All posts by Patricia

Renaissance Woman

You – yes, YOU – are your own best healer!

You, my friend, are your own best healer because you live in your body and know what foods you eat, what movements you make, what thoughts, feelings and attitudes you usually indulge in.

Start now, if you haven’t already begun – learn everything you can about health and healing. We can coach you, if you wish. Taking care of your body is not only fun and empowering — it will also save your life and life savings.

To keep your body and mind in a healthy chemical balance, do not study medical books, but nutritional healing books… books on natural foods, vitamins, minerals (throw out your free-flowing sodium chloride and use only full-spectrum salt), cleansing, food combining, the acid-alkalinity balance, and herbs.

Study exercise systems like yoga and Feldenkrais — movement systems that help keep your spine aligned. Study books about acupressure points that stimulate the lymph and nervous systems. Go to YouTube and find videos about EFT — emotional freedom technique — to keep your mind and emotions flowing in a healthy way.

Learn all you can about birth. There’s no need to think of a natural bodily process as a medical emergency.  Animals don’t go to hospitals to have babies — and they seem to do quite well without intrusive tests, labor induction and surgery. Wild animal babies are not subjected to premature cord clamping and cutting, circumcision and manufactured baby formulas. Animals in the wild eat simple, natural, raw foods and not usually more than they need to stay alive. Only in captivity do animals eat cooked foods — and get human diseases.

Do research on the Internet concerning your specific complaints and what natural remedies — foods, herbs, exercises, sunshine, etc — have been found helpful for your condition. Get a copy of Louise Hay’s You Can Heal Your Body and see what thought patterns correlate with your (and your family members’ & friends’) physical conditions and think back through the years… do her ideas ring true to you? Read the stories of people who have successfully overcome specific diseases… what did they do? Read about spontaneous remissions; sometimes there’s just a little nagging thought that needs to change and people get well when they change it.

Once you learn how to take care of your precious human body, you will no longer confuse the medical industry with health. Surgery and pharmaceutical drugs are helpful when you fall down and break your leg or are in an auto accident, but the fact is, medical schools teach only disease and pathology, not how to attain vibrant, radiant health.

You want health. You deserve to be healthy. You can be healthy. You can make a healthier body and keep your body healthy with simple methods. You only need tools, understanding.

We are happy to share a lifetime of learning with you. Contact us if you need a little help to practice letting go of fear and embracing the Love that you are. Miracles happen.

Only one thing can exist in one place at one time.
Let that one thing be the Love that you are.

Full circle – the “new old” way to birth

I know three women who had babies at the harvest moon in September 2010. They all successfully home birthed without assistance. One of the women, a beautiful mother of a perfect one-day old baby girl wrote this to me that same day:

“I find it shocking that a lot of women fear birth. Birth is natural and there are hundreds of women that birthed without the drug advancements lately.  I just experienced my second birth – painfree!

“I’m even more amazed at how many people don’t believe that they can have a painfree birth… I don’t think something as beautiful as birthing a precious baby should be painful and I think a lot of that is media hype. Movies and magazines always exaggerate labor & delivery to be this utterly horrible, noisey, tramatic experience.

“I don’t know about other women but I am fairly quite when I birth. I have a few moans here and there when I am pushing naturally but I just meditate through the waves and let my body do its thing. I just channel all my concentration into my body and my baby.”

Please be sure to order a copy of the Birth As We Know It video for your favorite mother-to-be. (It’s in the “Birth” items to your right – it has a blue cover with mother & child.

This video will ease her fears and prepare her for a very happy, healthy, empowering experience of birth as mothers through the ages have known. In actuality, any cutting at any time of any body carries risks of bleeding and infection. Modern medical intervention rushes the process and forces procedures that women do not want. Interfering with nature’s kind and loving plan can be more dangerous than helpful.

Yet it requires some effort to birth naturally. Years of fears and myths and our own resulting stressful medical birth trauma need to be reversed. Sign up for the *HealingPlace*, above. We heal the body, mind and spirit and help prepare women so that birth can be a wonderful experience for both mother and child.

