Birth Circle Tonight!

Birth Circle Tonight! From 7-9 p.m. at my home!
We will observe a mom "wearing" her baby, talk about babywearing & talk about cloth diapers/nappies, & whatever else comes up with all the mommies!

Come if you can! You will be sure to enjoy yourself.

Snacks/beverages provided; children welcome, too!

After this week, the BC will be on the 1st MONDAY of each month, starting in FEB! Mark your calendars!

Postpartum Doulas & Dads

I am training to be a postpartum doula, which means that I am studying to get certified, though no certification is needed, btw... I found this interesting article on how Postpartum Doulas can help the dads transition to new fatherhood, as well as the mom.

excerpt:

"
The importance of the father.s involvement and support during the weeks following birth
cannot be overstated. During this time he truly becomes a parent, getting to know this
tiny yet complete person who has entered his family. The doula can ease this
introduction, helping the father to discover all he can about his baby, as well as
developing his own concept of himself as a parent. In addition, the doula.s support can
help parents to adjust their own relationship, moving forward to enhance their previous
life together as a couple who are now parents.
The role of the doula is to help the family experience success."

Can Birth Affirmations Prevent C-Sections?

Can Birth Affirmations Help Prevent Cesarean Section?
Birth affirmations are quotes or sayings that you can repeat to yourself before and during birth in order to lift your spirits and give yourself encouragement. Using birth affirmations may be one way to prevent cesarean section.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/576269/can_birth_affirmations_help_prevent.html

Thoughts From This Doula

I am thinking about all the mothers I have been with in the past & counted up 2 girls out of 7 births! Wow! Lots of boys!
AND
I have 3 clients that are expecting & only one of them is expecting a girl...
hmmm...

Also, still lovin', lovin' , lovin' my job! I cannot even call it a "job"... I suppose it is a "calling" more like. Supporting a woman at such an intimate, sometimes scary time is such a privilege to me. I eat it all up like a sno-cone in July... :()) (yes corny, I know, okay?!?!)

I am opening a new shop on etsy.com tomorrow. I will be selling my Birth/ Pregnancy Affirmations & many other things that are printable, until I get brave enough to get craftier than I am now. . . May take some kind of miraculous change in how my brain works, but I await it patiently... lol Eventually, I will brave the cloth diaper world, as is my dream to open a diaper service in my area... I will make cloth diapers, liners, covers, etc. I will also be making breastpads, burp cloths, reuseable pads, etc.
Feedback?

A Lotus Birth

I have now learned something new... Lotus Births.

I did not know this existed till about 2 weeks ago, when I read the term online. I did not know what it was & vowed to research it, finding this page: Lotus Birth Questions

Very interesting, in that the placenta is left attached to the cord, which is left attached to the baby, until it falls off naturally!! Usually in 2-3 days! That is signifigantly shorter than the 1-2 weeks to wait for the severed, dried-up cord to fall off!

It is also referred to as "non-severence". It seemingly has health benefits, which I do not doubt for a second. The article linked above says that it is "cosmetic" & for the parents' convenience to remove the placenta.

If I had another child, I will most surely leave the cord attached until after the placenta is expulsed. No question!

I like learning all kinds of things about birth & thought I would share this with the bloggy world.

Thanks for reading!

Got Boppy?

Why Every New Mom Should Own a Boppy Pillow
There are many products that help new mom's out, but there is just nothing better than the Boppy pillow for any new mom or her baby.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/187911/why_every_new_mom_should_own_a_boppy.html

A Pain in the Cervix

This article says from Science Daily :
Labor Pain Comes From the Cervix
quoted from article:
"Childbirth is painful, yet scientists are still somewhat in the dark about what actually causes the pain. A new doctoral thesis from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet now shows where this pain comes from and opens the way to the development of improved methods of pain relief."
Read on...

Orgasmic Birth on 20/20 TONIGHT!

Some women even say that instead of agony, childbirth can be ecstasy.

"...the goal is not necessarily an actual orgasm."
"I hope women watching and men watching don't feel that what we're saying is, every woman should have an orgasmic birth," she said. "Our message is that women can journey through labor and birth in all different ways. And there are a lot more options out there, to make this a positive and pleasurable experience."

Watch the story Friday on "20/20" at 10 p.m. ET

Orgasmic Birth, January 2nd, 2009... that's tonight!

Judging Progress in Labor

Dilation is not the only thing happening when a mother is laboring to deliver her child.
She can take weeks to dilate or hours. So, that is not always a good marker.
More importantly is the position of the baby in relation to the cervix (the stations) & how "ripe" the cervix actually is. (effacement)
Even more important is the emotional "map" of labor.
Follow this link at the Birthing Naturally website to see what emotional checkpoints that a support person can learn to recognize, as to how labor is progressing through each of the stages of labor.

• Pre-Labor
• Early Labor
• Active Labor
• Transition
• Pushing

Virtual Labor

Only one who believes in women's bodies to birth & who may or may not be pregnant would enjoy this, but I thoroughly did. This tool is based on natural birth.

I love this Virtual Labor online of "what-to-do" and of what you CAN do when labor starts.
At each stop in the labor you will be required to make a decision about how to respond. The next part of your labor will be randomly selected based on the way you choose to handle the current situation. There is no right or wrong answer.

New Breastfeeding Positions

New Breastfeeding Positions that mothers do not widely know.
I, personally tried them both when nursing my first son, without knowing I had found something not many moms knew... I was just using "trial & error", when my baby was fussing endlessly!



