Childbearing Year

Ecstatic Birth Sheila Kamara Hay

Ecstatic Birth Sheila Kamara Hay.

Susun interviews Sheila Kamara Hay.
Sheila Kamara hay is a leading visionary, advocate and coach devoted to unveiling the ecstasy available in each moment at the intersection of sensuality, life and birth. Founder of the global ecstatic birth movement, a Yale and Columbia trained cultural sociologist and longtime sister goddesses, sheila empowers women to honor their feminine flow and locate their fierce feminine power while they birth their most sacred creations and re-birth themselves in pleasure. Sheila trains birth practitioners and expectant moms to integrate the most holistic birthing tool, pleasure, in birth preparation and support. Sheila is a sought after speaker and teacher guest teacher at mama gena's school of womanly arts and orgasmic birth pain to power childbirth education program, and has taught at the en*theos online academy, the birth institute, choices in childbirth, and numerous virtual conferences.



this episode Q&A includes:
• difficulty eliminating and urinating- cumin seed, yellow dock, lavender..
• pain- what's not working- it's ok to be in pain- take enough pain reliever to relieve the pain..
• oregano oil- lots of other mint preparations to experiment with that are not essential oils
• what defines healthy fats- omega 3:6 ratio..
• there are not any right answers left- doing the best we can..
• cervical health, hpv, cervical dysplasia..
• high blood pressure- drugs and herbs working together..

Pap Smear

Pap Smear

George Papanicolaou, a pathologist, pioneered this non-invasive screening test in the 1920s. It is not diagnostic. False negative results will occur 10-20 percent of the time.

The Art of Suzanne GrayA Pap smear is a sample of the tissues of the cervix (and sometimes vagina). In order to collect this sample, women are asked to lay back and put their feet up in stirrups. If this position makes you uncomfortable in any way, tell the examiner you want to put your feet on the examining table. With your knees spread, a speculum is gently fitted into your vagina and opened, making the cervix visible. Breathing deeply and relaxing will make any strange sensations easier to bear.

A small implement and a tiny brush are used to collect cells from the outside of the cervix and from inside the cervical os, like using your fingernail to scrape cells from the inside of your cheek, it is not painful, and there is rarely any bleeding.

The collected cells are either preserved in liquid (best) or smeared directly on a slide. Liquid preservation is required for HPV-DNA testing. Pathologists "read" Pap smears with a microscope, looking for cellular changes, such as cells with large black nuclei (cancer).

The vagina is best kept in its natural state for at least 24 hours prior to the Pap smear: avoid douching, intercourse, spermicides, vaginal hygiene products and sprays, and the insertion of boluses, pessaries, or hormonal creams. For the best results, keep it totally natural for three days before your Pap. Cancel your Pap smear if you are menstruating or have had vigorous sex the night before, as it won’t be accurate.

The original classification of Pap smear results - into four broad categories - created confusion on the part of patients and doctors, and resulted in hundreds of thousands of women being frightened into harsh treatments.

Since 1988, a clearer system, the Bethesda, has been used. It was hoped that expanding the categories and giving more specific information about the cells in the smear would limit the amount of over-treatment. Unfortunately, the new classifications have doubled the number of women with abnormal results, so, instead of fewer needless hysterectomies and drug prescriptions, twice as many women are told they need treatment. ....

Click here to Read the rest of this article

Order Down There: Sexual and Reproductive Health the Wise Woman Way

 

Herbs for Labor, part 10

Herbs for Labor, part 10

“Isn’t it a beautiful day?” beams Grandmother Growth as she opens the garden gate for you. The sun is shining, warming the earth and melting the patches of snow cling to shaded hollows. The crocuses are just finishing their salute to spring, and the tulips are budding.

And in between the bulbs, pushing up with such vigor you can almost hear them grow, are leaves of dark purplish-green: nettle.
Grandmother continues: The spring flowers are so cheerful, so beautiful, but the star of my early garden is nettle. I harvest it and dry it for the nourishing herbal infusions I drink every day.  

