Jennifer Block

Last night, I had the pleasure of meeting and listening to a lecture by Jennifer Block, author or PUSHED. She talked about different points and facts in her research(she has NOT had a baby yet.) The is the biggest one. Why aren't women in the United States OUTRAGED???? Why don't women push back...instead of laying over and playing dead? This is to do with OUR bodies, OUR babies. Has our society become so brainwashed that we just do what we are told to do? As women we should be demanding better options, saying NO, and stopping the childbirth RAPE! I would like to started a PUSHED BACK childbirth initiative. Have you had a PUSHED birth? Do you know someone who has had a PUSHED birth? Have you been in the minority of women who have PUSHED back? Do you want to PUSH back but don't know how? I want to hear your stories.

I have had the honor of attending about 50+ births, both at hospital and in home. The saddest times for me are when we are laboring at home and when the time is right we go to the hospital and the women "shuts down" because the environment is NOT conducive to labor. A perfectly healthy pregnancy and mom who is being poked, strapped, prodded, and poked again. It becomes that flight or fight thing. There was an OB nurse there last night who had worked across the country in various cities. She said by far that Columbus was the most conservative/closed minded community she had worked in. It is breath taking to me to watch a women unfold and to go deep within herself and PUSH that baby out....on her terms, being SUPPORTED and cared for by the people SHE chooses. Women that have had a traumatic birth in one way or another...to watch and help them be empowered on the next pregnancy, and go on to have a BEAUTIFUL HEALING experience, it is truly amazing.

The only way we can change this is for ourselves and our families to get educated and PUSH back. Help me make a change. Tell me your story. Write a letter to the editor of the Columbus Dispatch. Tell your doctor no. Don't get induced unless it is a TRUE medical emergency. Our doctors need to stop putting our bodies and our babies at risk. amy@birthisnatural.net

and please PLEASE read this book!