Natural Birth Resources in Mexico City

Besides an ounce or two of formula the nursery gave my son without asking (sneaky, they were, by feeding it to him in a cup), we were very satisfied with our birthing experience here in Mexico City. While I ended up not giving birth in the water, Kishan was born naturally, but not without a supportive team of doctors, doulas, and my husband.

Like I posted before, it took some digging to find doctors and hospitals that were pro-natural birth, pro-lactation, and pro-rooming in (alojamiento conjunto). The general term for this here in Mexico is psicoprofiláxsis. Below is a small list of resources I came across as I was researching having a natural birth in Mexico.

Psicoprofiláxsis Montaña

CEPAPAR (Centro de Educación para el Parto)

Pronatal

Asociación Nacional de Instructoras en Psicoprofiláxis Perinatal

Parto Humanizado

Plenitude (Guadalajara)

Links to Mexico resources from Midwifery Today

La Liga de La Leche de Mexico

Hospital Medica Sur - Lomas (women's hospital that specializes in maternity)

The psicoprofiláxsis community is quite small here in Mexico, and nearly all of them have contacts in other cities besides DF if you can't find what you're looking for on your own.

Natural Birth in Mexico

According to my lamaze teachers/doulas, caesarean sections account for nearly 85-90% of all hospital births here in Mexico City. Now, of the 85-90%, I don't know what the breakdown is for elective vs. necessary c-sections, but it's pretty apparent that women in the DF are having c-sections more than they should. To the point that there are coined words in the natural birthing community: cesariaólogo -- a doctor who prefers c-sections -- and innecesaria, in reference to the inordinate amount of c-sections that are performed without real medical need.

In a country where obstetricians still attend labor from start to finish, natural birth can be a slow and not so financially rewarding procedure. From a cesariaólogo's point of view, it's not hard to see why c-sections are preferable: it takes 20 minutes and you don't lose sleep like you would attending a 20+ hour labor, you get paid more by insurance, and you're still be able to attend your other patients in the clinic. Actually, I've quickly learned that a tell-tale sign that your OB/GYN leans towards c-sections is that they always keep their appointments versus the natural birth doctors who are always having to cancel you to attend a labor.

Much before I got pregnant and not realizing the kind of politics that go into having a baby here in Mexico, I blindly chose an OB/GYN through my insurance network. It seemed to work out great because my doctor was only a block away, she spoke English, and she guided us through some fertility issues we were having. But, once I got pregnant, I had an idea of what kind of labor and delivery I wanted: a natural one and probably one that included delivering in water. She seemed taken aback by the ideas I had in my head, and I quickly discerned that she was one of those: a cesariaólogo.

Stunned by her reaction, I decided to search out a new doctor. Who knew that you had to fight so hard to do something your body was designed to do?? I realized that in a country where c-section is the norm, if you want and/or can have a vaginal birth (epidural or not), it is essential to find a doctor who respects that decision. Otherwise, you might get find yourself in the heat of the moment, succumbing to a doctor's advice that a c-section is necessary "for the health of you and the baby."

I feel like such a rebel for seeking out a doctor who regards natural birth so highly, but it's just the unfortunate rate of c-section here that has me running to the other side like some kind of radical. Which I'm not. I just wanted a doctor who respects my body and what it can do.

Piles of Pink Laundry

My sister-in-law was super generous to give us heaps and heaps of clothing for baby's first year. So I decided to go ahead and wash it all and sort through the sizes -- part of the nesting phase, I think, because I've been really into cleaning the house, too. According to the what I read about the nesting instinct, it begins around the 5th month until the time of labor with "sorting the baby's clothes over and over again as a favorite theme."

Since my sister-in-law only had girls, she gave us a lot of pink, which means, if we have a boy, he will be our pink prince. Ain't nothin' wrong with boys wearing pink except when everyone starts saying how cute SHE looks.

Oh, parents, what kind of laundry madness am I getting myself into? The dryer was like a bottomless pit of burp cloths and onesies!

March Mango Madness

The season came slightly early this year, and I started noticing mangoes in the market in early February. Normally, I'd expect them around this time in March, but I guess the mild winter has been good to the mangoes.

One of the first pieces of advice I got from my mother-in-law was a warning that I shouldn't eat mangoes during pregnancy because they're a hot -- a heat-generating -- food, as opposed to cold-generating foods, like apples and bananas. That is, in eastern medicinal philosophy, conditions are classified as 'hot' or 'cold' and should be balanced with the relative hot or cold food. So with pregnancy being a 'hot' condition, I should be avoiding mangoes because they generate heat and could lead to complications like miscarriage. True? I have no idea.

