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Debra Pascali-Bonaro

Awaken Your Inner Wisdom

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Country of the Month

Doula Program Advocates for Refugees Experiencing Racism at Birth

Expectant mother with Montreal Birth Companions shares her beautiful belly with the camera.
Expectant mother with Montreal Birth Companions shares her beautiful belly with the camera.

“The purpose of the Montreal Birth Companions is twofold: to provide low-income or otherwise disadvantaged women with free doula services and to train “peer doulas” within the ethnically or culturally isolated areas of our city to provide doula support for the women in their communities.” – MBC

Community doula programs are very close to my heart and that is why I am so grateful for the work Montreal Birth Companions is doing. In Montréal, Quebec, recently “changes to refugee health care put women and babies at risk.” In this blog, Chesley Walsh shares a little about those challenges. To read more on the topic, please read Rivka’s full article: Undocumented Labor.  Join Rivka and I co-teaching in Montréal (you can be local or travel in) by please visiting the events page. 

Submitted by Chesley Walsh
Meet Rivka Cymbalist and the Montréal Birth Companions

Birth can be a daunting and solitary experience for many women. Navigating medical systems, choosing your birth experience and learning about the miracles of change can both edify and overwhelm us. But imagine experiencing all of this in a new and foreign country, without family, without friends and without adequate knowledge of the systems that surround you. These women, refugees and new immigrants, are often fleeing their home countries under duress, leaving behind the familiar in exchange for the safety of their little ones.

Refused refugee with her doula. Photo by Rivka Cymbalist.

The Montréal Birth Companions is a volunteer doula service, organized and operated by Rivka Cymbalist in Montréal. Rivka began her practice as a doula some twenty years ago, attending hundreds of births along the way and bringing her deep knowledge and calming presence to every delivery room. Over time she saw a sharp difference in services for the less fortunate members of her community, and she decided to begin a volunteer doula service of her own.

Nearly ten years ago, some innovative doula students and their mentor Rivka Cymbalist started offering their services to women's agencies in the Montreal region.
Montreal Birth Companions: Nearly ten years ago, some innovative doula students and their mentor Rivka Cymbalist started offering their services to women’s agencies in the Montreal region.

The volunteer doulas of the Montréal Birth Companions hail from diverse backgrounds, some trained by Rivka and others with training elsewhere; however, every volunteer doula comes with a passion to empower and nurture mothers through their birth experience, regardless of class or origin.

The results can be wonderful to behold, but there are frightening realities to face. Often, within the closed walls of a hospital birth, the question of refugee insurance or lack thereof becomes a barrier to adequate service. Racism, classism and xenophobia play a role in services rendered, particularly with regard to bedside manner. In situations like this, the role of the “advocate” doula can be extremely helpful and important for the mother.

Did racism, classism and xenophobia play a role in services you received at the birth of your baby, particularly with regard to bedside manner?  Please share your story with us here.

 

To join Debra and Rivka at the workshop please visit the events page.

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In 2013, Ibu Robin Lim of Bumi Sehat Bali visited Montreal Birth Companion. Here is a great little skit she improvised with Montreal Birth Companions on different birth scenarios, doctor or midwife assisted. It is entertaining and informative. Cayenne Pepper comments: “Great little skit… education is so powerful when entertaining.” Enjoy!

Rivka Cymbalist is author of The Birth Conspiracy written for doulas and pregnant women. “She brings an awareness of labor and birth as a process that cannot be separated into parts and is unique for each individual into the framework of modern obstetrics, which creates stages and phases and demands that all women labor in the same way.”

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Montreal Birth Companions’ Rivka Cymbalist finally meets Ina May Gaskin at the 2013 Birth and Beyond Conference.

 

To join Debra and Rivka at the workshop please visit the events page.

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Birth Rooms that Make My Heart Sing

by Debra

“Why have so many hospitals set up the room with the smallest bed one has ever had when you are the biggest in your life?”

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A birthing bed made from a combination of circles and colorful shapes.

