are harmful to a pregnant mother, they are also harmful to her in her labouring state, and therefore should be AVOIDED. Continue reading →

9 Things that can lead to Failure to Progress (FTP)

| Lillian

woman-in-labourWhat is Failure to Progress? According to doctors and midwives, Failure to Progress is also known as Prolonged Labour, when labour lasts for approximately 20 hours or more after regular contractions begin, and approximately 14 hours or more if you’ve given birth previously. Prolonged latent phase happens during first stage labour where mother can get exhausted and emotionally drained, and prolonged labour during second stage can be a “cause for concern.”

According to WebMD, Prolonged labour may happen if:

  • The baby is very big and cannot move through the birth canal. (Cephalopelvic disproportion)
  • The baby is in an abnormal position. Normally, the baby is head-down facing your back. (Posterior presentation: back-to-back)
  • The birth canal is too small for the baby to move through. (Android pelvis, narrow pelvis)
  • Your contractions are very weak. (Inefficient contractions)

NOW HERE’S the HARD PART. Scratch everything that I just stated up there and everything that you hear from doctors and midwives. Remember, they’re a part of a system, either hospital, birth centre, or NHS and they need to be able to put mothers on a schedule, a timeline, and checklist, so they can do their job. Continue reading →

Do You Have to be a Duchess to Get the Birth You Want?

| Lillian

Royal-BabyOn 2nd May 2015, the nation celebrated the birth of the Princess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana! What was on everyone’s minds at the presentation of the baby just 10 hours after birth? How did Kate look so good?

Daily Mail’s “Call the Midwife” article stated,

Kate had a meticulous birth plan. She had opted to be seen first by the midwives, and as a source said: ‘What the duchess wants, the duchess gets.’

I’d venture to say, WHAT THE MOTHER WANTS, THE MOTHER GETS! What’s the actual difference between Kate and mothers all around the world? Nothing! Does she have superhuman powers? Of course not! There was no special way she got that baby out of her body that other mothers don’t have. What she did have, though, is the midwives’, doctors’, and Wills’ RESPECT to do what she wished regarding her birth. Every mother deserves this kind of respect, to be treated like a duchess at the time of labour and birth.

If a Duchess can have the birth she wants, can you? Yes! Here’s how: Continue reading →

Does Induction Really REDUCE C-Section Risk?

| Lillian

induction-training1Several weeks ago, I came across a claim that Induction reduces the risk of C-section! I sincerely thought, this must be a joke; however, it was referencing an actual journal publication. You can find the actual publication here.

Since I’ve always heard people say, “I had to be induced, and then it ended in c-section,” I thought I would do a series of polls to see if there was any indication that induction REDUCED the number of c-sections.

First, I did a poll directed to those mothers who ended up with emergency c-sections to see how many of them received drugs to induce. You can find the results here. “If your birth ended in an emergency c-section, were you given any drugs to start labour or speed up labour prior to the need for a c-section?” Results: 68% Yes to 32% No.  Continue reading →

Results from Last Week’s Poll: If you did NOT receive drugs to induce, what was the delivery method?

| Lillian

I apologise for posting these results so late. With 203 votes, the voting results were a landslide for Vaginal Only 85%! See below for the results:

Screen Shot 2015-04-28 at 1.08.20 PMIf you just split the results into two categories: Vaginal versus C-Section, 93% were delivered vaginally whereas only 7% were delivered via c-section. This is a SIGNIFICANT difference! Following this post, I will discuss what implications this may have regarding induction and c-section.

Results for This Week’s Poll: If you received drugs to induce, what was your delivery method?

| Lillian

Check out the results from this week’s poll about drugs and delivery method! 47% ended delivering vaginally, 26% delivered with forceps or vacuum extraction, and 26% had an emergency c-section. None had a schedule c-section after receiving drugs and there was one vote that entered a different answer.  She entered, “Vaginal birth with manual assistance whilst being prepped for an emergency c/s” which would go into the category of “Vaginal with forceps or vacuum extraction.”

Therefore, the results would have been: 47% vaginal only, 27% vaginal with manual assistance, 26% emergency c-section.

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What does this poll mean? I can’t make any conclusions from this data since I don’t know the background information from the voters. It does show that if you receive drugs to start or speed up labour, that your chance of having an emergency c-section is 26%. However, this sampling is small with only 152 votes. Some could be multigravida and others primigravida. It also shows that if you choose to use drugs to induce, you still have almost a 50/50 chance to birth vaginally without assistance. This is great news! In order to conclude that receiving drugs to start or speed up labour increases or decreases your likelihood of having a c-section, I would have to know what is the likelihood of c-section from mothers who did not receive drugs to induce labour. This is my next poll.

Results from Last Week’s Poll – Does Induction increase risk of C-Section?

| Lillian

Screen Shot 2015-04-09 at 12.10.47 PMLast week’s Poll: “If your birth ended in an emergency c-section, were you given any drugs to start labour or speed up labour prior to the need for a c-section?”

Results: 205 votes, 68% Yes (140 votes), 32% NO (65 votes). There is an overwhelming majority of votes that indicated usage of drugs that ended in c-section. The next step is to try out a poll for people who received any form of induction so see if there is a significant increase in method of delivery.

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