HELPING OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS TO LEARN NORMAL BIRTH:

Recently, USA Today (http://www.storknet.com/cubbies/csections/news-risingcsectionrate.htm) ran an article that showed how American women's C-section rates have climbed from 25%-27% in just the past few years. More and more, the women in America are not just having the surgery for emergency situations at the time of labor and birth, but now it is becoming more and more popular to ELECT a Caesarean and bypass the whole labor altogether.

Of course, the doctors LOVE this (at least the greedy ones) because it's more expensive to cut a baby out of it's mother's womb.There is more down-time in the hospital, so the hospital makes out. You need anesthesia, so the anesthesiologist makes out. It's convenient for mom...she gets to pick when the baby will emerge.....and so everyone is just so happy! Or are they?

Let's look at the specific drawbacks about having an elective Caesarean Section:

1) Outside of an emergency situation, C-Sections deprive a baby of the normal stimulation that primes the baby's respiratory system at birth.
Normally, a baby is squeezed gently but firmly through the birth canal. It's kind of a 'massaging' action with each contraction that helps to push out mucous and amniotic fluid out of the child's respiratory system. Without this, the baby is very open to respiratory distress...especially when it is not a first time C-section for mom. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7081331&dopt=Abstract)

2) To the mother, C-sections can pause a real threat to proper early breastfeeding and childcare. Ceasarean section is MAJOR ABDOMINAL SURGERY! It poses all the same dangers as when anybody goes under a surgeon's knife. There is risk of infection, punctures and nicks to organs outside of the general area being operated on, most importantly, there is the possibility that the mother will not be able to 'bond' with her little one properly due to pain in healing (MORE DRUGS!) and exhaustion. Also the natural process is bypassed and so the whole set of hormones that trigger lactation and feelings of 'motherliness' are not switched-on in the normal manner if at all, which causes stress on baby and mom.

3) Another reason to shy away from elective C-sections is the anesthetic. An average baby that weighs about 7 lbs. within the mother's womb at delivery time is exposed to enough anesthesia to deaden his mother's pain sensors during the operation. That means that this tiny person will experience close to the same amount of drug that his average 140+ lb. mom is given. What does this mean? A newborn can be born with RDS due to depression of the respiratory system from the drug mom was given, it also may be unable to wake easily to eat and that can put a real damper on early nursing and cause mom to become very discouraged with the whole process and give up!

These are simply a VERY few reasons why physically, elective Ceasarean sections are not the best way to bring a new life into the world.

What about the spiritual aspects of normal birth?

As a Christian mother, I have to always be on my guard on how I perceive the world around me and how my reactions will affect my children. If I viewed labor and birth as abnormally dangerous, something that only a "doctor" can manage and do for me, my children would have every right to fear God's gift of procreation as something scary and dark.
So first off, it is important to establish in a mother's heart and mind that children are valuable and a gift from God so that she may instill this ideology into the young ones left in her care.
Secondly, a Christian mother needs to be open to God's planning for her family and not Planned Parenthood or the U.N. If God blesses you with 1 or 10, each one has a purpose that the Lord has already infused into that child if he/she accepts Christ one day.
Ps 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
Third, as children get older and ask questions about birth (especially as they see mama's belly swell) they need to know that the day approaches when they will be able to see, touch and hear their baby brother or sister. That is also a good time to begin explaining what it may be like for mama to give birth. Keep it simple, especially if your children are young but don't lie to them. If they are going to have a realistic but positive outlook on the normal process of birth, they need to be told more than "It hurts!" or worse yet...."You don't need to worry about that dear!" and leave their little minds open to every imaginable fear they can muster.