As I wake early to prepare for my visit to our International MotherBaby (IMBCI) Demonstration site in Feldbach, Austria, my morning gratitude is focused on the great model that is the foundation of their hospital: IMBCI step #1) To treat every women with respect dignity and fully involved in informed decision-making. This philosophy is at the core of their care and contributes to their providing elements of comfort and intimacy with Optimal MotherBaby Maternity Care.

I feel the anticipation of seeing their labor and birth rooms for my return visit- rooms that give you a feeling of activity, freedom and choice. As we tour the rooms we see elements of comfort; a bed made from a combination of circles and colorful shapes; a ladder to hold, squat, or rock; a thick mat to use on the floor to be more comfortable on hands and knees, or to rest; a beautiful free flowing shape tub; a soft, silky colored rope to hold, swing, and squat from; a swing called the wheel; a birth stool; colored balls; music; aromatherapy; homeopathy; acupuncture as well the option of epidural, and cesarean when needed. There is a midwife available for every woman and a back-up obstetrician, who finds pleasure in working in this evidenced-based practice. After a peaceful ride thru the rolling hills and forest on this sunny, crisp, fall day, the colors of the leaves glistening and filling my heart with bliss as nature in all her eloquence was shining her beauty, as if to say- “trust nature, birth is beautiful, sacred and within all the pleasures are available to you look at what is before you. Each season holding it’s own secret treasure to unlock and behold.”

Drs Feldbach
Drs. Hoffman and Huber at Feldbach Hospital show off one of their co-sleepers.

The smiling face of Dr. Hans Hoffman, chief OB, greets Angelika and I. He is happy to see us. It is such a pleasure to work with such diverse colleagues around the world who all share a passion for childbirth. I always remind people who attend my workshops, that whenever we are working to make change, we must honor that all who are called to the sacred gateway of birth, do it with the same passion and fire in our hearts, yet depending on our own experiences with birth and for nurses, midwives and physicians often their training indoctrinated them into different models. The challenge today is to look at our training; our longs held beliefs about childbirth, scientific knowledge and with a human rights lens, combine quality care with heart and compassion. This is what our demo sites and many information sites we call MotherBaby Networks, or MBNets, are doing. Some like Feldbach Hospital are further along than others, but it doesn’t matter where you start, it’s just one step at a time to create Optimal MotherBaby Maternity Care!

Soon Dr. Alexander Huber comes smiling along as well. His joy to see us is apparent in his whole body, I can tell they have some news to share that they are proud of. We go into the family room to have coffee and talk. This cozy room is where women and their families can gather in labor to eat, drink, relax and even sit outside on the beautiful patio overlooking the city of Feldbach. We walk outside today, enjoying a little heat wave in autumn, and together dream of women being able to have a waterbirth here, outside in nature. We smile, as when a physician can share this dream, we know we are in a very special place. We share how so many places find so many small barriers to stop such simple pleasures from being available to women, yet how easy it would be to set up a portable tub today, Angelika and I each as doulas know we could do this in 20 minutes, a woman could enjoy the water to labor and/or birth and should she choose to get out and go inside, or for a medical reason should this be a joint decision how easy it is to just move inside… maybe we will hear of this happening one day soon here. We all smile in acknowledgment that this simple act is pushing outside common hospital procedures, yet makes so much sense!

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We are greeted by beautiful photographs of babies that line the wall.

We sit to enjoy our coffee and the discussion prompted be me sharing my news of my amazing son and daughter-in-laws vaginal twin birth with a double footling breech just this past September. I am so grateful for my son and daughter-in-laws strength to trust birth and for an amazing skilled midwives and physician who can safely offer these skills. I know they share my joy. Dr. Hoffman begins to share of the 7 breech births he has caught this year and how it is a declining practice and how he wants to pass along to his staff before he retires in 2015. Dr. Huber eagerly says how he would like to travel to attend more breeches and learn more. I am humbled by their desire to keep a full range of options available to women and in doing so to continue to pass along essential skills that are being lost with so many cesarean births. As Ina May Gaskin shares- we are deskilling our midwives and physicians since the option to birth twins and breeches vaginally are no longer being taught in many places. My heart is warmed by their sincere desire to keep these skills and options for MotherBaby safe. We talk about many other issues in birth in Austria today and specifically Feldbach Hospital, as the sounds of a woman pushing her baby naturally into the world are music to our ears from the next room. It is beautiful to feel and embrace these natural sounds that go missing from too many labor rooms today as women are encouraged to silence and to bed with machines, drugs and surgery.

