The Future of Food

Okay, okay I am starting to get really annoyed- when you start to mess with my food that's where I draw the line! Is it just me or is America being taken over by big pharmaceutical and big agricultural companies? Oh, I still haven't even mentioned our ever expanding government encroaching more and more on our personal lives and the evils of consumerism that we just can't seem to escape.

I am all for companies in business with the purpose of making a profit but I think Corporate America has gone too far. Take a look at the video below, The Future of Food and if you can consider watching the whole documentary- it will shock you.



After watching this documentary you will find Monsanto, a huge multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation that is behind the evils that are exposed in the film. Monsanto is the leading producer of herbicides and genetically engineered seeds and frankly, the more I learn about them the more I want to throw up.

Take a look at the links below, learn for yourself and take a stand against Monsanto.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Monsanto

http://www.ethicalinvesting.com/monsanto/

http://www.organicconsumers.org/monlink.cfm

Reflections on Ava's Entry

So, one of the main purposes of this blog is to advocate natural child birth. When I first starting telling people I was considering a drug-free birth I was met with a lot of arched eyebrows and long pauses. In fact, pretty soon I kept my idea to myself and told only pertinent people so I would not be persuaded otherwise and have my confidence waver. Pregnant women already have a mountain of stress, doubt and worry on their shoulders and they don't need anymore.

It started many years before I became pregnant. I developed an interest in alternative medicine and nutrition and learned that the state of peoples health in America was pretty sad (in fact SAD is short for Standard American Diet). Our reliance on drugs, sugar, processed foods and lack of exercise are why we are the way we are. I don't like insurance companies and I don't have blind faith in doctors just because they are doctors. I thought why should I start now just because I was pregnant?

I started learning about the dangers of a highly medicalized birth and the alarming rate of Cesarean sections being performed in this country. It wasn't so much that I was against epidurals; I wasn't trying to be a macho woman and boast about how I wasn't going to have any pain killers while giving birth- I just didn't want everything that comes along with getting an epidural.
The "cascade of intervention" they call it. If you get an epidural, most likely you will confined to a bed (and being flat on your back is probably the worst position to be in while in labor) but then the epidural slows down labor so they give you pitocen to get the contractions going again. However, pitocen makes your contractions longer, stronger and closer together, so much more so than if you would have been without it. The epidural also makes you numb from the waist down so you can't feel when you get the urge to push. This then in turn increases the use of forceps, vacuum extractors and c-sections.

These interventions greatly interfere with the natural process of birth. We haven't even talked about how all this affects the internal hormonal processes, the baby and important activities that take place after birth like bonding and breastfeeding. The thing that really got to me was not having control. I also was in no way going to allow my baby being taken away from me for shots, "cleaning," observation etc. And if I had given birth in a hospital I felt there was no way I could ensure this and stop it from happening.

However, with a midwife I had control. Was I nervous? Yes. Was I scared? Of course but I trusted my body and I trusted Mother Nature and so did she. My midwives believed in me as they believe in every other woman. They were with me from beginning to end. My labor was about 8 hours long which is pretty short for a first time mom and I never once thought that I couldn't do it. I said the F-word a few times but dealing with the pain was very doable.

Does it take a special kind of woman to have a natural childbirth? No. Can every woman do it? No. Sometimes, it is medically necessary for a c-section to take place and sometimes a woman needs pains relief and thank God for them. However, I do believe that we are told through our culture that we can't do it. Do your research, do your homework and prepare. Our bodies are the same as our foremothers and they have been giving birth for centuries and so can we.

To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate- That is the Question

This is a very hot and debated topic, one that I am very passionate about. I am against vaccines. Ava has not and will never be given a cocktail of:
* aluminum hydroxide

* aluminum phosphate

* ammonium sulfate

* amphotericin B

* animal tissues: pig blood, horse blood, rabbit brain,

* dog kidney, monkey kidney,

* chick embryo, chicken egg, duck egg

* calf (bovine) serum

* betapropiolactone

* fetal bovine serum

* formaldehyde

* formalin

* gelatin

* glycerol

* human diploid cells (originating from human aborted fetal tissue)

* hydrolized gelatin

* mercury thimerosol (thimerosal, Merthiolate(r))

