#so some of the inputs from that game were carried over as ~forbidden moves~ in smash

[azuresage]

ok heres some slightly organized notes on the new wilds stuff that ive been editing over the past few days

seems both the palico and the hunter now have spoken dialogue in the story. Before, the hunter never had a voice of their own, until risebreak added in-quest situational voice lines. Now they've gone the full mile. I'm into it.. provided we get personality options to choose from. they could do what they did for dragons dogma 2 and have personality sets with unique dialogue for each set. there should also be an option to remain silent, as well. that would be ideal. also hoping the character creator will be as in depth as dd2's...

right away, we see the hunter use the slinger for environmental effects. that's probably the most inoffensive thing they could have carried over from world... still really didn't want to see it back.

i see the new mount can scoop you up when you get downed, so wirefall is still a thing, just in a new form. looks a little more balanced, at least.

small monsters attacking a large monster in a group. that's neat. kind of like an expansion on turf wars.

we see the hunter swap from a greataword to a bowgun while riding the mount. that's pretty insane. we've never had a weapon change on the fly like that before. that's gonna be a game-changer. part of me wants to complain about it detracting from the spirit of pre-hunt preparation, but that spirit's been dead since world introduced item box and cooking at camp anyway, so i dunno how to feel...

the next thing we see is a montage of brand new moves, and possibly a stance change with the greatsword. so im going to make a guess here... rather than switch skills, we're getting stances. so it could kind of be akin to the skill swap scroll in sunbreak where you switch between two custom movesets on the fly. now we are changing our stances, and with it our movesets. i have to admit, the idea of that really gets me excited. thats just the sort of spice to the gameplay i was hoping for... if it's what they're doing. and the new greatsword moves all looked incredibly cool. i did say more command input type moves would be a satisfactory alternative to special moves. we already see three new ones for just the greatsword. the more the better. im hoping its at least three per stance. i have to say, i'm feeling optimistic about this now. its looking to be more than world 2 electric boogaloo, if this is anything to go on. ^ so they came out and said that this is called focus mode, and it... is basically what i thought it was gonna be, kind of? it still sounds cool. it slows you down and lets to target specific parts of monsters, it sounds like. that's neat. its still an alternative gameplay style. me likey that. the more move variety, the better. switching in and out of focus mode does kind of still make me think of skill swap from sunbreak, and its still got new moves to go with it. im for it.

sos flare from world is back. i just hope it doesnt suck like it did in world. rise's version of it was functionally better, id say. i hope they improved upon the mechanics of it if theyre pulling more from world than rise for this.

im gonna make an easy guess that the story is youre searching for that kid with the necklace's parents who went missing on an expedition into these "forbidden lands" as theyre apparently called. honestly as far as im concerned the story is just a set piece for the locales. the maps in world sucked, but some of them had really neat lore to go with their biomes, so if theyre continuing with that, all i can hope for is better layouts. also laughing my ass off at seikret autorunning to objectives. no thanks. that's an L. world's maps were so bad they had to introduce that to make chasing monsters through them bearable. the fact that we are doing that again doesnt inspire confidence. i also hope the story doesnt command too much attention. it was really intrusive in world/iceborne, if im being honest. risebreak did a fine enough job of it, i think. monhun really doesnt need a deep story.

in the same vein, i really do not care for how hard theyre trying to push the series to be this big triple a game that competes with god of war or something. it doesnt need 50 billion ray tracings and the ability to see pores on the skin of the npcs, who i must agree do look kind of uncanny. gemma and alma's faces look off... like. rise looked perfectly fine. the fidelity of the graphics are not that important. we dont need the bloatware. speaking of which, this game better run on steam deck just fine, or i will explode capcom. i dont want to deal with another dragons dogma 2 situation.

this deserves a separate bullet. they better keep monster hunter language as a voice option like they did for rise. im still pissed they didn't carry that into stories 2, and even more pissed they cut it out of the stories 1 remaster entirely (which was a deal-breaker on the remaster for me). dont let that die. its so cool. its a big part of the immersion and its such a charming thing about the series.

