ChicagoDoula » their mama is a doula

Birth Day Appreciations

Amy Catania — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:12:48 +0000

I came home late tonight to a quiet house after spending the last 26+ hours providing labor support. Partner and kids are already tucked in bed for the night – so my birthday has passed by here for my family without me. And I am kind of sad about that. We will have to make it up later.

But instead!… Instead, I got to spend it doing something I love! Something that is truly an honor. And I was rewarded by witnessing the birth of a completely posterior (and asynclitic!) baby. For those of you who don’t speak “Obstetric”, that can be a very tough birth and frequently results in a cesarean rather than vaginal delivery. Anyway – it was simply a miracle. I do love my job.

And now I am enjoying one of my favorite meals after a long day (and night) of doula work: Thai food (Panang noodles that were waiting for me in the fridge) and a dirty gin martini.

But the especially cool thing is that along with it, I got to read through so many birthday wishes from such a fantastic group of people. I got a little weepy (either the sleep deprivation or the gin or both) and thought I’d write a bit just to say: “Thank You!!” I am so glad I get to stay connected with each and every one of you.

I feel very blessed this January 23rd.

…And in case you want to know more about preventing posterior positioning – or ways to try turning a baby who’s already there. Check out spinningbabies.com!

I’ve Been Reading…

Amy Catania — Sat, 23 May 2009 13:33:05 +0000

I should be doing my reading and writing for achieving my DONA and Birthing From Within certifications. And yet, I’ve been seeing all sorts of interesting items online, pulling my attention away from the hard-copy stack on my desk. Social media: good for networking and getting new information, bad for getting things crossed off a doula and birth mentor’s to-do list.

Here is a sampling of the articles and blogs that have caught my interest as of late. They span birth, motherhood, breastfeeding, feminism, racism and a bit of pop culture thrown in:

LA Times, “Childbirth: Can the US Improve?”

Henci Goer: Elective Induction of Labor

From Healthy Times “Risk to Baby Rises With Repeat C-Sections”

MamaHeartsBaby: A Baby Came Out of My Vagina

Science and Sensibility: First, Do No Harm: Another Reason to Ditch Routine IVs in Labor

Hoyden About Town: Missing The Point Awards, Manchester poster edition

Chicago HypnoBirthing: Kismet

Anti-Racist Parent: Just Like Me

Birth Write: Remembering Pearls of Mothering Advice

Hit Me Back!: Thoughts on the Mom-in-Chief

Womanist Musings: What White Women Can Do

Nov 30: A Sad Day for This Trekkie

Feel free to add your own!

Homebirth Safety Act Update – And Pictures!

Amy Catania — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:48:27 +0000

Despite a setback earlier this month, and what this article might lead you to believe, Rep. Julie Hamos and the co-sponsors of the Illinois’ Home Birth Safety Act, HB 226, are still working on getting the bill passed this session. They need all the help we can give them to turn legislators’ “no’s” into “yes’s”.

If you live in Illinois, please let your legislators know that you support HB 226 and women’s right to give birth where we choose. You can go here to find out who your state representative and senator are and get their phone numbers and mailing addresses. For tips and talking points you can refer to info here and here. This bill needs ALL the support we can give it, so please understand – I am asking YOU to join me and do this!

As an incentive, I finally finished going through my pictures from the road trip I took with my kids to lobby for the bill earlier this month. (Thanks to Kathleen, for helping me figure out how to post them). The photos aren’t going to win any awards (except maybe one that Elijah took). But they tell the story of the day, so have a look at them and then support the effort and call and write your legislators!

Roll Call and Next Steps

Amy Catania — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:39:34 +0000

I promise to write about the road-trip-to lobby-with-children part of yesterday and upload the pictures as soon as I am done sorting them.

As far as the legislation goes, here is the roll call for the vote to pass HB226 out of committee yesterday:

Yes:

Mary Flowers

Keith Sommer

Mike Zalewsk

Julie Hamos (subbing in for Esther Golar)

No:

Greg Harris

Will Burns

Lisa Dugan

Karen May

Mike Connelly

Joanne Osmond

Rosemary Mulligan

Tim Schmitz

There is re-grouping happening to decide next steps, but what is clear today is:

- Rep. Julie Hamos deserves tremendous appreciation and support from all of us who support this effort, because she has gone all out to make it possible for women in Illinois to have the choice to give birth at home.

- We have our work cut out for us to turn these nos into yeses! If we are to succeed, we must talk to representatives across the city and state. If you haven’t done so, please consider calling, writing a letter to your representative – or even better, go to see them and give them information about why a mother might want to birth at home vs. the hospital and ask them to do every thing they can to support this bill the next time they see it. You can look up your legislators here: http://www.ilga.gov/ If they are a supporter already – please thank them!

If you want to call, write, or visit and haven’t gotten around to it, please let me know and I will help!

What I Wrote Before Collapsing Into Bed Last Night (reposted from Facebook)

Amy Catania — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:17:37 +0000

We are home and settling in. The hearing was packed and the hallway outside was lined with mamas and babies and kids and dads. I was barely able to get into the room but was able to speak to two Reps in person beforehand – Rep. Osmond, who just doesn’t get it and was not open to hearing new information at all (but was very sweet to the kiddos) and Rep. Currie who is the House Majority Leader (but not on the committee) and is doing all she can (and was even sweeter to the kids).

But it didn’t have the votes. A few of the reps really showed that they don’t understand why women want to give birth at home and why midwives don’t “just go to school to be nurses.” So, despite the tremendous showing, and a two-hour hearing with lengthy questions and answers – including supportive MD testimony, the bill was not passed out of committee. We needed 3 more votes. Yet, there were signs of progress with some of the committee members and potential openings and next steps. More tomorrow – w/ pictures!

From the 4 Year Old in My Life:

Amy Catania — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:55:43 +0000

“Mama, you smell like a doula!”