Henci Goer event- a HUGE success!

GFOM Core Group Volunteers:

Rachel, Reid, Jennifer, Natalie, & Krista (not pictured)

http://www.hencigoer.com/

Henci Goer at the book signing last night.

We had over 50 people attend Henci Goer's talk at Horizons School tonight! Wow! What a crowd of expectant moms and dads, doulas, midwives & apprentices, a chiropractor, friends, grandmothers and a few of the cutest babies ever! Henci spoke on the research supporting the safety of VBACs, despite what most mothers are being told these days. I did not know that amniocentesis carries higher risk for the baby than VBAC! Are our expectant mothers being told this?! Furthermore- what hospitals are flat out denying women amnios?!

Have you ever considered that VBAC is not a procedure? And VBAC success depends mostly on midwife or physician management of the VBAC mom. More times than not it's not the woman's body that can't give birth when planning a VBAC- but the mismanaged care she receives from her provider! Denial of food & drink during labor, continuous EFM, inductions (especially Misoprostol) , epidurals, supine & directed pushing all interfere with VBAC success- not the woman's body's fundamental ability to give birth to her baby!


So why all the meddling? You only get one guess- physicians' fear of getting thier pants sued off. So what they offer now for the most part are what Henci called 'Cinderella VBACs.' You can have a VBAC if you don't go past 38 weeks, if your baby's under 7.5lbs, if you don't have a freckle on the upper left quadrant of your right thigh. This is just leaving fewer options for our mothers and causing more dangerous unnecessary meddling in the normal process of giving birth.


GA Friends of Midwives is working to build community so we can change the birth climate in our state to make it more mother-baby friendly. Wherever a mom wants to give birth. Give her access to providers who practice physiologic, evidence-based care instead of what Henci called GOBST care (Good Ol' Boys Sittin' around a Table). One way is best for mothers and babies (and families' pocket books and insurance companies), the other simply best for pysicians' pocket books.

Thank you to Horizons School (http://www.horizonsschool.com/) for donating the venue for tonight, to our volunteers: Reid (for securing the space and organizing us all), Natalie (for handling all ticket sales tonight), Rachel (for providing refreshments), Anna (for handing out flyers with baby-n-sling). Thank you to the Cheeky Maiden from http://www.cheekymaidensoap.com/ for donating a thank you gift for Henci. And to all of the Georgia midwives who came out to tonight's event! You are why there even is a GFOM!

Up next: BOLD event sept. 18-21 http://www.boldatlanta.org/ Stay tuned for ways you can volunteer!