mamarama - "Business of Being Born" documentary 05/07.2

[zinnmarx]

Very much enjoyed your commentary. I did not notice any extraneous "ums" until I read someone's comment. I found your idiosyncrasies settling and warmly unpolished. The irony of wanting everything scripted and produced is this temper lends itself to the highly

polished hospital births. So, please, UM away; much more natural than reading (and edited) from a teleprompter.

[brittneyanne82]

I think it is incredibly offensive and presumtive to allege that mothers who do not experience unmedicated, non hospital births don't bond as well with their babies.

[karinwullfrodt]

This video is absolutly true woman don´t have the confidence to have babies the way we suposed (normal birth) I think the video is very interested .. but I have a message for you if you are tryng to make people untherstand and have birth at home ...make it short and graphic.!!!

[BeautifulDisaster519]

Just a word of advice, this would be much more effective if you didn't say "umm, uhh" over 60 times in the first 8 minutes. I was interested in what you were saying, but couldnt watch anymore after the first 8 minutes because the longer you get into the video, the more you say "umm uhh" and it makes you seem like you aren't experienced in what you are talking about. sorry but true.

[mamaramatv]

@BeautifulDisaster519 - hey there, you are not the first to recognize this - believe me I'm not insulted. It's really too bad that this is so unwatchable because A LOT of people have wanted to view this clip. Here's the deal - I do my show all the time where I talk sort of "ad lib" into the camera and do just fine! What happened here was I suddenly realized that Ricki and Abby - the creators of this excellent film, would be watching me and I totally blew it and stuttered ALL OVER myself.

[AaronTabuchi]

@mamaramatv informative. I didn't expect or need an over-produced video to obtain useful content from this video. What you said is effective for people who don't need a "sterile clinical" verbal presentation to see past your nervousness and hear the content of what you communicated. People miss out on useful information when they subconsciously equate perfect language with perfect knowledge. I've met/heard many incredibly brilliant people who say "umm" alot... it's called character.

[Jessabelle2188]

I was 18 when I had my son. I didn't know much about my options and when my water broke I went to the hospital. They told me my contractions were not strong enough so they kept giving me higher and higher doses of pitocin. It got so difficult that I got an epidural which I really didn't want. I ended up going through 18 hours of labor and finally delivered my son vaginally. My son wasn't breathing away and he had to be given oxygen. I didn't bond with him right away, I didn't breastfeed.

[mona6133]

I had a very long birth (3 days) and had an epidural. After my baby was born I was too exhausted to hold her, and I couldn't breastfeed her. I don't think I bonded really well with her at first, I'm not sure if it was the effect of the epidural or the long birth. And until she was a couple weeks old, I had a lot of trouble breastfeeding her, but she is 15 months old now and still breastfeeding.

[AnniaMarie]

I will be delivering my first baby at home with a certified midwife and husband. As soon as i knew i was pregnant i knew it was going to be at home and not in a hospital. NO interventions, no bullshit. I am a woman and i want to birth my baby in the best way i can. I am a healthy woman. I eat organics, take no meds. I control my health. Hospital births are for those that are high risk and dont take control of there health. pretty sad

[brittneyanne82]

@AnniaMarie what's sad is when mothers presume to know what is best for other women. Hospital births are not just for high risk pregnancies or women who don't take control of their health. Birth your baby the best way you can, and then support other women who are birthing their babies the best way THEY can. Don't presume to know why they make the decisions they do regarding their health choices.

[bigchipityzu]

are you rikki lake?

[mamaramatv]

Thank you; I fully agree with you - there is certainly no ONE way to birth and I would never want to imply that one way is better than another. (I think I've since changed my stance since this video aired)

[CptBones]

Natural birth seems to be the "new religion" but one religion doesn't fit everyone. Natural birth isn't the RIGHT way to have a baby...it's just ONE way to have a baby. And whatever way a mother chooses to give birth should be a way she feel most comfortable and safe. Because I guarantee you a stressed out mother will equal a stressed out baby.

And isn't that what is the most important? Is a happy mother and healthy baby?

And bonding is more then just a release of hormones.

[CptBones]

I had an epidural....and loved it! I wasn't all "drugged out" I was completely aware of what was going on and can remember every moment. The only issue I had was trying to feel how to push since I was numb, but once the baby got down far enough even being numb I was able to feel where to push and it did hurt when he came out.

