Beautiful sunrise to wake us ..

A beautiful rose hue shone through my window yesterday morning. I had to get up and out to see this sunrise.  We have so much evidence around us that we are part of a Greater force and Energy.. So powerful is this universe and how our planet is blessed with life supporting energy. Each minute each hour each day a true blessing to behold.  

Evening of Togetherness in Peace

On Saturday evening I attended a very inspiring meeting at the Baptist Church Shaftesbury Ave London. The guest speakers were the Palestinian Ambassador and the Rev Issac from Bethlehem.  The whole evening was a time of sharing and supporting one another. The speakers gave us major insight into the whole situation. We all wish no more of the darkness of deluded power egos and their wars. The church was full of people from all religions, all cultures, all backgrounds all wishing peace and togetherness on this one planet home we all share. 

When I listened to people in attendance there was a common set of mental distress that I too have been experiencing.  It is like we are all going through a form of Grief - grieving the world we wish it to be that of Peace and harmony with all and our one planet home. We are traumatised by what we are witnessing of mass destruction and genocide. "Never again"was the reason we formed the International Criminal Court why we have rules and rights to live without fear of torment and oppression.  We all are going through the pain of what we are witnessing and grief with periods of sobbing, anger, frustration, pacing around unsettled and sometimes just sat numb and in mental blankness.  But this gives impetus to turn that pain into campaign to get the horrors to stop and to stop now. The reason why en masse we take to the streets to protest, write and lobby MPs and come together to stop the madness! We need Shalom Salem Peace Om Shanti. This is urgent as without the real power of the Wisdom of Peace we are all on a trajectory to self destruction. Our planet home is crying out for peace and healing the pain we create by our foolishness. We have a need to come together in a collective battle to heal the destruction on Earth and the damage we cause to one another and the one life support we have our Planet with its amazing ecosystems.  

I have injecting my heart into this post but I strongly recommend you google the work and words of both Rev Issac and the Palestinian Ambassador for the full understanding of the situation in Palestine.

The symbol of the cross in the photo brings a meaning of crossing out the "I" be selfless and care for one another. Take care of self to be well and in harmony with the wider universal energy. Which is a difference to being selfish.. Selfish brings with it greed and a deluded power and control over others to satisfy that greed.  The true power is in being selfless and egoless merge with the Universal Energy for the good of all creation and attain inner peace that will radiate to others to achieve true peace and harmony.  I love the photo of the coming together holding hands with heart connection. A true soul to soul connection. 

Indigenous Birthing Wisdom

On Friday I spend a lovely day in an online Teams meeting linked to the City Midwives A very interesting international sharing and looking at the Indigenous birthing wisdom of tribal communities of the Amazon and in North America.  We are so evidence based that we forget the biggest evidence birthing works in the fact that here we are in 2024. Yes there can be unavoidable complications but there are many that can be detected early and corrected. Our traditional ancient midwives coped with a lot of situations and adapted care to help in birthing. 

There was an interesting comparative between traditional and hospital care with this to be expected a risk of more intervention in the hospital setting. Intervention that is driven by fear of complications by staff and that women were often alienated from working with their inner birth goddess. There was a key point I put in the time of questions and sharing. As a biologist first and foremost I can see how the need for a feeling of privacy and intimacy is key. When we are feeling safe and surrounded by love then our love hormone is secreted more efficiently. Our love hormone is that 9 chain of amino acids Oxytocin that bonds us and also stimulates uterine power.  I highlighted that even in a busy London birth unit I would be protective of the birthing room to ensure that room was like a dedicated personal bedroom for the mother and her partner to be private and intimate.  As I type this blogpost I am reminded of a couple that I was caring for ....the labour was being induced and we did have CTG monitoring. Despite CTG I would encourage maternal positioning straddle a chair or on the pezzi ball. In  this case it gave some scientific evidence of how disruption can effect the power of the uterus. You see we had a very intimate atmosphere in the room, I blended in as a midwife to the couple's intimacy.. the partner caring beautifully for his wife, his love.. the CTG showed beautiful regular waves of power to bring the baby into the world. But they had also given permission to a friend to be part of the experience. The friend has arrived and had an argument with security to come into the birth centre. She entered the room bringing disruptive vibes and agitation. The CTG from the moment of that entry showed disarray of power to long resting phases of no power & the power irregular.  I was able to demonstrate this to the friend and my birthing couple and the need re-establish the calm intimacy and blend in. Once this done progress was made to have a good delivery. 

So I loved the teams talks on the tribal wisdom of this intimacy to help with the birthing progress. In this intimacy there is reduced emphasis of internal examinations to assess progress.  I wish I could have had time with the meeting to put forward my publications of Labour progress and how in the hospital setting the office board boils down to just reporting on cervix dilation as the only way to assess progress. When really there is a complexity of changes in power, presentation with station above and below spines. In my publication reveals how there can be a dramatic drop in station in a thin pocket of anterior cervix with os remaining posterior and very little if no change in dilation but the continued pressure of the presenting part will result in a yield  of the cervix and presenting part visible at introitus ready to deliver passenger the baby to the outside world..Progress in a Pocket part 1 &2 note published in my previous married name!

The other important point is maternal positioning. Keep upright and active,  squatting and use of slings a brilliant way to help with pressure and descent of baby.  It is important to work with the skeletal anatomy of the pelvis. The coccyx is on an hinge joint to the sacrum. It never makes anatomical sense to be sat as that hinges the coccyx inward and narrows the bony outlet.   To be kneeling, sat straddle a chair with freedom of the back, to be squatting in the power of the uterus, makes for working with the anatomy not creating resistance. With this more it is  comfortable to work with the surges of power. Remember a wave of power lasts less than a min so the peak of intensity only seconds.. so the mother can work with the pattern of this and know that each wave is one less and one nearer to seeing their lovely son or daughter birthed.

