Interview with Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein, Authors of Your Best Birth and Filmakers of The Business of Being Born

I had the amazing opportunity to interview Abby Epstein and Ricki Lake about their new book, Your Best Birth (which I am giving away here). These two women have been spirited advocates of natural birth, more informed choices for women, and medical care that honors women, families and babies.

Here is the interview:

Congrats on the publishing of the book and the amazing documentary, the Business of Being Born. What was the impetus for you to write a book in addition to the documentary?

We realized from the discussions after screenings of BOBB that we were just beginning the dialogue. There were so many questions after the screenings about what doulas and midwives do and about VBAC's and issues that we just didn't have time to get into within an 80-min film. We felt a responsibility to get the information about options out there for every woman in a more complete way.

You both had remarkably different birthing experiences. How did that inform how you wrote the book?

We intentionally began the book with our personal birth stories because they were so different. We wanted to make sure that the book focused on choice and how to also make decisions and work within a limited scope of maternity care options. We also wanted to make sure there was no judgement about any woman's birth choices or that one type of birth was superior to another. We know that be both had limited control over our birthing experiences and that part of this process demands some form of surrender. Sometimes you cant plan the type of birth you will have, but you can become informed and empowered in a way that will benefit whatever type of birth your baby needs.

What do you think is the most important thing for pregnant women to know about birthing in the U.S.?

The most important thing for women to know is that you DO have options and not to be afraid to speak up and demand alternatives. Even if you are limited by your insurance plan, your financial situation or the lack of options in your community - there is always a way to advocate for yourself within that system. The US system is broken and must be navigated very carefully. Even if you have to switch providers multiple times during your pregnancy, it will be worth it if your instincts tell you that you are not being respected and properly informed of your options. In the US, you have almost a one in three chance of ending up with a cesarean birth, (in some hospitals almost a 50% chance!) even if its not medically necessary so do your homework and be an active participant in your care.

What would you change about prenatal and delivery care of women in the U.S. if you could?

The number one thing we need to change is education and empowerment during prenatal care. This education needs to begin well before a woman starts having children. We think the midwifery model of care, which emphasizes trust in the mother's body and ability to birth on her own, needs to be integrated into the healthcare system. All women should have the right to see a midwife and choose the right delivery environment for her body and her baby. Other countries manage to offer these options and spend far less on maternity care than the US.


How has writing this book, and listening to the midwives and mothers you've interviewed changed your perspective about birthing, parenthood, and health care in the U.S.?

In writing the book and hearing the stories of birthing women from around the country, we are so moved to see that parents are inspired by our film and book and are making choices they'd never imagined. Countless parents have written to tell us about their amazing birth stories which never would have been possible without first seeing BOBB. So it's amazing but also alarming that for so many parents, a 2007 documentary was their first exposure to these issues.
It seems that there is a strong movement of parents, OB/GYN's, midwives and doulas who are trying to change the direction of childbirth in this country - but there is a disconnect between this movement and the insurance companies and training of doctors who aren't aware of the full spectrum of birth choices and how they can impact a woman's rite of passage into motherhood. On some days we feel hopeful and that things are really going improve for mothers in the US but other days it seems like the issues are just too complex and impossible to surmount. We need to really look at the economic and political forces that are driving the system toward more medicalized births - because the well being of women and babies needs to take priority.

Women have been thrilled with the book. It covers a lot of ground in terms of the psychological, emotional and clinical aspects of pregnancy. Women will gain a strong understanding of the landscape and politics of birth culture in the US, which is critical when making decisions about your birth. We also think it will allow women to explore and address all their fears in a healthy way - instead of creating more fear and anxiety about "what can go wrong."

What are your three favorite books about childbirth?

We love Ina May Gaskin's Spiritual Midwifery, Robbie Davis-Floyd's Birth as an American Rite of Passage, and Henci Goer's Gentle Birth Choices. (Also everything by Michele Odent.)

Where do you see childbirth heading in the U.S.? What can women do to help change the way childbirth is "handled" in a way that supports natural childbirth, VBACs, and less intervention in general?Right now we are at a crossroads in childbirth. If you look at the statistics, we are headed toward skyrocketing c-section rates and less VBAC's. But birth trends tend to follow a pendulum movement and there is a strong opposition to this increase of surgical birth. As long as insurance companies are calling the shots, women need to insist that their insurance carrier covers midwives, doulas, birth centers, home birth and other alternatives. Unfortunately, its all about profit so if more women demand coverage for these cheaper options then insurance companies may start covering them. Women also need to become savvy, informed, consumers and not blindly follow doctors orders when it comes to maternity care. Our book gives you tips on how to interview doctors and midwives and to do your own research. Once women realize they have the power over how they birth their babies, the rest will follow. But right now, women are scared into submission and afraid to challenge authority. They are giving all their power away to the medical institutions instead of trusting their bodies. That's why we are trying to show more celebrities and positive role models for natural birth and empowered births.

Amen to that. Thanks to these two inspiring women for this interview, and for their hard work to promote better, integrated maternal health care, and informed choices for all expecting moms.

Green Moms Carnival: Gardening with Green Mamas

Check out this month's Green Moms Carnival, all about gardening! I am thinking simple myself this year, but the green moms have gone all out, with green thumbs shining. I'm just limping along, hoping I can grow some good tomatoes.

Here it is. Get your shovel ready.

The Precautionary Principle

In my research for my upcoming book, I've been looking into Green Schools. I found a great site that defined the precautionary principle in environmental health. We should be using this principle to guide all our decisions, but specifically those pertaining to children.

