When I worked as a business analyst, I tracked my projects, hours, and output weekly. I regularly saw results for my effort and my workload was ever-changing thanks to my (often times) swift resolution of open projects. For 9 hours a day, I maintained a high level of productivity for the company to meet the demands of my job and I found even the most seemingly arduous objectives attainable under the stresses of the work environment.
By design, my life is no longer stressful nor demanding. I am reminded to enjoy it while it lasts.* However, I can't help but actively look for ways in which I can measure my successes and achieve a sense of accomplishment from my daily work. The household tasks are easy and un-interesting to me; and there is, fortunately for my husband and our finances, only so much baby shopping that I can take.
Being output-oriented, I have tied my personal feeling of success somewhat to the publication of these blog posts. Lately, my blogging has become less frequent because of the time I am spending on intellectual pursuits not related to parenting.** However, I find this writing personally valuable as it helps me to organize and crystallize my thoughts; therefore, as a note to readers I'd like to say that, I will soon start to publish posts related to other subjects of interest as well.*** I'll include the topic in the post title for clarity.
I started this blog with a focus on parenting, but now I see that I have put the cart before the horse, so to speak. I took a step back this month and have re-focused myself on breastfeeding and the process of natural childbirth. To that end, I've been reading these books: The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by Wiessinger, West, and Pitman of La Leche League International (LLLI) and The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin. I have read at least 100 pages of each so far and am very happy with their content and with the perspectives depicted therein.
I try not to buy any books that I can rent from the library, but I saw very much value in personally owning both of these: they are very detailed on their subjects; they are quick to read and easy to understand; and they are organized well to serve as reference books, so that you can read and refer back to parts as they become relevant in your experience.
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is written by mothers (members of LLLI) and covers all aspects of breastfeeding (obviously) as well as the benefits of belonging to a network of mothers, such as LLLI. The book is written from the perspective that what's natural is best for both the baby and the mother: LLLI encourages (and provides much evidential support for) breastfeeding (versus formula feeding) and for staying home and personally caring for your infant. However, I should note that they do also offer what appears to me to be useful advice for mothers who must return to work as well (on how to manage the transition, etc).
The Birth Partner is written for expecting dads, doulas, and other labor companions. We bought it for Kyle, but I am finding it very informative (and comforting to read at this time) as well.**** It gives a very detailed description of natural labor at all stages (something that, from my experience and understanding, medical professionals don't care to spend time informing women about). It also gives helpful information related to labor and delivery, such as what to take to the hospital or birthing center, possible labor complications and ways to manage them, the effects of labor medications, and how to get started with breastfeeding. One of the biggest messages throughout the book is that labor is a natural process and that natural, vaginal delivery is easier for a mother that feels supported, calm, and optimistic. Penny Simkin gives the reader a variety of tools with which to ensure the latter.
After reading Simkin's depiction of the natural progression of labor, I can see how a mother and her labor companions can be quickly overwhelmed by the experience if they lack the knowledge of what to expect. I would highly recommend this book to all expecting mothers, fathers, and labor companions (or, really, anyone who wants to be able to understand and empathize with a woman who's going through labor). Those considering an elective C-section for fear of natural delivery would also benefit from reading this book (at least in the sense that the unknown would become demystified and they would be able to make an informed decision about their method of delivery).*****
* Apparently, babies can make life chaotic.
** I constrained this blog only to that subject in the beginning and have been reluctant to change that.
*** Probably a welcome change for most of you. ;-)
**** It is very important to me and Kyle that I deliver our baby naturally. We looked into delivering in the care of a midwifery group versus an obstetrician (in short and among other things, midwives have much lower C-section rates than OBs); but were thwarted from this pursuit by the combined factors that (a) our insurance is not accepted by neighboring midwifery practices and (b) we do not feel that the difference in treatment is worth the significant increase in labor costs. We spent a lot of time on this important decision and I'd like to discuss it at length in a separate post. If you find this intriguing, stay tuned; I'll have that up in a few days.
***** If it's not clear by now, I tend to place a lot of value on informed decision-making.
No comments:
Post a Comment