[pathetic-gamer]

Golden Deer and who they main in Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Claude: Little Mac (mostly undefeated, in a heated rivalry with a Daisy main he 3 stocked in the semifinals at EVO in 1181)

Hilda: Samus (always complains that someone picked Zero Suit Samus before she could)

Lorenz: Sonic (side-b -> falls off the edge)

Raphael: Duck Hunt (cried during the announcement trailer)

Ignatz: Inkling (ha ha get it? bc its like paint and he's an artist? sorry, sorry, I'll leave)

Leonie: Ryu (*talking out loud* "quarter circle back, f-a, f-a, down-a, half circle down, a, double right, f-a, f-a, x, nair, SHORYUKEN-" *typing* "lol ez KO")

Lysithea: Greninja (spams dash-attack then performs the most bizarre and terrifying combo you've ever seen. says shes bored and goes to bed)

Marianne: Ridley (spams side-b and up-throw, but never as a combo)

Explaining some terminology in the notes ok. Blue Lions / Black Eagles / Church of Seiros / Ashen Wolves

[oblivionspeakk]

Understanding The Background Of SEO 2019

Content marketing plus SEO are two frequently utilized terms and broadly discussed subjects in digital marketing. Screaming Frog SEO Index tool does it for you personally inside a few seconds, even with regard to larger websites. SEOs also used to believe that buying links was the valid method of link developing; however, Google will now punish you for buying links within an attempt to manipulate page rank. Ultimately, achievement in SEO in 2018 plus forward will depend on producing amazing content and making this as easy as possible with regard to search engines like google in order to understand exactly what that articles is all about. Answer: When you focus in SEO for voice search a person need to create your articles around long tail keywords because people tend to use even more words in voice search. SEO is the practice associated with increasing the search engine ranks of your webpages so that will they appear higher in research results, bringing more traffic in order to your website. In the particular previous example, Bob's home web page might have the title, "Bob's Soccer Store - Soccer Shoes or boots and Equipment. " The name is the most important component of SEO, since it informs the search engine exactly exactly what the page is all regarding. 47. When creating SEO content material, keep the social layer within your mind. For those who have time to get good search engine optimisation education, after that combine this knowledge with greatest practices and you are upon your way to become a good SEO expert. 46. Use SEO practices in order to optimize your social media articles. 4. Mobile SEO plus Local Business: - As all of us mentioned before, users tend in order to search for local business upon the smartphones. Let's confirm our knowing of SEO basics with the one question quiz about the particular factors in search rankings: webpages, links and keyphrases. When it comes in order to Google SEO, the rel=canonical hyperlink element has become VERY IMPORTANT over the many years and NEVER MORE SO. To place the particular focus on the website website visitor, it has been suggested that will acronym SEO should indicate lookup experience optimization. It's important to remember in order to share content from your internet site or blog socially to provide it an SEO boost as well. Some Webmasters will spend thousands of dollars to several so-called professional SEO expert in order to get their Websites on best in the rankings. It is constantly preferable to ask questions upon their SEO procedures and find out whether they have knowledge associated with keyword density or if they will have information about the most recent keyword research strategies and equipment. This combined expertise makes all of us uniquely qualified to present a good ethics-based, search engine-friendly SEO guide to teach you guidelines that will reflect the latest developments looking. They protect important subjects for example search motor success factors and how SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION relates to social media marketing and advertising. In order in order to make web pages appear in high positions in the search outcomes, SEO tries to shape the website according to Google's formula. The major problem of SEO is the truth that there are billions associated with pages in the internet lookup engine indexes and your placement in the SERPS is reliant on a constantly changing protocol which is not published. One thing will be crystal clear: if you desire people to discover your function, you need search engine marketing (SEO). This almost all means when you're thinking regarding your SEO strategy, you require to think about how your own social media marketing strategy fits into the particular puzzle, too. As your visitors slowly increases, be sure to include various other SEO strategies (like adding exterior and internal links, guest publishing, etc) to engage more customers and keep your metrics higher. Google has still left a very narrow band associated with opportunity when it comes in order to SEO - and punishments are created to take you out associated with the game for some period while you cleanup the infractions. Head of Marketing, He Edstrom, at BioClarity, a San Diego based health-science company, thinks that SEO is going in order to see a decreased importance within 2019, and SEOs should begin ensuring they're competent in SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION. The best rank that you could see the profile with contact information and maps on right hands side of search result web page is achieved after long treatment for using SEO tactics. Numerous search engine search engine optimization. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the technique of customizing a website for search motor discovery and indexing. SEO is actually a technique which search motors require that sites must enhance properly, so that they show up high in search results. The European Search Honours is an international competition that will shines the spotlight for the best SEO and Content Marketing firms in Europe. Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the particular most important marketing things to consider about your studio website. SEO might generate a sufficient return upon investment However, search engines are usually not taken care of organic search visitors, their algorithms change, and right now there are no guarantees of ongoing referrals. A great starting point whenever using keywords for SEO is usually to identify existing pages that will may use some optimization. These are called keywords, plus as you will see, these people are an important part associated with SEO. In fact, this particular will actually hurt your home page's SEO because search engines such as google will recognize it because keyword stuffing - or the particular act of including keywords particularly to rank for that key phrase, rather than to answer the person's question. Prior to we get going, one thing a person want to keep in brain when using some of the following SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION elements is not to overdo it. You might be enticed to shove a lot associated with keywords onto your pages, yet that is not the objective. In situation you create links to various other websites and reverse, it can improve your SEO ranking. Really Cisco predicts that globally, on the internet video traffic will be eighty percent of all consumer Web traffic by 2019 (a quantity that is up from sixty four percent in 2014). I've bookmarked therefore many SEO websites and assets that it's overwhelming to actually look at. Link authority is the major component of SEO, yet purchasing links is forbidden simply by Google, Bing, and other research engines.

