"Facts or Fear"

This is a preliminary sketch for a project i am working on about nuchal cords and the alternating perspectives of it.... one being that of a variation of normal physiology.. and another being that of an emergency in need of surgery... this sketch is of a vaginal unassisted birth, dad is catching gently .. no gloves and baby gently glides out.... I will update this post as I complete more work on the project..

**Update: April/2 / 2011
I have completed the 2nd preliminary sketch for this project...

Update 4/ 19/ 2011 2md preliminary drawing for this project is done...  still some kinks to work out...

Before and After

 This is a simple post... one depicting the before birth and after birth comparison of the female genitalia
both are of the same woman... an interesting comparison



                                            BEFORE

AFTER

Post-Pardum Beauty

We often see photos of  models with newborns depicting the joy of mommyhood  .. and we dream of having that flat and beautiful post-pardum tummy. however for many of us, a flat tummy does not come with the newborn. even years after, the scars remain and the extra skin hangs. But why does this have to be ugly? or unwanted? why can it not also be beautiful?!  Breasts that now sag, once held milk to sustain our children, a belly long scarred and soft once held them within us.
I think that ALL shapes and sizes of the post-pardum tummy are beautiful , so I spent some time acknowledging and pondering the respect i have for my own body and what it has accomplished, and the badges of honor it bears...

The reference photos i used for this study, were donated by a wonderful and beautiful midwifery student and friend  :) Thank you for baring yourself

Blessings......   LeTara

The Tree of Life

The placenta, Tree of life, the life support of the unborn child... I often see pictures, and descriptions of the placenta, but i rarely see illustrations... This particular one I drew not long ago is not perfectly drawn by any means, the proportions are skewed to my own desires so that it might convey what i interpret to be the placenta... The tree of life...
I will always remember the first time a midwife shared this perception with me. It was at my mother's first birth... ( i  was 9 yrs old)  After the birth I helped the midwife wash and examine the placenta.. I was fascinated! what an amazing feat it had accomplished... from that time on I always helped to clean and examine the placentas as my mother bonded with her baby... and now as an adult having my own babies.. I clean and examine my own.. I look in amazement at the work it has done, at how this entire organ has formed in my body, even feeding my baby ....and i try to decipher it's secrets :)
As a midwifery student it intrigues me even more and I plan to draw and interpret it often!

What are your thoughts on the placenta and the work it does?