In This Issue

Charis "Labor Support" Workshop
     October 3, 2015
Charis Family
     McKenna Smith
Charis Cuisine
     Creamy Butternut Squash Soup with Cashew Cream
 Charis Around the World
 Childbirth in Kenya
       

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Join us in congratulating Charis midwifery student Esther Smith, Certified Professional Midwife (CPM)!!! Esther has worked hard and faithfully to become a midwife and the birthing families in Virginia will be truly blessed.  Her gifts are amazing and she will serve the Lord for years to come helping babies peacefully and skillfully into the world.  Congratulations Esther! We are soooo proud of you!!! 
 

Our Director's Heart

A Receiving Season

As we enter the month of November, I am reminded of what this wonderful season is all about: Thanksgiving. We leave our normal, day-to-day routine and gather together as friends and extended family to reflect on all of our blessings and thank God for his continued provision. Perhaps it was my upbringing that has caused me to love times of celebration so very much since my mother had a way of making each season magically special. Year after year, her child-like way of celebrating caused each season to be remembered with profound significance.

Annual holidays are certainly wonderful times of celebration, but there are also other seasons in life that deserve the same amount of preparation and setting aside of normal routines. My mother has been good at honoring those seasons, as well. Those seasons are not necessarily annual, but when they come, they are worthy of special celebration. We all have different seasons in life; some are giving seasons where we have time and energy to give to others, and others are receiving seasons where we are in a position of receiving help from others. Each should be embraced and honored for what it is.

The specific season I feel is under-celebrated in many cultures is the postpartum season for new moms. In my own postpartum seasons, my mother knew the importance of setting aside her normal life routine to celebrate the new life that had entered our family and to ensure my recovery post-delivery. She eagerly awaited the call that the new baby was on its way and came immediately over to be there for me. She made sure my other children’s needs were met during and after my births and took care of household needs. Friends and family members made sure meals were made, dishes were done, the house was clean, and that my husband and I received the peace and privacy we needed to rest. I was in a receiving season and we celebrated that season appropriately.

Unfortunately, in our culture in the United States and in many other countries around the world, most women do not receive that kind of celebration and honoring of the season after they birth. Instead, they are applauded when they get back into the swing of things quickly; or, worse, they are expected to continue caring for their families and households as if nothing had happened. The repercussions are enormous. Women have less of an opportunity to bond with their newborns and establish breastfeeding and milk supply, causing them to be less successful at long-term breastfeeding. They suffer from mastitis, postpartum depression, greater blood loss, and pelvic floor weakness. I believe wholeheartedly that a misunderstanding of the newborn’s transition to life outside the womb and the postpartum woman’s body and need for rest and recovery has led to many avoidable problems, both short- and long-term.

As a midwife, I feel it is my responsibility to communicate to my clients the importance of honoring this season. (The advice I give today is shaped in part by a book I read in the mid-1990’s, After the Baby’s Birth: A Woman’s Way to Wellness by Robin Lim.) I explain in detail to my clients the healing process that must take place and the conditions under which that process is helped or hindered. I let them know that overdoing it will cause their placental site to bleed more, leading to loss of their own blood directly out of their bloodstream, rather than just losing the blood-like lining of the uterus that is normal postpartum bleeding, and causing them to be weaker and less able to completely get back to normal when the timing is right. I inform them that doing too much too soon will cause their pelvic floor to tighten prematurely and incorrectly, setting them up for leaking urine when they sneeze or laugh later in life. (I don’t care how old you are, Depends undergarments are not sexy!) I ask them to spend most of their time skin-to-skin with baby to ensure successful establishment of breastfeeding and healthy neurological development of baby. I tell them that their only job description for the first 21 days of baby’s life is “nurse the baby”, everyone else does everything else. The dust bunnies can wait while momma relaxes in bed, enjoys the company of invited guests from her sofa, or sits in the sun on the patio nursing baby. After the 21 days of rest have passed, she is still to do less than she feels like she can, but gradually add things back into her life so that she arrives at her new normal by 6 weeks postpartum.

Sadly, I do not hear this advice coming from very many others. In fact, I often hear that other birth professionals do not give this advice because they don’t want to ask women to do something that seems impossible due to the current cultural norms. How sad is that? How will things ever change for the better if someone doesn’t challenge the cultural norms? I am asking everyone who reads this today to come up with a plan for honoring and celebrating the postpartum season for each new mother you know. If you are a birth professional, tell them the truth about the healing process. If you are a friend or family member of a new mom, set aside your day-to-day routine, just as you would to celebrate your favorite holiday, to honor the new mother and make her postpartum season special by taking her a meal, cleaning her home, doing her laundry, taking her other kids to the park, or offering to run errands for her. If you are a new mom, allow your friends and family members to serve you during this wonderful receiving season you are in. These celebrations are the things that make community so sweet and create precious memories that last a lifetime!

With a heart of gratitude for all of you,

~Kristin

Kristin Schuchmann
Executive Director, Charis Childbirth, Inc.
 

• For the Charis Childbirth Educator, Doula, and Midwifery students: sharp minds to learn, opportunities for lots of hands-on learning
   
• For the Charis CE’s, doulas, and midwives: rest, peace, protection, wisdom, discernment
   
• For the Charis missionaries and humanitarian workers: protection, peace, divine guidance, financial provision
   
• For  our  directors  and  administration:   Wisdom, guidance, energy, and provision from God as Charis enters this season of growth

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and is not intended to take the place of medical care and advice from your health care provider.