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Action creates change. BOLD encourages people to take action
that encourages mother-friendly childbirth practices. You can do this
by:
- Hold a BOLD event! Bring people together
to start a dialogue on how maternity care can improve. For more
information click HERE.
- Join a mother-friendly organization
in your community or start one if one doesn’t exist. Birth
networks are a great way to create support and resources for pregnant
mothers. For more information on birth networks visit Lamaze's
Institute for Normal Birth at www.lamaze.org.
- Host a birth party at your house to
educate people about childbirth. Show films like "Birth
As We Know It," and inspire people to know their birth
options!
- Create laws that support mother-friendly
childbirth. Our birth choices are affected by the rules that govern
us. Learn the rules in your area and work towards making them mother-friendly.
For more information click HERE.
- If you are pregnant, decide to have
a powerful birth no matter the obstacles. Ask questions. Demand
truthful answers. Seek support from other women who want the kind
of birth you want (if it doesn’t
exist in your neighborhood go online). Get good childbirth education.
Click HERE for some examples
of mother-friendly childbirth educators.
- Decide to release your “birth
baggage.” We all
have a personal history. Many times people hang on to personal histories
to justify self-defeating behaviors. For pregnant woman, refuse to
let your past define who you are when you give birth. For maternity
care providers, remove the labels you have placed on yourself as
it relates to maternity care and water the seeds of love you all
have for birthing women. As Wayne Dwyer says, “If you change
your thoughts to what you love rather than what you label as wrong,
you’ve
just changed your entire relationship.”
- If you are a family member or friend
of a pregnant woman support the mother’s birth choices. Remember
that your words have powerful influence on a pregnant woman. Use
loving speech. If you do not understand their birth choices see
if you can find a way to accept their choices. Make a commitment
to help her discover how her body rocks.
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