Siteimprove SEO incorporates sixty six unique SEO checks, including tests for missing meta descriptions, transliteration mistakes, broken links, outdated data files, poor readability, and links in order to unsafe domains. But in the event that we're looking for a larger trend it's that SEO plus what we call real marketing” will continue to blur the particular lines between them as the particular job of the SEO gets that of a traditional internet marketer - having to understand the particular user, the competitors, the market place and also the implementation part. Thanks for going to the world of Search Motor Optimization (SEO). For example, we regularly generate content on the topic associated with "SEO, " but it's nevertheless very hard to rank properly on Google for such the popular topic on this acronym alone. What can all of us industry shifts show about the particular future of SEO and content material marketing? Search engine optimisation (SEO) is on a move. Whether a person are an SEO Professional, Electronic Marketing Agency, SMB or Brand name, looking to increase your visitors or to monitor your web site's evolution, this SEO software can provide you with best within class digital marketing strategy evaluation and insights for your company. Their expertise is definitely incredibly valuable because there is definitely plenty of science to SEO, plus it is constantly changing because search engines like Google carry on to update their algorithms. From a content viewpoint, I'd say one of the particular best ways to get SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION value out of video is definitely to focus your efforts upon addressing your customer's pain factors.

This free marketing device is really a long-term technique and can be time intense but it will worth this. A good user experience will be the key to satisfaction and also a powerful SEO. 1 SEO might target different kinds of research, including image search, video research, academic search, 2 news research, and industry-specific vertical search motors. All of us are in the fourth 1 / 4 of 2018, it is this right time start thinking concerning the year ahead and fresh changes SEO realm might count on. We've long known that consumer opinions, input, and sentiment regarding a brand deeply impact SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION rankings, but we wanted the particular information to prove it. Off-page SEO means having action to build trust, specialist, social signals and inbound hyperlinks. How video affects SEO actually depends on your goals whenever using video in your marketing and advertising campaign and which video system you use. LSI is not really what most SEO professionals claim it to be. This is certainly not a idea that can be used simply by the average web designer or even webmaster to improve their research engine listings, and it is usually not what many people, which includes myself, has written it in order to be. Nevertheless, first some history. This particular video walks you through the particular specific steps you should get increased rankings in 2018, including launching speed, technical SEO, content, hyperlinks, and more. Due to the fact it is, all across typically the year businesses specializing in SEO were occupied improving and finding new procedures to optimize the search motor even better than what their own competitors were doing. Register and raise some sort of free donation for SEO Birmingham every time you shop on-line. Local SEO - Optimize that localized content on your web site to properly leverage local signs, online reviews and business results. Learn more about content material optimization for SEO here. Along with paid-search it offers a very focused audience, visitors referred by SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION will only visit your web site if they are seeking particular home elevators your products or even related content. From keyword filling to link buying, the SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION landscape has seen numerous black-hat tricks — and Google usually catches on. Chris Gregory, founder plus managing partner at Jacksonville dependent firm, DAGMAR Marketing, predicts that will AI and machine learning might have a big impact upon SEO in 2019 and SEOs who aren't technical will become Five Things Your Competitors Know About SEO 2019 left in the dust. Some SEO professionals also advise that anchor textual content should be varied as a lot of pages linking to one web page using the same anchor textual content may look suspicious to find motors. SEO trickery such because keyword ‘stuffing' in irrelevant articles simply won't cut it within the current day, with Google's algorithm taking over 200 aspects to ensure that it's ranks provide results with valid in addition to authoritative sites, it is around on impossible to complete anything some other than work with the research engines to make sure best quality SEO results. From a SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION perspective, the principal keyword need to be at the beginning implemented by the other relevant key phrases. To get a better SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, helps your website can obtain on the top among well-known search engines like Bing plus Google. On the additional side, you can ensure a good effective content marketing campaign just when you apply the SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION techniques properly. SEO : Search engine optimization: the procedure of making your internet site better with regard to search engines. The purpose of SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION writing is to make your own company more visual, more attractive in website search engines. SEO will be the practice of increasing the particular quantity and quality of site visitors to your website through organic and natural search engine results. 31. SEO data can notify a smart social media technique. Solid keyword & marketplace research assist SEO strategy plus allow us to deliver realistic projections and forecasts of opportunity inside your market. Nevertheless, when this comes to developing and carrying out an audio SEO strategy with regard to your business, just creating content material for the keywords your clients are looking for is each arduous and, well, wrong. In this situation, in, the article ranks correct after the official Google suggestions (and it makes sense that will Google should be number one on their own branded query) but Smashing magazine is demonstrated as a position 0” little of text on the problem Google pop up guidelines” within. Search Engine Land, a top quality SEO blog this is the pillar of the community is usually ranking after Smashing (which occurs to be really a style blog than an SEO one). There will be no magic wand in your own hands to regulate or manage your competitors' strategies or administration, Google analytics update, or user's behavior communicate business but a person can manage your SEO. In this particular new environment, the digital marketing expert who views SEO in the broader context will surely come away ahead of the competition within 2018 and beyond. Good SEO textbooks explain in detail how greatest to use keywords and exactly how to structure your entire web site to attract the attention associated with search engine spiders and associated with human visitors, and a posting such as this cannot perform the topic justice. While businesses begin on an SEO advertising strategy, they should realize that a good entire marketing campaign can drop flat on its face in the event that a business is unable in order to reach the masses, that is definitely, their target audience. If your own pages were designed to obtain the most out of Search engines, with commonly known and today outdated SEO techniques chances are usually Google has identified this plus is throttling your rankings within some way. Several business people find keeping upward with the "moving target" associated with SEO distracts them from day-to-day priorities more than they actually imagined, so it's good in order to appear closely at what can make sense for every business. The software process for the SocialSEO Electronic Marketing and SEO Scholarship is definitely done 100% electronically and demands these list of materials.

Join us for a new three-day, one-track conference full involving forward-thinking, tactical sessions in SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION, growth marketing, the mobile surroundings, analytics, content marketing, and a lot more. The objective involving SEO is to get a new website ranked as high since possible on search engines, like Google. In case you are improving user encounter by focusing primarily on the particular quality of the MC associated with your pages and avoiding : even removing - old-school SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION techniques - those certainly are usually positive steps to getting even more traffic from Google in 2018 - and the type associated with content performance Google rewards is usually in the end largely in least about a satisfying consumer experience. For instance, when I'm logged in to Google+ and We search for SEO, I have the following in my top 5 search results. Black head wear SEO practice involves breaking most of the rules and rules of the search engine. Every time you observe or hear the phrase lookup engine optimization, ” substitute exactly what create quality and indicating relevance” and you'll have the correct mindset permanently SEO work. SEOs conveniently call this effect ‘domain authority' and it appeared in order to be related to ‘PageRank' : the system Google started in order to rank the web within 1998. For those who have more time plus are keen to follow the particular SEO industry, subscribe to Moz and Search Engine Land. Integrating these keywords into the write-up allows you to add range while still retaining SEO strength.