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This nice co-sleeper can be wheeled when needed, and has the capacity to slide up the side of the bed and keep MotherBaby together as nature intended.

Here women truly have options and the support they need with continuous midwifery care and in some cases doulas as our discussion includes too. It’s time for the new surprise. Their eyes light again and we walk to the postpartum wing. Here we are greeted by beautiful photographs of babies that line the wall, most of them all born here. We enter a postpartum room and their brand new wooden beds glisten in the sun. The side pulls down so that MotherBaby can safely stay together in bed around the clock. This nice co-sleeper can be wheeled when needed, and has the capacity to slide up the side of the bed and keep MotherBaby together as nature intended. Wow! Why didn’t we think of this before? I am always struck in the U.S that we put our babies in a plastic box. When babies are so sensitive to smells, touch, feel, why do we use plastic to bond them to the artificial worlds instead of natural materials and fibers and of course the skin to skin of their parents? I wish every woman and care-giver could have the chance to meet Drs. Hoffman and Huber and their many midwives.

To experience these rooms and options is incredibly inspiring. I feel deeply moved at seeing what is possible when you have providers who embrace these new, yet old models of care that allow women all the options and comfort measures they need to birth their babies, trusting their inner wisdom, and provided with a full range of options for a safe, satisfying and pleasurable birth!

What options are available at your hospital for a safe, satisfying and pleasurable birth? Each time I enter Fedlbach Hospital and see their amazing birthing suites I have to ask myself why can’t other hospitals do this? Why have so many hospitals set up the room with the smallest bed one has ever had when you are the biggest in your life? When you are welcoming a new baby, why is there not room for your partner, husband, children or newborn to cuddle with you? Why are we creating so much separation at a time that we crave connection? Please share your thoughts in our comment section.

Read the latest from Debra in her weekly enews.Birthing Chair Feldbach

Orange blanket photoblue tub photo

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Deepti’s Birth Story

Birth Story submitted by: Deepti and Vikram Ahuja, India  (originally published here on May 28, 2013)

Pregnancy Art Workshop at Healthy Mother Birth Clinic
Pregnancy Art Workshop at Healthy Mother Birth Clinic

I feel blessed to have chosen to birth with Healthy Mother  for my baby’s delivery. After attending the Lamaze classes with Dr. Vijaya Krishnan (along with my husband and mom) we decided that this is exactly the kind of birth I want– natural, normal and without any medical interventions. Even before I conceived, I knew that C-section was not something I wanted and the HM approach towards birth seemed to click with me perfectly!

The antenatal sessions were unrushed, unlike the sessions I had at the corporate hospital I was going to before switching to Healthy Mother. The sessions were good fun with Crystal adding her touch of humour and funny stories during the sessions. We would actually look forward to our ANC meetings at HM. Mainly all our queries were answered patiently with detailed explanations. This is a luxury that you don’t get if you are birthing elsewhere.

Of course the way my entire labour and delivery was handled needs a more elaborate and detailed mention here because “my dream of having a normal and natural birth would have remained a dream if I was not at Healthy Mother.” My water broke on Friday morning and I called Dr Vijaya to inform her. Of course I was tense as I had heard that once your water breaks you need to rush to the hospital/birthing center. But she was calm and just asked me to eat well and relax and wait till contractions begin. But wow, there were no contractions that entire day (If I were going to a hospital I would have had a c-section delivery within 12 hours of water breaking). Dr. Vijaya and team monitored me daily for any infections or complication but my contractions refused to start for 2 days. Finally Day 3 they started me on herbs and homeopathics that kick-started the contractions but not in the rhythm we wanted. Day 4– again stronger dose of herbs, homeopathics and breast pump but contractions did not pick up till early evening and I was sent home. Finally, contractions picked up on Day 5 at 5 am. During all this Dr. Vijaya was with me over the phone taking my multiple calls at unearthly hours and guiding throughout.

