Dar a Luz Network News

Dar a Luz Network in the News

2009-03-17T22:27:00.005-04:00

Dar a Luz Network Chapters in the Dayton, Ohio area have been busy with fun outreach and fundraising activities. Two of the recent events were featured on the local news! You can check out the newsclips here:

Mail a letter, support midwives

2008-12-19T15:57:00.003-05:00

Dar a Luz just learned that the United States Postal Service is offering a commemorative postage stamp benefiting the American College of Nurse Midwives. These beautiful stamps are available for order on the USPS website or you visit the link here. What a wonderful way to pay tribute to these amazing and important women while paying a bill or mailing a holiday card as well as an opportunity to bring awareness to the role midwives play in pregnancy and birth.

Holiday Shopping Made Easy

2008-12-10T10:24:00.004-05:00

The folks at Business of Being Born partnered up with Moby Wrap to create this beautiful new baby carrier to benefit the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services. If you are looking for a gift for a new mom or mom to be, this is it. For more information on the wrap you can go here. For more information on babywearing, check out a past post on the subject. As a newly expecting mom of #2, I will definately be putting one of these on my list for Santa.

Happy Holidays (and happy babywearing)!

Doulas as part of YOUR birth team

2008-11-20T14:06:00.003-05:00

This morning' Today Show aired a segment about the role a doula can play in a woman's birth plan and experience. My feeling, unfortunately, is that the segment played mostly to the medical community (calling the doctor and L&D nurse the head of a mother's team) and once again downplayed a woman's right to be educated and or make choices about her birth experience. Dr. Nancy Snyderman suggested a woman interested in hiring a doula check with her doctor first and introduce your doula to your physician during a prenatal appointment. A doctor whose hospital has banned the use of doulas during births was interviewed because she and the hospital administration felt a doula's presence too often interfered in mother's making the "right choice" during birth. Not once did the segment mention our culture's Cesarean rate of 30% and the fact that having a doula present can significantly lower that rate for individual women. Many laboring women (not all, however, to be fair) were pictured in hospital gowns and hooked to IV's in a hospital bed.

The fact is having a doula can be a wonderful way to empower yourself during your birth and have additional emotional and hands on support for you and your birth partner. Another fact is that if you are having a birth attended by an OB in a hospital setting, chances are you will be laboring on your own without the presence of a physician (who may or may not be the primary physician of your prenatal care) with intermittent visits from a labor and deliver nurse.
Dar a Luz Network's motto of "Knowledge, Power and Support" encourages women to educate themselves and make informed choices about the type of birth that is appropriate for you and your family. This include the decision to hire and locate a doula. DONA is an excellent organization to find referrals for a doula in your area. You, as the pregnant mother are the head of your birth team and it is important to find team members that are in line and in support of what you choose during your birth.

More From the Red Tent

2008-10-08T07:38:00.010-04:00

At our event, we asked women to share their personal thoughts about birth, either from their own personal experience or their birth philosophy. This is what they shared.

"I do believe they come when they are ready- but I also believe they come when the mother is at peace...you have to believe in your heart that there is nothing to fear."

"Anything can happen, but it is still a miracle...it is still a birth."

"Birthing is surrendering to the amazing power that we carry deep within us."

"Through desire we conceive
By deception we preconceive
With our strength we deliver
Because of of our sisterhood we survive."

"The expectation has nothing to do with the reality"

"EMPOWERING"

"She found who she is"

"You cannot conquer birth until you surrender to it"

"To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did."

"I was reborn as my daughter was born"

"Births happen, they are not planned"

The Power of a Circle

2008-09-22T13:25:00.004-04:00

Our Dayton, Oh area chapters, which includes the original Kettering chapter, hosted a BOLD Red Tent event on September 13th. We gathered at Practice Yoga, an area studio where many of our DaL moms take prenatal and baby and me yoga. This space proved to be ideal as the energy of pregnant and women who had recently given birth surrounded us all as we shared our stories, our joys, our pain, our tears. It was a magically cathartic evening and each of us left more complete yet more vulnerable as we honored each birth for the complicated, individual and transformative experience bringing life into this world is for the woman who becomes a mother.

