Thursday 19 May 2011

The Underrated Umbilical Cord

Hey Lotus Lovers ~

We are back in the UK and living under the stars on a really gorgeous campsite! We have much to do as we have been given an opportunity to insert some literature into the delegate packs at this RCOG event. http://www.rcog.org.uk/events/underrated-umbilical-cord

From this event we are hoping to create interest in our Lotus Birth research project that we hope to launch here in the UK as while we were in Egypt we were asked to carry out research to take back to launch with the help of Dr. Amr Gehad. We also met the lovely Dr. Azza Abul-Fadl who invited me to Alexandria where I presented the concept of Doula support to 30+ doctors and we added in the importance on the third stage in there too!

We have much work to so and we are very excited about our next steps while here in the UK.
I will include some photographs of our new 'homeland' with the next post, as we are currently sat in the yummy Star Anise Arts Cafe' in Stroud, Glos using their internet connection. :o)

Thanks for reading.

Lotus Love

Cheroona, William, Aurora, Ophelia and Wilde xxxxxxxxx


Wednesday 4 May 2011

Birth Revolutions



I am dedicating this post to our wonderful friend Marwa and her son baby Adam here in Cairo, Egypt. Her incredible birth story can be read here http://marwarakha.com/?p=5965

We are now celebrating the 5th of May which is a very special day to us here at The Lotus Birth Campaign as it is both International Midwifery Day and my second child's 3rd birthday, which marks the birth of our campaign too. Interestingly we chose to birth without a qualified professional midwife and we chose to freebirth with the support of Laura Shanley and her website www.unassistedchildbirth.com.

We have come so far on our journey with the campaign, it has kept us focused on what really matters to us, our children and the planet on which we live. This focus is extremely powerful and it is guiding us on this mission beautifully. All the people who we need to know are presenting themselves you us quite naturally and there has been no stress or pressure!

Marwa has been so supportive to us and our expansion and with getting into professional mode. All the ideas that we have had over the years are now possible with opportunities presenting themselves quite naturally! Marwa has everything to do with this, she has every confidence in us and what we can bring to the world table!

The BIG and BEAUTIFUL EGYPTIAN VISION: Creating a home for Cairo Birth House in Egypt. At the moment Cairo Birth House is hosted in the physiotherapy department of Nasr City Hospital (which has a 100% cesarean section rate) and couples meet with German Doula Gertrude once, maybe twice a month for birth preparation classes. There are currently no midwives working in Egypt so birth happens in hospitals with OB's. Those who don't want to birth the standard way and can afford other options actually birth outside of Egypt. The couple who are living in the apartment above us have an 8 month old daughter who they went to Boston, USA to birth (they were going there for business also so that's why it was Boston). They still gave birth in a hospital but it was a natural birth.

We want Cairo Birth House to be not only a home for birth preparation but also for birth itself! A birth centre specialising in natural birth in Egypt! This is our new exciting mission! We of course will need to get funding for this and support from a larger umbrella but this is a real possibility and I am thrilled to bits to be making pulses in this direction!

What I want to talk about is my first time as a Doula with Marwa's birth. All I know is that she was so beautiful and I am in awe of her power and vulnerability. She is a Goddess and I am eternally grateful to her for enlightening me and bringing me into her birthing world. What really makes me smile, it that although she didn't get to have her unassisted lotus birth (which we know is unheard of in Egypt) she did get to 9cm with her cervix at home labouring with me, which according to the Doctor who delivered her baby is also unheard of for women in Egypt. He said no women ever get even near 9cm without having pain medication! So I am profoundly moved by Marwa and her power and her son's power and feel beyond honoured to have experienced this gorgeous duo in action! This experience has changed my view on everything! Life is so delicate and our expectations of her need to be seriously reviewed as this delicate creation is calling for a renewed sense of trust and a renewed sense of inspiration. Birth is the key to peace on earth and let us treat each women on earth as the Goddess that they are and support them to bring their babies into the world with love and tenderness.

Lotus Love and Lifelong Learning,

Cheroona xxxxx