This guide is definitely made to describe all places of SEO—from locating the terms plus phrases (keywords) that generate visitors to your website, to producing your internet site friendly to search motors, to building links and advertising the unique associated with your own site. Without having SEO, a website can end up being invisible to search engines. On-page SEO refers for you to every strategy, technique, and application you utilize within your web site to optimize your web webpages and content for search search engines like google. Today, the quality of inbound links is evaluated higher compared to their quantity and may lead your SEO efforts. Lookup engine optimization (SEO) tools assist companies position themselves to obtain a favorable ranking in internet search engine results. The particular second biggest SEO trend within 2019 will be voice research. Jooxie is long past mobile search plus voice-search being a ‘trend' : they are the full upon normal now, outdoing desktop research in both volume and SEO-favorability. Rather compared to marketing at people, you require to make it possible regarding them to find you whenever they want you, and which where SEO is available within. Prior To proceeding BlowFish SEO full Time, Robert Headed very successful internet incoming marketing campaigns for Bella Sante Day Spa's of Boston plus Red Door Spas increasing their own yearly Gift Card Sales simply by over 400% and increasing consumer appointments over 300%. In 2019 and past, the majority of the on the web searches will be in the particular form of conversation, and because a result, the online internet marketers will give more importance in order to artificial intelligence keywords for optimisation of the web content. Keyword studies about locating those terms so that a person can use them properly within content optimization and SEO within general. Just as content by yourself isn't enough to guarantee SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION success, SEO alone isn't more than enough to ensure that people can find and engage with your own articles. While intense SEO may involve complex site restructuring along with a firm (or consultant) that will specializes in this area, generally there are a few simple actions you can take yourself in order to improve your search engine ranking. While we prepare to enter 2019, keyword creation for SEO professionals will become less important. Obtain the training you need in order to stay ahead with expert-led classes on Seo (SEO). Learn how to compose articles, learn how to compose some simple HTML, and the particular learn the very basic concepts of SEO, and you may make money online using SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION and article marketing to obtain your webpage (you only require one from each website) outlined on Page #1 of Search engines (forget Yahoo as well because the rest) and you may get loads of visitors that will web page. If your website will be made up of lower-quality threshold type pages using old SEO-techniques (which more and more branded as spam in 2018) after that Google will not index just about all of the pages as nicely as your website ‘quality score' is probably likely to become negatively impacted. This particular is beyond website content, but great user experience has become a lot more and more important in solid SEO rankings. If you understand you might have VERY lower-quality doorway pages on the site, a person should remove them or think again about your SEO strategy if a person want to rank high within Google for the long phrase. One of the difficulties engines like google and Bing have constantly attempted to overcome is knowing which external links exist exclusively for SEO purposes and which usually links represent a true indicator that the source content is definitely of value to the visitors. 2018 has currently seen some particularly significant SEO paradigm shifts from Mobile First” in order to the ever-advancing Rankbrain machine-learning formula. Content marketing will be a bigger approach which along with SEO forms a part associated with your digital marketing strategy. What You Should Know: Typically the future of search engine optimisation is Semantic SEO. Links plus technical SEO are the biggest pieces of the pie, yet multimedia efforts such as video clip, photos, and podcasts will become the game changer and differentiator in many competitive markets. Occasional, and We do more occasional and not really frequent, usage of keywords plus keyword phrases in these hyperlinks may also help very somewhat in your SEO processes. Excelling at SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION means serving your visitors—not simply search engines. Here arrives the idea of SEO or even search engine optimization. The particular fact remains that SEO solutions assure clients that even in the event that the site will not position among the top search motors like google, the money may not be a waste credited to the refund. Numerous of these so-called 'tweaks' include advertising and link-gathering, and I actually use SEO and article advertising for that. Within 2018, your SEO success will not depend on how well a person optimize your website for Search engines. But if you're brief on money, use these diy SEO ideas to improve your natural rankings. If you choose SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, you're helping Google's spiders in order to crawl and understand your content. The job of a good SEO is to manage the particular optimization of websites to guarantee they gain web site traffic from lookup engines such as Google and Bing. One great bit of content that will ranks well within the lookup results is its beginner's explained SEO. SEOs and even online marketing specialists in basic who are dealing with worldwide Blog9T websites or for online organizations thinking about going international can certainly benefit from attending ISS. We would certainly like to serve you in order to save money and your power by offering affordable SEO solutions to increase link popularity. Work the key phrase into the SEO page name, content header, image, image oll text, etc. SEO equipment provide position monitoring, deep key word research, and crawling through personalized reports and analytics. Certainly, white hat SEO always incorporated creating high quality, unique articles as a prerequisite for getting long-term quality results, this reality hasn't changed. Beyond compensated and organic, there are additional types of SEO and expertise and niches within search motor marketing. It's maybe not an ideal SEO page title because of the multiple distinct services, however the structure might give rise to rankings for some long-tail keyword phrases. SEOs will have to collaborate carefully with designers and developers in order to prioritize technical SEO and functionality search engine ranking factors to achieve a competitive edge. Further SEO Smart hyperlinks allows you to set upward your personal keywords and set associated with matching URLs. In case search engine optimization SEO will not involve ethical practices, the particular website may have low presence on Google as well as be taken out from the Google index. An SEO technique is definitely considered white hat if this conforms to the search engines' guidelines and involves no deceptiveness. As an SEO, which indicates that you have to considerably raise your standards around high quality content and links in purchase to achieve top search motor rankings. Most SEO focuses on customizing for Google's search engine, which usually dominates the overall search marketplace with a share of more than 90%. 7. Social indicators may even become more essential to SEO with time. One Grain is really a electronic marketing agency that helps businesses like Uber, Amazon and Salesforce grow their revenues online making use of SEO plus paid advertising. This will certainly be a growth chance regarding content marketing-specific agencies and the necessary and justified budget range item for in-house SEO groups. SEO includes both technical and creative components necessary to improve rankings, drive visitors, and increase awareness in research engines.