Genital cutting tied to later abuse risk

And remember, dear friends… anything that affects a female who has been cut surely will affect a cut male as well. Male circumcision is no less traumatic to the child than Female Genital Mutilation. Trauma is trauma. And the worst part of circumcision is not the physical cut, but the psychological repercussions. Spare the child and he or she will grow up to be far more peaceful, trusting, happy than someone who has been grievously injured unnecessarily due to fashion, superstition or any other adult fear.

By Amy Norton, Reuters
September 24, 2012

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women who underwent genital cutting as young girls may be at increased risk of physical, sexual or emotional abuse from their husband, a study of women in Mali suggests.

The study, of nearly 7,900 women, found that 22 percent of those with genital mutilation said they’d been physically abused by a husband or male partner. That compared with 12 percent of women who’d never been subjected to the procedure.

It’s estimated that more than 130 million women worldwide have undergone genital mutilation, also known as female “circumcision.” The centuries-old practice, which involves removing part or all of a girl’s clitoris and labia, and sometimes narrowing the vaginal opening, remains a common practice in some countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.

It’s well-known that genital cutting has long-term consequences for women – including sexual dysfunction, childbirth complications, incontinence and psychological disorders.

In the new study, researchers looked at whether there’s a link between genital mutilation and a woman’s odds of suffering abuse from her partner.

In Mali, where the vast majority of women have undergone genital mutilation, the government has taken steps to raise awareness of the consequences of the practice. But genital mutilation has not been outlawed.

The difficulty is that genital cutting is widely seen as an important cultural tradition, rather than a form of abuse.

“If something is entrenched in a culture, it is difficult to change,” said Dr. Hamisu Salihu of the University of South Florida in Tampa, the lead researcher on the new study.

On the other hand, physically abusing your wife – though common in Mali and other African countries – does not have that cultural acceptance, Salihu told Reuters Health…

READ MORE: YAHOO! Health

SOURCE: BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, online August 24, 2012

Spirit is the healer

Some say Spirit is the healer and they are right. But what does that really mean? Is the Spirit that heals, a ghost? An amorphous being, a specter, phantom, apparition or halloween spook? No, the spirit that heals is far more than that — and far more readily available to all.

The word spirit comes from the Latin noun spiritus, which means breath and from the Latin verb spirare, which means to breathe.

Spirit is the breath that breathes you. Spirit is the life that lives you. Spirit is the motion that moves you. Spirit is always there — filling you from within you holding you all around, about. There is nowhere spirit is not. You are never alone. Every breath you take is a gift of love.

God breathed life into Adam and God breathes life into you every moment of every day and all night through.  Breathing freely, fully and deeply is your natural condition.

When you are afraid, your breath becomes quick and shallow — you hold your breath. In essence, when you are afraid and hold your breath, you are saying No! to life.  At that point, tensions get stuck in your body.  When you recall the point at which you held your breath, you breathe again – the dis-ease, fear and tension are released. When breath is restored, ease is restored; Love returns to fill the place where the fear had been lodged. You are free.

And that is why they say,

Spirit is the healer.

You are only as sick as your secrets

Sometimes secrets are intentionally kept. On birthdays we don’t want our friends to know what we are giving them because we want them to be happily surprised.

Sometimes wonderful, velvet memories are kept secret because they are intensely private and personal. We do not care to share what they are because they might be misunderstood and not cherished by others as we cherish them ourselves.

But then there are the prickly or even stabbing secrets that hurt us then and continue to hurt us now. Those secrets are best aired and released. We fear that to tell them would only burden others, so we keep them to ourselves.

Truman Capote, author of In Cold Blood said that he used to write and write to get all the horrible secrets from his childhood out of his memory and onto the paper. Many people write, sing, make videos, journal and blog to get their stories out of their minds.

Sometimes secrets are so secret that they are secret even from ourselves. We have buried them deep in our minds because we don’t want to ever think again of the terror, horror, grief, pain, shame, guilt, humiliation. Many of the deepest secrets we have kept hidden from ourselves originated long ago — in childhood and even before.