“But aren’t we here to learn about herbs for labor?” you say. “Is nettle an herb for labor?” you ask. Yes, it is. But not in the usual way.
Nettle does not directly impact the uterus, like blue cohosh, beth root, or cotton root, which increase the force and duration of uterine contractions. Nettle does not act to stop spasms in the uterine muscle, like black cohosh, catnip, or motherwort, which ease pain by coordinating labor contractions and countering muscle spasms. Nettle does not contain constituents that bring energy to the pelvis, like dong quai or wild ginger, which warm the belly and increase chi. Nettle is not mind-altering, like cannabis or lobelia, nor even mood-altering, like motherwort and passionflower, all of which improve outcomes by helping the laboring woman stay focused on the birth instead of her pain. Nettle does not work like life-root, which opens the cervix, nor like skullcap or hops, which reduce blood pressure, counter pain, and bring calm.

Nettle is a labor herb that supports the laboring woman, the midwife, and the baby. Drinking nettle infusion – not tea, not tincture, not capsules – enlivens the labor, strengthens the mother, gives energy to the labor assistants, counters post-partum hemorrhage, and floods the blood with electrolyte minerals.

Nettle infusion is not to be confused with nettle tea, though both are made with water. Nettle infusion is made with a full ounce (by weight) of dried herb steeped for at least four hours in a quart of boiling water. (Watch me make it on YouTube.)  Nourishing herbal infusions provide predigested nutrients which get into the blood stream and go to work within minutes of being consumed. No other herbal preparation works so quickly to bring deep nourishment to all the tissues.

It is simplicity itself to make nettle infusion, so simple, it can be done anywhere. Add several baggies of dried nettle, already weighed out into one ounce portions and a quart jar with a tight lid (I prefer canning jars), to your birth kit and you can make nettle infusion wherever you are. Just add boiling water and wait four hours.

Drinking nettle infusion strengthens the laboring mom-to-be both physically and psychically. Sister Spinster stinging nettle casts a net of protection and power. Drinking nettle infusion during labor helps prevent postpartum hemorrhage, and helps women who do lose a lot of blood recover more quickly.

Drinking nettle infusion supports the midwife, nourishing her archetypal powers as a gatekeeper and a way-shower, honing her intuition and grounding her deeply. Dark green stinging nettle rebuilds the adrenals, helping those whose professions keep them up all night at times.

Drinking nettle infusion offers the birthing babe readily usable protein, vitamins (including vitamin K), minerals, hydration, and critical micro-nutrients that stabilize blood sugar, heartbeat, and the respiratory system. Grandmother nettle is the neonate’s ally, before, during and after the birth. Grandmother nettle helps prevent jaundice and helps to establish healthy gut flora.

Drinking nettle infusion helps everyone present at the birth, so make enough for everyone. Nettle infusion does not keep for more than 24-26 hours, so it is hard to have it on hand, like a tincture which stays good for decades. Many midwives put up several quarts of nettle infusion as soon as they are called to a birth. If you are the type who needs a backup, nettle infusion loses nothing if made and frozen for no more than 3 months.

I prefer my nettle infusion iced. Cold beverages get into the blood much more rapidly than hot ones do. (Which is why eating soup at the start of a meal helps one lose weight. Because hot liquids stay in the stomach for hours, you feel full longer.)

“Now,” says Grandmother, titling her face to the sun and sighing. “Now our day is nearly done. I hope you enjoyed your nettle infusion. It isn’t just for births. I hope, when next we meet that you will be telling me of your adventures with my dear friend stinging nettle. Until then, green blessings on your way.” I eat it in soups and cook it as a green and use it in casseroles when it is young and tender. Later, I will harvest it continuously until it starts to flower. This larger nettle is just right for my nourishing herbal infusion that I drink every day.

