What a fun idea! One of my FB friends sent me this image of Ryan Gosling. Thanks to whomever made it! I got a lot of laughs in class when I put it up on the whiteboard. Gloria
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You’re Eating for Two
Question from a student midwife:
Gloria, what’s the reason behind a mom needing to eat 1 potato or serving of brown rice per day? Fiber? What nutrients are they both high in? Thanks!
Baked potato
Answer:
Make sure you tell the woman a baked potato or brown rice. These are slower burning carbs plus they have more minerals than the processed counterpart. It’s not just what the woman is eating that you’re interested in, it’s what she’s not eating. If you steer her towards healthier carbs, it eliminates the temptation to fill up on processed food. A little story about those 3 daily “musts”. . .
I had a new client who was a dietician for a big hotel. I gave her the diet grid to fill out everything she ate for a week and told her to eat daily:
-a baked potato or a bowl of brown rice
-large green salad
-1/2 grapefruit, orange, 2 kiwis or a red pepper
She got quite upset at me. She let me know that she ate very well and didn’t need any input from me. I asked her to just humor me and give it a try. She phoned in about 5 days and told me she couldn’t believe what an impact it had on her. By having a set list of “musts”, it helped her to prepare for the week and she didn’t snack on things in the hotel kitchen so much. She was feeling happier, stronger and more nourished by the food. Gloria
Green Mixed Salad
Prison food for thought
In a never-ending quest to make prisons “cost effective”, our government decided to turn the food services over to private enterprise. This means that the service is provided in the skimpiest way possible without having outbreaks of scurvy. I found it bizarre when I was in high security (about a week) because the food would come on trolley carts with covered trays, very much like hospital food presentation. Each woman took her tray and opened it. Of course, the first time, you anticipate that it will be something interesting but you soon learn that it will be two slices of bread which you can then toast in the unit toaster. The toast will be accompanied by fast food packets of jam, sugar, powdered creamer, instant coffee, tea bag (all of which come in handy for trading). I quickly learned to describe myself as “vegetarian” so I could occasionally get a processed cheese slice and sidestep the “meat of dubious origins” which came with dinner.
Things changed after that first week in high security when I was moved to a minimum security unit. This place was still like a bad summer camp but the food improved somewhat. A small team of prisoners prepared the food under the watchful eye of a Filipino woman named Anna. They seemed like a happy team and they made food that was heavy on the pasta and potatoes (women who are coming off drug addictions need a lot of carbs, plus they are cheap). Eggs were more plentiful and there was a concerted effort to make the food appetizing. There was always a table with a giant bowl of salad from which we could help ourselves and more fruit was available, too.
Four women ate at each table in the dining room and the guards ate with us. The whole group ate very rapidly as it was considered rude to dawdle over your food because there was another team of women who had to clean the tables and sweep the floor after the meal. Although this fast eating was tense, we were allowed to come back into the dining room after the cleanup crew had finished and make ourselves a tea and relax at the tables. It became my habit to bring a book or a newspaper and sit alone to enjoy a hot cup of tea for about 45 minutes after the evening meal.
One evening when I was alone in the dining room, the cook, Anna, came out of the kitchen for the first time and approached my table. She put a small paper on the table and when I took it and looked, I could see it was her photo and it was a midwifery license from the Philippines. I couldn’t quite compute it and she smiled and sat down. 
She explained to me that she had come to Canada expecting to practice her profession but could never get accepted by the midwifery licensing body. She then applied for and got the cooking job in the women’s prison. She said that she just loved it. She shopped very carefully to get us the best food possible on the tight budget she was given. She knew her nutrition and wanted us all to be healthy. Her team would say a prayer over the food before beginning meal preparation. She wanted me to know that she had read about my difficulties with the licensing body in the newspapers and could understand what I was going through. Even though she couldn’t attend births in Canada, she had found a way to support women in an unlikely place and she did her work in the prison with pride and passion. I felt that my brief interaction with her was another of the miracles that I encountered within those walls. . . a midwife was watching out for me and she fed my body and soul by reaching out to me.
