Mama's Reading List - a blog round-up

It's always difficult squeezing in time to read

But I've done some effective time-blocking to organise my week a little better, so I hope it's going to mean I can really capitalise on both my own writing and reading other people's blogs. And after all, it's always nice to share the love, so here are my favourite blogs this week:

NICE Birth Guidance - Head In Books writes superbly, really superbly, on one of this week's hot topic, that of NICE encouraging more homebirths.  She has a really elegant and non-judgemental writing style that I love to read.

What Makes A Good Parent - Ooh this is an emotive issue isn't it? Hurrah for Gin just nails it in a typically ironic way and her writing style makes me guffaw.

How Many Parent Points Did You Earn Today? - Not Another Mummy Blog serves another tongue-in-cheek look at coping strategies for the ravaged parent. This is going up on my fridge later. 

Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner - Pixiewoo blogged about this awesome new liner from Benefit. Is it a gel, is it a precision liner? Who cares, I just need it NOW.

Finally something that has broken my heart but given me a new found respect of humanity....

Today I Will Bury My Daughter So Do Me A Favour - David lost his daughter in the most tragic of circumstances but he and his brave family are handling their loss with such dignity and positivity it compels me to share their message. Please PLEASE share this as much as possible, I am stunned and inspired by this family. They are just incredible. 

So that are the cream of my crop this week. Better start writing some killer posts of my own so I can crop up on other people's blogs. 

Anon.

xxx Mama Mumbles xxx

Are more homebirths a good thing?

It seems that battlelines are perpetually drawn up between mothers and we are constantly pitted against each other.

Breast vs Bottle. Attachment vs Tiger parenting. Baby-led vs purées. The list is endless, and a lot of the time - I hate to say it - we don't help ourselves. The amount of times l hear "don't judge me but..." in conversations between friends or read it on blogs, as if we need to justify our own choices, is endless. So why should I be surprised that not everyone sees eye to eye after this week's reports that access to homebirths should be increased?
I've read some commentaries from natural birth 'missionaries' who, I'm sad to say, can be a bit self-righteous and forget that nature, in its infinite and tragic wisdom, sometimes has different plans; a fact for which I will be perennially grateful that I was born in the UK with access to the extraordinary NHS. 
And then on the other side of the fence are slightly prickly pears who, perhaps due to their own circumstances, seem to think that the aforementioned are out to make women feel inadequate for not having a natural birth.

Surely we should be celebrating a move towards greater choice for women

Of course this is a very generalised snapshot of the week's commentary, but it makes me sad that there is even an element of polarisation on such matters. Surely we should be celebrating a move towards greater choice for women to have, or to get closer to, the birth they want? Surely it's another win for women, another win for midwives and doulas, another win for our indefatigable maternity wards? To me, the key word in this is "uncomplicated". An uncomplicated pregnancy should allow for a wider choice in delivery, and homebirths are just another option from which to pick.
That being said, speaking from my own experiences only, I felt quite pressured to be induced and I was about as low-risk in pregnancy as you can get. It saddened me that somebody less researched and less gobby than me could feel pressured into medical intervention which, for me, was pretty unnecessary. 

We shouldn't be passive in the process.

I suppose it just comes back to that old adage of "each to their own" but also a reminder to us women that we shouldn't be passive in the process. Research. Ask questions. Probe. If you want a particular type of birth then work to get it, or at least as close as you can. I didn't have the beautiful water-birth in the MLU as I'd had my heart set on, but I got as close as I could under the circumstances and as a result had a really positive experience that I felt in control of. 

I want every woman to have the same.