If you have the opportunity to attend an event in a BOLD Red Tent, I encourage you to take it. The theory that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts is evident when women gather together to honor the experiences that only we as women have. The force created transcends the space we are in, the strength we see in each other mirrors the strength we bury within ourselves.

Birth on Labor Day

2008-08-29T12:13:00.002-04:00

This Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of Summer but also marks the unofficial start of BOLD season. BOLD is the movement created by Karen Brody to heighten awareness for the need to make maternity care choices more mother centered as well as honor the birth experiences of all women. BOLD events are held in communities with the individual efforts focused on the birth culture in each area. I am excited to be attending a showing of Karen Brody's Birth this evening, a play touted as the "Vagina Monologues for Birth" and Dar a Luz is pleased to be sponsoring BOLD Red Tent events within a number of our chapters in the upcoming weeks.

If you have plans to attend a BOLD event in the near future, let us know. We'd love for you to share your experience with us.

A New Dawn

2008-08-18T13:08:00.003-04:00

My family and I recently returned from vacation in Asheville, North Carolina, a quaint but progressive little city hidden in the mountains. We ventured into town for a day of shopping and site seeing and came upon a wonderful little store called "Nest Organics" and each of us found something fabulous about this family run business. My son was in need of a diaper change and I asked the store owner if perhaps she had someplace I could tend to him. Without skipping a beat, she directed me to an area in the back and offered up a changing table. While looking around, I noticed the "Breastfeeding Friendly" sticker and realized I was in the nursing area, complete with a padded rocking chair and back issues of Mothering Magazine. I smiled to myself and went out to gush to my husband, passing along the way some of the most beautiful slings and baby carriers I have ever seen. My husband was equally excited about a line of wooden toys he had discovered and he and my son played at the table set up with a whole town of cars, trucks and trails while I perused the store's offerings further. She does internet sales and I encourage you to check out her amazing store.

On our way out, I noticed flyers, etc on the stair rail and picked up information on a local midwifery practice. I was immediately struck by the image on the front of the brochure, a very pregnant woman in a yoga pose flying a red silk scarf overhead. New Dawn Midwifery offers services "caring for women of all ages" but of course specializes in pre/post natal care and attends births both in and out of hospital settings. They discuss the benefits/risks of a home birth in an intelligent, empowering way centering the care around the mother's experience, not hospital politics. They offer breastfeeding support, post partum visits and on call support of midwife plus all of the other services women need to maintain reproductive health. It was so refreshing to see options available to women that honored her experience during the transformation to motherhood and a birth culture that supported these options.

Dar a Luz Network's mission is to empower and educate women to make their own choices in the birth process. Tell us about your experience or the birth culture in your area in our comments section.

All I needed to know about birth I learned from a pig

2008-07-18T14:46:00.006-04:00

My son and I visited a farm today at one of our great parks and stumbled upon a sow in the midst of labor. She was in a pen surrounded by a few park employees and I was overcome with emotion as I saw two little piglets walking around, just hours old as their mama continued her journey down the path of birth. Talking with the men, I learned that she had birthed three piglets so far (one was stillborn) and her labor was estimated to have began around 5 o'clock last night. (It was 10 in the morning) They expected her to deliver around eight babies total. I watched in awe as she moved around, ate some hay, and then got in a position comfortable to begin pushing again. I also watched as one of her piglets made a bed in the hay next to her and went to sleep and the other happily nursed while his mother labored and pushed through this wonderful and natural process, so organic that the umbilical cord was still attached to one of the piglets.

It occurred to me that it was perhaps a bit voyeuristic for us all, there were eight of us total including my two year old, to be hovered around this sow's birthing space while she mastered the fine art of giving birth. Another woman was there with her son, who looked to be about seven or eight, and she asked the park employees if they would be calling a vet in soon. Here we go, I thought, even this pig certainly can't go through labor and birth on her own, she needs an "expert" to guide her. The park employee responded no, they only called in the vet if there were complications, such as a piglet stuck in the birth canal, otherwise they let nature take its course and left her alone. Hmmm... if a pig can do it....

