Louisiana Natural Birth

Group History and Coordinator Comments

History of the Louisiana Natural Birth Meetup Group

This group was begun my me, Myriah, in the spring of 2006, just a few months after I gave birth at home unassisted to my fourth child. Having experienced two wonderful birth center deliveries (in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania) followed by a comparatively impersonal hospital delivery (in Houma, Louisiana), I decided against ever returning to the hospital if I could help it. Upon searching for homebirth groups, I found one meetup group with a handful of members listed in Baton Rouge, but it no longer had a coordinator. I decided to take on the coordinator role just so I could as some questions and get some support for my intended Unassisted Childbirth (UC). Wouldn't you know that the month I signed up for being coordinator of the group, the Katrina hurricane hit and there was little hope of correspondence with on-line strangers. So that plan fell through. The UC, however, was successful. In fact, that birth day was instantly the most treasured day of my life. I felt compelled to reach out to others who might need some encouragement and assistance. So once again, I signed up as coordinator of the homebirth group, based in Baton Rouge, mostly because no one else was taking on the task.

Transformation of the Group from Homebirth to Natural Birth

Within the first few months, the group grew to over twenty members. The membership was not just home-birthers, however. It comprised of doulas, nurses, women seeking natural-friendly doctors, and people promoting birth centers. Being that drug-free births make up only 2% of births in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas, I decided that "homebirth" was too small a scope, and that any woman seeking natural birth was especially deserving of support and assistance.

Group Growth

At our group's one-year anniversary, we claimed a membership of over fifty natural birth supporters. At 18-months, we had over 100 members and we are still growing weekly. Though we are based in the state capital of Baton Rouge, we have an offshoot group now formed with its own assistant coordinator in New Orleans. Our membership stretches from Lafayette to New Orleans and from Houma to Shreveport.

I feel it is time to update our group history as we are now entering the groups fourth year! The group was turned over to me, Amy shamburger, in the summer of 2008. Myriah is still a very active participant and has stayed on as Co-organizer. At this point in time, June of 2010, we are 261 members strong. Our group has expanded rapidly over the past year, we now have Co-Organizers in Lafayette and New Orleans, and Event Organizers in Houma, Alexandria, Hammond, on the North Shore, and in the Miss Lou area. I gave birth to my son in the summer of 2006, it was a natural birth at Woman's Hospital. I joined the group to share my experience, I did not become active however until I became pregnant with my daughter in the spring of 2008. I was searching out homebirth options at that time, this group not only proved to be an excellent resource but a wonderful support system for me. I gave birth to my daughter at home in 2008, attended by a local midwife. My hope for this group has always been to help women make educated decisions about their birth experiences. I want women to feel supported and encouraged by their community. This year my focus has been on expansion, I want the LNB to reach more women across the state. With every member that comes on our group grows and changes, the LNB is what the members make it!

Group Strengths

We have several resource pages offering information on natural-birth-friendly doctors, midwives, doulas, birth books, birth supplies and more. Our message boards are often abuzz with questions, event announcements, birth news, and opinions. While on-line contacts are helpful, the main focus and strength of our group is our personal meetings. Though many members have "pass through" our group (not all 100+ members remain active) lasting relationships are made primarily through the personal meetings. Due to distance and schedule constraints, we do not require that all members attend a meetup. We believe that members who cannot meetup should still be able to benefit from the on-line resources and support. However, we strongly encourage every member to attend at least one meetup soon after joining so that they may experience the supportive relationships offered there.

UPDATED JUNE 2010:
We still do not require that you attend meetups to remain a member, but we have made it easier for you to do so. We now have regular meetups going on all over the state, here in Baton Rouge we meet once a week and in other areas they meet at least once monthly. Please utilize the THIS LINK to suggest meetups for your area.

Group Weaknesses / Limitations

While it's great to boast of our group's strengths, we must also acknowledge our group's weaknesses and limitations. It is said that the written word is only 7% of a person's total communication. When reading words on a screen, the reader is required to infer the tone of voice and to imagine the accompanying body language. Depending on the mood of the reader, these inferences may not always be made accurately, especially when encountering strangers during a time of need. So far, we have had very few disputes on the message boards, but misunderstandings do happen. Please be aware that many women -- especially natural birth supporters who always find themselves in the cultural minority -- feel passionate about birth. Sometimes our opinions may be interpreted as extending from very emotionally-charged sources. Do not take this personally. Of all the people I have met in this group, there has been no member showing personal hostility toward another member. Most often, the words on the screen are misunderstood because the two members have not yet personally met through a meetup. Personal meetings resolve a lot of questions about a person's attitude and tone of voice. So if you are unsure how to take someone's statement, please give that person the benefit of the doubt until you actually meet her and are able to make a better assessment of that person's intentions. Thank you for your generosity. I am confident it will pay off.

Page title	Most recent update	Last edited by
Lafayette	July 29, 2010 3:53 PM	Jennybean
Baton Rouge	June 3, 2010 7:38 PM	Amy Shamburger
Support Natural Birth	March 20, 2008 10:13 AM	Myriah
Support Groups	March 20, 2008 10:15 AM	Myriah
Recommended Pediatricians	November 17, 2008 7:18 PM	Myriah
The Role of the Coordinator	January 15, 2008 2:03 PM	Myriah
Group History and Coordinator Comments	June 1, 2010 11:14 AM	Amy Shamburger
Prenatal Recommendations	July 3, 2007 1:01 PM	Myriah
Birth-Related Services	February 25, 2010 2:00 PM	Amy Shamburger
Lactation Consultants and Natural Child Spacing	June 22, 2007 9:04 AM	Myriah
Waterbirth and Homebirth	March 30, 2009 12:44 PM	Amy Shamburger
Doulas	March 13, 2009 3:39 PM	Amy Shamburger