June 2012
ImprovingBirth.org Newsletter
In This Issue
Featured Article
A Doula's Journey to Vaginal Birth After 3 C-Sections
Push for Your Baby
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Greetings!

 
Welcome to Improving Births newsletter! It's amazing how quickly 30 days goes by.  I feel like the entire month happened in this past week. I had the fantastic opportunity to be invited to an amazing Birth Activist Retreat at the world famous Farm in Tennessee.

 

The First Birth Activists Retreat was held June 22-24, 2012 in Summertown, Tennessee at The Farm. More than 75 were in attendance.

 

The Birth Activists Retreat was amazingly productive and members and representatives of Birth Network National, BOLD, CAPPA, ACNM, MANA, DONA, and Where's My Midwife were there. Besides myself several of our coordinators, representing Improving Birth, were in attendance. It was so great to have a chance to connect with them. I also had the privilege to be present when one of them learned she was pregnant, thanks to a midnight run to town to get a test when she casually mentioned she was 5 days late. Super fun! For all those birth junkies you can imagine what it was like to find that out AT the Farm! 

 

Who else was there? Pregnant Moms, Moms with babes in arms, Dads with video cameras, university researchers + grad students, doulas, childbirth educators, midwives of all stripes and work locations, massage & Cranio Sacral therapists, labor and delivery nurses, legal representatives from L.A.B.O.R., political activists and experienced lobbyists, and a young man named Bo who is going to organize his boy scout troupe to raise money to Tell the Truth about Birth.

 

It was hotter than blue blazes, but this very diverse group came together and did the hard work to find common ground around messaging and coordinated actions. We want everyone to have equal access to evidence-based maternity care. It is a human right.

 

I was thrilled that this group chose to make the National Rally for Change the launch and focus to a years worth of events. There will be more news on the other events coming soon. We want to make it easier for everyone to Tell the Truth about Birth!

 

In the week since my return this group of amazing women have done exactly what they said they would. We added 8 new locations just this week. The National Rally for Change is going to be the largest women's rights movement in DECADES! Where will you be on September 3rd from 10am - 12pm?  

 

Sincerely,

 

Dawn Thompson                                                       Please "Like" Us on Facebook
Founder & President of 
ImprovingBirth.org
 
Our mission is to reduce the unnecessary induction & unnecessary c-section rate in the United States by bringing education and awareness to birthing families, birth workers and hospital administrators.  Offering evidence based research to support the normalcy of birth.  We are an organization that believes that birth should be "principle over profit" and where secrecy is trumped by honesty, putting mothers front & center and squarely in the driver's seat of their birth choices.

 

 
A Doula's Journey to Vaginal Birth
After 3 C-Sections
I had shared my story shortly after Luke was born, just over 2 years ago. I realized that many of my new friends didn't know what the motivation was for why I started ImprovingBirth.org. I have decided to share it again. I think after people read this, it will be clear that my purpose comes from a very personal place.


I was 20 when I got pregnant with my first child. I made all the typical assumptions back then. I went to my primary doctor for an OB referral. I had no idea I had a choice. I thought that I went to the OB, he would tell me all I needed to know about birth, I would take the "Lamaze" class at the hospital and I would be on my marry way and have a baby. Oh and don't forget reading the standard "What to expect when you're expecting". They talked about c-sections in that class, but I didn't really listen because it was never going to happen to me. ..read more

Push for Your Baby

Lamaze International launched an amazing video and campaign called "Push for Your Baby". The amount of time and energy that went into this project is evident. These are all stories that birth professionals have lived right alongside our clients. Many organizations are getting on board to make a change in our communities and stop the unnecessary procedures being offered very casually with no thought to the emotional and physical toll it may take for some. Please visit the Lamaze website for more information 

 

Parents Pushing for Better

As expecting parents, you are confronted with so many important decisions. Moms (and dads) who have been in your shoes tell their personal childbirth stories. Hear what they learned along the way and how you can push for the best care!

Push for Your Baby - Parents Share Their Stories
Push for Your Baby - Parents Share Their Stories

 

 
National Rally for Change

Some are saying that this will be a historical event. The Purpose for the National Rally for Change is to stand in support that all maternal healthcare providers practice evidence based care. This is not a protest, but a public outreach event located where the vast majority of the population gives birth. This isn't about natural birth vs. medicated birth. This is about women being aware of all the options and making fully informed choices about their care. There are too many women who leave their birth thinking "If I would have know this, I wouldn't have done that". Or worse believing their body is broken because they were never given the risks of interventions and how these are the things that lead to c-section. 

 

We need women, men and children to join us on the front lines. This peaceful event, The National Rally for Change will be held all over the country on September 3, 2012. Since last month we went from 28 locations to 40 locations in 25 states! Each location with an amazing coordinator that has stepped up and offered their time and dedication to organizing a rally in their town. Don't know if there is one scheduled near you? Visit your states page and find out. You can also see the list of all locations on the participation page. The goal is at least 1 rally in every state, we have 25 to go. Please help us make that a reality by signing up to be a coordinator or sending the email on to someone who you know is "perfect" for the job.  

National Rally for Change
National Rally for Change

 

Please take just a few minutes to watch this our video about the National Rally for Change to understand why we must all care about Improving Birth. 

 

For all those that have already begun working so hard, Thank you! 

 

 




In Peace and Love,
ImprovingBirth.org Team

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