I wasn't fortunate enough to see the pig birth another of her piglets while in her presence, but the experience will stay with me for a long time. Birth is something to be honored, to be relished to be RESPECTED, no matter who or what is doing the birthing.

Dar a Luz talks with Natural Mom

2008-07-14T14:00:00.004-04:00

One of Dal's favorite websites is Natural Moms Talk Radio where you can find a wealth of information on natural family care topics. The website's founder, Carrie Lauth, was kind enough to interview our president and co-founder, April Kline this week and you can find the podcast interview here. Download it and listen on your computer or mp3 player and hear April and Carrie talk about Dar a Luz's mission and why empowering yourself throughout your pregnancy and birth is such an important part of your birth experience. We'd love to hear your thoughts and comments on the interview. Share them with us in our comments section!

Homebirth Victory in Missouri

2008-06-25T09:43:00.003-04:00

With statement by both ACOG and the AMA condemning homebirth as a safe, healthy option for women and babies, this court ruling in Missouri is all the more important in the continuum healthcare during pregnancy and birth. Missouri has fought a hard battle for several years in that attending a homebirth for Certified Professional Midwives was considered a felony and limited if not denied access to these healthcare providers for women who felt more comfortable birthing in their homes. Dar a Luz congratulates the grassroots efforts of all those involved in getting this amendment passed and making homebirth a safe, viable option for women as we continue to provide the most accurate, supportive information to women during pregnancy and birth.

Healthy Family, Healthy Earth

2008-06-03T12:12:00.002-04:00

I saw a shirt the other day that said "Green is the New Black" and although "being green" has come into the realm of trendiness, I can think of far worse things to be called hip. Summer is approaching and that means more seasonal concerns of toxin exposure with regards to summer produce and insect repellents. If going all organic is not a reality for your family look at buying organic in the "dirty dozen" to significantly reduce your families exposure to pesticides. Or even better, head to your local farmer's market to support local agriculture and lessen the carbon footprint of you salad or fruit bowl. DEET-free bug sprays will limit your child's contact with toxic chemicals, Burt's Bees and Jason make effective ones, or use essential oils such as lemon or eucalyptus in a misting spray to ward of pests.

Plastics have received much attention these days, specifically, the use of BPA in infant and toddler products which has been shown to be a contributing factor in some cancers, central nervous disorders and endocrine disorders. A great resource for BPA free products is Z Recs which actually has developed a texting program which will help you determine right in the store if the product you are looking at is BPA-free. Other good rules of thumb with plastics are to avoid heating them in the microwave and try to use #'s 1,2,4, and 5 whenever possible for the safest plastic exposure.

Lastly, tomorrow is Green Our Vaccines Day when several major autism awareness groups will lobby on Washington to get toxins removed from childhood vaccines and bring more awareness to the current recommended CDC schedule with the rally slogan of "too much too soon". Regardless of where you fall on the vast spectrum of vaccinations and your child, we can all agree that everyone benefits from the safest, cleanest vaccines available.

We'd love to hear your tips or ideas for making your family "greener" this summer. Post them in our comments section! Check out a Dar a Luz favorite resource, Mother Earth Sundries, for more tips and products to green your world.

Blessing the Mother

2008-05-09T13:05:00.001-04:00

On this Mother's Day, Dar a Luz would like to celebrate by honoring the women in the earliest stage of motherhood by bringing to light an alternative to the traditional baby shower. The most powerful liminal state (a period of time that exists as "time out of time" or between states of being) in a woman's life is the transition from being one person to being two- when her body actually creates a second human being and then brings that being forth and offers it to the world. A baby shower is traditionally how we demarcate that transition in our culture with the emphasis on the baby and the accumulation of things. Even at the birth, there is often a tendency to become overly focused on the baby with little acknowledgment. of the mother, the deliverer of this incredible being.

There are many ways we can empower ourselves to cultivate a more healthy, holistic pregnancy and birth experience. We can educate ourselves, seek out stories of natural and powerful births. We can surround ourselves with a strong, supportive circle of women who have walked this path ahead of us. We can choose our care providers and birthing locations carefully, being sure their practices are congruent with our own desires as closely as possible, and we can choose out birth attendants with the same care.