Finally got admitted on Day 5 in early labour. What was amazing is the continuous and 24/7 labour support  given by the nurses at HM- Vijayakumari and Premlatha. They are part of this amazing HM team and are extremely warm, you instantly feel at home with them. They encouraged me to squat, walk, climb stairs– keeping me active throughout and also massaged my back with each and every contraction! Now isn’t that a real luxury?

Then there was a twist … my contractions started to slow down and looked like the baby would never come out. I was disheartened and asked Dr. Vijaya to do a C-section- yes I never wanted it but at that moment, and after going through 5 days of stress and slow labour, I just wanted to get it over with.

And then what did Dr. Vijaya do? She did a ‘labour dance’ with me!!! She said “Come on … lets dance” and went all over the room ballroom dancing with me. I don’t know what effect that had on me but it lifted my spirits and also kick-started the labour… my guess is that the psychological effect triggered the physical labour process.

All through active labour I decided to labour on the toilet seat and refused to get up and come out. Instead of forcing me to come out into the room Dr. Vijaya came into the bathroom, sat with me and held my hand through the contractions. Just knowing that someone is patiently sitting with you and quietly understanding the pain you are going through meant a lot !!

Finally it was time to push and I went into some kind of trance. All I know is that I could hear only one voice encouraging me to push out my baby (Dr. Vijaya’s voice)… and finally there he was. Such a cute little being straight into my arms staring at me intently.

A huge Thank you to the entire HM team for making my dream of a natural birth come true. I wish HM grows leaps and bounds and touches many more to-be moms with a wonderful birthing experience.

 

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Dr. Vijaya Krishnan is Midwife & Director at Healthy Mother Wellness & Care Birth Center in Hyderabad, India. Healthy Mother is part of the MBNets with the International MotherBaby Chilbirth Organization (IMBCI) and is also working to support the IMBCI India demo site.

 

 

 

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MT Belgium Brings Orgasmic Birth Power!

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My heart! So wide open with women, midwives, doulas, physicians, educators and all who share a passion for respectful, quality care with heart.

I feel a glow with the love of an extended family that accepts me for who I am, who listens, shares, nurtures, challenges and debates with compassion and love. With my dear friends and many new friends, I have danced, sung, enjoyed skits, fire, water, air and earth, laughed and cried.  I am have felt creative energy flowing in young and old as together we vision a world of gentle, peaceful, sacred birth and how the ecology of birth, effects the ecology of our planet.

These are all feelings I am full of as I fly across the Atlantic back home after an incredible week at the Midwifery Today Conference in Blankenberge, Belgium.  Huge visions and grand dreams fill me whenever we gather at Midwifery Today conferences.  We are always reminded of Margaret Mead’s great quote:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”.

Jan Tritten, our mother of Midwifery Today brings together many wise and inspiring speakers and sessions, I honor them all and want to share just a few with you….

Verena Schmid, a midwife who practices in Italy, and whom I co-taught with at our doula workshop this year in Bassano de Grappa, speaks so eloquently about the eco-system of birth, the ecology of birth.  Her words, always take me deeper in our need to reframe our perspectives of childbirth globally.  Being busy teaching and facilitating sessions myself I could not attend all her sessions but I trust I arrived at the right moment as in her session on the physiology of second stage, I entered the room as she was saying:

DSCN4101“Orgasmic power is the capacity of abandoning oneself to the flux of biologic energies, and of being able to unload the accumulated tension of labor pain through involuntary rhythmical contractions of body and vagina, giving the baby to the world and welcoming with satisfaction and tenderness”

There are no coincidences she continues: Childbirth is sexual. Childbirth is an opening process. Childbirth and integrity. All spoken over evocative images of beauty, history, and symbolism.

Verena recommends this 80s video to show spontaneous birth when women are upright and ease their baby’s into the world.

