Mama la Scala and the Independent Midwives

Tags

homebirth, Hypnobirth, Independent Midwives

I had such a lovely blog planned for you all last week. I was going to show you some of the fabulous vintage I’ve found whilst being pregnant that I hadn’t even been able to try on. I was also going to share my most fantastic Puttanesca spaghetti recipe.

It turns out that my son had other ideas. At 8.10am on Sunday 20th January, almost 3 weeks ahead of schedule, my waters broke in Room 400 at The Groucho Club, Soho. Cue a dash, in fur and heels, to UCH with a rather surprised husband in tow.
We were met there by our fantastic Independent Midwives, Jacqui Tomkins and Mal Soomessur.

“Independent Midwives?” I hear you cry. “Lili, what are these Independent Midwives of which you speak?”
Well, my darlings, these divine women might just be the most wonderful thing that I have ever had the luck to stumble across. My husband and I had been with the NHS up until 28 weeks, we’d been met with negativity, brusqueness and in the case of one rather stressed midwife, downright rudeness. Whenever we mentioned ‘homebirth’ or ‘hypnobirthing’, we were met with blank stares, ‘tuts’ and the ever popular squawk of ‘gas & air’. They couldn’t even assure us that we would have met the person who would be helping us.
Now, I don’t know about you but to see me in my absolutely altogether requires dinner and a show, at the very least!

I was sure that, unless medically deemed necessary, I didn’t want a hospital birth. I wanted a Hypnobirth in my own house, on my own terms, allowing my body to guide me. The NHS were sure that I should be giving birth in their charmingly named ‘New Beginnings Unit’. Eventually we came to the conclusion that we weren’t even in the same library as the NHS, let alone on the same page. Which left us with a conundrum – what to do? Thank heavens for Google – we discovered ‘Independent Midwives’ – Midwives who work independently of any hospital, or NHS trust. These wonderful people held the same values that we wanted for the birth of our son. We wanted our boy to come into the world in a peaceful, relaxed and non-medicalised way within the safety and security of our own home.
We met with Mal Soomessur (BTW, her website/philosophy is bloody great and sums everything up perfectly!!) and Jacqui Tomkins and from our first meeting with these warm and effervescent women, we knew that we wanted them to be a part of our story. Our first appointment was 2 and half hours, we chatted, drank coffee, laughed and they approached my bump, my husband and I with courtesy, kindness, respect and a wonderful hands on, down to earth attitude. Plus, our cats took a real shine to them and I believe you should always value the opinion of a cat.

It was a shock when my waters went some three weeks early, but after some firm negotiation with the hospital we were allowed to go home. I’ll save my joyous birth story for another blog, but suffice to say it was incredible. My husband and I couldn’t have done it without our Independent Midwives, their support was invaluble. Our son, Rafferty, was born on Monday 21st in the morning, safely, calmly and at home.

Now to the crux of this blog. Although a little complicated, bear with me!

The service offered by Independent Midwives (IMs for ease of typing!) is shortly to become extinct. Our Goverment, governed by Europe, is making it illegal to be registered without insurance. Now this is fine for other healthcare professionals as insurance is easily obtained but no such insurance exists for IMs. This means that from October, the choice to use this incredible service will be taken away from women. I can only see this as a backwards and useless step.