We can also create a more meaningful, powerful baby shower, beginning with a shift in thinking from baby shower to mother blessing. A mother blessing is still, at the core, a celebration of the baby, but let's be honest- if it wasn't for this incredible woman who is giving of her very flesh there would be no baby to celebrate. Let's honor the vessel. Let's celebrate the mother and in that celebration we will find that we are acknowledging the awesome power of all our mothers, of creation in its entirety.

The key to this type of ceremony is that it is conducted on a personal level yet transcends to the universal. The basic elements of a mother blessing are the same at the elements for any ceremony-

Coming together, letting go of outside distractions
Statement of intent or purpose of the gathering
Prayer/meditation
Weaving a circle of community
Praising and honoring the focus of the ceremony
Commitment as shown by offering gifts of service or money
Sharing stories/experiences
Closing the ceremony

Mother Blessings originated in North America as a Dine Navajo practice called Hozhooji which is loosely translated as "Blessingway". In the Navajo language, the name encompasses all that is good, words such as beauty, success, perfection, well-being, ideal. The ceremony traditionally lasted two days and nights and the mother was "sung over" to ensure good luck, good health and blessings for mother and baby.

A modern day blessing can be totally unique, incorporating your own ideas and offerings for the other with her special preferences and favorite things. Some ideas are creating a blessings journal with each guest writing a birth blessing for mother and baby. A foot washing ceremony with each guest offering a gift of post partum support while kneeling at and washing the mother's feet honoring her commitment to the pregnancy and birth process. Creating a literal "birth circle" where each guest binds wrist or ankles with twine, cutting the circle only after each guest is bound with a commitment to keep the twine in place until mother has given birth. Other good resources for blessing ideas can be found in the books Birthing From Within and Releasing the Mother Goddess.

Dar a Luz Network honors the strength, power and beauty, the Hozhooji , in all mothers. We wish for you a wonderful celebration of Mother's Day.

Have You Hugged Your Midwife Today?

2008-05-04T20:10:00.004-04:00

May 5th is International Day of the Midwife and Dar a Luz certainly wants to be among those who honor the important contribution that midwives play in empowering women all over the world, not just in birth but in women's health. Midwives have been caring for women for centuries and in many countries, are the primary health provider for women's reproductive needs, including but not limited to birth. In our culture, midwives practice in many settings according to a woman's needs and wishes for the pregnancy and birth journey, sadly however, depending on where you are in the country, their scope of practice can be fairly limited. (You can visit The Big Push for Midwives to find out what the laws are in your state.) A midwife attended birth will most likely be one that cultivates a sense of empowerment and commitment to the unique process each of us as birthing women experiences, be it in our own environment at home or in a hospital birthing center. My own son's birth was attended by a Certified Nurse Midwife in a hospital setting and I was able to honor the needs of my labor and birth while also attending to unforeseen complications with my own health without compromising my personal wishes and beliefs about the birth process. This may not have been the case if my birth would have been attended by a different health care provider.

The International Day of the Midwife theme for 2008 is "Healthy Families- The Key to the Future" with their stated mission being " Midwifery care for women and their babies is an investment in family and community that promotes healthy growth and well-being for present and future generations". A healthy mom and healthy baby are at the root of what cultivates a healthy family. If you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, check out the options available to you for midwifery care. A good place to find information about midwives in your area is Midwives Alliance of North America or at your local Dar a Luz Meeting.

If you birthed with a midwife, today would be a good day to let her know her value in your birth experience. I am sure she would appreciate it!