Verena explained all the harmful (yes harmful!) aspects for the pelvic floor in 2nd stage:

Recumbent or reclining positions (also in water), Imposed position by caregiver, not instinctively assumed by women, Pushing efforts in apnea (holding breathe), fundal pressure, Episiotomy, Vacuum/forceps, Disturbed environment, Lack of empathy and affective support, and Fear.

What a contrast to what is possible, and yet with all the scientific knowledge, why are we not improving care to make birth safer and easier for women?  We have the knowledge.

Betty Anne-Davis a midwife from Canada said it well at the Human Rights in Childbirth Conference that followed, “Doctors don’t know Squat!”  (The position of course as she and I both agree we value and honor doctor’s and their role, we just need more midwives to have a healthy maternity care system in balance)

We must stand, kneel and squat to deliver and not take it lying down!

I also had the chance to speak with Michelle, Marta‘s daughter, who was so inspired by helping to catch her sister that she too attended sessions and shared her growing passion for childbirth as a natural part of a woman’s life and sexuality.

Katerina, a midwife from Russia also shared her Orgasmic Birth story with me as her children played nearby, so many women from around the world, 42 countries in total representing our diversity and desire to reclaim childbirth and strengthen midwifery care around the world.

Gail Tully midwife of SpinningBabies.com gave many sessions, and I was sad many were at the same time as mine, but thrilled when over dinner Gail offered a demo to Ricardo Jones, a physician from Brazil, and his wife and midwife, Zeza, as well as midwife Elizabeth Davis, my friend and co-author for Orgasmic Birth: Your Guide to a Safe, Satisfying and Pleasurable Birth Experience.  Gail shared her techniques to create balance to create the space to turn a posterior baby, a baby’s whose back is in line with mother’s back.  Those who have taken a workshop with me know how much I value and appreciate Gail and her teachings and book on Belly Mapping.  I am so grateful for the learning and sharing at every waking moment even at dinner the sharing and learning continued.

If you attended the conference or past Midwifery Today conference I would love to have you share some key lessons learned.  I hope to see you in April at Midwifery Today in Harrisburg, PA as we continue to dance, laugh, learn, nurture and inspire each other.
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Le Plaisir d’Accoucher: Pleasure of Birthing

Here is Mr. Bernard Bel’s of AFAR response to Debra’s backstory about the Orgasmic verse Organic Birth titles….

Screen Shot 2013-07-17 at 12.34.38 PMDear Debra,

Long ago (in 2001) a group of birth activists led by two homebirth midwives invited us for a contribution to the public show they organise every year in the context of International Women’s Day. Since I was collecting interviews of women who had unassisted births, I suggested that we invite a few of them to speak about their experience. The title of their intervention would be “Le plaisir d’accoucher, pourquoi s’en priver?” which means: “Pleasure of birthing, why should we avoid it?”  The organizers felt shocked with the title and this contribution was canceled on the pretext that it would generate “bad reactions from the press”… Their main problem was to promote the case of intelligent women who did not rely on the care of midwives for a secure birthing. However they felt equally disturbed by the notion of pleasure associated with childbirth. One of them confessed that after thirty years of practice as a homebirth midwife she had never noticed anything pleasurable in the experience of her patients!

In those days writings such as “Resexualizing childbirth” (Leilah McCracken) and a few pleasurable birth stories started circulating but only in a very small circle of people who could read English and communicate via internet. We started publishing birth stories, encouraging parents (and caregivers) to share their experience in writing. Gradually the idea that birth may “also” be pleasurable made its way, at least women experiencing it were no longer seen as hysterical nymphomaniacs. 😉 I often argued that sex can be the most pleasurable experience in life wheras it becomes a horrible and painful event when forced or even disturbed by someone’s will.

Indeed, pleasure in birthing requires more than the respect of privacy, but privacy and gentle care are necessary conditions for it to happen.

For these reasons I personally would keep a title like “Orgasmic birth” for the original film and a slightly less provocative one such as “Le plaisir d’accoucher” (Pleasure of Birthing) for the shorter version. Both of them would convey the idea of pleasure and we would avoid discusions about what is “natural” triggered by the word “organic”.