The day looked a the clash of tribal wisdom in some of the local hospitals and the women feeling like their power taken from them and having to blend into what the hospital staff told them to do. It was sad to hear how the women would find ways to still covertly follow tribal wisdom in the hospital, instead of the staff blending in the wisdom. There was a worrying point I made that if the hospital intervention led to C-section then this was a problem for next birthing if in tribal region as now there was a scarred uterus with the risk of rupture in a trial of scar. Oh this brings back a lovely case on one of my night duties. A lovely Nigerian woman that her first pregnancy had led to a need to emergency deliver by C-section for fulminating eclampsia.  A complication that can and does occur.  She presented in labour with me for her now second child. on examination was 8 cms with intact membranes.  So no need to rupture the membranes as the labour was progressing well.. her vital signs no problems and I had cannulated and taken bloods for group & xmatch if a need to go to C-section.  But no need for surgical intervention as we had a lovely en caul delivery. She felt she had reclaimed her birthing Goddess... 

So yes complications can occur that do need intervention but these are the smaller % of those births that can proceed naturally to birth without complication. Scroll for some screen captures from the day of sharing.

Love the birthing art in this slide

Public Lectures Brunel university

The new term at Brunel University has some good public lectures to attend.  I attended the first one on Wednesday evening on AI. The lecturer had wide range of experience but sometimes difficult to grasp all the technical side. There was a good historical perspective.  The lecture fitted in to a recent zoom I had attended in Australia on the use of AI in healthcare. For this I see a good use of data analytics to spot trends in public health problems around the country to react too.  In the Brunel presentation there was an interesting mention of robotic arms with prosthetic use.  My question on this was how can we link AI to the human brain with its intent on movement. This is important in the prosthesis being and feeling a true extension of self. Makes you realise how much of our movement is driven by intent and reaction to the environment. 

I was permitted two questions and I asked given the recent media story on the post office computer package failure and the horrendous effect on the postmasters of sub post offices.. this then leads to how will we know when AI is malfunctioning?

it was good to see old friends from the university creative writing department and Seb, the amazing event coordinator.  In the audience was the past Hillingdon Mayor and his wife too.  We had time together when I was a volunteer at the local Community Cancer Centre in Yiewsley.  Makes me realise how long I have been living in the London Borough of Hillingdon and how we have a family of familiar faces in the community.  

Happy to chat

 Yesterday in the Uxbridge Pavillions was the monthly Brunel University Happy to Chat ..bringing the local community together and combat loneliness. 

The elderly hands in this  photo belong to Olive a 90 year old .. who had knitted her Great Granddaughter to be born soon, a beautiful vintage baby shawl ..3ply wool so fine and like the pattern I have google found. She had a video on her phone to show us... I wish I had it to show you ..so so beautiful.. we all wondered how she had done it. She was saying its done in sections but the border lace was the tricky piece to keep to pattern ..Needed Telly off and no distractions to keep in the pattern mode.. She had been to the wool shop in the Uxbridge Pavillions to show the video of completion.. In our "Happy to Chat" became quite a conversation piece with the Brunel students, a lecturer and all round the table having a natter (chat) together. Bless her she got some lovely packaging from the card shop to present the gift to her grand daughter for her baby Great granddaughter ..we all hoped this surely will become an heirloom passed down for generations to come.. 💞

Love in the Store

Uplifting to see spring flowers in John Lewis Oxford Street London .. and all the Love heart gifts and cards for Valentine's Day.. 

 

London Peace March

Some photos from todays Peace March in London. A great atmosphere of coming together to not only be voices for Palestinians but for all of us. There are more of us on this one planet home we share that wish Shalom Salem Peace Om Shanti and to live in dignity, care and respect for one another. More of us than those that wish to  divide us and create conflicts. It really is time for Leaders to Mature in the Wisdom of Peace. The Greatest Power is Peace.. 

Met new friends and old ones..had very connected time with Jewish friends ..some in mix marriages merging countries, cultures and religions in harmony together. A brilliant time of sharing and caring together. Was very moving to see the vast crowds from around UK .. and those I spoke with about my MSF nurse and his pregnant wife in Gaza sent prayers and love. I have been able to share these photos with him this evening. A sense of relief everytime he and his wife check in after hours .. even days of broken contact.. When no contact you worry whether survived strikes and worsening conditions. 

There was a collective revelation from those I shared time with today. We are showing mental stress of grieving.. Stages of sobbing, anger, frustration, pacing up and down. Deep anxiety of the conflicts in the world coalescing into full on WW3. There are symptoms of grieving the loss of the world we wish ..that of Shalom Salem Peace Om Shanti living together in harmony with respect and dignity ..happiness. Many of us have travelled to other countries & continents, enjoyed adventures of exploring our planet in all its wonders. On those travels found friendships in local communities. So we know it is possible to have a world without oppression, oppressors, violence and wars.. It hurts us to see others hurt by deluded power egos and extremists ideology that will not accept fusion of cultures.  So scroll for more photos from today. In Shalom Salem Peace Om Shanti. 

 I met a doctor from Kent that carried a huge Tablet Screen with rolling list of all children lost in Gaza ..Children killed, maimed and orphaned because Adults cannot solve issues in the Wisdom of Peace and diplomacy with respect for all .