The most important point would be to surround yourself with those that see birth in a normal, scriptural way. I don't believe that God wants a woman's nakedness to be uncovered by another man besides her husband. For this reason, I think if a Christian woman opts to have a 'doctor' oversee her pregnancy, then that doctor needs to be a woman. The best selection though is someone who truly believes in and respects the God-driven process of labor and birth. I don't think a doctor can truly do that nowadays with the rare exception of a very few. They all seem to have protocals that want to 'rush' a baby out of the womb for one silly reason or another and these ideas are all based on fear.
Midwifery is biblical and shows how God has honored midwives even in the days of Moses: Ex 1:20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. 21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
Midwife is a word that simply means 'with woman'. Any woman can be a midwife and help a friend or relative bring a baby in. Of course it helps to have training and know how to deal in an emergency but these are skills that can be easily taught to any woman who has the desire. The main thing is that whoever is going to help you birth needs to know the Lord personally and be in prayer for you and your child.
Another important point about using a midwife is that a midwife, especially an experienced one can help you in ways that are more natural (herbal tinctures, homeopathy, position changes,etc.) and know many little tricks of the trade that can keep you from the hospital and give you a healthy outcome.

Putting into practice the will of God will make you a better parent and instill true values into your child that hopefully, they themselves will put into use someday.

I love the look people get on their face when they ask me "are all these yours?" when they see us all together....I usually reply ,"most of them...there are 2 more that have grown (a total of 8) ". They usually say something ignorant like "Oh, you poor woman!" to which I reply "why?" Most of the time, they don't know what to say after that question and try to back peddle..."well.I guess that's great if that is what you want!" I always use that opportunity then to witness and tell folks what a Blessing my children are and how the Lord blessed me with all of them. Usually at that point, they really feel kind of embarrassed....but I understand. They are merely reacting as the world has programmed them. I hope I made a dent in their way of thinking.

Teaching Our Children (and Ourselves) Faith Not Fear:


1Jo 3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
1Jo 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth
is not made perfect in love.

I recently had a conversation with one of my teenage daughters. We discussed some of the 'scary' things her dad and I learn about when we see certain presentations about the state of the world and corruption in our own government.
Since her father and I try to stay on top of the local as well as national political scene (you have to chop your way through so much propaganda!) and attempt to educate Christians on issues of sovereignty , constitutional issues and how the Devil's crowd is pushing for one-worldism, you can imagine she gets a lot of information by simply living here. This would seem like a good thing most of the time but there is a flip side . My daughter expressed her anxiety about some of the things she has seen us watch or heard us talk about. Some of the information has caused her to be fearful and upset, something I had not counted on.

This incident also brought to mind people we have met along the way, who also were saved, Born-again folks but the whole counsel of God was 'too much truth'. Some can only handle the Sunday service and that's it.....dealing with the rest of the biblical application on their day-to-day lives is just more than they can chew. Now I'm not saying these folks are worse Christians then I am...believe me, I have more of my own downfalls than I care to number, BUT it points to out and out fearfulness which is a symptom of faithlesness in God's abilities.

I am no stranger to anxiety. Before I knew the Lord, my mental health was clearly lacking. At 21, I experienced such severe anxiety attacks and agoraphobia that it took at least a year for me to realize that I could deal with life at all. A few years later, right before my salvation, I was popping anti-depressants and seeing a therapist once a week. What helped? The Lord healed me...plain and simple. When I was saved and the Holy Spirit came into my heart and quickened me out of a certain death, He shoved out the fear, the anxiety and horrible memories that kept my mind hostage and replaced them with contentment, love and joy!

Of course, since then, there were many times when I walked off the path and allowed the enemy to take advantage but I never felt that God had deserted me-if anything, I had left his side myself. That was when I could feel the old feelings of fear and anxiety trying to take hold.

I have met many 'baby' Christians that have not allowed the Holy Spirit's healing to take place. They are fearful, pill-popping men and women who see life as a dangerous, scary place and want to will it all to just go away.
Then, I have met matured Christians who see the battle lines and come in full armour prepared for the battle. They see this life as a corridor to the everlasting one and are not anxious to meet the enemy but expect it and have their swords drawn when needed. These are the men and women we need to emulate.

