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Improving Birth through Photography

Aug 19, 2014

LD
Stage· 199 messages
Aug 19, 2014

Photographer and Birth and Breastfeeding activist Lindsey Drury has been awfully busy lately, staging events to take free photos for National Breastfeeding Week and gearing up for the 2014 Improving Birth rally next month. Tonight, she drops by Tawkers to share a little bit about the passion that drives her, and how photography matters to movements.

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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:00 AM

★ Spotlighted from Abby A

“Hey.”

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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:00 AM

★ Spotlighted from Abby A

“I'm a first timer ”

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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:01 AM

Welcome, Abby!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:01 AM

Welcome, Everyone!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:01 AM

How is everybody?
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:01 AM

For the first-timers, a few things about the site:
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:01 AM

You may need to REFRESH your page a couple of times!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:02 AM

We're still in beta testing, so sometimes we get a few bugs when we start.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:02 AM

You may even need to switch browsers.
LD

Lindsey Drury · 12:02 AM

I am a first timer too Abby, welcome
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:02 AM

Also, go ahead and click on the "People" tab in the forum and "follow" all your fellow forum-freinds so you can follow all the comments. :)
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:03 AM

Hey, Lindsey!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:03 AM

Welcome, welcome, Lady!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:03 AM

Hi Rebecca! Thank you. I am very excited to be talk about one of my fav topics tonight!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:04 AM

I am so excited to talk to you!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:04 AM

Or maybe I should say Tawk. That's what we say here. :P
LD

Lindsey Drury · 12:04 AM

love it :)
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:05 AM

One more note to the forum: Just feel free to talk to each other, ask questions or make comments. We can highlight them and bring them over into the main conversation on the left - give a thumbs-up to the comments you like.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:05 AM

★ Spotlighted from Abby A

“Welcome ”

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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:05 AM

Okay, ladies and gents, without further ado:
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:05 AM

Let's get to it!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:06 AM

Sounds good!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:06 AM

Lindsey, I had the pleasure of meeting you just a few weeks ago at the Big Latch On event in Chattanooga.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:06 AM

WOuld you like to tell us a little bit about that and how you got involved?
LD

Lindsey Drury · 12:07 AM

Yes, I am very thankful this is my second year photographing the Big Latch On and The Birth Rally.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:08 AM

I have a great breastfeeding relationship with my daughter and when I moved to the Chattanooga area about a year ago I met Amy, one of the organizers, through the birth community.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:08 AM

I offered to document this event since it is something I feel very passionate about.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:09 AM

The Big Latch On, for those of you who don't know, is an international celebration of breastfeeding
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:10 AM

The Big Latch on is a celebration of breastfeeding and an attempt at a Guiness Book of World Records entry for the most people simultaneously breastfeeding at once.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:10 AM

★ Spotlighted from Abby A

“I love breast feeding ”

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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:10 AM

★ Spotlighted from Abby A

“Cool ”

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Lindsey Drury · 12:10 AM

Before moving to Chattanooga I made sure to make connections with other who are passionate about birth. I first searched for the local Hypnobabies instructor and found Rachel Jimenez. She is a doula and very involved and has been very helpful.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:10 AM

Nice!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:11 AM

Moving to Chattanooga was the first time I heard about the Big Latch On and since I was breastfeeding at the time it was perfect!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:11 AM

And you've done these events this year for free, yes?
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:11 AM

And posted the pics online with an access code for moms to retrieve the shots. :)
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:11 AM

Very generous, special, and sweet!
LD

Lindsey Drury · 12:12 AM

Yes, since the The Big Latch and Improving Birth Rally are so very important and close to my heart I do these events for free and offer the photos for free as well.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:13 AM

This year photographing the Big Latch On was so emotional for me. My daughter had recently self weaned and I was photographing so many beautiful moms.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:14 AM

(FYI, Lindsey's website is http://lindseydruryphotography.com/. It's also in her description. She also offers beautiful blog entries that I recommend to anyone with a love for all-things birth-y and breast-feedy)
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Lindsey Drury · 12:14 AM

The response I got from the photos was nothing but love and appreciation for them being able to have this special moment of breastfeeding captured. So kind and so much love just makes me smile. I just feel so blessed to be able to offer that to women
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:14 AM

She really does care!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:14 AM

Thanks, Rebecca and Adele :)
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:15 AM

Breastfeeding is a really big commitment and such an emotional act. It's so special to have it celebrated, especially in this culture.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:15 AM

So, what is it about breastfeeding that is so important to you?
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Lindsey Drury · 12:16 AM