Related post: http://www.glorialemay.com/blog/?p=11
Posted in Prison experience
9 Comments
Birth without borders
I’ve been on a bit of a rant lately about “Keep those damn hats off babies”, “Take off those wet sports bras”, “Get everyone skin-to-skin, dark, private” and I get told that “We have to choose our battles”, “It’s important to meet people where they are and not overwhelm them with picky details”, and other variations of advice to STOP IT!
These things are HUUUUUGE to me. I only want to speak into the ears of those who want perfect births. I had a perfect birth. What is a perfect birth? It’s a birth that you look back on when your child is 30 years old and you wouldn’t change a single thing about it. . . every smell, touch, taste, word spoken and beam of light goes to the grave with you as a top of the mountain of life experience. It’s an experience that makes up for so much of the day to day b.s. that is part of living in a human body. It helps to salve the losses and the heartaches and gives you a glimpse of the bliss that’s possible when all the stars align on a really, really good day. That’s what I want for every birthing woman. When I saw this little video clip (I think it’s from Russia), it made my heart sing as I prayed that no one would enter the frame and interfere with this woman’s bliss (no one does). Unfortunately the sound is missing but I love it that someone turns off the lights so baby could transition to this bright world in a slow way. I also love it that the toddler comes in with questioning eyes to see what the heck is happening in his world and looks to the Dad with questioning eyes and is reassured that “Yes, this is different but it’s all good, sweetie.” I just made that up but I love my own version of things. Enjoy.
The Moon Inside You (film on menstruation)
This is a small snippet of a much longer film that looks fantastic.
Posted in Holistic midwifery & doula education, Menses
5 Comments
PATTERN FOR KNITTED UTERUS
For all you crafty types
Materials:-
Double knitting wool – 3 oz
4 Knitting needles, pointed at both ends size 8
Small quantity shirring elastic
Round balloons
1 plastic ball 3½” diameter (three and a half inches)
Cast on 48 stitches 16 on each of 3 needles. Join.
Knit 2, Purl 2. until cuff measures two and a half inches.
Continue in plain knitting.
FIRST ROUND. Increase 1 stitch in every 6th stitch (56 stitches).
Knit 7 rows plain knitting.
8th ROUND. Increase 1 stitch every 7th stitch (64 stitches).
15th ROUND. Increase 1 stitch every 8th stitch (72 stitches).
22nd ROUND. Increase 1 stitch every 9th stitch (80 stitches).
29th ROUND. Increase 1 stitch every 10th stitch (88 stitches).
36th ROUND. Increase 1 stitch every 11th stitch (96 stitches).
43rd ROUND. Increase 1 stitch every 12th stitch (104 stitches).
Continue to knit on these 104 stitches for
another 25 rounds.
Decrease :-
FIRST ROUND. *knit 11 slip 1 knit 1, pass slip stitch over. Repeat from *
to end of row.
2nd ROUND. *knit 10 slip 1 knit 1, pass slip stitch over. Repeat from *
to end of row.
3rd ROUND. *knit 9 slip 1 knit 1, pass slip stitch over. Repeat from *
to end of row.
4th ROUND. *knit 8 slip 1 knit 1, pass slip stitch over. Repeat from *
to end of row.
5th ROUND. *knit 7 slip 1 knit 1, pass slip stitch over. Repeat from *
to end of row.
6th ROUND. *knit 6 slip 1 knit 1, pass slip stitch over. Repeat from *
to end of row.
7th ROUND. *knit 5 slip 1 knit 1, pass slip stitch over. Repeat from *
to end of row.
8th ROUND. *knit 4 slip 1 knit 1, pass slip stitch over. Repeat from *
to end of row.
9th ROUND. *knit 3 slip 1 knit 1, pass slip stitch over. Repeat from *
to end of row.
10th ROUND. *knit 2 slip 1 knit 1, pass slip stitch over. Repeat from *
to end of row.
11th ROUND. *knit 1 slip 1 knit 1, pass slip stitch over. Repeat from *
to end of row.
12th ROUND *Slip 1 Knit 1. Repeat to end of stitches.
Cut the wool. Draw the end through the remaining eight stitches and finish off.
Thread a few strands of shirring elastic around the top and bottom of the cuff.
To use this visual aid :-
Insert the balloon into the cuff and blow it up, tie the end securely. Then insert the ball.