Unfortunately, secrets unavailable to the conscious mind do not just go away of their own accord. They are still securely stored in the human subconscious, the hard drive, better known as the body. Unreleased tension can be stored in every muscle and cell of our body.

For the sake of our health and happiness, we need to locate and release those tensions. It is not difficult to do and it need not be painful. In fact, releasing old traumatic memories it is usually experienced as pleasant, freeing and empowering.

Here, we focus on simple, safe ways to release forgotten trauma and unpleasant emotions. We are available to coach you to free yourself from the chains of the past. Once you know how, you can release fear as it arises. To gain that degree of control over fear is the most exciting adventure on planet earth.

Everyone is welcome!

The mind… fear… love… healing… miracle

The mind

Mental health can be very simple. You are not crazy; nobody is. Nothing is irrational once all the facts are known. Healing merely requires learning how — and then doing it. All dysfunction, explored, points to a common source: fear.

You have but two emotions: love and fear.
All healing is essentially the release from fear.

What is fear?

Fear is the stress, tension and tightness that grips us when we think we are in danger — we might feel angry, sorrowful, grief-stricken. In short, fear is everything we experience when we are not in the awareness of love’s presence. Fear is everything that is not Love. Fear distracts us from love. Fear is everything we’d rather ignore, but it seems to keep surfacing until we give it the attention it is calling for.

Perfect Love casts out fear.

Fear gets stuck in the subconscious, the body, where it feels like tension, tightness and pain. Here, we help you release fear.

What is love?

Love is what you are. The bible says that you were made “in the image and likeness of God”, that “God is spirit”, “God is light”, ”God is love” and “the Kingdom of God is within you.” Scientists would say M=E/C2, or “matter is energy in motion.” So in short, you were created in the image of spirit, love, light… pure energy… and nothing less. Love is your true nature.

”Looking for Love in all the wrong places” — looking for love in the outer world, in people, places and things — is stressful and ultimately serves to distract you from your immaculate, inborn nature. Returning your focus inside, you experience what has been there all along — wonder, power, peace, joy, love, ease, health.

What is healing?

Since, “All healing is essentially the release from fear”, then our purpose is to facilitate your release of fear and a speedy return to the state of love. Contrary to what you have been taught, healing is the real game on planet earth. Healing frees. You can do it; you can heal. Healing is inevitable.

What is a miracle?

A miracle is a shift in perception, in thought. When you shift out of fear into love, that is a miracle. Much like learning to ride a bike, shifting becomes easier with practice, until it is natural and automatic. The good news is…

Healing is always certain.
Shift happens!

For many women, a V-section can be as traumatic as a C-section

by Kathryn Lane Berkowitz

Did you know that for many women, a vaginal birth with an episiotomy can be just as traumatic and painful as birth with a cesarean ? It’s true. The birth of my oldest child, who weighed on 5lbs and 5 oz was delivered via a mediolateral episiotomy and forceps. It was extremely painful. I refer to that birth as my “V-section” because that’s how it felt to me. I felt sliced and diced. And I was!

I had many, many stitches that itched and burned and nothing made it go away. This continued for several weeks. I was breastfeeding and it was all I could do to turn over in the bed without pain so intense that it made me nauseated and faint feeling. I had to have someone “spot” me every time I got up to use the bathroom because I was afraid I would faint. I was completely incapacitated.

In case you are unfamiliar with the term “episiotomy”, here is some information, and illustrations:

Patient Information on Episiotomy

Here is what some other women have said about their experiences with episiotomies :

“My husband and I had a baby boy on Christmas day. The doctor performed an episiotomy and it has been 8 weeks. I thought it had healed just fine but last week on Valentine’s Day my husband and I tried to make love and I was unable to due to pain in the area of the episiotomy.”

“I had my only child four years ago and I had an episiotomy. Now, four years later, my scar is itchy, swollen and irritated.  I also have been having strange feeling in my right leg that feels like something is cutting off the circulation at my upper thigh.”

“My episiotomy was not slight. It was severe and not only did it take me weeks before I could pee without crying, but it took me a year before I stopped itching my crotch. It was like a yeast-infection on speed as it was healing. Not fun at all. Not only that, but it still doesn’t feel the same down there. He cut through the muscle tissue so the whole vag-area feels just very funky and sad.”

