Archive for ‘childbirth’

March 4th, 2011

Healthy Birth Practice #2: Walk, Move Around, and Change Positions Throughout Labor

Healthy Birth Practice #2: Walk, Move Around, and Change Positions Throughout Labor

excerpted from Lamaze Healthy Birth Practices, lamaze.org

Walking, moving around, and changing positions throughout labor make the birth of your baby easier. It is the best way for you to use gravity to help your baby move down and to increase the size and shape of your pelvis to make it easier for your baby to fit and rotate as necessary. Movement helps you respond to pain in an active way and shortens the length of the first stage of labor (Lawrence, Lewis, Hofmeyr, Dowswell, & Styles, 2009).

In contrast to what you see on popular television shows in the United States, pictures throughout history and across cultures show women in many different positions for labor. Many hospitals today provide birth balls, rocking chairs, tubs/showers, and safe places to walk in order to encourage women to stay out of bed during labor. A pilot study was recently conducted at two Canadian hospitals where women in labor were randomly assigned to a regular labor room or to an “ambient room.” In the ambient room, the standard hospital labor bed was removed, and additional equipment was added to promote relaxation, mobility, and a calm atmosphere. The evaluations from women assigned to the ambient room were positive; they spent 50% or less time laboring in bed and reduced the need for artificial oxytocic infusions (Hodnett, Stremler, Weston, & McKeever, 2009).

Activity during labor may distract you from discomfort, gives you a sense of greater personal freedom, and provides a way to release muscle tension. In fact, women who use movement in labor report that it is an effective method of relieving pain (Storton, 2007). Restricting women’s movement may result in worse birth outcomes and may decrease women’s satisfaction with their birth experiences (Storton, 2007).

Interested in the whole article? Read on here

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February 15th, 2011

Healthy Birth Practice #1: Let Labor Begin on Its Own

excerpted from Lamaze Healthy Birth Practices, lamaze.org

Healthy Birth Practice #1: Let Labor Begin on Its Own

Induction of labor—starting labor artificially—is one of the most controversial issues in maternity care today. In many hospitals, labor is induced only for medical reasons, and care providers follow strict guidelines. Yet, in other hospitals, women have elective inductions—those done for convenience rather than for medical reasons. Many women are confused about when induction is truly necessary. Are there problems with induction? What are the benefits of letting labor begin on its own? When does it make sense to induce, and when is it better to wait? What is safest for you and your baby?

Your body is perfectly designed to birth your baby. During the last weeks of pregnancy, your body and your baby prepare for birth. For a first-time mother, the baby often “drops down” into the pelvis in the weeks before birth. The cervix tilts forward and gradually begins to soften. Over a period lasting from a few days to a few weeks, you may (or may not) feel irregular contractions that help your cervix gradually thin and, perhaps, even dilate a few centimeters.

During the last part of your pregnancy, your baby’s lungs mature, and he puts on a protective layer of fat, taking on the characteristic chubbiness of a newborn. Critical brain development continues through 41 weeks of gestation. Scientists estimate that there is a five-fold increase in the volume of white matter in the fetal brain from 35 to 41 weeks gestation. Researchers are still investigating how the brain continues to grow after the baby is born, compared to how the brain grows when the baby is still inside his mother (Kinney, 2006).

When the baby’s organs are fully mature and he is ready for life outside his mother’s uterus, scientists believe the baby’s body releases a tiny amount of a substance that signals the mother’s hormones to begin labor (Condon, Pancharatnam, Faust, & Mendelson, 2004). The surge of maternal hormones that accompanies full-term gestation and spontaneous vaginal birth appears to help the baby prepare for the transition from life inside the womb to outside and, especially, for breathing with his lungs for the first time (Jain & Eaton, 2006). Even if you know ahead of time that your baby needs to be delivered by cesarean surgery, the best way to tell that your baby is healthy enough to be born is to let labor begin on its own.

Interested in the whole article? Read on here

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January 16th, 2011

A Baby Comes Out…. There??

What if you were pregnant, but didn’t even know how you got that way? What if you were giving birth, but didn’t know where the baby came out?
Imagine going to the hospital to have your baby, but having no idea what lay ahead, and having no loving friend or family member to help you through.

Most of us do have the basic information about pregnancy and childbirth. We know how the baby got there, and how it will make his/her way out. We live in a culture where women are open about their bodies, share their birthing stories, and pass on the latest information and advice. But what if you come from a different culture, that does not talk openly about sex, pregnancy, or birth?

I recently spoke to a woman who came from such a background and went through her first pregnancy and birth just as I described, having no idea how she got pregnant or how a woman gave birth. Her partner wasn’t allowed in the hospital room, and the whole experience was extremely traumatic for her. She is now doing things differently with her daughters, hoping to create an atmosphere of openness and respect.

Not everyone has access to much needed information or a network of support. Many don’t know that doulas are available to provide information, navigate the many childbirth options, and provide physical and emotional support during labor and birth.

