South Bay Homebirth Collective

Carol Leonard posted Carla Hartley's words. Carla died this past week, a real loss to the community.

As soon as you meet your baby they are present. They are in a relationship with you. They see you. They hear you. They feel you. They smell you. They sense you...r feelings. They have feelings. They are learning. They are remembering. Their brain is developing. And you see, hear, feel, smell and have feelings too. You are learning and remembering. Your brain is developing. The way you interact with babies starting from the beginning shapes their emotional brain and lifelong health. It shapes your parent brain. Our culture tends to treat babies like they don’t hear or understand what’s going on. Like they aren’t present until later in life. We’ve lost the art of baby communication and needs. And along with that, lost respect for babies and their human rights. At birth take your time to meet your baby. Talk to them, tell you how you feel, welcome them. Put them skin to skin for a full sensory exchange. Speak to baby like they understand every word you are saying. When you talk about them to another person, include baby in the conversation. For example I’m going to tell your aunt about your birth. If you need to express frustration say how you’re feeling like I’m feeling angry and tired, instead of insulting baby like My baby is a tyrant. Spend baby’s first weeks learning their non-verbal and verbal communication. They will signal when they are hungry, tired, playful and social. Let’s bring back respect and human rights for infants.

Did you know that four out of five women will take the Pill at some time in their lives? That many are on it for a decade or more? Or that over 50% of women on ...it are not on it for contraception - they’re put on it to treat symptoms of hormone imbalances - heavy, painful, or irregular periods, acne, hormonal headaches, etc. There's a good chance either you - or women you know - would tick off one of those checkboxes. Sometimes the Pill can be helpful. And, it's an easy-to-use and popularly prescribed method to prevent pregnancy that works really well. But there's another side to this story. While the Pill ls not likely to cause serious harm in most women who use it, it is associated with a long list of mild to severe side-effects, and we deserve to know that full list of side effects - in addition to the full list of benefits and alternatives - when making a decision that will impact our health long term. And in some women, it does cause serious harm. Unfortunately most of the docs handing out prescriptions for these pills aren’t taking the time to assess a patient's risk before prescribing it, nor are they educating prospective users on the effects that they have on our bodies, minds, and overall health. On today’s Natural MD Radio episode (link below) I dig into the complex relationship between hormonal contraception, women’s health, and reproductive rights with my friends Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein, the filmmakers behind the upcoming film, The Business of Birth Control. The film features the stories of activists, doctors and scientists who are raising awareness on what women aren’t being told - how hormonal birth control affects the mind and body - in order to help empower women with the information we deserve to have around our reproductive health. There will also be a special screening of The Business of Birth Control this Friday at 6 pm ET, after which I am honored to do the post-screening interview with Ricki + Abby to kick off their weekend long summit. To learn more about the Friday screening and interview, and the the summit -- all free - head to my Instagram stories. https://avivaromm.com/business-birth-control/

As many of you know, Family Tree Wellness is a group practice dedicated to perinatal mental health . We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Qu'Nesha Hinton as our new... Director of Racial Equity, Inclusion & Belonging . She is here to spark a movement! Her work with Family Tree Wellness will focus on lifting Black moms in California, through seeing individual clients and facilitating groups. Qu'Nesha's programming is designed to bring awareness and support into communities where perinatal mental health has been neglected. Qu'Nesha is accepting individual clients and facilitating a free group for perinatal Black women called Moving Mamas. We want to encourage you to spread the word to clients and throughout your communities. Visit our page to learn more about Dr. Qu'Nesha Hinton and some of the programs she will be facitilitating at Family Tree Wellness https://www.familytreewellness.org/black-mamas.

This beautiful mama asked me to share this far and wide "I just want to empower as many moms as possible. This is my love letter to them." Thank you Paige Driscoll for capturing it so beautifully!