Motherhood Begins Now

2008-05-01T12:36:00.005-04:00

What an inspiring tagline for an inspiring new campaign founded by holistic lifestyle expert and yoga instructor Anna Getty. Anna has marked May 2008 the inaugural year for Pregnancy Awareness Month in effort to empower women to connect with their bodies and spirits through four key elements- education, exercise, nutrition and wellness and nurturing. Pregnancy can be a wonderful opportunity to become more aware of your body an embrace the power within your core through the journey of those 40+ weeks. Many pregnancy and birth fairs are being held this month to honor Pam as well as several PAM sponsored events which can be found on their website. To obtain ongoing support throughout pregnancy and childbirth, you are always welcome to visit a Dar a Luz meeting or check out our website for a wealth of information on pregnancy, birth and family care topics.

Dar a Luz wishes you a healthy, happy pregnancy!

Going Green

2008-04-21T12:58:00.005-04:00

On April 22nd we celebrate Earth Day and raise awareness of the need to be more conscientious of our planet's resources. The desire to become more eco-friendly can become more prevalent once you have a family. Always striving to be a resource for pregnant and new moms, Dar a Luz has some information to share about "going green".

One area of concern is our eating habits and a recent study in the British Journal of Nutrition found that eating organic foods during pregnancy and breastfeeding months can enhance the quality of milk produced by a nursing mother. Such a diet tends to yield breast milk that has higher levels of a type of fat believed to be anticarcinogenic and immune-enhancing as well as many other health benefits for mom and baby. Try a small change of switching to organic milk or yogurt.

Another easy tip for a new mom that is not only good for the environment but for her back- use canvas bags for groceries. You can carry a lot more in a reusable bag and it typically fits over your shoulder leaving your hands free for your baby or toddler.

Trips to the grocery becoming more of a chore? Try planting a small herb or vegetable garden in your yard. Herbs are incredibly easy to grow and low maintenance veggies such as cucumbers or zucchini will give you even more sustenance knowing they were cultivated by your own hands. Toddlers love helping out in a garden with mom and dad. Check out a recent Parent Hacks post for ideas.

If you are concerned about environmental toxins in your home, get a houseplant. Houseplants, such as a spiderplant which can be hung in a corner high above baby's reach, can reduce toxic gases in your home by up to 90%. An added benefit- plants have been shown to have a calming effect which can be important to a new mom who may be spending much of her time calming a fussy newborn.

Looking for other tips or information about green or natural parenting? A favorite website of one Dar a Luz mom is Natural Moms Talk Radio which also features weekly podcasts about natural, instinctive parenting. You could also check out recent books by Dr. Alan Greene, Dr. Harvey Karp and Deirdre Imus about raising a green or organic family. As always, a Dar a Luz Network monthly support meeting is a great place to get information on family care topics. Check out a local chapter in your area or contact us about starting one near you!

Happy Earth Day!

Honoring All Births- Cesarean Awareness Month

2008-04-03T13:13:00.009-04:00

April is Cesarean Awareness Month and in a society where 1 in every 3 women will give birth by Cesarean Section, gathering information about preparing for a healthy birth is essential. The International Cesarean Awareness Network(ICAN) is an extremely resourceful place to obtain such information, especially if you are recovering from a Cesarean Birth. The fact is, Cesareans, or C-Sections are are an essential part of our birth culture. In emergency situations they save baby's and women's lives. Have we become detached from our bodies that we truly believe that one in three births in our country are emergency situations? Or are we approaching birth from a perspective of fear?

In the Sept/Oct 07 issue of Mothering Magazine was a feature story entitled "Cesarean Birth in a Culture of Fear". What I loved about this article is it addresses the underlying conflict of educating women about healthy birth without shaming or dishonoring the women who has given birth via C-Section with the understanding that her surgery was "necessary". The article also addresses how important rituals are in the birth process but that the rituals in our culture are centered around machines and technology not community and women's intuition. Perhaps if we change the rituals, we lower the Cesarean rate. Perhaps a "one monitor, one IV fits all" approach is not appropriate.

Dar a Luz Network's motto is simple "Pro-Information and Pro-Support". Educating yourself about the birth process and obtaining adequate support during pregnancy can be the most effective way to prepare for a healthy birth . However, honoring the birth that you have can be the most empowering piece of your personal experience, whatever the path the journey of your birth takes. Birth is a complex process and both the woman with the simplest of births, void of any complications and the woman whose difficult labor resulted in a cesarean will come away from the experience changed women. They will become a mothers.

