A blisteringly stupid guide to postpartum hemorrhage

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Sadly, this is not satire.

Freya Kellet is a self-proclaimed “birth keeper, coach and mentor.”

I’m all too familiar with the ignorance, arrogance and privilege of natural childbirth advocates, but Freya sets a new standard for idiocy with her ‘Radical Guide to Postpartum Hemorrhage.’

Postpartum hemorrhage is your ally??!!

Hemorrhage is one of the most common reasons why women fear birth.

But, what if everything you know about hemorrhage is based in cultural misconceptions?

Cultural misconceptions??!!

Our body speaks in blood. A language of crimson and dots. Bleeding in birth is an expression of our bodies innate wisdom. not of pathology…

Hemorrhage is not a mistake in the female design … Hemorrhage during birth is a physiological response to a predictable constellation of events — intervention, observation and disturbance to motherbaby. Hemorrhage is a woman’s body speaking in blood, screaming a great and bloody NO to violation and control…

Not exactly.

Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) causes over 80,000 maternal deaths each year.

It accounts for more than 45% maternal deaths in low income countries and almost 10% of maternal deaths in high income countries.

It is estimated that around the world one woman dies of postpartum hemorrhage every 4 minutes!

Moreover, the countries with the lowest intervention rates in birth have the HIGHEST rates of death from postpartum hemorrhage. But Kellet is clueless.

She thinks hemorrhage is an ALLY!

There are no mistakes in nature…

Hemorrhage does not occur randomly, it is extremely predictable and is the result of interventions and disturbances in the birth process…

Hemorrhage is the ancient ally of women.

Hemorrhage creates a holy blood boundary to boldly remind people of the importance of protecting undisturbed, wild birth.

My favorite part of this fatally stupid nonsense is Kellet’s suggestions for “treatment.”

Some women use the power of intention to resolve excessive bleeding by speaking to their uterus. You could try telling your womb that she needs to stop bleeding NOW …

If there is a sense that the mother is not present (spiritually, emotionally) some support people try boldly calling her back in into the room …

How well does Kellet imagine that works when the mother is unconscious from hypovolemic shock?

Where did Kellet learn this idiocy? From other equally clueless birth keepers, Yolande Norris Clark and freebirth advocate Emilee Saldaya.

What I really want to know is this: exactly how gullible do you have to be to believe this crap?

Apparently very, very gullible!