To the small & noisy lynch mob of midwives and doulas who are slandering PowerBirth,

I have been reading your abhorrent attacks on PowerBirth and I am confused? 

It seems to me that there are only a couple of women who are behind this attack and you all had the same midwife.  I find it interesting that you are competing for childbirth clients with the midwife that you had this horrible experience with.  You are competitors in the same field and you are newer to your profession.  You and your midwife that you are unhappy with live in a completely different state than Lydi and you have proven to the world that you haven't read her manual or understood it because you are wrong on your description and accusations of what PowerBirth is.

I actually bought the manual and read it over and over and I can't find anything, NOTHING EVEN CLOSE of your accusations to be true. You keep mentioning that you watched her DVD and you saw her do things.  I bought her DVD  and watched it over and over and It is IMPOSSIBLE to see what you are claiming to see!  I actually really enjoyed the DVD and manual (I hear she has a new book coming out too!  More on that later.) and I suggest everyone find out for themselves before they act like a bunch of sheep and join a Lynch mob by commenting on her blogs without knowing or trying to understand the facts.  

I think it is horrible that people start a lynch mob and everyone and their dog is so quick to jump in with their opinions/judgment and slander when they haven't found the facts.  This is like an internet riot where people feel anonymous and so they join in and bully people because everyone else is.  GROW UP!

If you are familiar with the 10 commandments, the 9th one says "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor."  

Why are you attacking Lydi and her techniques when she wasn't even your midwife?

From reading your birth stories, they are sad.  It sounds like one of your problems is you have been emotionally neglected, which can lead to a lot of other problems.  A few examples were, When the midwife was on the phone  while performing a vaginal exam and the other time you were alone feeling ignored while everyone including hubby and friends were in another room having a good time without you.  I would have been mad about that too!  No one likes being treated like that.  It sounds like you had an insensitive midwife, husband and friends who weren't tuning into you.

So why the attack on PowerBirth? Is it because Lydi trained your midwife over 10 years ago?  It isn't like your midwife just walked out the door and you were her first client.  She has delivered over 1000 babies.  This is an experienced midwife.  Not everyone does things the way they were trained.  Just go ask your dentist.  If he practiced dentistry the way he was taught in school he would be sued for malpractice.  People learn things and then personalize it and do it their own way.  There are a lot of crumby dentists out there and I haven't seen anyone slandering the dental school because their root canal  was the most traumatic experience of their life blah, blah, blah.  If you called the dental school to complain, they would support and defend their dental graduate like they should and they would probably tell you to be thankful that you still have teeth to chew with blah, blah, blah.

You should address this problem with your midwife ( the person who actually attended your births) and work it out with her.  In the future I would suggest that you do a better job interviewing for a midwife and maybe come up with a birth plan of what you want and talk it over with her and ask lots of questions so you understand how she practices.  Besides, if you women were as savvy in your field of training, you should have known the proper protocol for interviewing a midwife.  Ask for references from other women who have been her clients.  If she has a lot of unhappy clients she will put herself out of business. Your bad experience isn't ALL her fault.  You have responsibility for your choices during the entire pregnancy and delivery.  You are the one who chose her for your midwife.  Hopefully you  prayed and followed your answers about your choices.  WE ALL HAVE CONSEQUENCES FOR OUR CHOICES. Good or Bad.  Give your problems to GOD so he can heal you.

Just because the 2 or 3 of  you women had a bad experience with the same midwife who claimed to have used PowerBirth on you, doesn't mean she actually did.  I did some research and Lydi has delivered almost 3000 babies with her PowerBirth Technique and I can't find one, not one client of hers complaining of the accusations you are making.  (I personally think there is a conflict of interest going on here.  Completely unprofessional!  This reminds me of political candidates trying to dig up anything and twist it to eliminate the other guy out of the race)  You would think that out of 3000 clients ( over 30 + years) it would be impossible to make them ALL happy. Statistically speaking there should be hundreds of abused clients, BUT THERE IS NOT!  I can't find any.  I saw snide remarks from Lydi's competitors.  I saw women who Love PowerBirth try to defend her PowerBirth technique and express to you how wonderful it was and how grateful they were for her and you wouldn't give them the time of day.  SHAME ON YOU for not looking at the whole picture! 

If you were really searching for the truth instead of on some hateful internet vandalism escapade, you would listen to Lydi's clients and then you would realize that you really don't know anything about Lydi or the way she practices or teaches.

LET WOMEN CHOOSE HOW THEY WANT TO GIVE BIRTH AND STOP TRYING TO CONTROL AND LIMIT WOMEN'S CHOICES AND OPTIONS.  You don't have to like or understand what thousands of other women like and prefer.  

I have been a client of Lydi's and she has been my midwife for my last 3 children and I LOVE LYDI and I LOVE PowerBirth!  Lydi is amazing!   


Lydi is delivering babies for the babies she has previously delivered and onto the next generation.  Lydi doesn't NEED to advertise to stay busy delivering babies.  Her clients are repeat clients and referrals by word of mouth.  We all know that clients refer friends and family to someone they had a great experience with and when they loved the services received.  If Lydi were guilty of your accusations, she would have been out of business a long time ago! "By their fruits ye shall know them."


Lydi is known for her amazing abilities in tuning into the mother and baby.  She has an important gift for helping women have healing births.  If anyone needs a healing birth, LYDI is the midwife you need.  If you ladies can't move on and get past this situation and heal, you should give Lydi a call for your next birth because she is the best midwife and has incredible results.
 
 

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with your birth.  I am praying for you that you can soften your hearts and heal.  HOW MANY YEARS OF YOUR LIFE ARE YOU GOING TO LET THIS EXPERIENCE STEAL FROM YOU?  Reliving and focusing on your negative experience is allowing it to dominate your life.  MOVE ON WITH LIFE AND GET PAST YOUR BUMP IN THE ROAD so to speak.  I'm not saying it will be easy, but I know you can do it.  STAYING IN THE VICTIM MENTALITY WILL ONLY ROB YOU OF YOUR LIFE AND OF YOUR FAMILY'S.  CHANGE YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS TO SOMETHING HEALTHY FOR YOUR CHILDREN'S SAKE .   You have FREE AGENCY and you can place any value you want on anything in your life.  CHANGE YOUR MIND! 

In the meantime, count your blessings, name them one by one and INSTEAD OF SPENDING NEGATIVE TIME ON THE COMPUTER, REDIRECT YOUR ENERGY!  Get off the computer ("You can do it, I know you can. Thumbs up for Rock N Roll!") and spend that time doing something fun with your CHILDREN and family to help you heal by making new memories that you can dwell on.  Enjoy them while you can, because they grow up way too fast :P