To find out more about ICAN, you can visit their website at www.ican-online.org To obtain additional support for your pregnancy and birth visit www.daraluznetwork.com to locate a chapter near you.

We Birth

2008-03-24T12:38:00.003-04:00

Every woman, every birth, every story. Dar a Luz Network is proud to announce our newest project, We Birth, a birth stories blog which is calling out to all women to share your birth experiences. Sharing the story (or stories) of your baby's arrival can be a wonderfully cathartic way to share the joy of the experience or bring closure to a birth that didn't go exactly as you had hoped. As women, we are blessed with the amazing privilege of bringing life into the world through the sacred act of birth and the ways in which a woman experiences the birthing process are as individual as the woman herself. Sharing those experiences, however, builds a common bond through a universal experience that only we as women can claim. We birth. Come visit us at Dar a Luz We Birth and share your story with us.

Baby on Board

2008-03-10T12:55:00.008-04:00

The idea of "wearing your baby" is not a new one but is a fairly recent practice in our culture. Slings and other baby carriers are quickly becoming a new mom's way of keeping her baby close adding immeasurable benefits for both mother and baby. Many websites are devoted to promoting this practice, The Baby Wearer and Ask Dr. Sears are two good places to get info on this topic, and Target has recently began carrying the popular Hot Slings and Peanut Shell carriers. I personally used a Blue Sky Ring Sling (sadly no longer available) and a New Native Baby Carrier and both were worth their weight in pacifiers. Nothing else comforted my baby like wearing him in a sling and many things as a result were easier for me because I had free hands. I cooked, did laundry, searched on the internet, took my dogs for walks and once even made handmade picture frames as gifts for grandparents. Most of my son's naps the first four months of his life occurred snuggled up close to his mom bundled in a sling.

Even with all of the information available on wearing your baby, it can still be a bit intimidating at first. Newborns seem so small and fragile and trying to juggle a crying baby while maneuvering a sling you are unfamiliar with can be a frantic experience. There are also so many types of carriers out there, which one will work best for you and your baby. Here are some tips for a wonderful babywearing experience. Check for local sling distributors in your area. Many moms build at home businesses selling and making carriers and are more than happy to demo different slings for you and offer suggestions for your personal needs. I decided on purchasing a ring sling after meeting with Jennifer from Firefly Baby who runs a website and is a local mom where I am from. Don't be afraid to ask fellow moms in public about the carriers they are wearing. Chances are they will be more than happy to talk with you about their babywearing experience and you might even make a new friend in the process. Lastly, attend a local mom's support group such as Dar a Luz or La Leche League. Slings are not only popular at these meetings, but are often topics of discussion.

Wearing your baby can be a wonderfully rewarding experience. We invite you to share your own babywearing story in our comments section.

Dehydrated & Standing in the Pouring Rain

2008-03-04T09:08:00.007-05:00

Yesterday was amazing. It was the first day that felt like real S*P*R*I*N*G and it was enough to make me float through the entire day. The day before, on the other hand, was colder than you-know-what, with a wintry wind blowing hard, precipitation that couldn't decide if it wanted to be rain or snow or sleet... blah. I just had to get out of the house though. It was the third day in a row with both of my sweet, "when is winter going to ever be over, mama?" girls, so you understand.

Well, I took my six year old and bundled her up so just her eyes were peeking out, did the same for myself, grabbed the dog leashes and the mutts and went for a walk. I was marching along, fingertips and toes freezing and a head full of phrases like, "Winter stinks! I can't believe we had ANOTHER snow day Friday. I'm so far behind on everything, I'm never gonna get caught up. Winter stinks! I have to remember the dogs need booster shots. There are six loads of laundry waiting to be done. And winter stinks!"

"C'mon, sweetheart, I'm freezing!" I yelled at my kid as she bent down to the ground for the hundredth time in two blocks. "What are you doing anyway?" She came over with both her little gloved hands held up for my inspection, her eyes huge with wonder, fully expecting me to be annoyed. "Look mama. Treasures!" she said with awe. She had an acorn, a pebble, a bird feather, a twisted stick and a penny.

