A weekly roundup of helpful and thought-provoking links for mothers and mothers-to-be!
- …And Baby Makes Reality TV. The images of birth that women carry with them to delivery have a powerful effect on their birth expectations and experiences. In the U.S. today, women are bombarded with negative — and frequently inaccurate — birth imagery in television and film, as this article highlights in sad and painful detail. If only every woman were watching movies like The Business of Being Born rather than shows like “Born on A Bad Day” and “Postpartum Nightmares.” (Alessandra Stanley, New York Times)
- Positive Childbirth Video Gallery. To counterbalance the previous article link, here are links to positive videos of childbirth in different settings (hospital, birth center, home), and in and out of water, at Giving Birth Naturally. I’ve been collecting links to positive birth videos for awhile, and am planning a post on them soon. If you have a favorite link you’d like to share, please do! (Giving Birth Naturally)
- The Birth of Ada. On the same note: here is one of my all-time favorite birth stories and pushing/delivery videos! So beautiful! The birth story is here, and the video is here (video is graphic, beginning with baby Ada’s head already out, and is not safe for work; password is cheddar bunnies — it’s given publicly in the birth story blog post). (Life in Slow Motion, now moved to halfheardinthestillness.com)
- What’s Free Range Labor And Is It A Good Idea? Three cheers for the wonders that free movement can work in laboring women! An article with suggestions for how to have a “Free Range Labor.” (Ceridwen Morris; Babble)
- Self-Control in Childhood Predicts Health and Wealth in Adulthood. An interesting article true to its title; near the end, it describes a study that examined different methods of helping children develop self control, all with this overarching goal: “teaching children to monitor and control their own emotions, solve social problems and build solid friendships.” Good stuff! (Discover)
Thank you for such a great website. The List is terrific and very true according to my experiences. I used Lori Hill as my doula and she was fantastic.
I will definitely share your site with Colonial Mom’s Playgroup. We have a lot of new moms who just moved to the area who could really use this.
Kathy Atanasov
Kathy, I am so glad that you found Williamsburg Mothering useful. How wonderful that you had such a great experience with Lori Hill — every woman deserves a good doula during labor! Thank you for sharing The List with Colonial Mom’s Playgroup — I am thrilled that more Williamsburg women will benefit. If you or mothers in the group have recommendations for good resources for mothers of older children (daycares, preschools, schools, etc.), please do send word!
All the best,
Laurelin Evanhoe