Yes! I love being able to have women allow me to use their breastfeeding photos for my Facebook page. It really helps to normalize it.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:16 AM

Here's that FB page: https://www.facebook.com/LindseyDruryPhotography
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Lindsey Drury · 12:17 AM

Breastfeeding is important for many reason but to me I was able to get to know my daughter, have peaceful moment sin the midst of chaos and just the love that we share now and forever is beyond measure.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:17 AM

*moments in the midst of chaos
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:18 AM

Unfortunately, there's a stigma attached to breastfeeding.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:18 AM

Rather, may stigmas.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:18 AM

Not when they have teeth. Not if you're going back to work. Not after 6 months.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:18 AM

Not after they're talking.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:19 AM

"S/he is just using you for a pacifier"
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Lindsey Drury · 12:19 AM

Yes, plus so many people see breasts as just sexual.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:19 AM

"Sex boobs!"
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:19 AM

That's my BFF's joke for the way people react to breastfeeding.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:20 AM

They have a hard time remembering that breasts are made to feed our human babies.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:20 AM

Um, exactly.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:20 AM

I have to say, finally getting to use them for some purpose instead of just try to contain them was very affirmative for me.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:21 AM

I think it can be for many women when you finally get to provide nourishment instead of eye candy.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:21 AM

:D
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Lindsey Drury · 12:22 AM

The nutrition and providing sustainment for another life is amazing!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:22 AM

Yes. Words really aren't sufficient to describe that.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:22 AM

I'm getting all teary-eyed!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:24 AM

It's truly meaning full. Tears were flowing when so many moms were telling me they hadn't had photos of them breastfeeding before and the one I provided were the first.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:24 AM

On the topic of nourishment, I just have to add how vitally important breastfeeding is for the baby's health and immune function
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:24 AM

Oh, Hannah!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:24 AM

Welcome!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:25 AM

(Hannah is about to be a certified nutrition therapist!)
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Lindsey Drury · 12:25 AM

So true, Hannah! My daughter only got sick once in her first year of life. Even now at two her fevers come from teething.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:26 AM

Ditto your experiences, Lindsey. My husband is constantly surprised - he says his idea of babies included "delicate" and "always sick". :)
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:26 AM

Now, let's jump ahead a little bit to the Improving Birth 2014 Rally.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:27 AM

We'll tie it all together in a little bit.
LD

Lindsey Drury · 12:27 AM

Great!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:27 AM

All I have been think about is the Improving Birth Rally for weeks now ha ha
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:27 AM

So, you also held a photo shoot for the rally, but the rally is scheduled for September 6.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:27 AM

Tell us a little more about Improving Birth.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:27 AM

The Improving Birth Rally was started in 2012 by http://ImprovingBirth.com/
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:28 AM

Yay, links!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:28 AM

The rally is to help bring awareness to evidence based maternity care.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:28 AM

As opposed to the bullying and less-than-informed consent that often accompanies modern medical labor and delivery.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:29 AM

Often people assume what is routinely done in maternity care is necessary and based on evidence. However, that is not always the case.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:29 AM

Exactly!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:30 AM

Continued fetal monitoring and lying down on your back are not based on evidence.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:30 AM

Precisely. They are based on convenience - for doctors.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:30 AM

As well as scheduled induction.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:31 AM

Giving birth on your back is simply an issues of gravity. :)
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:31 AM

Haha!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:31 AM

And simple kinesiology. When you squat, your pelvis opens...
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Lindsey Drury · 12:31 AM

Yes, many unnecessary procedures are done for the care provider's convenience.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:32 AM

Yup.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:32 AM

Right, you would think that would be simple. Most important the mother should be comfortable in what position she is in.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:32 AM

Indeed.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:32 AM

And with the experience as a whole.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:33 AM

Being allowed to move freely during birth is so great for mom and baby.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:33 AM

SHE is actually delivering the baby, not the doctor. But that's not how the modern medical model frames it.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:34 AM

You are so right!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:34 AM

The care provider catches the baby but I guarantee the mom is doing all the intense work.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:34 AM

Word!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:35 AM

Anyway, none of this is to say that there is never a cause for medical intervention, it's only to say that birth in it's basic form is not a medical emergency.
LD

Lindsey Drury · 12:35 AM

http://evidencebasedbirth.com/ has great information about evidence based care.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:36 AM

Right, birth should be respected by care providers to make sure the mother is most comfortable. Cesareans are great live saving tools when necessary.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:37 AM

So, tell us a little bit about how you got into photographing births.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:37 AM