How humbling. I picked her up and hugged her hard. And breathed in the first full, satisfying breath I had taken in several days. I felt my feet in my shoes and my shoes on the pavement and the pavement on the ground and felt good.

I began to laugh. She looked at me to be sure I wasn't laughing at her, and then began laughing with me. The dogs thought it was great. We ran the whole way home.

I think there are "treasures" all around us all the time. It is just a matter of whether we a) take the time to see them and b) proclaim them treasures no matter how "ordinary" they may seem.

Sometimes I am a dehydrated woman longing for a sip of water... not even realizing that it is pouring rain all around me.

Motherhood- The Transformation

2008-02-28T12:58:00.004-05:00

Here at Dar a Luz Network we are always reading about the experience of pregnancy, birth and motherhood as a way to gather information for our chapters as well as deepen our own maternal experiences. One book I am currently reading is Sheila Kitzinger's "Ourselves as Mothers- The Universal Experience of Motherhood". This book was published in 1992 and it is interesting just how universal the experience of birth and motherhood is cross culturally and across the landscape of time. I was struck instantly by the accuracy in which she writes about the shift that occurs for women during birth from statements in the introduction.
"To be a mother is to take on one of the most emotionally and intellectually demanding, exasperating, strenuous, anxiety-arousing, and deeply satisfying tasks that any human can undertake. It is a task that shapes and changes you so that you see yourself, and other people see you, in a different way. It also entails a commitment that, in one form or another, lasts for life." She goes on to write, so poignantly I might add, "When a women gives birth to her first child it can seem as if there has been an elaborate conspiracy to prevent her from realizing this, as if somehow society has cheated her by focusing on having a baby, rather than on her transformation into motherhood."

We as women often neglect the fact that two births take place upon the arrival of a baby, that of the child and that of it's mother. Our transition to this role should be celebrated and honored, but sadly, it is often forgotten, even by ourselves.

We believe this is why organizations such as Dar a Luz are so important. Our hope is to build a community for women where every aspect of pregnancy and birth has the opportunity to be acknowledged and the experience of motherhood is one of support and sisterhood, not isolation and disillusion.
Stop by a local meeting to see for yourself. No Dar a Luz Network in your area- contact us about starting a chapter and bringing the light to your community.

Gathering Information: ACOG Statement on Home Birth

2008-02-21T20:20:00.010-05:00

One of the main purposes of Dar a Luz Network is to encourage and support women in gathering all of the information they can, and then filter it until they come up with their own decisions regarding their pregnancy and birth. The gathering of information can be both daunting and confusing. There is just so much information out there and some sources contradict each other. How do you wade through everything and make any sense of it at all?

First, you have to look at the source of the information. Is it a reputable source with referenced studies to back up their points, or is it someone with an agenda? Does this source have a vested interest in wanting you to believe what they are saying? Who funded the study that is being quoted? Are you seeing actual data, or data that has been pulled out of context to further a point?

Secondly, it is important to gather the broadest range of information you can and then weigh the sources against each other and also with your own experience and knowledge. If you only get information from one source, no matter how reputable or how much you like that source, you are still only getting one "take" on the subject, regardless of how objective that source tries to be.

With all of that said, we wanted to address the recent statement on home birth that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) published. ACOG is the largest trade union for OB/GYNs in the United States and they have long had a negative stance on out-of-institution births. Their latest statement (which you can read at http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/press_releases/nr02-06-08-2.cfm) is even more negative.

There have been many well-researched open letters and statements in response to ACOG's statement. You can read some of those here:
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Royal College of Midwives Statement on Homebirth (these are the UK's equivalent to our ACOG and Association of Certified Nurse Midwives)
http://www.rcog.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=2023

International Cesarean Awareness Network's Statement
http://www.ican-online.org/advocacy/ican-responds

Childbirth Connection's Statement
http://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10465

A humorous but well-researched statement
http://theeducationofgenevieve.blogspot.com/2008/02/parody-of-recent-acog-statement.html

We encourage you to read everything you can about this hot topic and make up your own very capable mind.