From The Little Green Schoolhouse,

"THE FOUNDATION: THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE
The Precautionary Principle promotes policies and decision–making based on the concept of “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Rather than waiting for crises to occur, a proactive approach to addressing the issues of children’s environmental health and the ecological impacts of schools can be based on the Precautionary Principle. Such an approach would:

*Take anticipatory action to prevent harm;
*Place the burden of proof on the proponent of a potentially harmful activity;
*Examine a full range of alternatives;
*Provide relevant communities with the right to know about potential harm; and
*Consider all the reasonably foreseeable costs of an activity.
*A growing number of cities, including San Francisco, have adopted the Precautionary Principle as guidance for a range of decisions to promote environmental health and safety, to reduce costs, and to promote sustainability in government practices, including switching to non–toxic cleaners and environmentally sound purchasing.

The Los Angeles Unified School District adopted the Precautionary Principle as the foundation for its decision to provide the safest, least toxic approach to pest problems after children exposed to chemical herbicides suffered serious asthma attacks."

I am glad to find this spelled out so clearly. I feel our government, our schools and businesses should use this as a guiding principal to inform all of their (our) decisions.

Your Best Birth: Review and Giveaway

Ah, lucky pregnant (or soon to be) readers, do I have a treat for you. Thankfully, Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein has been released, and it is like sitting down with a wise friend for coffee. Funny, refreshing, and seriously enlightening.

I wrote about this book's release a week ago and thankfully now hold my own copy to review. The book reads easily and flows like a conversation. What is shared, however, is nothing to be taken lightly. The book covers, without being too dramatic or heavy handed, the plight of medical births with multiple interventions in America. It calls into question the idea of leaving such a sacred right of passage in the hands of a traditional medical community that is at times more interested in insurance, schedules and potential lawsuits than the wishes of the mother. But I will let the authors explain that, as they eloquently do.

Your Best Birth is all about giving you options and information. And most importantly, the concept that you know your body and your family's needs best. Part natural birth cheerleader, part pragmatic realists, the authors disarm readers by accepting everyone where they are. They encourage mothers to make choices that provide a better, healthier birth experience no matter where they are: at home, in a birthing center, or in an operating room.

Your Best Birth features:

*the positive and negative effects of epidurals, Pitocin, and other drugs;
*the pros and cons of allowing labor to progress naturally;
*commentary on our country's 31 percent C-section rate
*how to assemble your birth team and write a birth plan
*and real life inspirational birth stories

Your Best Birth empowers American women to realize they have choices in how they will birth their baby, and that a more natural options are often safer and healthier for babies and moms.

Oh fabulous readers, I have 5 of copies of Your Best Birth to give away! Just leave me a comment on this post by May 30th, and I will pick a winner. I'd love to hear if you are expecting, or are just curious about this book. Bonus points given to those who follow us on Twitter, tweet this post, those who put a blog button on their site, or link up to us in some other way.

Please also leave your email in your comment in this spam avoiding format: non-toxic-kids(at)comcast.(net).

Good luck!

Let Them Eat Dirt (Or, Free Yourself From Excessive Handwashing Guilt)

I just love reading an article like this. How many times do you sit down at meal with your kids, having forgotten to remind then to wash their hands (or to physically wash their hands yourself, in my case)? For me, it's almost every meal. It's just one detail I repeatedly forget. I'm not proud of this.

So I read with great interest this article from the New York Times about dirt, worms and the immune system. I'd heard of the hygiene hypothesis, where studies are showing that interactions with bacteria and viruses actually support the development of a strong immune system, and lessen the likelihood of allergies and asthma. This hypothesis is gaining momentum. Apparently, exposures from birth on are helpful in development of the immune system (and perfectly natural-- how many of you have seen your baby sucking on your shoe? Or mouthing your keys?).

According to the New York Times article: "One leading researcher, Dr. Joel V. Weinstock, the director of gastroenterology and hepatology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, said in an interview that the immune system at birth “is like an unprogrammed computer. It needs instruction.”

He said that public health measures like cleaning up contaminated water and food have saved the lives of countless children, but they “also eliminated exposure to many organisms that are probably good for us.”

“Children raised in an ultraclean environment,” he added, “are not being exposed to organisms that help them develop appropriate immune regulatory circuits.”

The doctors recommend "washing in moderation." (Did I mention I love this article?) We know the chemicals (like tricolosan) in most antibacterial soaps are bad for the environment and for people, and can lead to more resistant strains of bacteria. Here are the recommendations for parents (get ready to let out a sigh of relief):

Dr. Ruebush, a microbiology and immunology instructor, who wrote a new book, “Why Dirt Is Good” said, “I certainly recommend washing your hands after using the bathroom, before eating, after changing a diaper, before and after handling food,” and whenever they’re visibly soiled, she wrote. When no running water is available and cleaning hands is essential, she suggests an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Dr. Weinstock goes even further. “Children should be allowed to go barefoot in the dirt, play in the dirt, and not have to wash their hands when they come in to eat,” he said. He and Dr. Elliott pointed out that children who grow up on farms and are frequently exposed to worms and other organisms from farm animals are much less likely to develop allergies and autoimmune diseases.

Also helpful, he said, is to “let kids have two dogs and a cat,” which will expose them to intestinal worms that can promote a healthy immune system."

So free yourself from hand washing guilt, some of the time. I still try to remember to wash their hands before meals, but if I forget, it is not that big of a deal. It will make them stronger!

(originally published on Eco-Child's Play)

Image: spoonful of dirt by fortune cookie on Flickr under Creative Commons