I GOT IT!

I figured out how to put The Pink Kit Powerpoint Presentation onto the blog template.

Bravo me!

Isn't it wonderful when you develop skills to do something.

Heed this if you're pregnant or an expectant father ... learn skills so you can help your baby be born.

I'll be offline for a month starting from next week. Just thought I'd let you know.

By the way Tony from Bullseyecopywriting.

Tony's one of those wizards who helps Common Knowledge Trust to get The Pink Kit message out there.

Pink Kit PowerPoint Presentation Ready

6 May 2008

Life is sweet today. I figured out how to download our new Pink Kit PowerPoint Presentation onto Slideshare.net. Go and view it. If you're more techie than I am, you can download it and share with your pregnant friends.

Then become a wholesaler and gather expectant families together show them the slide show and become part of growing a skilled birthing population.

Shameful aren't I? Of course we promote The Pink Kit Package? Why won't we? How many great birth stories do you hear? We always hear great Pink Kit birth stories! But at the moment we're in the vast minority ... that will change as The Pink Kit message spreads.

There will be a Tipping Point and expectant parents everything will tweek that because they are pregnant, they have to learn to birth/coach. This isn't rocket science. It's common sense.

And finally, there is a resource that focuses entirely on the birth/coaching skills that work 100% in every single birth! Because every single pregnant woman will give birth and every birth is an activity. And, every activity is best done with skills.

And for men who will be there to 'support' ... YOU have to move beyond that and become an equally skilled partner. Coaching is an activity. Supporting is passive. Don't be passive. Work with your birthing partner to work with your baby's efforts to be born.

Common Knowledge Trust wants to thank Tony at Bullseyecopywriting for the work he's done to make the PowerPoint creative and interesting. He's one of our secret weapons.

Get in touch with Kim at info@birthingbetter.com and become both an affiliate partner and a wholesaler or just purchase The Pink Kit Package as a gift to someone you know and love who is pregnant.

Can't Stay Away

1 May 2008

Another blog entry. I'm beginning to understand the sense of 'diary' that blogs have. Never kept one myself. Until last year I didn't take a camera with me either. So here I am faced with this sort-of diary.

So what's the news for us here at Common Knowledge Trust and The Pink Kit? Well it's always exciting and NEVER, EVER boring!

• We've submitted the proposal to the District Health Board who is making their 20 year strategic maternity plan and without a doubt they believe 'growing a skilled birthing population' should be part of that plan. Yeh on them!

This will mean that every couple attending their childbirth classes will be loaned a Pink Kit Package until their birth. The only instruction these couples will get are 6 ten minute 'sample experiences' from each resource and a continual reminder that they are adults quite capable of self learning.

I'll keep you informed.

• Our friends in Nigeria are also keen for me to come there next year and begin the process of introducing families in their country to The Pink Kit. Basically, this will go one step further than Pakistan.

This time after sharing the skills, the groups will help to determine the best way to bring the skills to villages.

I'll keep you informed about that project.

• I've just received the PDF of the Australian Midwifery Expo in Brisbane 5-7 November. I'll be one of their keynote speakers. In fact I'm their first speaker! That's great that this midwifery group is considering the implications of connecting pregnancy to learning to birth which includes every pregnant family. This is much healthier than thinking in terms of 'natural or medical' births. This concept tends to place positive birth with 'natural' birth and not quite positive birth to 'medical' birth. That concept is pretty divisive.
  

I'd put a link to the PDF but don't know how yet.

• We're beginning to get our autoresponder up on some pages of http://www.birthingbetter.com so the Pink Kit community can grow stronger. Although we sell a product that teaches expectant parents how-to birth/coach ... basically this is a concept that will improve society. So in reality we're a community of families who understand the concept that when they are pregnant is the time to learn these skills.

There are many more exciting things happening but all will be revealed later.

Pink Kit Survey Response

23 April 2008

We've just put a survey on both http://www.birthingbetter.com and https://www.thepinkkit.com.

It's been very interesting indeed. One comment was this:

'The openness of your views and the non-inflammatory way both men and women were talked about. Ye shall be quoted!'

That's the whole purpose of The Pink Kit ... to be inclusive!

That's probably why The Pink Kit Package is one of the most purchased childbirth skills resource on the market. It attracts people from all backgrounds and lifestyles and more importantly expectant parents approaching many different types of birth.

We're here to answer any questions you have. Just contact us at info@birthingbetter.com.

A Pink Kit Review totally unsolicited

16 April 2008

Kim, our administrator, and I got together today because I'm heading overseas for the next 5 months for Common Knowledge Trust and The Pink Kit.

We've just installed Google Analytics ... a sophisticated tracking program so we know how people are using our websites. I'm just learning and wanted to show Kim. We discovered that a number of visitors were coming from a natural birth website.

