Volume Check

““Your voice is important. Now is the time to raise the volume.” ”
— Dr. Maxine Hayes

This was the call from Dr. Maxine Hayes, pediatrician and former Washington state health officer at the close of the Home Birth Consensus Summit today. 

What’s the volume of your voice? What would it look like if you raised it? 

Dr. Hayes shows her support for midwives. She has used her voice to support women and families her entire career.

Dr. Hayes shows her support for midwives. She has used her voice to support women and families her entire career.

The Home Birth Summit and this film are about so much more than home birth. 

We’ll never birth all of our babies at home. That’s not even the goal. Equity and improved maternal and child outcomes are. Supporting women with access, choice, and information, this is the goal. 

The thing I value most about home birth is that it gives women an opportunity to experience uninterrupted physiologic birth in a supportive environment that is comfortable to them. 

That is what I experienced in my births, and it was transformative. 

I want all women to know that this type of birth is possible. 

Hospitals are improving, but that kind of birth experience is rare in most US hospitals. 

Right now we need you to add your voice to ours. If we are going to finish this film we need more voices. Support informed choices for women and families and independent voices here today. We only have 10 more days. We really can’t do it alone.

Changing the Climate of Birth

Tina Cassidy, author of Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born posted this as a guest post on her blog today. http://tinacassidy.blogspot.com/2014/09/changing-climate-around-birth.html. I'm sharing it here with some additional images by Erin Wrightsman.

Tina and I met while in Boston interviewing, fundraising, and networking with the birth community there. One of the things I love best about making this film is meeting so many amazing women (and a few men) who are advocating for women and families. Tina is one of those women.

Our current system of birth is unsustainable. A system that spends 111 billion dollars on maternity and newborn care annually is not sustainable. A 33% c-section rate, while sustainable in some sense, is not without significant consequence.

As a family nurse practitioner, I’ve done work in healthcare improvement over the past 10 years. “Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets,” is a common saying in improvement work. Keeping this in mind, it’s not surprising that we have ended up here.

I am not a conspiracy theorist. I don’t believe there is one player at fault. The factors at work in the system are complex.

Instead of looking at hospitals, doctors, or insurers, I’m interested in how we as a culture have colluded with the system to sustain it and how we might change the cultural conversation around birth.

Currently the message many women hear about birth is, “Birth is painful. You can’t do it. The experts know what to do, let them handle it.” What if instead women heard something like this, “Birth is an intense transition to motherhood. You are powerful and capable. You have everything you need within you to do this. If you need help, a trusted guide is here to help you.”

We live in a culture that values technology and progress, speed, efficiency, and expert advice. While these values have led to significant improvements in many areas of science and medicine, they don’t translate very well when it comes to birth. Our outcomes have made this evident. The judicious and appropriate use of technology is too often replaced with a one size fits all overuse of technology. Still, there is reason to hope.

There is a growing movement that questions these cultural assumptions and the way they are broadly applied. We can choose to slow down and honor birth and it’s place in the family and community. We can do this at home and at the hospital while improving outcomes and the experience of birth for women and families.


Lost and Found

Things in my life that have been stolen:  five strands of large-bulb Xmas lights off the giant pine tree in our front yard. Our family van from the Newark Airport…Twice! My heart on Valentine’s Day when I was 13, twenty dollars out of my back pocket at a Fugazi concert, my bicycle from the back of Toran’s truck in the Mission District before we were married, artwork off the MEX/US border on the Tijuana side, my cell phone on BART 7 years ago, and again last week, from my car in front of the Seed Bank.

This bike was stolen on Harrison and 25th in SF. In 2005.  I had been known to get across town in less than 10 minutes on this thing.

This bike was stolen on Harrison and 25th in SF. In 2005.  I had been known to get across town in less than 10 minutes on this thing.

Gonzalo Hidalco and I painted these, and drilled them onto the Tijuana border...slowly, they disappeared, one by one.

Gonzalo Hidalco and I painted these, and drilled them onto the Tijuana border...slowly, they disappeared, one by one.

All of these were replaced, mended, or forgiven. My attachment to objects is minimal and I’m grateful to enjoy the things I do have: my family, friends, a fabulous community, healthy food, the joy of cooking, and work on a project I love. This movie has the potential to change the way we think about birth in America, Why Not Home?

Well, why not? Our home is where all the love in the world lies. When I walk into my home I feel it--all the things and clutter aside. Wouldn’t it be lovely if this choice were available and accessible to more women and families?

Laying in bed after our son was born.  

Laying in bed after our son was born.  

Out of all the things that were stolen, my birth experiences were not. While working on this film I have had the opportunity to hear many birth stories. Most of them happy, some of them sad, but all of the stories I’ve heard were beautiful.

