orgasmic birth

in recent history, women in the united states have been taught to fear the birthing process.  they have been advised to labor in the hospital for their own safety and for the safety of their child.  they have been encouraged to take advantage of the many drugs available to them to numb the pain.  and they have become increasingly comfortable with elective cesarean sections, a major surgery.  also, insurance has been stepping in to control options and expenses for pregnant women.

have we forgotten?  pregnancy is a gift.  it is not a disease.  it is not a condition.   it is a beautiful, natural, transformative, age-old gift.

women had been giving birth successfully for more than a few years before obstetric surgeons.  they used doulas and midwifes who were fully capable of meeting all of their basic needs before, during and after labor.  traditional labor can offer exceptional joy, connection and usually an elated feeling of orgasm from the loads of oxytocin pumping through the woman's body.  and of course, some intense pain is to be expected.

it's true, obstetric surgeons have been integral to helping many women and babies survive labor, and that is priceless, but most births don't require their level of intervention.  furthermore, most interventions in obstetric practices do not have a sufficient history of long-term effects.  already, many drugs and practices that were developed to facilitate labor have been discontinued because they were found to harm women and their babies.  for example, women took scopolamine for almost 40 years which was found to cause twilight sleep; women screamed, scratched at doctors, tried to climb walls and spat at people.  this drug took away memory, self-awareness and self-control so, as a result, women were tied to their beds, sometimes for days.  also, pregnant women had systematic x-rays of their bellies until this practice was linked to cancer in babies.  next, thalidomide was used, which caused babies to be born without arms and legs.  then cytotec was given to induce labor in women; those with previous cesarean sections incurred ruptured uteruses and thus dead babies.  the point is that obstetric interventions are being taken very lightly although they may cause serious, permanent damage to mothers and babies.

an ob/gyn and researcher, michel odent, depicts a metaphor comparing current obstetric practice to a traveler lost on the wrong path.  once the traveler realizes that (s)he is lost, (s)he turns back, starts over and finds a different, previously trodden path.  he implies that our society has gotten off the time-tested path, that we should start over and reconsider the midwife as our best option.

in the 1960's there was a resurgence of home births.  today, more and more women are exercising their right to decide what kind of experience and treatment they would like during labor.

below is an excerpt from a friend's blog who is training to be a midwife in peru; she is sorting out some of the differences between pregnancy in a first world country versus a third world country.

As a pregnant woman who lives in a developed nation in the 21^st century, I do not worry that I will not survive childbirth. I do not worry that my child will not survive her passage into this world or make it her first year. I enter into pregnancy and labor fraught with my own fears that are based on 21^stcentury realities, likely that I will not be able to bear the pain of childbirth, that it will be too much for me. I have no reason to call into question the formal health system – my midwife’s or physician’s training, the quality of the hospital or birth center where I will deliver, the medical interventions that will be performed upon my body, or prompt access to necessary treatment, facilities or medication that will ensure the survival of me and my baby. I also do not question that I will be treated with respect and dignity, that I will have a voice and a role in my own labor, childbirth and newborn care. As a first world citizen, I also have implicit faith in my health system and the personnel caring for me. It is a privilege to feel safe in my pregnancy and upcoming childbirth, and to be able to concentrate on the celebration and joy of my new role as mother, my changing body, and the knowledge I am creating new life.

This is one of the true marvels of being a citizen of a developed, politically stable, and wealthy nation.

ballerina

i spent much of my early childhood dreaming about becoming a ballerina. i would train and rehearse; i would break in pointe shoes, wear leg warmers and tutus; i would eventually become a prima ballerina! today i watched a documentary about five young russian ballerinas in the kirov ballet. each young woman was very interesting and brilliantly talented, and it was fascinating get their perspective about their lives as dancers. and i confirmed why i am not one!

the anatomy of a ballerina is specific. she should have a small head, long neck and long legs. she should be slender and strong. she will start training when she is just ten years old so it will be hard to tell whether she will have a dancer's body after puberty. she will progress from slippers to pointe shoes when she has adequate foot and ankle plantar flexion, technique, training, alignment and strength.

she will benefit from developing strong muscles, gaining balance and coordination and forming bonds with other ballerinas and teachers, and she will build confidence in her performance on the stage. these are healthy, direct effects of her studying.

but even a ballerina is bound by gravity.

