Passage to Motherhood experience

I have returned home from a wonderful week at the Passage to Motherhood Conference at the Gold Coast…

I listened to many inspiring people, learnt so much and had a great time presenting my first conference paper.

The strongest message I left with and feel a responsibility to share, is that the use of Syntocinon in most births in hospital is having a dramatic effect on our babies and mothers.
With new research suggesting links with Syntocinon to autism and other prevalent diseases in our culture, to disrupting those precious first moments of life as mother and child by blocking the natural release of oxytocin.. The love hormone..
We are the test cases for this drug, that is given routinely to most mothers via augmentation of labour or managed 3rd stage.

Michel Odent writes about this in his new book.. Childbirth and the Future of Homo Sapiens. I encourage you to read it. You can purchase it from Capers Book Store online.

He is a wonderful speaker and I loved sitting in his talk about the Doula Phenomenon.. And was so happy to hear he is a big supporter of doula’s, and of knitting!
Suggesting the best midwife is a woman who has had children sitting quietly knitting behind the birthing woman.

I feel it will be a while before I can sit quietly knitting while the women I work for birth in hospital… It is more a role of protecting the birth space and the woman’s wishes and desires for her birth at the moment. I look forward to the day I can though!

Knitting was a major theme at the conference with Kristan Lee Read holding her Crafting Womb space. It is indeed a beautiful site to see 100 midwives knitting squares for blankets that will be given to women at the Addis Ababa Hamlin Fistula Hospital.
Love your work Kristan Lee Read, as did Michel!
Have a look at the beautiful photos on her Facebook page for The Crafting Womb.. So much love

I was so inspired by the presentations of Allison Barrett and Rachel Reed, wonderful women at the front line in defending women’s rites in childbirth.
So much gratitude and respect to you both.

Thank you to Jan and Sarah Cornfoot at Capers for hosting this amazing event.