And, judging from the mound of mangoes in my fruit basket (and the raw fish I ate this weekend), I've not been following the dietary guidelines of pregnancy very well. And, I can already confirm with you now that I WILL be enjoying lots of soft cheeses and Flemish beers on our trip next month.

The other indulgence that I only dream about in my head (because the bakery's in Houston) is the birthday cake I had last year at my niece's 1st birthday party. It is, hands-down, the best cake I've ever put in my mouth, and I savored that moment by eating 4 pieces of it. Last week, Nick did a very mean thing by digging through his jpeg vault and emailing me a picture of the cake. And, I, in turn, did a very mean thing to myself by making it my desktop photo.

The next time I'm in Houston, I'm ordering this cake for myself, and the message will read, "Congratulations to me!"

Can't Stop Eating!!

Yesterday I googled "always hungry second trimester" to see if my ravenous hunger was something many women experience during pregnancy. And, yes, it is. It hits very suddenly. Like the feeling that if I don't ingest something in the next 10 minutes, I might pass out.

So when I'm out I'm apt to carrying around one or two snacks with me because, believe you me, there are quite a few tempting and not-so-healthy options out there on the street. Like the torta stand outside my apartment -- it takes WILLPOWER to not want one of those sandwiches mounded with 5 different kinds of processed meats, 2 kinds of cheese, and smothered in mayo. Or the hamburger stand that billows with the char-broiled goodness of ground beef sizzling on the grill. Good thing Wendy's is a 15 minute walk away because I'd be over there everyday for a Frosty if it were closer!

Photo by Flickr user Scaredy_kat

What I've found on the street to be quite nutritious are the amaranth, peanut, and pumpkin seed bars sold on the street. It's a stretch to say I LOVE them when I could be having a torta, but they are generally tasty and filling when in a pinch. The alegria bars -- the ones with just amaranth -- I find super unappealing, but the palanquetas -- the bars with nuts -- I like as long as they don't break my teeth. I might even be inspired to make them at home using this recipe. Looks easy enough with just five ingredients.

You see what I mean? These things won't send you in a tizzy of excitement like a torta might.

But say it ain't so that healthy eating on the street confines one to nut bars. Is there such a thing as a healthy taco? Or what's a quesadilla like without all that cheese? Déjame investigar, but I can't say that I'm that optimistic.

Good News!

Well, hello there! It's been a long time. So where do I begin? Most of the past month was spent in Texas with family, enjoying our parents, siblings, and nieces. It's usually the only time of year that everyone's together, even if it is just for a day or two. One of my brothers spends half the year in Africa, so for my mom, especially, having him home for the holidays is really special.

The upside to having both parents in the same city is we never have to divide up the holidays or fly to different cities to see each set of parents. The only difficult thing -- and it's really not so terrible -- is having to choose whose house to stay at that night, for how long, and where we're eating dinner. In fact, I think the decision of where to eat dinner trumps all the other decisions. Because our mothers have thought long and hard about just what to make on those special days. That chicken curry that no one else can make as good as Mom, the special herbal soup that will detox us of Mexico City's pollution, or the pan-fried noodles that Nick loves and that my mom loves him for loving.

But the holidays isn't really what was so special this year... Just before the holidays, we learned that we are expecting our first baby!! :) Just before we moved to Mexico, we got married, and we always had it in our head to start our family here. However, the outlook looked dim as we realized having a baby wasn't as easy as just saying so. It took a lot of time, but we're both overjoyed to be joining the club -- is it really true that you'll never sleep again?? sigh...

Right now, we're navigating our way through the process of having a baby in Mexico. It requires talking to lots of people, hearing their experiences, and deciding what kind of birthing plan we'd like. C-section is very common here, and using a midwife is something most people here deem antiquated and left to the indigenous. It's like we've made having a baby too technologically advanced.

Last week, I was catching up on my back issues of National Geographic, and one of the articles was about the Aztecs. A few years ago, archaeologists in Mexico City's downtown ruin, Templo Mayor, unearthed a stone carving of the Aztec earth goddess, Tlaltecuhtli, squatting to give birth. (You can find the story in the November 2010 issue. She's actually devouring the dead to give them new life, but whatever, I like that she's squatting!) So while everyone pushes me to lay down in bed, get an epidural, or go for a c-section, I'm going to remember that even goddesses had to pain their way through childbirth.

Many of you out there in bloglandia are mothers, and I would love to hear your stories. There's a lot to learn before July 22nd.