Celebrities Speak out about Homebirth...Please

I applaud Ricki Lake in all that she is doing for the movement of birthing with choices... Here is a list of celebrities who have birthed their babies at HOME, most with Midwives...some Unassisted...many Waterbirths...and most giving their child the gift of extended breastfeeding as well.

I think it is time we heard from more of these people publicly. Whether it is right or not the general public likes to follow what celebrities do and mimic them. So how about celebrities support the public following this movement, as opposed to the diet and drug one that seems so prevalent

CINDY CRAWFORD (x2)

PAMELA ANDERSON (x2 home waterbirths)

DEMI MOORE (all 3 at home)

NELLIE FURTADO

LAURA DERN & BEN HARPER

WOODY HARRELLSON'S WIFE

JOANNE WHALEY & VAL KILMER

KELLY PRESTON & JOHN TRAVOLTA

PATRICIA ARQUETTE

JOHNNY COLT'S WIFE ROSIE HAS HAD 2 HOMEBIRTHS (of the Black Crowes) thank you Rosie for the info :)

LISA BONET & LENNY KRAVITZ

MICHAEL LANDON'S WIFE

JADE JAGGER (MICK'S DAUGHTER)

ASIA CARRERA (unassisted - 6 weeks after husband died) http://www.asiacarrera.com/babydon/

SHERILYN FENN

MARE WINNINGHAM

CAROLE KING

RICKI LAKE (waterbirth)

TABITHA & STEPHEN KING

"Xena" - LUCY LAWLESS (waterbirth)

LIBERTY PHOENIX (RIVER PHOENIX' SISTER)

KENNY LOGGINS' WIFE

JOHN LEGUIZIAMO'S WIFE

THANDIE NEWTON

ERYKAH BADU

JULIANNE MOORE

MERYL STREEP

KENNY ROGER'S WIFE

RICHARD THOMAS' PARTNER

BOBBY MCFERRIN'S PARTNER

ENRICO COLONTINI'S WIFE ("JUST SHOOT ME")

TYNE DALEY'S DAUGHTER

TANIA JOY GIBSON (Miss Illinois)

KATHLEEN KENNEDY TOWNSEND

LINDSEY WAGNER (The Bionic Woman)

CYNTHIA GEARY (Northern Exposure)

AJ LANGER (My So Called Life)

DAVID SOUL'S WIFE

ELLIE & JOHN SCHNIEDER (DUKES of HAZARD)

TRACY REINER (Rob Reiner & Penny Marshall's Daughter)

FELICITY HUFFMAN and WILLIAM H MACY

DAVINA MCCALL (Big Brother) and MATHEW ROBERTSON

CHARLOTTE CHURCH (Singer) and GAVIN HENSON

JEMMA REDGRAVE

STELLA TENNANT (Model) and DAVID LASNET

CARRIE ANN MOSS (The Matrix)

MORGAN SPURLOCK (Super Size Me) and wife ALEXANDRA JAMISON

MIHAI BAGIU (US Olympic Gymnast)

LYNN JOHNSTON (For Better or Worse Creator - and main character Elly as well)

DAVID FOLEY'S (Days of our Lives) wife CRISSY GUERRERO

JOHN C MCGINLEY (Scrubs) AND WIFE NICOLE (Birth Doula and Yoga instructor)

GIL BELLOW'S WIFE (Ally McBeal)

ANI DIFRANCO

DAVE MATTHEWS WIFE ASHLEY

JOSIE MARAN (Model)

JOELY FISHER

AARON LEWIS"S WIFE VANESSA (singer from Staind)

MELORA HARDIN (The Office)

MARIA BELLO

MAIKE BOERDAM-STROBEL AND HUSBAND MICHAEL STROBEL (Belgium singer)

STEPHEN NICHOLS (Days of our Lives) and wife LISA

Please help Barbara Harper keep waterbirth alive

Please help Barbara Harper keep waterbirth alive

Waterbirth International may close doors. they need everyones help.

Everyone who believes in Gentle birth, please help. Barbara has been helping the birthing commuity internationally for 25+ years. She has educated and guided many of us to see how beautiful and natural birthing is...

Here is a note from Barbara Harper of Waterbirth International

Barbara Harper wrote:.

I cannot yet imagine a world without the voice and work of Waterbirth
International - we get calls and emails every day from women who need help
convincing one hospital or another to let them labor or birth in water. If
we die - a big part of the movement dies. Waterbirth has shown us all that
women know how to give birth and babies know how to be born. Waterbirth
gave us "hands-off", sit back and let the baby out. I see waterbirth
mentioned on Blogs every single day, not to mention Baby Story on the TV. I
took Waterbirth International to ACOG two years in a row - and was the ONLY
booth showing birth films to obstetricians and especially to student
physicians. There were tears, laughter and outrage - just the thing to stir
up those young crop of doctors. I am finally realizing a life's dream.

But now I am faced with letting this dream go. Perhaps I have done enough.
Perhaps it is time to quit.