The other day I was talking to a woman about our film. She expressed so much joy over our efforts and the possibilities...and then she told me her story. Thirty-six years ago she arrived at the hospital and was given intervention after intervention. Eventually she had the baby without knowing.  Several hours later, she awoke to find a cleaned baby in a bassinet in another room.   

Thankfully hospitals have changed significantly in the past 36 years, but it's a story I've heard more than once. These women were deeply saddened, and still, after all this time, felt hurt and angry.

Listening to their stories – told with such passion – I too felt their sadness. I found myself lost in their stories while the rest of the world stood still. I think you will find that this film, full of stories, perspectives, and challenges, will also make you pause.

What can be found when we embrace this experience and support women and families in their decisions? There is a way to improve quality and offer more choices, at home and in the hospital. Our birth experiences should never be stolen, but instead respected and honored as a beautiful beginning.

When you support this film, please share with us and with your community your beautiful beginnings, and why you think this film is worth supporting. We'd love to share your story with the Home Birth Summit next week.

by: Kelly Collins-Geiser

http://kellycollinsgeiser.com

 

 

Big Brother and Birth

It’s hard to predict how young children will react during birth and hard to know how their presence may influence the birth. I was open to having my son present for his sister's birth, but my husband thought it might be too intense for him. He was also concerned about caring for our 4 year old while also trying to support me in labor. We made a plan to have someone available to pick him up when I went into labor. 

I went into labor around 3 in the morning. My son woke up soon after. We encouraged him to go back to sleep, that everything was OK, his sister was coming. He lay in bed with his eyes wide awake—too excited to sleep. 

The house was full of people he knew and everyone was going about their jobs calmly and quietly. He wanted to be a part of it. I remember him checking on me when I was in the tub, smiling and laughing with me between contractions. It was so sweet to have him there.

At one point during active labor when I was pushing I asked someone to take him out of the room, I couldn’t focus with him there. 

He came back to greet his sister immediately after she was born. His two comments were, “What’s all that white stuff?” (vernix) and, “Where’s the placenta?” Soon enough he would see the placenta. He got a full tour, checking out the 3 vessel cord and everything. 

When I asked my husband afterward why he decided not to call anyone to pick him up he said, "I didn't see any reason to. He was totally fine. I think it would have been hard for him to leave knowing what was going on." This is birth in his mind. It happens at home, without intervention, supported by friends and family.

When I went to support and film two births this summer he asked, "Is it a kid birth?" He was disappointed when I told him no, he would have to stay home. Birth is a family and community event in his experience, and at the end there's cake.

When I mentioned something about a pregnant friend having her baby in the hospital recently he said, “Is that what you do when you’re sick and pregnant?” Birth in the hospital is contrary to his lived experience. 

I don’t know what will change for him in the years between now and the time that he has his own children, but I hope he doesn’t loose his sense of how wonderful and joyous birth can be. 

 

Grandpa was born at home.

It's right there in the first line of his obituary. He was born at the home of his grandparents.

It's never something we talked about, but it was the norm for people of his generation. It's interesting that in such a relatively short time we have lost the cultural knowledge we used to have around birth at home. 

I never got to talk to him about this project. He was a farmer and a barber for most of his life. He always loved movies (though not documentaries). I think he would have been amused by the thought of his granddaughter making a movie. 

This morning we buried my grandfather on a sunny slope in rural Missouri. Tonight his body lays next to his wife under a blanket of fresh dirt and cut flowers.

Tomorrow I will travel back to California, to get back to work and life, but today I spent time remembering him and the time we had together.

It's been difficult to feel fully present here when the rest of the team is in California and there is so much work to do. We only have 21 days left to raise the remaining $61,670. 

If he knew what I was trying to do he would give me one of his sly smiles, a squeeze, and say, "Good luck, sis." 

 

The Numbers Game

I’ve always liked math. The problem solving, the answer, it all appeals to me. This Kickstarter thing is a big numbers game. I spend time every day looking at the numbers.

  • What’s our total?
  • How many backers do we have?
  • At the current average pledge rate how many backers it’s going to take to reach our $86,000 goal?
  • What’s the average number of backers we need every day to get to that number?
  • How is that different from our current rate? 

In case you’re curious here’s how it looks today:

  • Total funds raised: $21,765 
  • Total number of backers: 157
  • Average pledge amount: $138
  • Total number of backers needed at that rate: 624
  • Remaining backers needed: 466
  • Days left in campaign: 24
  • Backers per day average needed: 19.4
  • Current backers per day average: 9.8

There’s no way to predict how this thing will play out.

Will we get a few big donors at the end? Will we get featured on Kickstarter and have a flood of small pledges? Will an influential media outlet pick up the story and propel us toward success?

I don’t know. I do know that every time we get another backer it gets us closer to the goal. Every time our backers share our story and engage people in their circles, it gets us closer to our goal.