* monosodium glutamate (MSG)

* neomycin

* neomycin sulfate

* phenol red indicator

* phenoxyethanol (antifreeze)

* potassium diphosphate

* potassium monophosphate

* polymyxin B

* polysorbate 20

* polysorbate 80

* porcine (pig) pancreatic hydrolysate of casein

* residual MRC5 proteins

* sorbitol

* tri(n)butylphosphate,

* VERO cells, a continuous line of monkey kidney cells, and

* washed sheep red blood

Yes, those fillers are commonly put in vaccines that are injected into our children. Adverse reactions like temporary damage, permanent damage and death are the results of these vaccines. Now, does every child have a bad reaction to vaccines? No. Does every child given a vaccination die? Of course not. But there are many, many cases of babies and children who shortly after being vaccinated getting very very sick and do die.

Someone once said to me "but it is for the common good." For the common good? You tell that to the mother whose child starting having seizures after getting the their first shot. You tell that to the mother whose child is developing the characteristics of autism after receiving the MMR vaccine. You tell that to the parents of a 20 month old baby who died 10 hours after receiving the 4th dose of DPT, HIB and polio vaccines. Vaccines need to be rethought and re-examined. The science behind them are shaky at best.

Parents- do you homework. Do your research before vaccinating. They are not what you think they are. Please check out the websites thinktwice.com, mercola.com and vaclib.org for better and more comprehensive information.

The Business of Being Born

Hello, hello! Thank you for taking an interest in my blog! Lately, I have been writing about my birth experience to advocate midwifery and natural birth. Boy, I am so glad I did my homework when I found out I was pregnant! Upon my research, I happen to cross over a documentary on Netflix called "The Business of Being Born." After watching it all doubt about having a drug-free birth left my mind. Below, I have added the trailer to the movie and an interview with Ricki Lake, the creator of the documentary.

Hospitals are for sick people! Pregnant women are not sick- they are just pregnant! Have a safer, calmer birth at home or at a birth center. Would you do anything to harm or endanger a baby that looked like this? My little angel, Ava...

Remember, just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

Unsung Heroes

So my previous post was about my birth experience. I know it seemed very long but detail was important for that topic. I remember researching the internet for birth stories when I became pregnant and the ones I found were like precious gems of information. I hope mine will be that to someone else who is considering a drug-free birth.

This post is about the women who made my experience possible- my midwives. Birth is a natural life event that has become way too medicalized in recent days. I learned from my midwives that doctors, c-sections and epidurals are not bad for the women who need them. The thing is most women don't need them. We are just told we can't give birth any other way.

Midwives have been around for centuries. Probably since the beginning of time women have been helping women bring life into this world. When I decided I wanted to give birth outside of a hospital finding the place where I would have my baby was probably the easiest decision I have ever made in my life- and I am a very indecisive person. I was driving around Gainesville one day and passed The Birth Center of Gainesville. When I found out I was pregnant, I remembered it immediately and called to set up an appointment.

Advancements in medicine and technology are wonderful but because of them midwifery has become thought of as outdated and even dangerous. It is not. Midwives are highly skilled and trained women specializing in natural birth. Most even know more about natural birth than doctors. Giving birth in a hospital is a very unnatural setting. Lack of privacy, inability to be mobile while in labor and babies and mothers being separated after birth is the norm in a hospital environment and these things are not good.

If you are pregnant or know someone who is pregnant please tell her to consider having a natural birth with the guidance and expertise of a midwife. Girls- you can do it and men believe in your ladies! We were made to give birth!

Ava's Entry

Ava Diane Larsen was born November 14, 2008 at 7:46 am at The Birth Center of Gainesville in Florida.

On November 13th I had a check up appointment at the birth center and the midwives told me I was 1.5 cm dilated but that I could go into labor that day, in a few days or next week. They really could not say exactly when and told me to rest and to get my bags ready. My due date was the 15th but my midwives told me I didn't really have a due date but a "due month" rather. I was super excited but took the midwives advice and I did not expect her to come that day or in the next few days. I think was just in denial that I was actually going to have to push a baby out very soon!

