Birth Agni
This Podcast explores how indigenously Birth has always unfolded, among women - our tribe, where children could see how breastfeeding was done and how birth happened. This an attempt to fetch the stories of the past as well as bring out the new India’s Birth culture to expose the defining features in both. This shall join the dots to where the increasing problems of postpartum anxiety, rising rate of surgical births and poor breastfeeding outcomes are coming from.
Birth Agni - Agni meaning Fire, the Fire that brings us alive, transforms us and has the ability to burn. Birth is designed to affect a woman’s integrity. It is the fire of awakening that makes her life experience wholesome. Deep down her body knows what Birth is supposed to feel - a euphoria of bringing a new life on Earth. The cocktail of hormones are designed to give her a high.
However, birth today has quickly swayed away from a phase of joy to the one marked by Fear, the constant questioning of a woman’s capacity to Birth naturally and the ugly calculation of the odds of a healthy baby at the expense of the mother’s health. We forget that their health is interlinked and flourish as a dyad. In India, the urban rate of Cesarean Sections on an average until 2020 is a whopping 40% which is concerning.
Birth is linked to Patriarchy, Healthcare Politics and Women’s Rights. Respect in Birth is long due to women and it affects the core of who they are.
Join me Divya Kapoor, a Certified Birth and Lactation Counselor and aspiring Traditional Birth Attendant in the quest to shine light on what we can do as parents and a community to change the narrative.
Birth Agni
#88 - Part I - Obstetric Emergencies - Big Baby - A curse or boon ? | Big baby and Fitting through the Pelvis | Induction | Gestational Diabetes with Senior traditional Midwife KL Goode
Obstetric emergencies refer to critical situations during pregnancy, labor, or the postpartum period that require immediate medical attention to safeguard the health and well-being of the mother and/or baby. But are these really emergencies?
Many women today are being told they either have a Large for Gestational Age Baby (LGA) or Small for Gestational Age Baby (SGA). IUGR is another term thrown around independently that needs fixing. It is important to note that these issues are often figured out at a scan at 36 wks or so and one diagnosis is often considered as the standalone complexity and women are then presented with options to fix it, mostly an Induction.
Now, big babies have all been born through history vaginally without any issues. Similar is for small babies, why is then these are seen as problems?
We sit down today with KL Goode, a Hawaain traditional midwife with over 53 years of experience and having assisted over 1400 births. Her transfer for surgery rate has been as low as 4% . She has served in India on and off and is currently based in Kolkata. She is currently training a batch of traditional midwifes aka birth keepers.
She takes us through the following significant points in Part I of this discussion
1. Is Big baby or Small Baby really an issue?
2. If not, when is it that it becomes an issue?
3. What's the truth behind the claim that big babies can't fit through the pelvis?
4. What has Gestational Diabetes to do with a Large Baby?
5. What is a midwife's way of working with a Large or Small Baby
Tune in to learn more.
In Part II , we discuss Small for Gestational Age babies and IUGR at length and conclude our discussion.
We would also like to thank our supporters, Dr Sreenath and Giridharan co founders of Nasobuddy for supporting the production of this episode and enabling a special discount for its listeners. They are the pioneers in making natural and non invasive baby products for one of the most daunting baby issues early postpartum such as sleep, colic, cough and more. They have a wide range of products, my favorite being the nipple healers! Visit www.nasobuddy.com to know more!
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