The government is bound by European directive that says that all member states must ensure the same level of indemnity cover for each citizen across all borders. However, every member state has a different way of implementing maternity care. Some will have limited state medical provision and others like Germany will have none.  It has been agreed that each member state’s government will be allowed to choose how they implement the agreement to provide indemnity cover.
That means that our Government could help IMs comply with the ruling, if they wanted to, however they seem to be disinclined to do so. This reduces the choice for women and families even if, like me, they choose to opt out of the system and take responsibility for their choices.
The Royal College of Midwives could also help the IMs but they have chosen not to as I’m led to believe that they feel that the NHS is somewhat undermined by the gold standards of care provided by the IMs. A standard which the poor, under-funded, overstretched NHS cannot achieve.
The bottom line is that if the choice to use IMs disappears, then the NHS has no comparative service and can provide all the mediocre care it wishes.
IMs are also the keepers of vital midwifery skills that have been lost to the NHS as a whole. Normalising twin and breech births can only happen if there is a confident, competent practitioner helping a woman through. If those skills are unavailable then it becomes unsafe to offer women choice over their birth process and we are left with what the NHS offers now; Caesarean section only.
In 1994 the Royal College of Midwives discontinued Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) for IMs, stating that it was too expensive and members were not in favour of the increase in premiums.  By 2002 there was no commercial insurance available either, as the premiums were far more than any IM earned, not because of high payouts, but because there were simply not enough IMs (roughly 80 and falling!) to pay premiums. Up until today IMs have been practising midwifery with no PII but with the knowledge and agreement of the women for whom they care, but the directive takes that choice away from women.
The solution being fielded by the Coalition Government is through Social Enterprise or Franchise and Private Companies using the “Any other provider” status to contract IMs into NHS trusts.  This doesn’t really solve the problem for women like me who want to choose care outside of the NHS and also for those Midwives who prefer smaller, manageable caseloads that work around their family lives. The selection process is also rather vexatious; no first timers, no twins, no breech, no previous c-sections – the list goes on.

The campaign group for Independent Self Employed Midwives has asked the Government to look again at The EU directive or help source Professional Indemnity Insurance that is workable and affordable.
These are not women who have woken up one morning and decided to be midwives.
They are midwives with 25/35/40 years of midwifery experience who have left the NHS as it does not cater to creative thinking or naturalisation of birth, rather seeking to medicalise it.

To stop them from being registered would be a huge loss to the families they can help. It also leaves women with less choice.
For women, like me, who want to labour peacefully in their own home with minimal medical intervention, checking, coaching etc the choices are, sadly, to be limited from October.
I think it is totally wrong for a male-led Government to take this choice away from a woman at the time in a her life when she needs confidence, security and reassurance. Also to lose the skills of these incredible Independent Midwives would be a travesty, a tragedy, and an utter loss for all concerned.

I laboured for 14 hours. At home. No drugs. Just breathing, reassurance and gentle expertise. I couldn’t have done it without their quiet confidence giving me the confidence to believe in myself.

There is a petition and a number of Facebook pages linked below that are looking at how to campaign and think up other solutions but they are running out of time…..they need women to stand up and say NO to the reduction in our choice of carer and provider.

Independent midwives uk
Fighting for independent midwifery
Homebirth uk 

Don’t let the Government take this choice away from me, from you or from any woman.

Sign the petition here

Thank you,
Love Lili
x

Lili’s Cowboy Chilli

Tags

chilli, cooking, cowboy, Derek McAlister, guacamole, spicy, street performer

Home, home on the range….

I’m a huge chilli fan, it’s the most perfect winter warmer and a real comfort food for me, especially when the weather is so bitterly cold. This always goes down a storm whenever I make it. The smoky chipotle chillies combined with coffee and the slow-cooked beef that literally melts in your mouth are a hit with friends and family alike. A dear friend of mine from the States, street performer Derek McAlister, gave me his guacamole recipe one Edinburgh Festival and I serve it whenever I make this chilli. It’s completely delish!

Chilli

2.5 lbs of stewing steak
1 red onion – roughly chopped
1 red pepper – roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic – crushed
4 inches of chorizo – roughly chopped
1 red chilli – finely chopped
1 dried chipotle chilli – finely chopped
1 tin of red kidney beans
1 tin of black beans
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
small handful of sweet smoked paprika
1 tbsp of chipotle Tabasco
1 squirt of tomato purée
1 glass of red wine
1 tea cup of strong black coffee
olive oil
salt & pepper

Derek’s Guacamole

4 avocados smashed with the juice of 1/2 lime, salt & pepper
half a jalapeno chilli – diced
2 tomatoes – diced & seasoned
half a white onion finely chopped (I substitute the white for red as I prefer the sweetness of the red – sorry Derek!!)
half a cup (small bunch) coriander – finely chopped

Serves 4

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.