her body will undergo severe stresses that can cause temporary or permanent damages to her body. for example, if, like many students, she breaks a toe when she starts "en pointe" and does not allow it to heal properly, she will have crooked toes. if she is undernourished, endures regular, hard physical exercise, or has a lower than average fat/lean ratio, she will likely start menstruation later than her peers. she is at a higher risk to experiment with calorie deficits and develop an eating disorder. and, finally, she may experience psychological distress from physical and technical perfectionism.

prima ballerinas personify one of the most internationally recognized fairy tale endings. every little girl has dreamt of picking up handfuls of flowers and smelling them for hours after a brilliant performance. 

but few have the audacity and the fortitude... nor will their bodies allow it.

and yet, even though ballet is not for all of us, there remain exciting challenges for the non-professional athletes.   the amazing thing about our bodies is that they can be stretched to amazing lengths, if only we apply ourselves...

the "feel good" hormone

i hate running.  i have never enjoyed the burning in my lungs, the jolting of my joints, and the achingly repetitive motion.  but saturday morning i rallied some motivation from my inner depths, and i ran.  i biked one mile for a quick warm-up, ran six miles, and biked one mile home to cool-down.

much to my dismay, i had fun.  the sun was out, the trail was busy, birds were chirping... it was beautiful.  and i think i've learned that i never liked running, not because of the physical stress, but because i was bored.  my lungs didn't burn that bad, and my joints were fine...  and i felt great for the rest of the day.  was it the fresh air?  or the vitamin d?  or the endorphins?!

endorphins are endogenous morphine.  or, literally, "morphine produced naturally in the body."  except that there is no chance of addiction or dependence!

who wouldn't want an endorphin rush?!

endorphins are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus during exercise, excitement, pain, consumption of spicy food, love and orgasm.  they resemble opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a feeling of well-being.  and we can all trigger endorphin release.  we can participate in strenuous exercise, meditate, receive acupuncture or massage therapy, or make babies!  seriously, sex is a potent trigger for endorphin release and placental tissue, formed during pregnancy, excretes beta-endorphins into the maternal body system from the third month of pregnancy.

whether it was the beautiful day or the endorphins, i was inspired.  i ran again this morning and enjoyed myself, again.  have i found a new hobby?

sustaining joint health

i had an initial assessment with my physical therapist, teresa, last week.  after i had described the traction injury i incurred while climbing, she tested my strength (right versus left arm), she watched my neck and shoulders anteriorly as i articulated my head up, down, left, and right, and she watched my scapula posteriorly as i articulated my arms up and down.  after these brief assessments, teresa determined that i had most likely stretched my shoulder ligaments as well as the nerve running through my armpit.  all of these fibers have plausibly regenerated and are prepared to perform routine shoulder movement, but they are not functioning in synchrony.  for ten days i have "retrained" my arm to work as it should.  

i pull my scapula down and back so it is flat against my back and close to my spine.  then i row, extend to hip, and extend out to side.  i do these exercises without weights; i am simply training my arm to operate in the proper sequence to function efficiently.  after this sequence training, i will start to weight train the muscles so they will support the joint, even at rest.  even though i am not using weights, my muscles are sore after i articulate them intentionally for 20 minutes.  imagine the flashing neon red or lightning bolts you see on indigestion commercials...

this morning i had my second appointment with teresa.  she saw an improvement in my scapula rotation; it was no longer "winging out" when i lift my arms above my head.  but there is still some instability, so i will start to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles.  for the next three weeks, i will lift light weights and perform several weight bearing, balance exercises.  as i practiced each exercise in her office, she pointed out which muscles were being targeted - the subscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, serratus anterior, and trapezius.  i should try not to use my deltoids and latissimus dorsi.  it is easier to understand the basis of my physical therapy now that i understand the intricacies of the joints and muscles in the shoulder.

prostate or prostrate

as i sat waiting for a dear friend to meet me for a delicious, refreshing trippel at the equinox brewery, i overheard three gentlemen very openly discussing prostatitis.  now, of course i thought i had misheard them, so i began to listen more intently.  sure enough, "i had prostatitis, too!" was clearly sung above the ambient music cascading through the speakers.