And here’s a sad report about a death from episiotomy:

New Mother Dies from Episiotomy Infection

Aug. 2, 2001 – El Paso, Texas – Eight days after giving birth, a new mother died from toxic shock, due to an infection at the site of the episiotomy done while she was giving birth.  Treatments were unable to halt the progress of the infection, resulting in kidney failure, pneumonia and ultimately heart failure.  She leaves a grieving husband, baby daughter and other family.

I have known women who have developed rectovaginal fistulas after episiotomies. And I know a woman who developed a MRSA infection in her episiotomy. These women have had to search out services like these: Urogenital Repairs

Even though the practice of episiotomy has not been supported by the medical literature as providing any benefit in a normal vaginal delivery, many doctors still perform them routinely. Talk to your doctor or midwife about episiotomy and make an informed decision. If it were me, I would just say. “NO”!

Protect your local perineum!

Many thanks to the author of this article, Kathryn Lane Berkowitz, wife, mom of four adult children, grandmother, artist and Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator. From Kathryn’s blog, Birth Whisperer.

Who is Auntie Patricia? Patricia Robinett?

Observation constitutes the foundation
of every science.
Charles Sanders Pierce

Auntie Patricia is a detective, a scientist, a lady who wears many hats. She has delved deeply into several areas of life because something in her loves to solve mysteries … Who are we?… What are we? … What makes us tick? …  Why are we the way we are? … Why are things the way they are? … What is the point of life? … Is there a purpose?

Well, since Auntie Patricia is writing this, she might as well write in the first person…

In my work as a clinical hypnotherapist, I do not hypnotize people, since most or all of us are already living in a deep trance of fear and forgetfulness; rather, I de-hypnotize people. I wake them up from their walking trances. And in the same way, I de-hypnotize myself daily, moment by moment as circumstances arise that distract me from my peace of mind.

In regression therapy, I’ve facilitated many past life memories, which miraculously facilitate the gentle release of ancient fear, hatred, anger, grief, boredom and trauma, always in the interest of reclaiming the peace and joy that are our natural inheritance.

All healing is essentially the release from fear.
To heal is to make happy.
A Course In Miracles

A Course In Miracles is one of my favorite books because it talks extensively about healing and leads us to Knowledge, which is a direct experience of who and what you truly are. Are you a vulnerable physical body, personality and history? Or are you indestructible pure energy, spirit, life? Belief is not enough. We must know, because that is where uncertainty ends. In the ACIM Teacher’s Manual it says:

A universal theology is impossible, but a universal experience is not only possible but necessary. It is this experience toward which the course is directed. Here alone consistency becomes possible because here alone uncertainty ends.

That beautiful universal experience is called Knowledge. My book Knowledge, The Essence of World Scriptures is a collection of quotes from around the world and through the ages that motivated me to seek until I received Knowledge. This book is also an inspiration to anyone else wanting the same. And after they receive Knowledge, the quotes in this book will inspire them to savor it.

ACIM and Knowledge helped me stay peaceful when I discovered that I’d been circumcised as a little girl. I wrote about that journey of discovery in my book The Rape of Innocence, Female Genital Mutilation and Circumcision in the USA. I am deeply grateful to the course for its information on healing and to Knowledge for its comfort.

Auntie Patricia is also a healing coach. Oops!… back to first person…

I coach friends and clients to release trauma and find peace of mind, to lose excess weight and to let go of substances they are allergic or addicted to. My work is to make it easier for people like you to move away from self-destructive thoughts and behaviors, toward happier, healthier ways of being.

I feel grateful when I can help even one person. If I can be of service, please let me know. Your happiness blesses me too. Read here on this blog, join the Community forum if you like, and if you’d like to make an appointment, you can write to me from the Contact page.

Returning military face new enemies – PTSD & TBI

The legacy of America’s combat missions will continue to affect the thousands of troops who come home suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

Many soldiers, like Colby Buzzell, were looking for excitement and purpose in the war, but were permanently affected by the combat they saw.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do or be,” Buzzell tells NPR’s Guy Raz. “Our country was at war, this was my chance to be part of history.”