Pressure on the balloon gives a realistic impression of the uterine
contractions and the full dilation of the cervix in the first stage of birth.
Posted in Uncategorized
2 Comments
AFRICA: Can you ever forgive what we have done?
From: “Angela Gorman”
Date: 18 October 2011 18:53:39 ACDT
To: “HIFA2015 – Healthcare Information For All by 2015″
health workers (17) Midwifery practice: I think we owe developing
countries an apology Reply-To: “HIFA2015 – Healthcare Information For
All by 2015″ <HIFA2015@dgroups.org>
Hi everyone,
On our first visit to Africa in 2005, we noticed that women were
delivering on their backs.. exactly as I had done 34yrs before, plus
the babies were kept away from the mothers, exactly as my own babies
were kept away from me for up to 12hrs following delivery. No choice
for me…that was how it was done here in the UK. We also noticed that
babies were often left on cold tiled surfaces wrapped in thin sheets,
this did not happen to my babies. When we asked the midwives why they
used the supine position for birth and kept the babies away from their
mothers, we were told, “this is what we were told you do in the west.”
African mother and baby
We then explained that this was how women used to be delivered
(including me) but that now women were delivered as upright as
possible and their babies were given to them to breast-feed
immediately. The midwives looked astonished and said “but what you are saying is how our mothers taught us to deliver, but we changed because that was what we were told you did in the west!”
Sadly we have, for all the right reasons, changed practices which were subsequently shown to be better and safer. By keeping babies from mothers and not encouraging early breast-feeding, we have increased the risk of PPH for the mother and caused hypothermia/hypoglycaemia in the babies! I think we owe developing countries an apology! Best wishes, Angela
HIFA2015 profile: Angela Gorman is a nurse and is chair of Life for
African Mothers (formerly Hope for Grace Kodindo), a charity based in
the UK. Life for African Mothers provides life-saving drugs such as
magnesium sulphate and misoprostol to help reduce maternal deaths in developing countries. angelagorman AT aol.com Click here to read online.
HIFA2015: Healthcare Information For All by 2015: www.hifa2015.org
HIFA2015 requires financial support for 2011-2012. Please contact the
coordinator: neil.pakenham-walsh@ghi-net.org Thanks to our 2010-2011
financial supporters: British Medical Association, CABI, Global HELP,
International Child Health Group (Royal College of Paediatrics and
Child Health), Joanna Briggs Institute, Network for Information and
Digital Access, Public Library of Science, Rockefeller Foundation
(Monitoring and Evaluation), Royal College of Midwives, Royal College
of Nursing, THET, and UnitedHealth Chronic Disease Initiative. To send
a message to the HIFA2015 forum, email: hifa2015@dgroups.org To join or unsubscribe from HIFA2015, email: hifa2015-admin@dgroups.org Join our sister forums:
CHILD2015 (child health); HIFA-Portuguese (collaboration with WHO
ePORTUGUESe network); HIFA-EVIPNet-French (collaboration with WHO Evidence for Informed Policy Network) ; HIFA-Zambia (collaboration with the Zambia UK Health Workforce Alliance)
NOTE from Gloria: Yes, the people of Africa deserve a profound apology for all the unnecessary suffering of the past caused by Westerners. More than that, we could look after nutrition and clean water so the misoprostol and mag sulphate would not be used. These Western drugs are the “instant quick fix export from the west” that will also make the next generation of Westerners bow their heads in shame. We must also stop allowing Western crackpots to circumcise men and boys in unethical experiments in vain attempts to curb AIDS. By changing our ways on a deep level, our apologies to Africa will ring true.
Posted in Breastfeeding, Public Health
9 Comments
DVD: “Birth with Gloria Lemay”, a review
Dear Gloria,
The video arrived on Saturday, October 1. I was able to watch it today…of course, it was wonderful.
Of all the birth videos I have seen, this is the first that has not shown one stitch of medical equipment. When I think with the mind of the skeptical pregnant mother, I look back at the births documented and never once wonder or worried if there were any tools to “save” anyone during this process. The births are clearly not in need of any interference. Birth is not in need of interference. Usually, those documenting find it important to show some sort of equipment at the ready for the “in case” situation. I’ve heard from a doula that she and a midwife arrived to a home in the same moment and the doula was employed in that moment to carry in an oxygen tank before letting the mother know she had arrived, and before ever knowing if there was need. While there may have been pieces of medical equipment in none or all of the homes you worked in, they were not part of how these births progressed. How refreshing!