[hricindiaconference2017-blog]

The Disparities in Care- women’s voices and solutions

What matters? Why does it matter? As a birth worker, Lina Duncan has a few non-negotiable values: Dignity, Kindness, Respect, and a blanket of Compassion. Here she shares with us her training and experiences as a midwife, which took her all over the world. Lina will be speaking at the Human Rights in Childbirth conference in Mumbai.

The start of a colourful journey

My journey as a midwife has been an interesting one. As a British citizen, I found myself on a midwifery training course in El Paso, Texas with the New Mexico College of Midwifery. The first birth I observed was in a large, and very busy Mexican hospital, just across the border in Juarez. I will never forget the baby’s hand and arm appearing before its head! That’s where my compassion for this wonderful life-work begun. 

My college fees funded a brilliant initiative in the Philippines, providing simple, safe, clean and respectful clinics for women to birth their babies. This was the place I put all my learned knowledge into action. Learning and growing in the Philippines was substantial. Each family I met there in the simple clinic in the middle of a notorious slum where we lived, and served, taught me something different. Women chose to birth at our clinic for many reasons. Many could not afford the time to leave their families to admit into hospital, didn’t have money to pay for the medicines at the government hospitals, or were afraid of the overcrowded wards that you can get a taste of here.

The taxi drivers would regularly refuse to drive in because of the area’s bad reputation. I learned the language, fell in love with the people, facilitated hundreds of births, often in the quiet of the night.

Fast forward – another chapter begins, in Mumbai, India, the “city of dreams”

In India I have seen many aspects of life, and I still consider myself on a learning journey about this diverse and colourful culture. Along with my colleagues, I set up a private limited business, Mumbai Midwife in 2008 which was the maternity section of a company called Justlink Health Services. 

The vision behind “Justlink” was to provide just and respectful services for all, to bridge links between national and international people, to create a richer experience for all. To some extent it was successful, but without a #MidwifeModelOfCare across India it was a challenge to maintain a successful business model. 

I met some beautiful people, whom I now call my friends and whom I had the honour of attending those precious times surrounding pregnancy, birth, and beyond. I have stepped over the threshold into mansions and my feet have walked barefoot into the most basic of shelters by the railway, or the roadside. Both, and all were a privilege. I believe we experienced ripples of change in the culture of childbirth.