“You think of all the things you’re going to do once you go back home,” he says. But once he got home, he had trouble coping. He began drinking heavily to avoid reliving firefights and combat missions. Eventually, he became more withdrawn. He and his wife divorced.

When Buzzell received a letter calling him back into the Army, he says, he would have done anything to avoid going back. He knew he wasn’t mentally stable and had been suicidal in the past. Finally seeking help, he was diagnosed with PTSD and deemed “undeployable” by the U.S. Army.

Though thousands of soldiers are diagnosed with PTSD, many more suffer without treatment. Among those who do seek treatment, doctors are finding another, distinctly different problem called traumatic brain injury, or TBI.

The two conditions have similar symptoms, but the causes are quite different. While PTSD is a psychological disorder that can be treated with medication and therapy, TBI is physical injury to the brain that requires cognitive treatment to help rebuild function.

“Fundamentally, PTSD is a disorder where you remember too much, whereas TBI is a disorder where you don’t remember enough,” says Dr. Gregory O’Shanick, National Medical Director for the Brain Injury Association of America.

“The main differences are that individuals with traumatic brain injuries also will have neurologic symptoms such as headache, light sensitivity, dizziness and will have difficulty, many times, with balance,” O’Shanick says.

Individuals with PTSD, on the other hand, will re-experience events or have emotional or behavioral symptoms, like “feeling ashamed, feeling guilty, avoidance types of behavior, things of that nature,” O’Shanick says.

Fortunately, doctors are working to develop a better understanding of how to treat the two different disorders and more soldiers are seeking and receiving treatment.

Understanding the Dangers of Cesarean Birth: Making Informed Decisions

by Nicette Jukelevics, author of
Understanding the Dangers of Cesarean Birth: Making Informed Decisions
at www.DangersOfCesareanBirth.com

For years researchers have largely focused on the technical aspects and “appropriate” rate of cesarean section: the surgical procedure. However, birth by cesarean can have powerful psychological effects on women and their ability to adjust to motherhood.

A woman’s experience of her cesarean birth and her perceptions of the event, are influenced by multiple complex factors: The reason for which the cesarean was performed, her cultural values, her beliefs and anticipations of the birth, possible traumatic events in her life, available social support, and her personal sense of control, are only a few (Cummings, 1988; Cranley, 1983; Marut and Mercer, 1979; Sheppard-McLain1985).

Many women recover fully physically and emotionally from a cesarean birth, others do not. Little attention has been paid to the psychological impact that a surgical birth may have on women’s emotional well being. Their personal experiences have been at times trivialized, misunderstood, or ignored by the medical community.

That birth by cesarean can have an adverse psychological impact on some mothers was already a concern in the early 1980’s as the cesarean rate in the United States was climbing rapidly (Lipson and Tilden, 1980). Anecdotal reports and personal testimonies have helped to increase awareness of the negative psychological repercussions that some women experience following a cesarean birth. (Baptisti-Richards 1988; Madsen, 1994;Pertson and Mehl, 1985; Wainer-Cohen and Estner 1983).

Research suggests that the negative psychosocial effects of cesareans can be significant and far-reaching for some women (Mutryn, 1993). Several reports also indicate that a cesarean birth, especially one that was not anticipated, can put some women at increased risk for depression and post-traumatic stress.

Cesarean Birth and Postpartum Depression

Karen Erlichman, LCSW a faculty member in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at the University of San Francisco works with women who have had a difficult pregnancy or a traumatic birth. In her presentations to medical professionals working with birthing women, she tries to convey an important message- that birth by cesarean is an emotional experience, not just a medical procedure. (Erlichman, 1999). Women’s experience and perceptions of their birth may have very negative consequences despite good medical outcomes.

A British study screened expectant mothers for emotional well being at 30 and 36 weeks gestation and again at 6 weeks after they gave birth. Results indicated that a disproportionately large number of women who had a cesarean birth reported symptoms of clinical depression. Women who felt they were “not in control” of the events or felt they received medical interventions that were not necessary were at higher risk for depressed mood (Green, 1990).

