Presence is a noun, not a verb; it is a state of being, not doing. States of being are not highly valued in a culture that places a high priority on doing. Yet, true presence or ‘being with’ another person carries with it a silent power – to bear witness to a passage, to help [...]
Author Archive
The Silent Power You Already Have Leave a comment
Fear-Busting for Pregnant People Leave a comment
Fear-Busting for Pregnant People A guide by Vicki Elson, MA, CCE, CD www.birth-media.com Feel free to copy this with credit. You’re not alone – fear and anxiety are normal and even useful. Will I be able to handle the pain? The baby will come out one way or another, no matter how you relate to [...]
Infant Mortality Stats Misleading Leave a comment
US and Canada have better infant survival statistics than we thought! A new Canadian study shows that if reporting methods were standardized worldwide, the US and Canada would rank 12th and 11th respectively, not #18 and #22. It seems that North Americans have been penalized by keeping records that include all babies born pre-term, [...]
Birth From the Baby’s Point of View Leave a comment
birth from the baby’s point of view vicki elson 2008 Edgeless space Sleep, awake, drifting silence, darkness, warm simplicity Gradually you become aware of: movement muffled sounds soft edges Now you’re feeling crowded. You find the place where your head feels best You try to stretch out You react to movements and sounds with movements [...]
The Good News and the Bad News About Giving Birth Leave a comment
Check here for Vicki’s one page guide The Good News and the Bad News About Giving Birth
A Better Birth Plan Leave a comment
A great birth plan isn’t just about what you WANT from your care providers. It’s about what you BRING to your birth. A birth plan is best used as a tool for COMMUNICATION with your partner and your care providers, well before the baby is due. And always, you will dance between PREPARING for the [...]
Four Local Birth Events in the next couple of weeks! Leave a comment
9/25/11 “Meet the Doulas Day” at Cradle, 3rd Floor of Thorne’s Market, 150 Main Street, Northampton MA, 2 pm. www.greenriverdoulas.org 9/30/11 Authors’ Reading from “Home/Birth: A Poemic” at Neilson Library, Smith College, Northampton MA, 7 pm. 10/1/11 Events at The Springfield Pulse Gallery, 11 Pearl Street, Suite 230, Springfield MA. 2-5 pm: Birth Art Exhibit; [...]
“Childbirth Education Essentials” workshop in Northampton, MA USA Leave a comment
“Childbirth Education Essentials” workshop in Northampton, MA USA, November 19, 2011 This unique, intimate one-day workshop for childbirth professionals and students explores what expectant parents and their educators REALLY need to know about pregnancy, birth, cultural/media influences, fear-busting, baby-bonding, and raising healthy happy kids. It’s an immersion in skill-building: teaching experientially, tailoring classes to specific [...]
Hey World – Ignore Us! Leave a comment
My film is a success around the world — and that’s a problem! “Laboring Under An Illusion: Mass Media Childbirth vs. The Real Thing” was made for North American audiences. But I get mail from Malaysia and Kenya and Kazakhstan, and it’s pretty relevant in those places too. The film includes 100 clips from U.S. [...]
Call for Participants Leave a comment
I’m making a new film (the first one is “Laboring Under An Illusion: Mass Media Childbirth vs. The Real Thing,” www.birth-media.com). I’m looking for widely diverse interviewees — diverse not just in nationality, ethnicity, and class, but in experiences. Moms who used every trick they learned in childbirth education class, and moms who made up [...]