(Photo by Lina from a high rise flat after a home visit to a pregnant woman)

(Photo: Lina Duncan in Mumbai)

You can see the disparities of habitat in these pictures. Strangely, the enormous gaps in wealth did not necessarily contribute to a different birth experience. I saw a lot of similarities and will share some women’s stories here, and at the conference next week. Some of the families I met on the street or in government housing requested me to accompany them to the local government hospitals. Most of the families were already vulnerable with complexities such as domestic violence, substance abuse, temporary shelter as a “home.” Their daily lives are a struggle for survival in all aspects. I have written a birth story of a dear friend for Birthrights UK here.

On several occassions I made SOS phone calls to Doctor Armida Fernandez, who will also be speaking at the HRiC Mumbai Conference when I was with women or babies with particularly complex needs and care was not being provided. Because of her kind and prompt assistance through the decades of her work as a neonatologist, we were able to facilitate life-saving care and solutions to the issues. I don’t know what I would have done without her help!

(photo by Lina of a community of Government housing where a high percentage of women access local government facilities for perinatal care)

One of the ways I tell my own stories and those of others is in poetry. This one represents hundreds of women that I witnessed in Asia. It broke my heart to see people I know, and also complete strangers experiencing care like this. I wrote it for the women who have suffered in silence, for the ones that don’t know how or what to say. It’s not exaggerated. If anything, it’s tamed down a little. I have witnessed worse than this. Globally women are often told “A healthy baby is all that matters”.

How can we say this and ignore her emotions, physical and spiritual experience?  

#BreakTheSilence2  

Look at my face

Please tell me your name

I'm all uncovered and feeling ashamed

I want to move, to squat, to stand

Yet mobility is forbidden in this lonely “labour land”

I can't describe the pain

Of lying flat on my back here

Worse my shame of nakedness

I learned to swallow my tears

I've closed my eyes and closed my brain

I'm not involved in this birthing game

I'm just an object to an end

You haven’t even told me your name

You shout at me to push like I'm doing a poo

I can barely breathe

Feels like I'm breaking in two

As you press down on my belly

I cry out in pain

Fear consumes me

I’m silenced again

You cut me below

I heard the scissors snip

It’s like I'm watching from above

The pain and trauma makes me drift

To survive this hour

I've gone somewhere else in my head

Yet when I hear her sweet cry I'm back on earth instead

Childbirth is a life-changing event and a pinnacle one for each mother, baby, family member involved. It costs very little, financially to be able to incorporate kind and dignified models of care. Often some creative thinking and input is required, especially in busy, urban, institutional settings. In this day and age there is absolutely no reason for women to feel degraded, humiliated and disrespected when they access antenatal care or when they are giving birth.

How can we bring compassion to the birthplace? Surely that's how we would all want to be treated and how we would want our daughters and granddaughters to be cared for?  

#BetterBirths for all

One of the important lessons I learned during my midwifery training was to be kind, be kind, be kind. To provide the best care I needed to learn to listen more, and not just to the spoken words. I find as a care provider, it starts with me. My well-being, my language, my attitude, my responses (including any physical touch)

How are birthing (delivery) rooms designed?

Is the set up for comfort and benefit of the woman or the care provider?

Where are the doors?

Who comes in and out?

Does each woman have privacy?  

Does the woman have a companion she knows?

Does she feel safe?

Can she be mobile if she chooses and adopt positions as per her instinct and choice?

Are procedures explained?

Is there informed consent and informed refusal?

Is the baby kept with its mother?

Is breastfeeding support offered?

Is data recorded and statistics transparent?  

(Photo: Lina Duncan, Mumbai)

Why it matters

Welcoming a new life is a memorable and special occasion

It may only happen once for the mother and it only happens once for each baby.

She will remember it forever.

It affects how she will start her journey as a new parent.

It can affect her relationship with her partner and her new start for each new parenting journey.  

Our planet is in trouble. There are many things we can't change but there are ways in which we can make a difference, in the way we treat women, their partners and their baby/babies in their care surrounding pregnancy, childbirth and the first 1000 days.

As in any sort of “service” it's a healthy partnership that facilitates a good outcome. I recently attended #Womensvoices16, an even set up by Michelle Quashie in London. Women were on the stage speaking of their child birthing experiences, the effect of their experiences on them personally and on their family, etc. We also heard from an obstetrician and the pressures on her, her typical day and the demands from all sides on her time, professional opinion and skills. Speaking and listening to each other, on a regular basis, it's possible to build an infrastructure of services that benefits everyone. 