I let you know about more comments.

All the best,

Bernard

To read Debra’s original response to Mr. Bel’s inquiry about the titles please click here.

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Creating a Name: Organic and Orgasmic Birth

Debra was asked about the different film titles: Organic and Organic from Mr. Bernard Bel of AFAR: Alliance francophone pour l’accouchement respecté. Mr. Bel explained that people were concerned (or horrified to be exact) that the Organic title was an attempt at self-censorship of the Orgasmic Birth title and further explained that in France ” ‘organic’ food/farming is still perceived as a marginal activity and “natural” is often associated with a regressive vision of women being naturally “complimentary to men” – as recently spelled out by a proposal for the Tunisian constitution (inspired by religious fundamentalists). Whereas “orgasmic” is undoubtedly connected with pleasure and freedom, i.e. democratic values.” It is so interesting how the same word can have such a different context in different languages and cultures! This discussion inspired Debra to write the backstory about the titles. Here it is….

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I know many of you are wondering why the name changes from Orgasmic to Organic Birth. I’ll begin with why we even chose the title “Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret” in the first place. Some of you that have attended screenings with me over the years have heard this story of how I attended a pitch session in New York City for independent filmmakers. We were in the middle of making Orgasmic Birth and our working title was An Ordinary Miracle: Global Models of Care. The film was the same vision as it today, about pleasurable birth but we didn’t yet have a title that reflected the power and possibility that birth offers in our lives.

The day of the pitch session I was teaching a workshop in New York City.  I had spent a great deal of time talking about the sexuality of birth, the ecstatic hormones of labor and “Orgasmic Birth”.  One of the women who was at the workshop was also a filmmaker.  When I mentioned I had to leave right on time to attend an independent film pitch session with top Television executives, she offered to come with me and be my film doula.  We were all gathered in a big auditorium with a long table down below with executives from different networks.  I felt like it was the American Idol of filmmakers.  I waited and waited and finally my name was called out.  I was asked to stand right where I was and begin my pitch.  I stated my name is Debra Pascali-Bonaro and my film in production is An Ordinary Miracle: Global Models of Care.  One of the gentlemen said you can sit down now.  I quickly stated I thought I had 10 min. to share about my film.  He said with a title like that he didn’t need to know anymore as I wouldn’t have an audience for this film.  I quickly, shared my 2nd working title, which was  Ecstatic Birth.  He repeated please sit down.  My film doula next me hit me as I was coming down to my seat and said: “yell out “Orgasmic Birth”.  Under my breath, I said “I can’t”.   She said: “Why! What do you have to lose?”.  So with that I jumped back up and yelled out “Orgasmic Birth!”  The auditorium broke into laughter and the gentleman in the front said:  “Now, that is not possible?” I went into my 10 min. about the sensuality, sexuality and the possibility for pleasure, bliss, ecstasy and orgasmic joy in labor birth and beyond.  “We birth the way we live”.  He ended my 10 minutes by saying if you make that film you will have something people will be intrigued by.  I sat down smiling and then thought am I really going to step out to the world with the title Orgasmic Birth?

Running through my mind was something my friends had said: the definition of insanity is to… do the same thing and expect different results.  I knew it was time to borrow a slogan from Karen Brody “To be bold!”  I was ready to step out and speak about the ecstatic bliss and joy available to women and men during childbirth.  We needed to have a new discussion if we were to make change in birth around the world.

Well as they say, the rest is history.  We released Orgasmic Birth in the end of 2008. Orgasmic Birth has traveled to 46 countries, numerous film festivals and is translated into 10 languages.  We continue to receive interviews weekly from around the world.  So you ask, why did we create a shorter 52 min. version with a new opening, a new birth and revised editing of many of the scenes?  We have been asked to create a broadcast version to air in many countries around the world.  A broadcast hour is  52 minutes of film.  I welcomed the opportunity to go back into the edit room after having watched the film literally thousands of times and redo some of the scenes with a new eye.  After many hours of work, money and time put into the new addition, we thought what else could we do with it to share it with the world?