Fearfulness affects ones' mind and ones' body but it is just a symptom of a relationship that lacks faith. This is what I tried to explain to my teenage daughter when she expressed her fears to me.
I tried to tell her how you need to have knowledge of the enemy you are fighting so that you can be aware of how he is undermining your efforts. I also told her that a Christian needs to be ready to fight and that faith is what will get you ready for that battle should it come into view (we all know it will eventually). The one thing I wanted to make clear to her was that inactivity is also the enemy. You have to be pro-active and care enough about lost people and scared Christians to physically do something about it. Pray,talk,write,study.....do something to call attention to God's strength and love. Point out the sin and the remedy and make time to gather up your own resources through prayer and thinking on those things which the Lord emphasizes:

Phi 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

A healthy spirit nurtured in God's Word, growing in His love and sharing that with those in need, is the balm that heals an anxious soul.

What is Wholistic (Holistic)?

I recently had a comment about my labeling the word 'Wholistic' as being a 'new age term'.
I felt that to be a valid point and since it is used quite a bit in our language today, it may be a good idea to address just what it all means...at least to me.

I don't see Wholism as being negative in it's philosophy at all. As a matter of fact, I think that in it's very definition, it is indeed a correct term for the way that God deals with us and how we are to live our Christian walk on this earth.
For instance, in looking at the laws that God provided in the first five books of the Bible, we can definetly label them as being Wholistic in nature:
a) a law is established for the purpose of teaching obedience (i.e. dietary laws) to the God who has created you. You can choose to obey or disobey.(Mind)
b) the law has health implications (i.e. things you put in your body can be deemed clean or unclean)(Body)
c) Obedience brings you into a state of blessing.....or disobedience can bring about a curse, shame, negative consequences (Spirit)

In reading a lot of literature on health issues, especially that which I had to study in the course of learning to midwife, the "wholistic" term came up a lot. Much of the literature I read was written from the standpoint of unsaved midwives and anthropologists who although were correct on many issues, believed on the evolutionary theory (Atheism), allowed many paganistic/Wiccan ideas and language terms to permeate their literature. Yet, they would take the ideology of Body/Mind/Spirit as truth. However, what differs here between the Christian model of Wholism and theirs is the Spiritual part of the equation.

When a Christian thinks of things spiritual, we think of the salvation process...the Heavenly Father....our destiny to someday be with Christ....that our citizenship is already in heaven.....that we who our sinful creatures by the first birth can be made anew with the second-sinless...due to Christ's work on the cross. We can turn that spirituality into something palpable by our demeanor day to day in this evil world, that: Ro 12:1 ¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ...day to day, that we can show Christ in us, His lordship over us in what we say and do and it should reach the very essence of all we are especially when we are in the presence of unbelievers.

To the New Ager, the spiritual side of Wholism turns inward, for in their estimation, God is what you are or can become when all your Body/Mind/Spirit are in harmony or 'balance'. God is He/She, God/Godess, and Yin/Yang where there are no absolutes only situation ethics. Self-esteem is the only real virtue.

This is where the New Age Wholistic view and that which is a Biblical view must part. We can agree on the issues of body (things to eat, exercise, supplementation, etc.) We can even agree on many of the 'mind' concepts: having a positive attitude,
continuing in education, altruism, but the bottom line will always be the spiritual end. Who is Christ? What is salvation? Who are we in relationship to our Father? Most importantly who is our Father?

Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
We cannot be double-minded in our Christianity and this is why I suppose it is so important to distinguish between the New Age Wholism and the Christian ideology.

This is where I believe there can be a danger when using the term "wholistic". Used around the anti-Christian, it can become another catch-phrase meaning you believe in Far Eastern philosphy, are a vegan and use yoga for mind and body to reach your 'higher consciencousness....or in Christian circles, it can mean that you believe in eating a well-balanced diet, working hard and honoring your Heavenly Father through prayer and singing psalms and hymns that lift him up. No matter how we cut it, the duality is there. Perhaps we need to label our beliefs as Christian Wholistic so we can understand which direction we are coming from. After all, God is not the author of confusion so our ideas must be clear as well.