What is that like?
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:37 AM

Do you have to do paperwork to be allowed in a hospital setting?
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Lindsey Drury · 12:37 AM

It was always something to interested me. I photographed my first birth a few years before my daughter came just to see if I liked it.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:37 AM

Well it was quite the experience for my first time...
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Lindsey Drury · 12:38 AM

The women giving birth had her boyfriend there who almost passed out and to make sure I wasn't going to take photos the nurse insisted I hold the moms leg.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:39 AM

Thankfully this wasn't my first time meeting her though I we only met at her maternity session.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:39 AM

The nurse told her to stop pushing at 10cm dilated (which is impossible to do).
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Lindsey Drury · 12:40 AM

The baby was born shortly after healthy and amazing. At the moment I knew I was just a part of something huge! The birth of a new life!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:41 AM

Many people just imagine the graphic details but when you seeing the strength of a beautiful mom give birth to new life, there is just now words!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:41 AM

WOW!\
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:42 AM

Excuse my disappearance - my power cord came unplugged!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:42 AM

No worries, if you all excuse all my typos!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:43 AM

No one judges on typos here! Thank goodness! I have made some impressive garbles...
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Lindsey Drury · 12:43 AM

lol
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:44 AM

What you said about the strength and beauty of laboring mothers speaks to something really important, which is the generally negative portrayal of birth in the media.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:44 AM

Generally all you see is the the screaming cussing mother just during the most intense moments. No birth I have ever been to is like that!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:46 AM

I have seen medicated and natural births and it's not as media portrays. Yes, there are intense moments where the mother is quite uncomfortable but it isn't the majority of what is taking place.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:46 AM

By documenting that, you also normalize - instead of dramatize - birth.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:47 AM

That's a bold statement.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:47 AM

There is much less discomfort if the mother is allowed to move about as she wants.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:47 AM

*Note to ALL mothers-to-be!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:48 AM

I actually started a photography project, My Belly, My Birth, My Baby. My goal is to help normalize birth and for society to truly visualize what birth is about instead of assuming.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:48 AM

That's beautiful!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:49 AM

Thank you. Here is the link for a little more about it. http://lindseydruryphotography.com/my-belly-my-birth-my-baby-birth-photography-project/
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:49 AM

I don't know about you, but i see birth as a very defining feminine thing. Like our rite of passage.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:49 AM

So giving it back to women is important.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:50 AM

Very much so. The primal feelings and emotions birth forces you to experience are unlike anything else. You truly get to know your strength as a women.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:51 AM

Yes, moms and babies are so important to our society and I want to see them respected at all times of birth!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:52 AM

But the medical model - where doctors deliver babies and nurses take the baby immediately - takes the power away from the birthing mother.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:52 AM

And gives the husband no role at all!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:53 AM

These norms - as well as their negative portrayal in the media, do a disservice to everyone involved.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:53 AM

It does, yet many moms don't know that they have the right to say NO! Having a family centered birth can be very important to the experience.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:54 AM

And the "bumbling idiot" father is a cruel, clownish depiction at a time when the larger society expects greater involvement from fathers in childrearing.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:54 AM

Even moms who undergo c-sections can have a family centered birth. By the provider allowing the mom to directly lay the baby her her chest is huge! Unless there are complications of course.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:54 AM

YES!
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Lindsey Drury · 12:54 AM

Just because it has been done one was for a friend or family member doesn't mean it is necessarily the right way for you.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:55 AM

Just allowing the greatest level of ownership possible is key!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:55 AM

Exactly!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:55 AM

Each birth is different, each mother is different.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:55 AM

But mothers SHOULD have the right to make decisions on interventions for themselves.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:56 AM

Based on the best information we have available.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:56 AM

Very much so. Yes they should and everyone should educate themselves on when procedures are necessary or not.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:56 AM

Yes.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:57 AM

Unfortunately, that knowledge can be hard to come by, which is another injustice.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:57 AM

Information on options, procedures, methods - all of that should be readily-available to everyone. Just as accessible as sonograms.
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Lindsey Drury · 12:58 AM

Yes, it is. I remember in the beginning searching for birth options and it was no where to be found.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:58 AM

I feel like i've climbed on my soapbox and I've got to get back to what we're here for, which is to say that your images help change that birth culture.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:59 AM

Making birth family-centered, allowing the mother to choose what she wants and who she wants to be there - and then getting it all down for the record - is meaningful.
LD

Lindsey Drury · 12:59 AM

Unfortunately, care providers and medical staff are not educated themselves on evidence based care and leave a huge gap in education for patients all across the board, not just maternity care.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 12:59 AM

