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Common Knowledge Trust approached Jeanne Ohm, Executive
Coordinator of ICPA to write some articles about The Pink Kit
Method for birthing better™ for ICPA. When asked what aspects of
childbirth, ICPA has concerns about, Jeanne wrote back "We are
concerned about all aspects of birth--1) a woman"s right to
choose 2) the importance of her being aware of her options 3)
the physiological relationship of pelvis and birth".
For Common Knowledge Trust the goals are slightly different, yet
heading toward the same alignment ... more positive births and a
decrease in birth trauma for us, the mother and our children.
CKT"s goals would sound like this 1) Absolutely all of us, as
expectant parents, must have both labour management and coaching
skills 2) These skills must work for us in absolutely all birth
situations. 3) We all share the same human body which we can
prepare and develop skills for this unique exercise ...
childbirth with The Pink Kit Method for birthing better™.
CKT is the collective voice of thousands upon thousands of us
... women and men. This does not mean that thousands of us
gathered at a conference to nut out how to prepare for
childbirth or what skills we could use that suited all births.
CKT reflects the stories, the questions, solutions, ideas and
musings that we tell each other about our own experiences of
childbirth. We remember giving birth and anyone who is with us
remembers the experience as well. Childbirth is BIG and
remembered.
At the same time, childbirth has been removed from us in several
ways over several generations.
Modern families have left behind their diverse cultural
knowledge, "know-how", and family support during pregnancy,
childbirth and after birth. Although statistics clearly show
that we are more likely to die or be injured at any other time
in our lives, pregnancy and birth has been embraced by a modern
health system including midwives and doctors for several
generations. Modern childbirth preparation is entirely different
from childbirth preparation in our diverse cultural backgrounds.
Labour and coaching skills have not been highly developed in
modern societies.
Childbirth in traditional communities varies significantly as to
where or with whom a woman gives birth, just as in modern
communities. For example, there are cultures where women go
alone to birth or are excluded away from their village for
months. Cultures vary as to who is present. In some cultures
birth is exclusively "women"s business" while in others the
whole family is involved and fathers take an active part.
Although many cultures have individual people who attend births,
this is not a profession. The number of children born into most
communities is relatively small, so attending births occurred
periodically.
In most cultures, women birthed with relatives rather than a
specific "birth attendant." If a problem occurred a healer or
spiritual guide would come. Some cultures had no concept of
birth attendant, whoever was there at the time helped. In some
cultures, the birth specialist were men, while in other they
were women. Although special birth attendants were highly
regarded, in some communities they were the unclean because they
could touch human waste. Because of all this diversity, no
wonder modern birth is confusing about where, with whom and how
women should birth.
Layered over all of our histories is the development of modern
maternity care and its use for the past 3-4 generations.
Complete the complexity around childbirth by adding "choice",
"informed consent", defining what are medical childbirth
interventions and natural childbirth, whether an obstetrician,
midwife (CNM or direct entry) is the best care provider or
whether home, hospital or birth centre is the best place to
birth. So many issues, yet as you read this millions of women
are giving birth around the world ... one contraction at a time.
Common Knowledge Trust grew by shear accident. A woman who had
broken her tail bone at the birth of her child 10 years earlier
compared her tail bone to the founder of Common Knowledge Trust.
One had a long tail bone, the other didn"t. Several insights
occurred from this simple exchange of body knowledge.
Some women had long tails and others didn"t. The woman with the
long tail bone had hers damaged in childbirth whereas the other
woman hadn"t. Two women from very, very different backgrounds
had something in common ...tail bones and their birthing body.
Bingo! We could develop body knowledge that any woman could
benefit from by knowing about her own birthing body. That one
insight led to ways to get the tail bone out of the way in
childbirth. Other childbirth stories and physical complaints
among pregnant women led to more discoveries about our amazing
birthing body. The Pink Kit Method for birthing better™ started
to evolve. This occurred in the early 1970s. In 2005, The Pink
Kit Method resources are now available to you.
The insights along the way have been many, yet occurred over
time.
Telling our birth stories were the source of knowledge and
important. They were told on several levels. We spoke about what
time we went into labour, when our waters broke, when we got
fully dilated and what time we delivered. We spoke about what
"they" did to us ... both what we liked and mostly what we
didn"t like. Our own perception of the experience. "My back hurt
all the time." "It didn"t hurt as much as I imagined", "It was
worse than I could have imagined". etc Men had the same body, so
they could feel the same things in their body which helped them
coach us better. All women had the same body with minor
differences. Those differences were very important and helped us
focus our own preparation and labour management. All women
laboured the same way ... one contraction after another until
our baby came out of the same hole. We exhibited behaviours in
labour that indicated whether we were coping or not. All birth
professionals admired women who managed their labours well and
loved to see couples work together. When women, birthing in
hospitals, birth centres and at home, managed labour well, the
birth professionals were more relaxed. Women with health issues
still wanted to manage their labours and have positive birth
experiences, as did women who chose hospital and doctor care.
Women planning or requiring a non-labouring delivery still
wanted to feel part of the process.
If we stuck to the body, passed on practical, real, effective
and easy to use labour management and coaching skills, people
were willing to learn them regardless of the diversity in ethnic
background, religion, beliefs, health issues, choices, education
or other. The skills worked in absolutely all birth situations.
The evolution of The Pink Kit grew from the stories that we told
about our physical experience of birth (the other issues such as
what "they" did or didn"t do are not the scope of CKT) and what
each of us could do to:
Manage our labours better. Have our partner, husband, friend or
relative be a very good labour coach. Resolve the "too intense"
sensations of labour. Know what we were doing rather than being
carried by the experience. Prevent or lessen physical and
emotional birth trauma. Increase a positive birth experience in
and around all the medical assessments, monitoring and
procedures.
There were many other people and organisations working on
broader issues that have changed maternity care: women"s
options, birth plans and choices. There were many people working
on the changes that focused on diversifying birth professionals,
while others focused on creating birth place options.
>From the Stories, The Pink Kit Method for birthing better™
evolved. Common Knowledge Trust became the charitable
organisation under which The Pink Kit Method developed the
resources now available. We remained focused entirely on
preparing our own birthing body, the birthing skills that
reflect a woman"s positive childbirth management and coaching
skills for our partners/husbands so that they can help us when
we are finding the sensations of childbirth challenging.
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