I believe in this project and I believe in the people out there supporting it. With your help we will finish this campaign so we can finish this film.

I’m going to try not to obsess about the numbers, but it’s hard. I like numbers. I really like the number $86,000. Let’s get there soon.

Social Media Ladder

Prior to launching this project I would have described myself as having a casual relationship with social media. I had a personal Facebook page and Instagram account that I used to connect with friends. I mostly posted pictures of my kids so family and friends who don’t live close could keep up and stay connected. 

This project has forced me into sometimes uncomfortable and previously untried territory. I now have not only a personal Facebook and Instagram account, but also a personal Twitter account, a WNH Facebook page, a WNH Instagram account, a WNH Twitter account, a WNH Kickstarter Facebook Event, and a Kickstarter campaign to manage. I’m totally committed at this point. 

Through this process, I’ve learned a lot. Some of it is useful and engaging, and some of it makes me feel queasy. Not long after I opened my Twitter account, I talked to a friend who works at Twitter. I was telling him about how I didn’t have that many followers. I thought it would look better if I had more. “You can buy followers if you want to,” he told me. What? You can buy followers? That’s crazy, right? 

Turns out you can climb the social media ladder much more quickly if you’re willing to pay. I don’t know why this was surprising. It’s essentially the same with Facebook. If you want people to see your stuff, you have to pay. Pay to boost your post, pay to promote your page to a demographic you’re trying to reach, pay, pay, pay. 

Judging by all the messages I’ve received through my Kickstarter page, there is now an entire industry set up to market lists of potential backers and ensure your campaign is successful. This is honestly the most common message I’ve received through the campaign. Another slick looking guy telling me how he’s interested in the project and wants to help me meet my funding goal. Yuck. That’s not what this project is about. I’m not some corporation trying to get people to buy my stuff. I’m making an independent documentary about birth. I want a real network who is genuinely engaged in the topic. Isn’t it still possible to build a grassroots network and have a successful crowd funding campaign without paying Facebook, Twitter, and Joe Backer to do it for me?

The commercialization of social media was inevitable I understand, but I still have to use it to get this message out to as many people as possible. I would love to sit in living rooms and coffee shops, talking to people face-to-face about this project, hearing their stories and getting their perspective. That’s what I did most of this weekend. Unfortunately, I’m limited by space and time. There is only one me and I still have a family and a job. The same can be said of the people I want to talk to. We all have limited time. 

Social media, with all it’s headaches and flaws, is a necessary part of networking and PR strategy for almost any endeavor today. So I guess I should post this blog to Facebook and Twitter now. I’ve been told I also need to get on Pintrest and Google plus. Can you feel my excitement? 

Cool like Gene

Our interview with Dr. Gene Declercq, the initial reason for this whole trip, almost didn't happen this morning. Kelly and I arrived at his building at 8:30AM as planned, but when we called him to see about finding his office, he was still at home. He thought the interview was scheduled for 1:30PM. Our flight was leaving at noon. He apologized and said he would come as soon as possible. A car fire on the turnpike further delayed his arrival.

Thankfully a colleague of his let us into his office to set up and we ended up interviewing her while we waited. Her birth story and inspiration for research was worth sharing and an unexpected highlight of the day.

Dr. Declercq ultimately arrived in time for us to get a solid 45 minutes before we dashed off to the airport. Here he is indulging us in a photo op with our button. He felt so badly for being late he was willing to do anything.

If you want to be cool like Gene, go to Kickstarter, donate and leave a comment with your address and let me know you want a button. We'll send you your very own even before the end of the campaign. It's not listed as a reward, but we'll happily send you one so you can promote the project for the remainder of the campaign. You know you want one.

If you haven't watched Dr. Declercq's video, Birth by the Numbers, you should totally check it out www.birthbythenumbers.org.

East-West

I've been warned by friends on the East Coast that it's different there. Our message is seen as more provocative, controversial, and potentially threatening than it is here in the Bay Area or the Pacific Northwest. 

Up until now, we've shot exclusively on the West Coast, but tomorrow Kelly and I will head East. I'm excited to see how it all plays out and am looking forward to a bit more of a challenge. 

Lest you think we're living the high life, we're flying economy and on a crazy early flight.

Lest you think we're living the high life, we're flying economy and on a crazy early flight.

My bags are packed with CF cards, extra batteries, audio and camera equipment, release forms, and of course buttons. You have to bring some schwag. We'll be on the East Coast for the next 3 days capturing interviews and spreading the word about this project. If you're in New York or DC check out our facebook page for event details, we'd love to see you at Why Not NYC? or Why Not DC? 

If you're a birth provider who has worked on both coasts or families who have had experiences both places, what were the differences?

Team

This afternoon I finished up my full day of clinic, picked up my children from daycare, came home and made dinner, fed the children, bathed the children, put them both to bed, hugged my husband when he got home, and settled in to work on my third job--this movie.

