All This Hard Work Calls For A Little Pampering

Yesterday my husband and I were having a conversation about the nature of advocacy work. We both are very passionate about our causes. If you come to our house, don't be surprised if you hear something about birth, politics, or both. What we have found lately, however, is that sometimes, the negative aspects of our work can tend to "overwhelm our systems" and instead of feeling fulfilled and refreshed by our work, we feel frustrated, angry, and defeated by an opposition more powerful, more well funded, and more irrational. Three qualities that make an enemy hard to defeat.

For instance, you may remember seeing us on the news in April protesting the bans on VBAC in NW Arkansas hospitals. We stood outside of every hospital in NW Arkansas with signs declaring our support of a woman's right to choose the course of her own maternity care. We wrote letters to the hospitals and met with administrations of some of them. The news cameras were there. People driving by honked in support and took pictures of us holding our signs and our babies at the same time. We felt powerful. We felt like we were making a difference.

Well, the outcome, unfortunately, was the exact opposite of what we wanted. The four hospitals in the NW Arkansas metro area, who are usually in competition with one another, joined hands in a show of solidarity, issuing a joint statement affirming their united committment to continue to ban VBAC. In fact, those who had been known to be more "merciful" in their approach, tightened the ban and placed their doctors under strict orders to turn women away who requested support for a VBAC.

Needless to say, I personally spent the summer feeling pretty defeated. I "took a break" from all things birth and tried to focus on the needs of my family. After all, birth work is only one part of my life. Luckily, thanks to some amazing co-leaders, we regrouped. We decided that protesting isn't the only way we can help women, and we decided to focus our efforts on some things more basic: namely

• Creating a cohesive birth community where members are supportive of each other and where mothers who need direction during their pregnancy and birth can find resources and support.
• Serving our professional members who have endorsed the MFCI.
• Reaching out to women "beyond the choir" in our community.
• Promoting the Birth Survey in our area so that women have a robust resource for comparing the quality of maternity care providers and the services they offer.

We hope you will stay tuned, because starting tomorrow, September 1st, we have some exciting programs and opportunities for you. Like our "Pampered Mama Giveaway." Click on our homepage to find out how you can win a prize package full of ways to help you relax and enjoy life after birth. Massages, dinner for two, entertainment, spa services, carpet cleaning, a mama-baby photo session, and more! It's all there. And we think you deserve it. Mothering is hard work, after all--as is every really important work.

Hmm. . . after the last year, maybe I need a little pampering.