Australian researchers looked at risk factors for postpartum depression in women expecting their first child during the first trimester, and at one month, 3 months and at 6 months postpartum. Compared to women who had a spontaneous vaginal delivery and women who had a forceps delivery, 46% of the women who had an emergency cesarean were more than six times more likely to develop symptoms of depression at three months postpartum. The increased risk for postpartum depression could not be attributed to personality dysfunction. Had the pain of the physical recovery been the cause of the depression, the authors speculated, one would have been more likely to see a difference at one month rather than at 3 months after the cesarean. The women’s perceptions of the emergency cesarean had lowered their self-esteem, left them with a sense of failure, loss of control and disappointment. (Boyce and Todd, 1992).

When 800 women who gave birth in Victoria, Australia were screened for multiple factors associated with postpartum depression eight to nine months after birth researchers discovered significant results. A careful analysis established a significant association between obstetric procedure and subsequent depression. Women who gave birth with forceps or by cesarean were more likely to exhibit symptoms of clinical depression. When examining the relationship between perinatal complications in a previous pregnancy and depression following the current birth, a prior cesarean delivery was identified as a significant factor. Women who had a prior cesarean were 2 ½ times more likely to suffer from depression after a subsequent birth. (Brown et al 1994).

Cesarean Birth as Trauma

Women who experience problems with infertility treatments, miscarriage, abortion or an ectopic pregnancy sometimes suffer from depression and/or post traumatic stress. Dr. J. Laurence Reynolds, a faculty member in the Department of Family Medicine, University of Western Ontario, Canada explains that because childbirth can be an extremely painful experience, often associated with feelings of being out of control. It is understandable that some women may experience the birth itself as a psychological trauma. (Reynolds, 1997).

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is currently defined as a psychiatric disorder that may develop from being exposed to an actual injury or death or from the perceived threat of injury or death. Individuals with post-traumatic stress experience feelings of intense fear, helplessness, or horror in response to the traumatic event. Emotional reactions can have significant and long-lasting effects. Stress response symptoms include:

  • intrusive thoughts and re-experiencing of the event,
  • avoidance of places or people that might trigger a reminder of the event,
  • numbing of emotions and general responsiveness
  • a sense of hypervigilance or increased arousal.

Studies suggest that post-traumatic stress is a much more common psychological response to an unexpected cesarean than expected. Women’s feelings of confidence and security on arriving at the hospital quickly change to ones of fear and anxiety when they learn they are going to have a cesarean. Almost one half of the 53 women who gave birth by emergency cesarean in a Swedish hospital were afraid of injuries their baby might sustain or afraid their baby might not survive. About one quarter of the women feared for their life or were convinced they would be seriously harmed. Some were afraid they would not wake up from the general anesthesia, and thirteen per percent experienced a frightening loss of contact with reality. Most of the mothers experienced a deep sense of loss and grief. (Ryding, et al December 1998)

When comparing women’s reactions following uncomplicated vaginal birth, instrumental delivery, and elective cesarean, women who had an emergency cesarean reported more symptoms of post traumatic stress both within the first few days after birth and at one month postpartum (Ryding, et al September 1998).

Some women experience significant adverse reactions to their cesarean birth as long as five years later A British study compared a group of women who had a primary cesarean delivery with women who had an uncomplicated vaginal birth and a group of women who had an assisted delivery with the use of forceps or vacuum extractor. Women who had multiple pregnancies, stillbirths, neonatal deaths, and home births were excluded from the study.

The group of women who gave birth with forceps or a vacuum extractor and women who gave birth by cesarean were more likely to have had a negative birth experience. Of the women who gave birth by cesarean 82.2% were recorded as an emergency and 17.8% as an elective operation. Over 80% had general anesthesia for the cesarean. The women who had an assisted delivery and those who gave birth by cesarean were much more disappointed. Although five years had passed since they gave birth, these mothers expressed dominant feelings of fear and anxiety about their experience and were more reluctant to become pregnant again (Jolly, J. et al 1999).