It was decided we would release our new, revised, shorter version of Orgasmic Birth  as a DVD.  If we use the same title how would people know the difference between the two?  Should it be  Orgasmic Birth 2?  That did not feel right to us. We knew we needed a new name, a way that people could distinguish between the two copies.  Over the 3 years since the release of Orgasmic Birth we’ve notice consistently that 40% of our Google analytics come from people googling the name Organic Birth.  I had often wondered; did people really think we were saying the word organic not orgasmic?  Maybe with our focus on organic gardening and organic living it seems more culturally appropriate.  So another late night searching for a title, we thought let’s give people what they’re looking for Organic Birth.

Orgasmic Birth’s cover is the color red so we made Organic Birth green.  We call Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret,  Organic Birth’s tag line is Birth is Natural! Organic Birth is still about pleasure, ecstasy, transformation, facing our fears, and finding orgasmic pleasure.  It is a slightly gentler approaching, sharing all that is possible in birth.  Our new version is another approach to bring a message to the wider world.

Orgasmic Birth still creates a larger discussion, sells more and generates the controversy needed to look into the issues and make change.  We must view the connection between birth and a woman’s sexuality.  For if we are to truly support women and their partners, fathers and others in childbirth, we must see the sacred, sensual connection to how our hormones and physiology of birth and sex are connected.

If caregivers honored the intimacy of birth: created privacy, ensured all women felt safe, offered a variety of comfort measures, many more women would find their way to an easier, safer and more blissful, orgasmic experience.

In the end, I believe each film Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret and Organic Birth: Birth is Natural!  add to the discussion and can be used in different ways and settings to help woman and men see all that is possible in birth and beyond.

I welcome your thoughts and feedback.  Have you seen both versions? Which one do you like better? How do you feel about our titles? What is your favorite quote? Both version of our film are now available on the Orgasmic Birth website for digital rental or purchase a well as to purchase DVD’s. 

Read Mr. Bernard Bel’s response here.

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Pleasures of Life with Love, in Agerola

DETAILS AVAILABLE SOON for ORGASMIC ITALY 2014- Sign up here.

1072399_400857836702057_260659349_oI am sitting by the pool for my last morning in Agerola as I savor the memories, the magic, the beauty, the people and the views atop the Amalfi coast in Agerola, nicknamed Little Switzerland. High above the Mediterranean Sea, the views take your breath away.  From our Hotel Le Rocce we see both the mountains of Agerola and the Mediterranean Sea below glistening and reflecting the July sun shimmering and dancing on the water where the sea and the sky blend, taking us into infinity with our views and our dreams.  It is Orgasmic Italy!  My new name for our new weeklong retreat and tour with my cousin Graziella.  We are taken back in time living in a traditional Italian Village where we share our lives, finding pleasure in the food, people, views.  Our lives open up and expand in ways that words cannot fully capture.  Love, happiness and music flow freely.

Guiding our woman’s circle for 7 blissful days, I am blessed.  Opening to new elements in our lives, we created friendships and memories to last a lifetime.  Taking the beauty we discovered within and around us home, we will integrate those discoveries into our lives.  Because words can capture some of the magic, here are quotes from participants to inspire you to find pleasure today where ever you are:

“I enjoyed the most pleasurable week of multi orgasmic experiences ;). Love, share, care, learn, adventure in a truly magical & mystical environment! Together in the company of very beautiful wonderful woman I enjoyed delicious Italian food, warm Italian hospitality, stunning nature. Most special for me was our boat trip along the Amalfi coast with Panini & Prosecco bubbles and refreshing swims. My heart softens & opens up of the fairytale memory of our enchanting trip between worlds in the Valley of the Fairy’s. A part of me still lingers there & a part of the valley lives as part of me now.” ~Ursula

“Breathing in the fragrances and pure air high above the Amalfi coast, I look out on the Mediterranean sea from my room.  Ageroleans open their arms and hearts in welcome. From the “biologique” food served in several hundred-year-old palazzos to mountain walks in the Valley of the Fairies, my stay has been a feast of the senses.  There is magic here.” ~ Roberta

Where do you do to find Orgasmic Bliss in your life?