Whether you have already had a baby or are anxiously awaiting your firstborn, if you are breastfeeding or plan on doing so, you've probably heard of the standard breastfeeding positions: the cradle hold, the cross cradle hold, the football hold, the side-lying position. But there's a few more breastfeeding positions you might not have heard about, and these can be just as effective, if not more so, than the standard four.

The positions: Straddle & Prone

PRONE:
The Australian hold, the instinctive hold, the skin-to-skin position, the self-attachment position, uphill feeding, posture feeding – these are all terms that refer to one basic kind of nursing style – a prone position where Mom lies flat or nearly flat on her back (on a couch, on a bed, in a reclining chair) with Baby lying flat on his tummy on top of Mom. This position allows Baby to self-attach easily at the breast.
If you're worried about your baby being able to breathe while lying face-down on top of you, don't be. "Being prone is fine, as long as Baby is lying on Mom and no one is holding his head down," Watson Genna says. "Babies have very good antigravity reflexes. When they are lying on their bellies on Mom, they can lift up their heads well. This is part of their normal 'getting on the breast themselves' behaviors."

You can use this prone position with any age baby, but Garber Mendelson says it is particularly useful for moms of immediate newborns.

Read on for more info here, on the Breastfeed.com website. It has more info on the Straddle position, which is baby sitting on mama's knee, with pillows under his/her bum if they are not long/tall enough to reach breast.

"Epidurals Can Stall Labor" Study

New Danish Study says:
"The vaginal examinations at the woman's admission to the labour ward provided several prognostic indicators of dystocia later in labour. Expecting a child with a high birth weight and the use of epidural analgesia were also associated with the risk of (labor) dystocia, the latter association being particularly strong."

We know labor dystocia is a risk of epidurals, but to see yet another study on it keeps us confident in the-less-interference-the better policy.

Birth Circle next Monday!

Hi Friends,

I am hosting the Staunton/Waynesboro/Augusta County Birth Circle next Monday evening at my home in Staunton. It is at 7 p.m. Stay as long as you'd like up 'till 9 p.m. Will you come?

Share stories, experiences, suggestions, or just come to listen.

We will have some goodies, beverages & bring the kids, too!

Fun, fun!

Pelvic Pain in Pregnancy

I am writing today about Pelvic Pain in pregnancy, as a client of mine has been struggling with this for a while.

Specifically, I am thinking, as she mentioned to me, that it may be SPD (Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction) It occurs when the symphysis pubis joint becomes sufficiently relaxed to allow significant 'gapping' or instability in the pelvic girdle.

SPD is a result of a combination of factors:

• an altered pelvic load
• hormonal and biochemical alterations causing ligament laxity and,
• a weakening of pelvic and core musculature during pregnancy
  

You may have SPD if you have one or more of the following:

• localised to your symphysis pubis, (see pic) including shooting, stabbing and burning pains, grinding and audible clicking sensations and/or persistent discomfort.
  
• Pain radiating to lower abdomen, groin, perineum, thigh, leg and back
  
• Difficulty in walking, climbing up or down stairs, rising up from a chair, impaired weight bearing activities, e.g. standing on one leg or lifting/parting the legs, turning in bed, getting out of the car
  
  

Here are some things pregnant women with SPD can do to minimize their discomfort.

Make a "nest" of pillows for a more restful sleep!

• Avoid activities which cause discomfort, e.g. lifting, carrying, prolonged standing, walking and strenuous exercise


• Rest more frequently in a position which is comfortable, such as:
  lying with your knees bent and supported
  lying on your side with a pillow between your knees
  sitting with your knees slightly apart
  avoid sitting with legs crossed.


• Mild to moderate exercise, including abdominal wall and pelvic floor exercises, is acceptable.


• Avoid straddling and squatting movements, which means moving with knees apart (hip abduction), when getting in and out of car.


• Try to keep knees together, while
  getting in and out of bed.


• When moving in bed, try to keep legs together particularly when moving from side to side.


• Do not push with one foot as this will worsen the pain.


• Push equally with both feet to move about the bed.
  
• Adopt good posture, avoid bending and twisting.
  
• If swimming, avoid the breast-stroke with the legs kicking outwards.
  
• Ice packs can be used for five minutes at a time or an ice cube can be rubbed on the symphysis pubis for 20–30 seconds

Wear a maternity support belt for maximum stability.

The height of fashion, all the moms are wearing them!! :)

Most of this post material taken from: http://mcr.coreconcepts.com.sg/what-is-symphysis-pubis-dysfunction-spd/

Cheatin' at Birth Classes...

How to cheat & NOT take a birth class; not generally recommended, but I have attended more than one set of parents that had never taken a class & was happy with the outcome at the birth of their child.

• First, look into birth doula support during labor. I’ve met women who had no birth know-how going into their birth; who didn’t read books, who did not take classes, and still had a great birth because they had doula support.


• Read one or two of these:
  Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way: the Revised Edition
  Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth
  Mothering Magazine’s Having a Baby, Naturally: The Mothering Magazine Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth
  Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation
  Watch these videos:
  Birth As We Know It
  A large collection of natural birth DVDs
  


• If you are interested in childbirth in general, but not sure that totally natural is right for you, try these resources:
  The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth - this is my favorite general childbirth and pregnancy book. This book is not only about natural childbirth, but you should be aware of all your options. Knowing about medical interventions in labor and birth is very important,even if you want a natural birth. The author, Kitzinger errs on the side of natural is best when possible, but always shows you all your options.
  The Birth Book: Everything You Need to Know to Have a Safe and Satisfying Birth
  Pregnancy Childbirth and the Newborn: The Complete Guide
  


• Watch this video:
  Laugh and Learn About Childbirth - covers Lamaze based childbirth technique.