One to share xx

Two decades ago in Natural Health After Birth I wrote of stretch marks as the silver strands that adorn us, marking our pregnancy journey. Postpartum is framed ...in terms of losing baby weight and ‘bouncing back.’ We don’t talk about embracing the powerful transformation that happens in mind, body + spirit and the physical changes that map our journey. Historically, women were revered as birth-givers. Now the gold standard is ‘bouncing back to our pre-pregnant selves. There’s so much to unpack about why these beliefs are deeply problematic - how we frame the pre-pregnant or ‘non-mom’ ‘bod’ as the ideal, how we deny the changes of motherhood and expect a woman to go back, physically and emotionally, to where she was before - and quickly, with little regard for the magnitude of what’s happening in her life. All of this puts new mamas on the clock rather than allowing the time, space + support to heal in the way our body needs. And it denies that our bodies do change after birth - and not for the worse. I’d love to have a different, powerful, self-loving and honest conversation - as my team member, @hi_soy_gabby, shared, reflecting on her postpartum body now 10 months after birthing her daughter: I love the reminders etched into my skin of the time my blood volume doubled, my bones separated, my heart and feet and belly all expanded in order to create life. I can follow them like a map, tracing them from the day my skin started to stretch to make more room, to the places we could see the outline of Paloma’s hand, her elbow, her little booty pressed against my belly, reaching for the foreign world on the other side. Proof of the journey we went on together, into the depths of this earth, through the soil and rock and magma and into the innermost core where it’s dark and dense, to bring her here. Proof that I’m a mama because sometimes I still can’t believe it. I love the scars, the grooves, the loose skin that remind me not of who I should be, but who I am, and the fact that we are all here to do extraordinary, powerful, divine things. Did you feel pressure to bounce back? How are you loving your mom-self? Let's reclaim the conversation. @th3littlestavenger

Cereal and blueberries for the win! In the hospital we encourage moms to breastfeed every 2-3 hours to nourish the baby and bring in a good future milk supply.... It’s math: 8-12 feeds in 24 hours (ideal) = nursing every 2-3 hours It’s a quick and easy way to get the message across that this baby needs to eat, and often. Unfortunately, new parents seem think breastfeeding is going to be like the first picture (cereal)...all the feeds perfectly spaced out and all the same size. Every 2-3 hours. Easy. And the baby will sleep like an angel in between.... THIS IS NOT REALITY. In reality, your sweet newborn baby will have good feeds, short feeds, sleepy feeds, crappy feeds, and everything in between! The visual of the blueberries is amazing because it shows how realistically feedings are at all different times and different lengths (bigger blueberries ). And did you count the berries?!? More than enough! Yes, we want you to nurse every 2-3 hours, but the baby calls the shots. Less watching the clock and more watching for feeding cues

**If you are evacuated and need somewhere to sleep, I will have the Collective opened for you** Use fb messenger or Call Hope

I'll be teaching these classes in the next few months: Blossom Birth and Family - Baby Care Class (Zoom classes) https://www.blossombirthandfamily.org/baby-...care.html Sun Aug 23 2020, 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM Sun Sep 20 2020, 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM Sun Nov 22 2020, 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM Sun Dec 20 2020, 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM Blossom Birth and Family - Breastfeeding Basics Zoom Class https://www.blossombirthandfamily.org/breastfeeding-basics. Wed Aug 19 202, 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM Sun Nov 15 2020, 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM Sutter Health (PAMF) Baby Care eClass & Livestream with an Educator https://www.sutterhealth.org//baby-care-eclass-livestream- Sat Aug 1 2020, 10:00-11:00 AM Sat Aug 15 2020, 10:00-11:00 AM Sat Sep 5 2020, 10:00-11:00 AM Sat Sep 19 2020, 10:00-11:00 AM Sat Oct 10 2020, 10:00-11:00 AM Sat Nov 7 2020, 10:00-11:00 AM Sat Nov 212020, 10:00-11:00 AM Sat Dec 19 2020, 10:00-11:00 AM

You want to to the best thing for your baby, so deciding between antibiotics for GBS and protecting your baby’s microbiome can feel confusing. In this video I ...discuss what GBS is, why it’s an issue in pregnancy and for newborns, and I focus on an important, safe, and sustainable approach to GBS prevention that you can start doing now to reduce your risk of GBS-related complications in pregnancy, your likelihood of testing positive and needing antibiotics, while protecting your baby’s microbiome if you do need antibiotics in labor. This info is not meant in any way to substitute for medical care, but is available for your education and empowerment, and to discuss with your midwife or doctor. For a comprehensive review of GBS in pregnancy, and natural approaches, also check out my article and podcast on this topic at http://avivaromm.com/130 : @kellycolchin