Annie Reeder – Nashville TN Doula and Birth Coach

I post what I see. I saw this, and found it to be an intriguing alternative to our traditional cesareans performed routinely. I particularly am intrigued by their description and execution of “a ‘natural’ approach that mimics the situation at vaginal birth by allowing (i) the parents to watch the birth of their child as active participants (ii) slow delivery with physiological autoresuscitation and (iii) the baby to be transferred directly onto the mother’s chest for early skin-to-skin.”

Is it possible to have this experience here in the States? I don’t know. I don’t know if they are able to perform this kind of surgery on every cesarean candidate or only certain candidates that meet certain criteria. I am not a medical professional. I DO know that there are some striking differences between these care provider’s practices and many of our local ones. My initial reactions are 1) the OB is performing the surgery, but it is the midwife’s responsibility for the overall well-being of baby and mum; 2) delayed cord clamping is compatible with cesarean birth!; 3) I love the slow delivery from the uterus to help force the fluid out of baby’s lungs.

Under more scrutiny, this video is from the UK’s leading midwife, Jenny Smith. Here is her website: jentlechildbirth.org