I gave a presentation for my husband's freshman writing class about the unassisted childbirth movement. Zari came with me, of course, so I suppose you could say it was her first day of college!
The class is doing a project that involves reflexivity: getting to know a group that has different values and assumptions and examining your own preconceived notions and trying to see things through the group's viewpoint. The whole class is working on a presentation about unassisted birth. As part of it, several of his students came to the screening of The Business of Being Born to have a better idea about childbirth in contemporary America. They stayed for the whole discussion too!
All of this college must have worn Zari out. I nursed her during the Q&A after my presentation because she was really cranky. She conked out and didn't wake up for almost 3 1/2 hours!
WOW! Now that's a power nap!
ReplyDeleteHOW COOL IS THAT!?!? You should tape the presentation!!! that would be something to see!!
ReplyDeleteShe's like: yawn! isn't this obvious? I was BORN knowing all this and I've heard it explained a million times since ;-)
ReplyDeleteI wish I had spoken to Eric's students after the screening. I am curious to know what they thought. Did you get any feedback on that?
Yeah Judit, it's all old hat to her!
ReplyDeleteThey said they'd never seen births before at all, so it was quite an eye-opener for them. And a very good one, since all of the births are active, upright, and physiologically appropriate. I think we saw:
- waterbirth with woman kneeling (the African American woman, can't remember her name)
- waterbirth with woman lying/floating on her back (Ricki Lake)
- 2 land births with women in a deep squat (Cara, the "bad patient" & the model what's-her-name)
- 1 land birth, woman standing up and leaning over a table (Jen's hospital birth)
Oh, I forgot to add that I showed the class a slideshow of Jen.b.in.az's birth after my presentation and before the Q&A. They thought it was cool.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you did your presentation--hope it went well! I was also wondering what the students thought about the whole film and the lively discussions afterwards--but was very impressed and happy that they stayed for the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteThe births in the film were real real real and I LOVE that these were the forst births thay had seen. Who knows what effect seeing this kind of imagery --beautiful, raw, loud, positive, intense, simple, healthy will have on their future husbands/wives/sons/daughters. Too, too cool. Bless little Zari's heart on her first day of college :)
I love that you did that! If we can make the young people of America think about birth, that will really help change things in the birthing world! Good for you.
ReplyDeleteHey there, Sheridan!
ReplyDeleteRixa, meet Sheridan, hypnomom and hypnodoula extraordinaire :)
I know her from my online hypnobabies group.
I was telling the other ladies at the Birth&Babies Bed&Breakfast all about how wonderfully childbirth hypnosis worked for me.
Yeah, Judit! Now I want to learn more about that hypnobabies stuff. :)
ReplyDelete