Would you like to join us for our Orgasmic Italy taking place June 15 – 22, 2014?  Join our mailing list for more information as it become available in the coming weeks, and sign up early for our early bird discount!

 

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Hormone of Pleasure Released at Bassano Workshop

Sarah Buckley MD and Midwife Verena Schmidt join the Bassano Workshop.
Sarah Buckley MD and Midwife Verena Schmidt join the Bassano Workshop.

Warm sunny days and cool breezy nights have added to a transcendent week in Bassano de Grappa Italy with 13 doulas gathered in Chiara’s beautiful Villa in the mountains overlooking the village.

Sarah Buckley, MD joined me for the Introduction to Childbirth for the DONA birth doula workshop. Sarah’s must read book Gentle Birth; Gentle Mothering is part of my recommended reading for all expectant women and birth workers.

It is such an honor to hear Sarah speak once again, about the conditions that are needed for MotherBaby hormones to flow optimally. “A woman or any mammals needs to feel safe, private and unobserved.” With the ideal conditions a laboring women finds her zone, as Ina May Gaskin says, “If a woman in labor is not looking like a goddess she is not being treated right!” When the woman is releasing elevated levels of oxytocin the love hormone, also called the hormone of calm, connection she is also receiving a great pain reliever. In addition, beta-endorphin, the hormone of pleasure, takes a woman to an altered state.

Sarah continues: “The Native Americans say the laboring woman goes out to the stars to bring back the soul of the baby. Babies also produce beta-endorphin creating a pleasurable mutual dependency. Every mammalian mother needs these rewards to fall in love and care for her baby.” “But, if the Saber tooth Tiger shows up we have high levels of adrenaline, which can slow or stop labor. In a hospital birth the tiger can be strangers, those the mother does not know or feel safe with, a doula can help her to feel safe.”

It is essential that we understand the physiology of birth so that you can create the birth ambiance and choose the people and the setting that will allow your hormones to flow optimally, not only creating a safer, easier birth, but also able to move from pain to pleasure. Sarah’s presentation is a gift for the doulas, and to me, as I always love to hear the gentle ways she presents this important essential knowledge.

Bassano Dining
Speaking of pleasure, the Italians bring pleasure to every sense, as our lunches are prepared with love, from organic produce, each dish is visually beautiful, the tastes are beyond words, served on the rooftop. I am filled with bliss, my every sense is stimulated and I am filled with an “orgasmic” high.

This Italian doula workshop is truly the “orgasmic” doula workshop, filling us with love, wisdom, tastes, song, dance and more!!

After one of our ecstatic meals together, Elena Skoko, author of Memoirs of a Singing Birth, and husband, Roberto and daughter Coco, sing to us as mothers nurse their babies and toddlers and doulas smile and sway as our collective oxytocin and emotions flow. A beautiful end to another blissful doula workshop-day, where we discussed rebozos and the doulas role in providing comfort in childbirth.

Daniela, a doula and lactation consultant offered us her passion and wisdom in a three hour Breastfeeding class that meets yet another requirement for DONA certification.

Verena Schmid, an amazing, wise Italian midwife, joined the circle too and shared about postpartum care and the golden first hour after birth. At night, Verena joined me for the first screening or Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret in a theater in Bassano.

This is truly a special workshop where a DONA International doula trainer, a physician, midwife, lactation consultant, singers, amazing cooks, incredible doulas, have joined together in a circle to broaden our knowledge about the physiology of childbirth, understand the doulas role in supporting mother’s partners and babies, learn comfort measures, share our experiences, heal, grow and learn to support challenging births, while creating a lasting memory full of emotions, friendship and oxytocin. This has been a unique and incredible experience for us all. Together we have created an additional link in the bridge between midwives, physicians and doulas in Italy.

We have our closing dinner yet to come, look for our photos on facebook.com/obirth as we celebrate an end to a life changing week near the famous Bridge in Bassano de Grappa.

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