I also have bonded completely fine with my child.

[mynameisorde]

The point of not needing an epidural is just that it is unsafe for the baby. Yes, it is "generally regarded as safe" but there is no research proving that it won't harm the baby at all. *It does cause fetal distress *It can interfere with the "mother-baby bonding experience" right after birth.

[ganjagirl813]

No doubt natural child birthing is beautiful :) a million kudos to those who have made it through.I have had one C Section and had a wonderful experience. But like you said you're so drugged up it's hard to really grasp the moment. Although I have bonded strongly with my daughter, i cant really even remember all that happened for a good hour after the birth. My doctor basically wanted me to have a C section because I wasnt dialating fast enough.

Great Vid! good points!

[jadegrrrl]

Wonderful and so true, my daughter was a natural birth with a midwife in a public hospital and it was perfect and sublime absolutely magical. I look forward to having another natural birth this year!!!!

[konnely]

once she gets into talking about what she knows, the umms go away!!!

[mamaramatv]

yes! you unlocked the mystery. I was thinking too hard that Ricki and her director would be watching/judging and I got nervous. Later on, it's more about what I think and then I forgot my "audience". thx.

[onegreeneye]

there is pressure to have c-sections. I have had 2 c-sect. & 3 normal delivery pregnancies..c-sections are TERRIBLE, cant do anything, even to barely take care of baby..Actually, I FLAT-LINED, DIED & met JEsus Christ in my 1rst C-Section. I later came back to life. myspacedotcom/imetjesus

[hopeand]

He was getting ready to do a C-section next door. I suppose I was slow when you consider that.

[hopeand]

I do believe the litigiousness of our society has a hand in the number of C-sections that are performed. You mentioned the timing of the birthing mother is not considered/respected. I felt this pressure myself. I knew my body, and practically laughed at the doctor when he suggested my 12 hr. labor (for a first time mother) was "slow."

[Zwobu]

See, this is where things get kind of weird. Why is a long labor automatically associated with a more painful labor? I think anything less than a 10 hour labor, for me personally that is, way too fast. I like the slow controlled build up so my body can take everything in and prepare itself.

I just had a 3 hour labor and boy was that traumatic... you hardly have time to get ready to pull the baby out!

[srt2oo6]

wtf?

[mamaramatv]

What kind of comment is "wtf"? Please elaborate.

[swissmiss2584]

I believe from my many months of research on natural child birth is that the reason the baby becomes stressed and the heart rate goes down is because an epidural causes the mother's blood pressure to go down. That reduces the amount of blood that circulates to the baby therefor causing stress. I agree that if more women had natural childbirths that the ceserean rate would go down. With a support system and an education on natural birth, more women would be having natural home births.

[mamaramatv]

Yes, epidurals have been shown to have several negative effects on mother and baby. Not all can be proven, and not all are so detrimental that one might consider them dangerous either. A few studies recently showed that the epidural drug itself does in fact inhibit the baby's sucking reflex - creating extra difficulty in nursing from the start.

[swissmiss2584]

I agree. I have also read about epidural babies having trouble breastfeeding. I have read that it may be due to the fact that their natural response to suck right away is delayed because of "sleepiness" from the epidural. It's interesting. PS. I'm on the road to becoming a DONA doula as well. Good luck!

[TheRealtMG]

Add to that the fact that mother is now on her back, compressing the major artery leading to the placenta. Add to that the greater liklihood of needing pitocin (the articial hormone given to a LOOOOT of women in the U.S.). Pitocin creates insanely long, hard contractions that the stress out the baby (a normal contraction gradually builds up, peaks and then backs off, much gentler).

[mamaramatv]

Thalidomide was used in Europe between 1956 and 1962 and was given to women in order to combat morning sickness. As a result of the birth defects that ensued we now have strict laws about what drugs may be 'test-run' on pregnant women. Thalidomide, interestingly, is still being used to combat leprosy in third world nations.

[mamaramatv]

CORRECTION! I didn't mean to say that ALL pregnant women in the 1940s were x-rayed. "MANY women" would be more accurate. Typically, this caused cancer in their children, as was later discovered.