according to mayoclinic.com:
"Prostatitis, a disease of the prostate gland, can cause pain in the groin, painful urination, difficulty urinating and related symptoms. The prostate gland produces components of semen, the fluid that helps support and transport sperm. The gland, about the size and shape of a walnut, sits directly below the bladder and surrounds the urethra, the tube that transports both semen and urine to the penis."

these men, two of which had kids in tow, were complaining of these exact symptoms.  they relayed tales of pain when sitting, pain when urinating, and difficulty ejaculating.  i had to wonder if they meant to speak this openly with the whole bar audience.  the thing i found interesting was that they were not complaining of inflammation because i have learned that "-itis" is a suffix denoting diseases characterized by inflammation.

but then according to urbandictionary.com:
"Itis is the drowsy or sleepy effect linked to digesting large meals, usually high in fat or salt content."

so i didn't know what to think because urban dictionary is so accurate and reliable.

further research unveiled that the reason prostatitis is painful and causes difficulty with nether functions is because of inflammation of the prostate gland.  below is an image that shows how the urethra passes through the prostate, and how any swelling of the prostate can affect urination.

as quickly as the conversation started, it stopped.  and they moved onto man's best friend.  sadly, one of their dogs has stage 4 interstitial fasciitis.  clearly, the inflammation of fascia.  perhaps the topic for another blog...

shared values

when i study at night i teach my partner about how our bodies work in beautiful synchrony: the complementarity of structure and function, synergistic skin layers, the "fluidity" of bone.... when he studies at night, he teaches me about socioeconomic presuppositions, therapy techniques and a variety of case studies about social discontinuities. so i got to thinking about the intersect of our course work; rob is studying the social structure and i am studying the human structure. and they are not so different. both vocations focus on care of the whole person using creative, individualized therapy. both "ologies" have basic knowledge available to anyone with access to wikipedia and both have intensely deep philosophies for those curious enough to ask. both afflict rich and the poor, black and the white, gay and straight.

specifically, public health nurses must make moral decisions regarding practice in complex situations fraught with competing moral claims. nurses have practiced within a context of ethics since the beginning of professional nursing in the 19th century. the impetus for the professionalization of nursing found expression in the nightingale pledge in 1893 and the subsequently suggested ethical codes that led to the first formally adopted code in 1950. ethical codes, in nursing as in other professions, serve not only to define such groups as professional as opposed to occupational, but also to outline primary duties, responsibilities, and obligations. the most recent revision of the american nurses association's ethical code include provisions and standards that address human rights duties and obligations.

public health has been defined as what we, as a society, do collectively to assure the conditions for people to be healthy. this definition, which stresses the societal responsibility for the health promotion of the population as a whole, raises an important question about the scope of public health. is public health responsibility confined to the prevention of the immediate causes of injury and disease, or should public health be more concerned with the alleviation of the larger social and economic problems that have an impact on health and disease, such as poverty, violence, and inadequate housing?

(A Critical Intersection: Human Rights, Public Health Nursing, and Nursing Ethics; Advances in Nursing Science: October/December 2007 - Volume 30 - Issue 3)

a professional opinion. or two.

i visited an orthopedic surgeon on monday afternoon. after one year of discomfort, pain, and instability in my shoulder i gave in to the subjectivity of a professional. after we talked about how we both like to climb and cycle (and how those play into my injury), we began testing the joint in question. none of the positions were uncomfortable or painful, none of the resistance exercises illustrated a difference in my right versus left shoulder strength, and neither of us could hear or feel the crackling i have frequently felt. classic, isn't it? as soon as we are ready to talk to someone about an issue, it eludes us.

anyway, when he was sufficiently convinced i was going to be okay without surgery (perhaps to his chagrin?) he went next door to get a shoulder model. i suppose not all of his patients are in physiology and anatomy so he is practiced in presenting the human structure in a really simple manner; for example, he said, "this upper part can sometimes have some abnormal growth on the end (imagine lots of hand motions) and the tendon that runs under it (more hand motions) which attaches to the bicep (pointing to my right arm) 'right here' can sometimes get pinched" i said, "so, the acromion of the scapula develops a bone spur which can put pressure on, or even tear, the tendon of the biceps brachii?" he was surprised. and said that was the basic idea. it felt good to have a grasp on the details of my injury. i am excited to visit a physical therapist next week to hear a second opinion. i also look forward to weekly therapy sessions with a woman who is as excited about the body as i am!