 

Read more about Pregnancy and herbs in Susuns book:
Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year

Read the rest of this series as a member of Susuns Personal Mentorship website.
www.wisewomanmentor.com

 

Witch Hazel stops bleeding and more

Witch Hazel stops bleeding and more

Susun talks more about Witch Hazel, including it's ability to stop bleeding. Midwives use it for post partum bleeding. She also talks about other uses.

Susun interviews Elder Midwife Rev Barbara Grace

Elder Midwife Rev Barbara Grace

Susun interviews Rev Barbara Grace.
Creator and Keeper of the Elder Midwife History Gathering Project. From a very young age, Barbara Grace was a midwife. “Innately I knew that the power of touch and being a quiet witness could heal and calm. At births with all species, and in all situations.”
Graduating from seminary school at 19, Rev. Grace went on to speak all over North America about hands on healing and developing our own innate intuition. Then in the late ‘70’s she began her apprentice training with a traditional midwife, to become a midwife herself. Always a change-maker in the often oppositional worlds of our personal human rights and the laws of the legal system, she has consistently made a stand for choice, even when she became an ‘outlaw’ in the process!
Rev. Grace is mom to 3 grown sons and “Morai” (Irish for ‘grandmother’) to 6 grand-darlings. A life-long advocate of gentle birthing and human rights in childbirth, she has now created the Elder Midwife History Gathering project.
Please learn more about this important project at: http://www.facebook.com/eldermidwifehistorygathering



this episode Q&A includes:
• fertility, hormones and leaving well enough alone...
• cbds and extracting cannabidiol...
• oak bark sitz baths- astringent, anti infective, gets rid of all kinds of infection- very tannic and staining..
• bacterial vaginosis- yarrow and lots of information in 'Down There'..
• Hypericum and motherwort- are they habbit forming?

Wild Ginger

Wild Ginger

Susun Weed and Monica Jean tell us about the rarely and specially used herb, wild ginger.
Wild ginger is not the same as ginger you would cook with. It is a rare plant and used only in small amounts.
The root is tinctured and a few drops may be used by midwives for difficult births.

Featured Website~Sacred Mountain Midwifery School

 

Sacred Mountain Midwifery School

Sacred Mountain Midwifery School strives to teach the science and art of midwifery by offering a traditional approach that emphasizes apprenticeship-style training and experiential learning through lecture and hands-on experience. Our curriculum is applicable to a wide student range – from inspired to seasoned - and requires no prerequisites. Our approach is to midwife the student into midwifery. Our student body is small - so we can provide intensive small group learning and individualized training as well as growth toward individual goals. Our curriculum is based on NARM’s PEP-process and the Practical Skills Guide.

The Annie Delane Sponaugle Bennett Kisamore Scholarship Fund Born and raised on the highest mountain in West Virginia. Annie has loved these woodland mountains for ninety-four years. She was the seventh child of eleven born to her mother, Levie who lived a rugged mountain life in a tiny log cabin on Spruce Knob, WV. Levie died birthing her eleventh child at age 39 by the hands of an impatient doctor wielding forceps who arrived by horseback. Her other children were born unattended.

Annie gave birth to five babies in her lifetime. Her mother-in-law, alone, attended her. She first gave birth at age 17 to a boy with a face presentation. They thought she might be delivering a sheep. She healed and delivered three more strapping children. Her last was a stillborn.

At age 94, having out-lived two husbands, Annie continues to live alone and tend a garden and chickens. She heats her home partially with wood, bakes bread, gathers berries, mushrooms and ginseng as she has all her years. She can still wander the woods better than most half her age. Her eyes sparkle as she tells her stories. She values hard work, a healthy lifestyle and the life these West Virginian mountains have to offer.

Annie values the work and skills of the midwife. Her vision for the future generations of West Virginians is to have the midwifery care that was not available to her mother and herself.

Click here to learn more about Sacred Mountain Midwifery School.