Later that day I visited my then fiance at his a job and on the way home I got a piece of pizza and a Snickers ice cream bar. I normally ate very healthy but I felt like having something really "good" and boy, did I regret it later! At home I scarfed down my pizza and relaxed. I was feeling pretty drained. Soon, I started having pains in the stomach area. I had a few earlier but just thought they were Braxton-Hicks contractions. As the day went on the contractions picked up but were still very irregular. I ate a little but did not have much of an appetite.

It was not until midnight did the contractions get pretty uncomfortable. Brian started timing them but they were still irregular and sporadic. I wanted to talk to a midwife so I had Brian call the birth center. Maddy answered and asked how I was doing. I told her that I was having pains but that they were not that bad. She asked what I did all day and what I ate. She said she didn't think I was in true labor. She told me to take a shower and relax and to try to get some sleep. She also asked what my results were for the GBS test. I told her I was negative and then we hung up. I really didn't feel like taking a shower so I laid on the bed and tried to go to sleep. But there was no sleep to be had. I could not sleep with these contractions, false labor or not. Just then Maddy called back. She said she was looking over my chart and that I was positive for GBS. I told her that I was told that I was negative a few appointments ago. She said she wanted me to come in just case so she could check me out but that probably I would go back home after.

Just to be safe I told Brian to get the bags and food ready. The midwives had taught me the importance of staying hydrated and well fed while in labor so I made a casserole a few days earlier to take with us to the birth center. We were rushing around like mad men and a few times I snapped at Brian. He didn't mind though. On the way to the birth center, things started really picking up. I felt so strange and the contractions were getting more intense.

When we got to the birth center Maddy examined me right away. She said I was having this baby tonight because I was already 5 cm dilated! She also said she was looking at the wrong paper in my chart and I was in fact negative for GBS. I immediately got in the tub and the contractions continued to get stronger. Brian stayed next to me the entire time. At this point, I think I started entering "Labor Land." Amy and Ashley, the assistant midwives soon got there to help. I labored in the tub for hours but it didn't seem like hours to me. Time was flying by for me but not for everyone else. Maddy was laying down on the bed resting and watching me and Amy was sitting next to the tub coaching me. It must have been 3 or 4 in the morning and all three of the midwives were exhausted because they had just attending a birth before mine.

The contractions were not what I expected them to be. For me, they were not like really bad PMS cramps that I had heard women describe them to be. But they were like waves that came over my entire body. I sat in the tub on my hands and knees when one would come and moan. It sounds strange but that is exactly what I wanted to do. Amy said I was doing very well and advised me on completely surrendering to the contraction and completely letting it go after it was done. I kept burping which was annoying. I think it was from that pizza!

I remember them checking me and I was 8 cm dilated. I remember thinking I was almost there but I actually started falling asleep in the tub between contractions! At some point I got out of the tub and sat of the toilet and there my water broke. I got back in the tub and the urge to push hit me like a ton of bricks. I sat in the tub and started to push with everyone around me. I remember being extremely hot and not being able to get a good grip in the water in order to push. Maddy suggested I get out of the tub onto the bed.

On the bed I stayed on my knees and rested on a big pillow and pushed. Seems awkward but I was terrified of being on my back. I was so tired I felt just like going to sleep and I had to tell myself to keep pushing! I was prepared for the pain but I did not prepare myself for the pushing part. It was very hard for me. The total time I spent pushing had to be over an hour at least. Maddy suggested I get in semi-laying position. I did and Ava was born two pushes later.

They put her on top of me and I remember being so shocked she was actually there! I was very tired and dazed but she was beautiful. Brian cut the cord and one of the midwives gave me an ibuprofen and a homeopathic remedy to calm me down. I was trembling so bad I could barely hold her. I slowly calmed down and rested. I was euphoric and relieved. Ashley fed me some and gave me something to drink while Amy and Maddy examined Ava. Around 8:30 am me, Brian and Ava went home.

All in all, I consider myself truly blessed . I was able to stay on top of the pain while in labor and Ava was pretty much perfect. I was terrified of the pain of childbirth but it was not bad at all. I never threw up and I didn't tear. The whole experience was calm and Brian and the midwives were absolutely wonderful. I could not have done it without them.