We went to the website and discovered this Pink Kit Package review.

http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com/the_pink_kit.html

We don't know the woman who runs this website. What we do know is that she had a personal experience with The Pink Kit Package that echoes everyone who uses it!

I'm not going to say anything more. Just go and read the review.

Oh, one thing. You might not be planning a 'natural birth'. You're pregnant. You will give birth. You and your partner need the right skills to do the job well no matter what type of birth you have.

That has always been The Pink Kit Method For Birthing Better® message.

http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com/the_pink_kit.html

The blog is on my mind

15 April 2008

I wish I knew how to add audio to this blog! Oh, well. Techie I'm not.

The blog's been on my mind.

Tomorrow I meet with our District Health Board. The Nelson/Marlborough region on the top of the S. Island of New Zealand is sort of separated geographically from the main centers of the S. Island such as Christchurch, Dunedin etc. And it's separated from the N. Island by the Cook Straight.

Our district probably has a population of 200,000 (that's a wild estimate). I know that our local hospital has about 1,000 births a year and Bleinheim about 500.

The DHB has a 20 year maternity plan being developed. Why 20 years? Gosh that's a long time forward. They've been talking with people about a 'strategy' and we had a general meeting two weeks ago.

Our Trust is pretty much out of the loop. The meeting was primarily midwives, the 3 obstetricians, one childbirth educator, one lactation consultant, no consumers and me representing the concept of growing a skilled birthing population.

Well, the meeting was interesting for sure. It's so easy to see how people get caught up in the day to day stuff. Basically the questionnaire was about 'strategic plans' but the responses were about 'management' stuff.

• more food for fathers
• place for family members to stay
• better hand over from midwifery care to Plunket (after birth care)
• need for more after birth care
• bottles for bottle feeding in a 'child friendly' hospital that focuses on breastfeeding.
• private entrance for women in labour rather than coming through the main entrance. (This is a new hospital and neither obstetricians or midwives liked the maternity unit. It's too small and shares an operating theatre with general surgery. It used to be a separate building.)
• women being given early discharge because there aren't enough beds.
• inconsistent information given by staff on breast feeding issues.
  

When I eventually spoke up about the concept of growing a skilled birthing population people sort of listen and then sort of say 'yeh, but ... these other things are also important'.

Anyway, I'm meeting with head of DHB tomorrow. They are interested in doing a 2 year trial with The Pink Kit. The head of the DHB does see the concept as part of a strategic plan which is good.

New Zealand is a bit unique in many ways. Midwives are the lead maternity carers and women are referred to obstetricians but remain under the care of the midwife. Careful thinking would suggest that midwives should be the primary advocates of growing a skilled birthing population in NZ.

But what about the rest of the world? Well, it's up to you really. In my role as a trustee to a charitable Trust, I have to constantly find the right language to use so the message gets across better and inspires expectant parents to act for themselves.

Certainly from my 15 years in New Zealand where midwifery care has been the primary maternity care, there is no evidence to date that midwives have a strategic plan to grow a skilled birthing population. I don't know why so our Trust looks outward to families overseas who may or may not be under midwifery care.

I guess it boils down to two thoughts:

1. Childbirth is an activity that only you will do no matter what the circumstances.
2. You can do an activity better when you have the appropriate skills.

Lots of people ask us questions like this: 'But my doctor insists that I remain in bed with a foetal monitor and I want to get up and walk.'

Right or wrong ... you will still do the activity. No one says that an activity doesn't have road blocks or obstacles. The purpose of having your own set of skills IS so you can do the activity under all circumstances.

There's no doubt that women who fought for their right to walk around were totally bewildered by their own desire to lie down! Without skills, they often felt they 'failed' because they weren't upright. Isn't it weird.

This is why it's so important you understand that your Pink Kit skills are your Strategic Plan! Childbirth is not about whether there will be enough food for your partner, whether they have a place to stay or whether you'll be forced out of the hospital due to a bed shortage.

Your Strategic Plan is about what you'll do during the activity of giving birth.

I'll write tomorrow after I've met with the chairperson. He really gets this as he mentioned in the meeting. He sees The Pink Kit as a Strategic Plan.

Now, all we have to do is get the 3,60,000 pregnant women in the US to purchase The Pink Kit Package and develop their own Strategic Plan. Better yet, let's get all the expectant fathers to do so ... they're the ones who see the practicality of having skills.

http://www.thepinkkit.com
http://www.birthingbetter.com
http://www.commonknowledgetrust.com

Send me your email

1 April 2008

Rimfire, send me your email. I'd love to write you. I'm still here ... just not blogging at the moment. The Pink Kit Package you'll receive when you order is very much more complete than what we went over 13 years ago.

Your new partner ... being a first time dad will really 'get' the skills he needs to help you. And, yes, you can heal from your traumatic birth last time.

You can also email me and discuss these matters.

You can email me directly at wintergreen@birthingbetter.com