Moms Rising

2008-02-11T13:26:00.001-05:00

2008 is an election year and with concerns about toy safety, breastfeeding rights and health care, moms have more reasons than ever to get to know the issues. A great place to get information about candidates and current news is MomsRising.org. They work hard to keep up with the latest information on everything that affects moms and what you can do to make your voice heard if you choose. You can also play MomsRising Candidate Bingo during political debates to see which candidates are talking about issues that are important to you. Become informed and have fun at the same time! Stop by and check out MomsRising and feel free to let us know what family issues are important to you this election season in our comments section.

Birth Bloggers

2008-01-31T14:56:00.001-05:00

Blogs are a great, fun way to share information from a variety of different perspectives and topics. We have recently discovered a whole lot of women out there in the virtual world blogging about a favorite Dar a Luz topic. BIRTH! Some of our favorites include Mama Mid(wife) Madness, Fearless Birth , and Babies and Bellies Some, if not all, of these will be added to an upcoming blog roll for you to access directly from this site. For now, check out these amazing passionate women and let us know your thoughts. Feel free to leave recommendations for your own "go to" blogs about birth, pregnancy and beyond in our comments section. Happy Blogging!

The Business of Being Born

2008-01-22T14:30:00.001-05:00

Ricki Lake is everywhere these days, from The Today Show to Rachael Ray to Mothering Magazine (check out Mothering.com for Ricki's fabulous, informative interview with Peggy O'Mara). If you have not yet seen The Business of Being Born there is plenty of opportunity. Theatrical releases are going on all around the country this month and the DVD, which has lots of extra footage, will be available through Netflix in February. Some of our very own Dar a Luz Chapters have hosted or been involved in grassroots screenings of this amazing film which examines the state of modern pregnancy and childbirth and encourages women to make informed choices about their birth options. Sound Familiar? If you are interested in hosting a screening or checking out more info on Ricki Lake's work, check out the website for more information.

Year-End Donations?

2007-12-03T13:11:00.000-05:00

If you are like us, you're beginning to write your holiday cards, pulling out your warmest socks... and beginning to think about the end of the tax year.

This is the time of year we scramble to make our tax-deductible donations so they can be credited to this year's return. What about you?

If you are looking for a gift that keeps on giving, for an unusual gift for that impossible-to-shop-for person on your list, or just need to exercise your charitable giving muscle, Dar a Luz Network would LOVE to help you out!

We are a 501c3 charitable organization and have wonderfully thankful letters just waiting to be written to you for your 100% tax deductible donation. You will be furthering our mission of providing the broadest range of evidence-based information and unconditional support to all pregnant women and new moms around the world.

For more information, contact info@daraluznetwork.com or you can simply Paypal us using our Paypal account name of info@daraluznetwork.com.

Thank you for considering Dar a Luz Network in your charitable giving for 2007!

ATTENTION PARENTS!

2007-10-03T15:17:00.000-04:00

GET YOUR YOGA FIX AND DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHO WILL WATCH THE KIDS

Kathi Kizirnis, a certified Baby & Me Yoga Teacher is forming a late-morning or afternoon weekday open-level Vinyasa class with daycare co-op.

Moms, dads and caregivers can sign up for six weeks of classes for only $50, and be in rotation to watch our little yogis and yoginis in the new studio while the grownups practice next door.

Please contact Kathi at 293.7457 or kkizirnis@donet.com and she will contact you with details.

2007-09-29T10:15:00.000-04:00

Whew! This was a big week for us!

We had a fabulous day on Wednesday when about 25 Dar a Luz volunteers and Starbucks associates from the Dayton/Cincinnati area got together at Dream Dinners and made over 150 (!) meals that are now in our deep freezers to be distributed to Dar a Luz moms after they have their babies.

Starbucks has a wonderful outreach program where their employees donate their time, and Dream Dinners in Centerville donated their time and space and the food at their cost to make this event a huge success!

To make it even more of a party (besides the wonderful people and adorable babies), we had great food and drinks, and our local ABC/Fox News station came out to interview us!