Michelle Obama recently said “Diversity is not a threat – It makes us who we are.” One of the hopes I have for this Human Rights in Childbirth conference is that as we listen to the presentations and in the conversations, in-between, we share our stories, our failures, our learning tools, our diversity and bring a collaborative change to childbirth, both nationally and globally.

The disparities in wealth do not necessarily mean that a woman and her baby have a better or worse experience giving birth to their babies. How is this happening? 

Here is an example from a private, expensive hospital:  

She came from Asia and was fit and healthy. She chose a doctor and a hospital closest to home for convenience despite knowing that she probably would not get what she wanted on her birth plan. She started the process physiologically (no induction). She had many internal examinations without much discussion/ consent and eventually her waters were ruptured during one of those exams to “speed the process.” She didn’t give consent for this. Her eyes pleaded with me for them to stop but she spoke no words. During the birth, she was told “You will never be able to push this baby out. It's too big. We are going to have to help you.” A ventouse was applied. Her doctor pulled on that whilst the anaesthetist gave fundal pressure from above, which was so strong it left a bruise. A healthy baby is presented. Again, it was stated, “You would not have been able to do this yourself.”

Job done.

Everyone smiled and carried on as usual. I felt sick and put on a brave face and voice for the sake of the parents. How do you think women feel after an experience like this? Does it affect their breastfeeding and early parenting attachment and confidence? When women are told, or given the message that their bodies don’t work, it can create anxiety, lack of confidence, an inability to breastfeed or care for their newborn. Some women and their birthing partners have symptoms of PTSD such as flashbacks of the traumatic birth experience. 

This is not okay.

This is one reason that there is a cry for midwifery care in India. Women are searching for what they want and choosing their own journey, albeit a challenge. It’s always worth going the extra mile for this major, life-changing event. Even if the plans and dreams don’t work out as expected, when the woman and her partner / family are in the centre of the picture, making the decisions and agreeing to, asking for, or refusing treatment. 

That’s what matters. 

Woman/family-centered care & midwives

I was honoured to welcome this little girl as her mother Kanika birthed her in the presence of her husband, brother, sister and mother in her own home. You can ask her yourself if you attend the conference. She is the event manager from the Birth India team.

(Photo credit: Neha Chopra for Out Of Focus pictures, Twitter: #oofpictures @oofpictures @foreverjugni)

I believe there are solutions. Similar issues and creative ideas for improvement are also being shared around the world.

Rethinking the role of midwives in the region and forming an independent Midwifery unit in India would benefit everyone. Autonomous midwives provide quality of care, continuity of care when possible, have lower caesarean rates and less interventions such as instrumental birth. Midwives are trained to facilitate “normal” birth and to refer complex issues to a doctor. 

I have worked alongside many doctors in India and have used the collaborative model that works so well for all concerned. I’m looking forward to the Asia launch of the Maternal Lancet Series and to the inspiring conversations that are going to begin/ carry on from experts who have travelled across India and the globe to share hope for Midwifery in India and better births for all, for generations to come.

Lina Duncan is returning to India from London, UK where she is pursuing further education in Midwifery, to speak at Human Rights in Childbirth Conference, Mumbai. She loves to wear saris, eat Pani Puri, watch Bollywood films, visit her friends on the street and catch up with the families she was a midwife or a doula for, in Mumbai, Pune and Nashik. Lina is also part of the Conference Planning Team as an active member of Birth India for the last 9 years.

Lina’s website: mumbaimidwife.com

Don’t miss Lina at the Human Rights in Childbirth Conference in Mumbai, India!!

Sign this petition to make it mandatory that Indian hospitals declare their c-section rates!

Check out Human Rights in Childbirth on Facebook.

Ask questions, find support and information at Birth India’s Facebook Support Group.

[pathetic-gamer]

Ashen Wolves and who they main in Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Yuri: Sheik (Won at EVO in 1181. *playing OOT 10 years ago* "ok um who's this guy. they're so gemder.")

Balthus: Ken (has been using manual inputs all along but doesn't actually realize it. Constantly says they should put Chun-Li in the game)

Constance: Zelda, no explanation needed

Hapi: Piranha Plant (at first did it just to be contrary but then realized it's actually very fun to play as, so now she does it unironically and is pretty good)

Blue Lions / Golden Deer / Black Eagles / Church of Seiros