A cesarean can be a life saving procedure, but recent data shows that a first cesarean puts women at increased risk for medical complications in a subsequent pregnancy and birth (Rageth, 1999). Given the evidence that a cesarean may also put some women at increased psychological risk, women should be encouraged and supported in their efforts to avoid a cesarean.

Some Women’s Feelings about Cesarean Birth

“My daughter’s birth was two years ago, it was extremely traumatic. I have been trying to process these feelings that come up, and I thought I had, but recently I have been having nightmares about the cesarean reoccurring with this new baby. I am afraid the medical staff will just intervene and I will be powerless to say anything.”

“I was in such pain and terror that I didn’t care that I was having a baby. I just didn’t care. I couldn’t find a way to attach myself to my son. It was horrible, I was so detached that I didn’t even care that my husband decided on the name. I had no desire to even think about it.”

“If I need another cesarean, I don’t want to be awake this time. I don’t want to know that they are slicing me open with a knife, I don’t want to hear that suction noise, the cold clinking of the surgical instruments.”

“I was awake during my cesarean, but I really didn’t feel like I ‘was there.’ The doctor brought my baby to me, but I really didn’t have any connection to this baby. It’s been twelve weeks, but it’s still difficult to associate him with the cesarean. I had no euphoria, didn’t feel much joy. For many weeks after I kept dreaming that I was on my way to the hospital to give birth to him.”

“Because I had a previous c-section…a c-section was arranged…As I was wheeled away…I felt like I was an animal led to the slaughter with no mind of my own and doing as I was told…No real consideration was given to how I felt. I was lying there having the epidural inserted, screaming out inside, why, why, I don’t want this.”

References Cited

Baptisti-Richards 1988. Healing the Couple. Midwifery Today 1(7):22-25.

Boyce, P.M. and Todd, A.L. 1992. Increased risk of postnatal depression after emergency cesarean section. Medical Journal of Australia, 157(3):172-174.

Brown, s. et al 1994. Birth events, birth experiences and social differences in postnatal depression. Australian Journal of Public Health 18(2):176-184.

Cranley, M.S. et al 1983. Perceptions of vaginal and cesarean deliveries. Nursing Research 31(1):10-15.

Cummings, L.H. 1988. Views of cesarean birth among primiparous women of Mexican origin in Los Angeles. Birth 15(3):164-170.

Erlichman, Karen, LCSW. Personal communication, 6/29/99.

Jolly, J. et al 1999. Subsequent obstetric performance related to primary mode of delivery. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 196(3):227-232.

Lipson, J.G. and Tilden, V.P. 1980. Psychological integration of the cesarean birth experience. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 50(4):598-609.

Madsen, L. 1994. Rebounding from Chidbirth:Toward Emotional Recovery. Westport Connecticut: Bergin & Garvey.

Marut, J. and Mercer, R. 1979. Comparison of primiparas’ perceptions of vaginal and cesarean births. Nursing Research 28:260-266.

Mutryn, C.S. 1993. Psychosocial impact of cesarean section on the family: A literature review. Social Science and Medicine 37(10):1271-1281.

Peterson, G. and Mehl, L.1985. Cesarean Birth Risk and Culture. Berkeley:Mindbody Press.

Reynolds, J. L. 1997. Post-traumatic stres disorder after childbirth:the phenomenon of traumatic birth. Canadian Medical Association Journal 156 (6):831-835.

Ryding, E.L. et al 1999. Experiences of emergency cesarean section:a phenomenological study of 53 women. Birth 25(4):246-251.

Ryding, E.L. et al 1998. Psychological impact of emergency cesarean section in comparison with elective cesarean section, instrumental and normal vaginal delivery. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology 19(3)135-144.

Wainer-Cohen, N. and Estner, L. 1983. Silent Knife. Westport Connecticut:Bergin & Garvey.

This article is provided with the gracious permission of its author:

Nicette Jukelevics, MA, ICCE, VBAC.com
Center For Family
24050 Madison St. Suite 200, Torrance, CA 90505
(310) 375-3141