That's so true!
LD

Lindsey Drury · 1:00 AM

lol i can very easily get carried away when talking about this :)
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:00 AM

Me, too!
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Lindsey Drury · 1:01 AM

Some times it can be hard for me to be the professional photographer and birth activist :) Though my goal is to help educate all moms so they can choose how to have the best family centered birth for them.
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Lindsey Drury · 1:02 AM

For some that includes being in the hospital so if anything goes wrong they have peace of mind knowing it can be handled quickly.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:02 AM

I can see that being a challenge. If you see unnecessary interventions taking place, that has to be hard.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:03 AM

I have to remind myself that, for some moms, the hospital is their safe place. And that is precisely where they should birth for just that reason.
LD

Lindsey Drury · 1:03 AM

For other that is in a comfortable spot in their home away from the hospital.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:03 AM

Yes. And that is where they should be, for just that reason!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:03 AM

Birth happens best when it is unstressed and unhurried.
LD

Lindsey Drury · 1:04 AM

Exactly, some moms would freak out because they weren't at the hospital yet and this could delay their birth process. Other may freak out if they go to a hospital with so many people and delay theirs. So it can vary with anyone.
LD

Lindsey Drury · 1:05 AM

I just wish that women who chose to have an evidence based birth were more supported in doing so.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:06 AM

But the medical model, again, falls short there: they talk about the mother's comfort, wishes, birth plan as all minor annoyances to be barely indulged.
LD

Lindsey Drury · 1:07 AM

Right, a local care provider told a friend of mine they would provide a support person, like a doua, to help throughout the process.
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Lindsey Drury · 1:07 AM

*doula
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Lindsey Drury · 1:07 AM

I know our hospitals here do not provide that service.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:08 AM

Why would they say that, then?
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Lindsey Drury · 1:08 AM

To ensure the patient a doula was not necessary.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:08 AM

That is so deceitful! It's just mean!
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Lindsey Drury · 1:09 AM

Which in this case I would highly recommend one as with most birth just because doulas are awesome!
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Lindsey Drury · 1:09 AM

Happens all the time. Many women are lied to to force procedures including c-sections.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:10 AM

*Doulas are birth support personnel. they are there to kind of be a spokesperson for the family's wishes when labor gets hot and heavy, as well as to help the mother through the stages of labor.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:10 AM

"You'll hurt the baby"
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:10 AM

That's the trump card doctors always pull on women.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:10 AM

Whatever decision they want to force, they pull the baby card.
LD

Lindsey Drury · 1:11 AM

Doulas are so knowledgeable about the birth process, pain management techniques, as well as proving wonderful emotional support for mom and dad. Dad needs a break at some point. Some times you have to be patient when welcoming a baby.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:12 AM

Wow, we have so much more to talk about!
LD

Lindsey Drury · 1:12 AM

Always. I know someone told their baby had inhaled meconium (sp) and she had a c-section only to find out later her baby was perfectly healthy.
LD

Lindsey Drury · 1:13 AM

We do have much more to talk about. This could go on for days. We also have a lot of improvements to make in the maternity care in our country.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:13 AM

Funny, a vaginal birth often squeezes fluids out of the lungs and air passages...
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:14 AM

Just saying...
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:14 AM

Anyway, yes, this could go on for days. #birthnerds
LD

Lindsey Drury · 1:14 AM

Let me just throw this out there! The Imprving Birth Rally is held world wide in around 100 different cities. Rallies will be held Labor Day or Sept 6. You may be able to find on in your city or start one to be able to help improve birth.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:15 AM

Yes! Come on out!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:15 AM

Thank you, Lindsey!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:15 AM

This has been a delight!
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Lindsey Drury · 1:15 AM

Just go to here to find your local one or lean how to start one :) http://rallytoimprovebirth.com/
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:16 AM

I am happy to be tapping into the Chattanooga birth community, and I'm so glad to have met you.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:16 AM

I admire the work that you do.
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Lindsey Drury · 1:16 AM

No problem, I really enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me share my passion with you all!
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Lindsey Drury · 1:16 AM

We have a great birth community here and I look forward to working with you more! Thank you very much!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:16 AM

Thank you!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:17 AM

Thank you, audience!
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:17 AM

Remember, this conversation will be archived right here at this url, so if you liked what you heard, you can share it on social media on into perpetuity.
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Rebecca Westbrook Toker · 1:17 AM

Have a good week, everyone!
LD

Lindsey Drury · 1:18 AM

Have a good week and thanks for learning more about birth :)