I'm fortunate to have the support of an ever expanding circle. There's no way I could do this without it. That support comes in many forms from playdates with the kids, invitations to dinner on a weeknight when I'm flying solo and haven't been to the store, to spreading the word with friends and colleagues, there are many layers to this support structure. Then there's are these women, the core team. I wouldn't be much of anywhere with this project without them.

Erin might kill me for sharing, but this is the screenshot I captured from our team meeting tonight after our collective 5 children were in bed (or close to it).

In case you're wondering, like Kelly, if I'm in my bra, the answer is no. That's actually a tank top and a bra. It's late, it's summer, I think I'm allowed.

Kelly, Erin and I have been working together every day in one way or another for the past 3 months. Before that it was at least a few times a week. I can't tell you the number of texts and e-mails exchanged between the three of us in a day. While working on the trailer, Kelly and I would stay up editing together until 11 or midnight every Monday night for, the only time we could work together and access the equipment we needed. From there I would go home to a nursing baby who woke up at least once in the night. 

Kelly and Erin have their first and second lives too. On top of mothering, Kelly is a private chef, and Erin is a photographer. No one is paying us for the additional hours we're putting in to this project, but we can't stop working on it. It compels us every day to keep going. The work doesn't stop.

I've invited them to start blogging here too. To share what this work means to them and what their process is surrounding it.

Leave us a comment and show your support. We love hearing how this work inspires and educates. It takes all kinds of support, so please give what you can. 

Motion Graphics and Portland

That's what your support has meant for the project so far--motion graphics and Portland!

Right now I am sitting in an edit suite making animated title cards with an extremely talented motion graphic designer. Thanks to the generous support we have already received during the pre-launch party we are able to work with this artist to finalize our trailer before we launch the Kickstarter campaign and really bring this project out into the open. Thank you!

We are almost 75% to our pre-launch funding goal. If you have ever done fund raising you know it takes a lot of energy. We're setting things up and getting ready to raise even more during the month of September. If you could help us meet our pre-launch goal of $3,286 by this weekend we can get back to focusing on the editing, interview prep, and Kickstarter set-up we need to do before our September launch.

Next week we're slated to have our first expert interview in Portland. We are working to finalize interview questions and gathering our equipment. I'm so excited to meet Judith Pence Rooks. If you aren't familiar with her work, she is the author of "Midwifery and Childbirth in America." It's a wonderful resource for anyone with an interest the history of midwifery in the US and the evolution of childbirth in our culture. As a certified nurse midwife and researcher she has a wealth of expertise to share. Thanks to your support, we'll be with her in less than a week! 

Kickstarting

In late April, our team shot what we thought would be our Kickstarter pitch video. The goal at that time was to edit it with some B roll and launch a campaign in late July. It's August. I could tell you all the reasons that our Kickstarter campaign isn't live yet, but essentially we've been too busy working on the film. We attended (and filmed) two births. We filmed moms beforehand and did their postpartum follow-up. We've been honing the trailer, applying for fiscal sponsorship, and seeking out experts to finish out the film. We've been looking for an editor, searching for partners, building our social media outreach, and trying to keep up with our families and our day jobs. When we finally looked at the pitch video again, it no longer felt fresh or relevant. Things have shifted. So we did a second take, then a third. Now we're in the edit phase.

We don't want to do this half way. We have big goals and aspirations for this film. Exciting things are happening.  In the next 6 weeks we have 3 expert interviews scheduled. These are experts in maternal and child health with valuable information to contribute. They are also professionals with their own scheduling and time limitations. We need to get these interviews now, but to do that we have to travel. That means airfare and equipment. Even if we stay with friends and don't eat, we still need $2,586 in the next two weeks to secure these interviews.

We also have the opportunity to work with an animator on intro graphics for our trailer. This will cost another $800, and will give potential supporters a sense of what we want to do with graphics in the film and how their contributions will be used. 

I was excited when we launched the website with an easy way for people to donate. I thought in my naiveté, "We'll get lots of donations now." So far the site has raised only $200. I know there are more people who want to support this project. I've had dozens tell me they plan to donate and want to support, but they haven't--yet.

I imagine everyone is waiting for the big Kickstarter. That's how crowd funding is done. With the fun rewards, the deadline, the social media blitz, it's all very exciting, but we need support now.

Whatever we raise in the next two weeks, will be subtracted from our total fundraising goal on Kickstarter AND we won't pay any Kickstarter fees (they charge 5%). Donate now, regardless of the amount, and you get a special thanks in the credits. Yes, regardless of the amount. This is a limited time offer. We only have 2 weeks. Click that shiny golden donate button and help keep the momentum of this project going. I'll post updates so you know how we're doing. The offer is over when we reach the magic $3,286. Thank you!