Soften the onion, red pepper, garlic, chorizo, chipotles and red chilli in the olive oil over a medium heat. Once soft, add the beef to brown.
Once the beef is browned, add the paprika, the kidney and black beans, the chopped tomatoes, a squirt of tomato purée, the red wine, the coffee and the Tabasco.
Season liberally and pop in the oven for 2.5 – 3 hours, or until the beef is falling apart. You can, of course, adjust the seasonings depending on your personal taste. Don’t let the chilli dry out, do give it a stir now and then and chuck in some water if it looks a little dry.

For Derek’s Guac – mix the avocados with the lime juice, salt & pepper first. Then add each ingredient separately and mix well. Taste often and make sure there is enough salt and lime flavour coming through. Pop in a bowl, cover and chill until you eat. Enjoy!

Serve the chilli with some sour cream, long grain rice, some crusty bread and a healthy serving of guacamole.

Other things you can add:

A sprinkling of grated mature cheddar
A spoonful of tomato salsa (I cheat and use the fresh one from Sainsburys, you can find it in the chiller cabinet with the hummus and other dips)
Sweetcorn drizzled with lime juice,
A side of refried beans
Tortilla chips
Jalapenos

Enjoy!

Love Lili
x

World Buskers Festival

It’s mid-January and normally I am in Christchurch, New Zealand. I’m usually very excited as the World Buskers Festival is about to start. The World Buskers Festival is a ten day long festival of street performing and evening shows. The festival organiser always does a fantastic job of picking the very best of the world’s street performing talent. The street performing circuit is really like a big global village, everyone knows everyone else and it’s a world in which I take pleasure being a part.

I started out my career as a street performer, singing opera in Trafalgar Square.

They nicknamed me ‘The Songbird of Trafalgar Square’, just a scrap of a girl who looked like she’d stepped out of a 50’s movie, singing operatic arias. Everyday, come rain or shine, I’d put on my sweater, circle skirt, rouge up my lips and head into London with my little pulley suitcase. Once in Trafalgar Square, I’d pop on my heels and maybe an underbust corset, pop my hat on the ground and sock it to ‘em.

After my show, I’d gather up my money and retreat to Prêt a Manger for a well-deserved hot chocolate. They were happy times, until the police got mean and moved me on after three years! I’ve retired from street performing now, but I always look forward to the World Buskers Festival; Christchurch is one of my favourite cities. This year is their 20th birthday and the line-up is huge including Le Gateau Chocolat, Gamarjobat and some of the top names in street performing. They have street shows, cabaret and burlesque and I wish them all an amazing festival.
For my husband and I? We are spending January shivering in England as we are expecting the patter of tiny, next generation busker, feet!
Maybe he’ll be part of the line-up for the World Buskers Festival’s 40th birthday?

Musica-Lili speaking!

My fascination with vintage songs began when I was very small. Growing up, I spent an awful lot of time with my Great-Aunt who told me stories of WW2 and first introduced me to the wonderful songs that she’d learnt all those years before. Since then, my collection has steadily grown, although in the last few years it has begun to sky rocket. People who have seen me sing and have heard about my hoarding habits have started to send me their old piles of vintage music. Music that they have found in a deceased relative’s house, or that was left to them, or that they have bought and framed to hang on the wall. My collection currently takes over a cupboard, a 3 drawer filing cabinet, half my office floor (temporarily, I have assured my long suffering husband!) and I have music from the late Victorian era all the way through to the late 50’s . Each day a new brown paper package arrives, like the song says, tied up with strings, and I have to tell my husband that it has been there weeks! Piles of music are gradually making their way towards the front door. I thought I would share some of my favourite pieces with you.

I adore songs from WW2, these covers tickle me especially.

A coronation album from 1937

A song from 1913, what a fabulous dress!

Just one small selection of my collection.

Of course, there are some pieces that I would love to find but have yet to lay my hands on, I’m desperately looking for ‘The Deepest Shelter in Town’, a rather naughty song from WW2. You never know, it might just be in the next pile to arrive. Until then, I’ll just keep searching.

Lili la Scala.