A lucid dream in the shadow of the new maternity care "reforms" in Australia

Yesterday, my three-year-old daughter said to me, "I want another baby. I want a sister. I don't have a girl to play with in my beautiful house in all my life!" (she has a quaint turn of phrase). Soberly, I considered the dimensions of this. "We might not get a sister, Misha- we might go through all that and get another brother! That would be OK though, yes?" I offered.

"I want a sister!"

How to explain?

And even less clear is what we'll be getting as a family in terms of maternity care. Less choice, certainly. Our preference as a family is to be attended at home by a registered independent midwife. We find the medical model just too restrictive and anxiety producing. Certainly, had I a medical issue or complication during a pregnancy or birth I would seek the advice of a medical professional. But I don't want my midwife under the supervision of the medical model. I don't want some remote obstetrician having power of veto over my birthing choices. What if I wanted a natural twin or breech birth at home without having to fight for it or get hassled? Or worse,to just get told I can't?

And I don't want the hospital clock ticking over my birth pool either.

If my labour wants to stretch out over a few days, or be on and off for a week, and myself and baby are OK, then I don't want the latex-gloved finger pulling the plug on it from afar.

Obviously, as a prospective fourth-time mum and third-time HBACer (homebirth after cesarean), the anxiety is already getting to me!

Last night, I had a dream...

I was going into labour at home with my fourth baby. It was early morning and the rest of the household snored. I was vaguely aware that there were other people asleep in the house, strangers... I became aware that I had made no arrangements for the birthing- I had no midwife and I was not booked into a hospital... I felt the baby's head begin to come down. I thought about just getting on with it, going it alone, but I was afraid- it wasn't what I wanted. I didn't want to wake anyone. Should I call an ambulance? That wasn't what I wanted either. At least there would be midwives, somebody, at the hospital. And the baby's head was about to crown- how much could they stuff it up for me at this point? So that's what I did.

Once at the hospital, I explained that as it was my fourth baby, I had sort of just got on with things and hadn't thought to make arrangements for the birth until it was too late! I birthed my baby standing up in the delivery room with two midwives in attendance. The baby was born face-up. I reached down for the baby, eager to discover the sex. "You've had a daughter!" cried one of the midwives.

They let me have my birth, but they stole that precious moment of discovery for me, something I have cherished with my previous children. I was angry about that afterwards, in the dream.

But the anger that doesn't dissipate with the dream, is the anger over our dissipating choices as birthing women, precious choices being stolen from us right now. What will I tell my daughter about that?

"But I want a home birth with an independent midwife!"

How to explain?

Super-immune Chicken Stock, its Economy and Uses

I am inspired to create this piece by a friend's recent success in ministering to a mutual friend's cold with chicken soup. I am reminded of my discovery of the super-stock within the pages of "Nourishing Traditions" and full credit is duly recorded for it's discovery there. What I hope to illustrate around my discovery of this recipe is the ways in which it has benefited our diet, our health and our budget.

A well-prepared stock, simmered for 6-24 hours is a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals, and a natural anti-inflammatory. A gelatinous stock is a super-food for growing children. Yet to experiment with a beef stock (far more messy and calls for an extra-large pan), I present my chicken stock recipe. I rarely use bought stock anymore- only when in a tremendous hurry and have none of this far superior substance in the freezer. Fresh stock sounds like a luxury or a pain in the neck but it really is easy and quickly becomes a habit to do weekly or fortnightly or whenever. It becomes part of your routine.

Take a large free range and/or organic chicken. You want to minimise the amount of toxins the bird will have stored in its body because you want to suck all the goodness out of it, into the stock.
Rinse your chicken and pop it into a large pan. Wash an onion, quarter it and throw it in skin and all. Roughly chop a couple of carrots and chuck them in (if they are organic, don't bother to peel). Do the same with a couple of stalks of celery. Now, fill up the pan with filtered water and slop in a tablespoon of vinegar (this helps to draw the nutrients out of the food!). Put a lid on and let it sit for thirty minutes (can't remember why, but do it anyway). Bring to the boil and simmer for 6-24 hours. Add a bunch of parsley for the last ten minutes which will inject further powerful nutrients into the broth. Strain, and cool. Keep the chicken meat. Cool the stock and refrigerate. The next day, it should be like jelly- the sure sign of a super-stock. Skim off the fat and freeze in 1-2 cup batches to use as needed.

Out of this process I can sometimes get maybe four meals. A pilaf or rice dish, a curry, a pasta, a pizza, and sandwiches for everyone. I might do soup, a chicken and vege one, then a lentil one tomorrow. Chicken tacos. It's awesome. My kids love it just with noodles and some of the carrot, maybe some corn- much healthier than two minute noodles. Hammer it into them during flu season or whenever anyone is sick or looks like they might be getting sick.