I also took note that you, the attendant, were not a big part of how these births progressed. I much admire, and perhaps aspire, to hold that birth space for a laboring woman. Watching your approach will be a fantastic teaching tool for those who believe there must be a professional who participates and/or directs how birth unfolds. In your voice-over you note one mother saying “I did it!” and you follow up saying that indeed, she had. You were there. In many cases, that is all any laboring woman (or her partner) ever needs. . . to have someone there to witness and support a perfect process.
It was lovely, also, that the mother chose who was with her and even who would deliver the baby. I was struck with happiness when you coached the sister of one birthing woman in “catching” the newborn. Not all midwives are eager to teach and let others participate, but prefer to be the one who “does” that piece of birth work. Only with midwives like you can women experience birth in a normal way that solidifies that all women know this work and that it is not a matter of medical education, but a matter of experience, intuition and the passing on of knowledge.
As you well know, most women and girls know nothing of birth outside of the medical model. Your video is a great vision of the true nature of birth. Mother centered birth once was the norm and with your help, it can return to such an event where a woman gains fulfillment and strength in her mind, and in the minds of those in her life.
Thank you for being who you are and helping others see the truth in birth.
With gratitude,
Lisa Juckette
Des Moines, IA
For ordering information on the dvd, see this post:
http://www.glorialemay.com/blog/?p=476
Posted in DVD for sale, Videos, Waterbirth
2 Comments
Hemorrhoid Treatment
Dear Gloria, I had a great birth with my second baby and didn’t even tear. Next problem, what do I do for a hemorrhoid though? Decent sized one, too. I’ve been putting ice and witch hazel on it. Do you have any tips??
Dear Catherine,
Yes, actually, we’ve just had a big discussion on that subject on the Ancient Art Midwifery list. After you’ve gone pee, got yourself a drink, and have 1/2 hour of “lying on your side nursing the baby” time, get a warm soapy facecloth and towel and get into bed with baby. Then, with just your finger, gently push the bumpy veins inside your bum and clench your bum cheeks tight to keep them in for the 1/2 hour. Clean your hands with the facecloth and dry them and then lie on your side, like that, with babe feeding/cuddling and you clenching tight for 1/2 hour. This allows the veins to be placed where they are supposed to be, reduces the swelling and allows the blood flow to resume properly. You may have to do this more than once but it brings instant relief.
Dear Gloria, Oh that’s great!! Will try this today as it’s the only part of me that’s sore!
I just put the witch hazel on it to reduce the size and did exactly what you said – I already feel better! Now I can enjoy my baby properly! I couldn’t sit at all. . . You have no idea how much you’ve helped me. . . I could burst into tears! Thank you!
Dear Catherine, Glad that helped, you’re welcome. I know you’ll pass the info on to others and help other women recover from birth smoothly. Love Gloria
Posted in Uncategorized
5 Comments
New, Live Online Midwifery Classes on WizIq
http://onlinemidwiferyed.blogspot.com/2011/09/midwifery-101-live-online-classes-on.html
Midwifery 101, Classes begin on Thur Nov 3, 2011 and continue to the end of March 2012. $150 for 20 live, online classes with Gloria Lemay, 60 mins long.
http://onlinemidwiferyed.blogspot.com/2011/09/midwifery-102-continuing-classes.html
Midwifery 102, Classes begin on Thur Oct 6, 2011 and continue to the beginning of March 2012. $89 for 10 live, online classes with Gloria Lemay, 60 mins long.
These classes are designed for students who have completed the Midwifery 101 course.
For times and lots more information on how to join WizIq and a free sample of a class, see the links above. Feel free to share this post.
Thank you for a great series of classes. I always laugh when I watch you and have enjoyed these classes so much. I have learned a great deal about how I hope to practice. Your love of your work shines through when you teach and I admire your respect for the women you serve. Trista Tetro
Posted in Holistic midwifery & doula education, wizIQ
10 Comments