About 18 years ago, maybe it was longer, when Mothering Magazine was facing
bankruptcy Peggy did a heartfelt plea asking their readers to consider
ordering a Life-time subscription. I think the subscriptions were $1000 or
$1200, I can't remember now. I do remember that I couldn't imagine not
reading my Mothering. So, I bought two and gave one to my obstetrician's
office.

How can you help us stay open to take the next phone call? - to convince the
next obstetrician to incorporate waterbirth into his/her practice - to work
with the nurse midwives to install pools in their facilities? To educate an
entire hospital on the benefits of allowing women freedom of movement in the
water. How much is it worth to see waterbirth become the norm in the US,
like it is in the UK? I think we only need a few more years to make that
happen. Do women really want waterbirth to be an available choice in every
hospital? I think so.

Can you help us by getting the word out on blogs and lists? I had to let go
of all of the staff except one person to process orders. Miraculously, we
made payroll today, but we can't hang on much longer. We need a miracle.

If I need to call every single waterbirth parent personally, I will. I
don't want 25 years of work to end over a measly $200,000.

The work that we have done the last few years has been phenomenal. How God
arranged for me to teach in hospitals and medical schools around the planet
- Taiwan, Venezuela, Turkey, Mexico, Canada, Holland, Portugal, China,
Trinidad, Croatia - I'll never figure that out. I laugh out loud sometimes
when I get up in front of an audience of physicians in a medical school
overseas - who all want to hear about waterbirth and the incorporation of
Gentle Birth practices and principles into their routines.

Think about what you can do and call me if you want to chat or if you have
some great ideas on how we can quickly move into the black and keep
waterbirth alive and thriving.

We need your help. Barbara Harper needs your help. The waterbirth/gentle
birth movement needs your help.

Blessings,
Barbara
Barbara Harper, RN, CLD, CCE
Founder/Director
Waterbirth International
www.waterbirth.org
503-673-0026 -office (out of US or in Portland)
800-641-2229 - toll free
503-710-7975 - cell phone

We LOVE helping women get into Hot Water!!
And have been doing it for 24 years!!

Well it finally happened, I am incensed and becoming more and more political. I am solidly taking up my role as a birth activist.

This morning upon awaking I was presented with this
http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/TurningPoints/Story?id=4098198&page=1

Good Morning America showed their much awaited Unassisted Birth segment. I am sad to say it truly was not positive. They left out so many parts of the Mom's story, as quoted by Christina Schafer:
"They didn't mention WHY I decided to do this - being forced out of my midwifery clinic because of a new hospital policy against VBACs, no homebirthing midwives in our area, etc - nor did they mention that I had already had 2 VBACs; gotta wonder how many people are thinking I had 3 c-sections and then chose to UC"

The final recommendation by the shows Parenting expert to please have your babies at a hospital with a Nurse Midwife at your side, does not address the issue. It was just a nice way to sound alternative and PC without truly seeing that there is really no difference with that suggestion that any other hospital care scenario...

Later to find that "The View" had this topic in their Hot Topic session, and not covering it very positively. Instead focusing on Elizabeth Hasselbacks views in the positive intervention laden births that she has had. Calling these woman and their choices as irresponsible.

So here is my letter to the View asking them to please show the other side of birth:

I am a student Midwife and Birth Doula. I am very glad you have had Ricki Lake on promoting her movie "The Business of Being Born". I would like though to see you really do a comprehensive show regarding natural birthing, homebirth, unassisted birth.

Most of what ends up being heard on your show is Elizabeth screeching about her epidurals, nurses and IV's.

There is so much history showing that birth has become dangerous due to the increase in interventions that we put upon it. Don't get me wrong, we are blessed to have Dr.'s for the true emergencies that arise. The problem is most births never fall into that area. Birth is not an illness but is treated as such in our country, and most of the industrialized world.

People believe that by taking birth into the hospitals that the mortality rate decreased. But history shows it did not decrease until many years later with the advent of antibiotics, proper sterilization and handwashing techniques and better nutrition. It was not Dr.'s and hospitals. In our country we currently have one of the highest mortality rates surrounding childbirth for industrialized countries, and it is rising.

I would ask that your show look into this as a topic. Look at the Netherlands and their model of Birth care. Look at the recent medical reports from Britian surrounding the safety of homebirth.
Talk to Laura Shanley on the safety of Unassisted birth. Talk to Carla Hartley who has been selflessly training woman to become Midwives for 25 year and about Trusting Birth. Talk to Dr. Marsden Wagner the former World Health Organization leader for maternal care about Birth safety, Or Dr. Sarah J Buckley about ecstatic birth. Midwife Ina May Gaskin from "The Farm" who has been successfully delivering and training woman to deliver babies at home since the 70's...

Please, many of us out here want to see this issue treated fairly. Woman need to know there are choices about how to birth their baby that are not based on myths, fear and guilt.

Tia Rich
www.inner-serenity.org
student midwife
certified birth doula