For those just beginning your pregnancy journeys, whatever your background and culture, here are my top 3 ways to enhance your experience:

  1. Informed consent. Ask questions. Your care providers will do their best to take care of you and your baby, but they don’t have all the answers. Understand the risks and alternatives to any procedures being suggested, and choose what you feel is best.
  2. Support. Having a doula at your birth is a great way to ensure you have the support you need at the most exciting yet vulnerable time of your life. If you can’t hire a doula, have a partner, friend, or family member there who is on your side, can remind you of your choices and options and has learned a few comfort techniques to help you through.
  3. Childbirth Education. If you can, sign up for childbirth education classes. There is so much you don’t know you don’t know! There are many different classes offered. Choose one that fits your personality and budget. If you can’t afford the class of your choice, most local hospitals offer free or low cost classes that will give you the basics.

Most importantly… don’t forget to stop and marvel… a baby comes out there!

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November 17th, 2010

Childbirth: pay it forward

As a doula, I give childbirth information to expectant parents.  It’s what I feel called to do, and it’s what I’m paid for.  Need to know more about natural childbirth?  I can help!  Having to deal with less than supportive support people?  Call me up!

It’s rewarding to help new blossoming families.  But one of my best pay it forward moments came from closer at home, just the other day, when my young adult daughter sent me a text.

She’s always been supportive of what I do, but generally uninterested in birth and babies.  And since I’m glad she’s waiting before being interested in those things, I’ve never pushed information on her.  But then it happened, as if by magic – and hey, maybe that’s what magic is.

“I’m going to have a vertical birth”

Now just try to tell me that isn’t a beautiful moment in a doula’s life.   My daughter was watching a documentary (The Business of Being Born, highly recommended if you haven’t already seen it) for a University class.  And suddenly what I do seemed interesting!  And relevant!  And we’ve had some lovely conversations about childbirth.

Whatever you do, whatever your passion –  Share a few tidbits about it with those you love.  Pay it forward.

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March 16th, 2010

Birth Days: springing forward into life

A few days ago we “sprang forward” into Daylight Saving Time.  Only I haven’t been springing anywhere since.  I’m tired.  I swear at the alarm clock in the morning.  I crawl out of bed complaining and grumbling that I should be allowed another hour (or more) of sleep.  Why doesn’t work just start an hour later?  Why should I be punished this way?

This morning, 2 days after the time change, I somehow dragged myself out of bed at the usual time.  Once I’d spent a few minutes freshening up and allowed my thoughts to turn to something other than my misery, I got to thinking about  ……. babies.

What is their birth day like for our sweet little babies?  Birth has got to be the ultimate time change.   Do they feel punished?  Would they swear at us if they could?  Some babies cry a bit, a few a lot, but most are immediately quieted by their mamas and papas, embraced, fed, loved, cooed at.  And they respond by quieting, watching, taking it all in so openly.  It’s remarkable really.  The zen-like quality that babies possess, the acceptance to all that is so new.  What a huge leap these babies make, and how beautifully they take it, all things considered.

I then considered that maybe there is a lesson in these thoughts for me, remembering how I angrily fumbled for the snooze on the alarm just a few minutes before.  But no, I didn’t want to go there.  So instead I thought about what we can all do to help our babies’ births be as beautiful as possible – for them.  Surely their transition from inside the womb to the great big world can be less unpleasant than my transition to DST.  I am convinced that the steps we take to create a calm, comfortable and peaceful environment for our babies’ births can make a huge difference in their transition.  So, whenever possible, let’s take those steps.  Lower the lights, quiet the voices, put on soft music if you like it and your baby is used to hearing it from the womb, and lots of skin-to-skin contact after birth.

What a beautiful transition it can be.  Now that has me thinking that tonight I could take a warm bath, with candles and music.  And then get to bed an hour earlier.  Bring it on, DST!

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March 11th, 2010

Pregnant? Know your birth options

Get educated!

The more information you have, the more likely you will be able to have the birth experience you want.  Know your options for childbirth, and then you can make the best decisions for you and your baby.   A good way to gain the information you need is to hire a doula.  Doulas are trained labor companions who can help inform you of your birth options while also offering nurturing support.   Every pregnant woman deserves to have a clear understanding of her childbirth options and to have a doula who honors the choices she makes for the birth of her baby.

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March 8th, 2010

Growing a Baby: enjoy your pregnancy

Pregnancy is not always easy.   I remember experiencing nausea, heartburn, and swollen ankles.  It seemed like aliens had taken over my body.  And gremlins had taken over my mood.

And yet I look back at my pregnancies as some of the best times of my life, moments that I will remember forever.  And I catch myself smiling.  The day I found out I was with child, hearing my baby’s heartbeat for the first time, feeling those first fluttering movements, and all those baby hiccups.

If you are pregnant, be sure to tune into these precious moments.  Feel confident and powerful.  You are growing a baby!  That is a miracle, and it’s so much fun.  Remember, joyful mommies grow joyful babies.

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March 5th, 2010

Fear in Childbirth: are you afraid of labor?

We’ve all heard the horror stories about childbirth from well meaning friends and family.   Perhaps you’ve even experienced a difficult or painful labor yourself.  Watching some of the popular cable TV shows about birth is enough to scare most of us!  If you are pregnant now and worrying about the pain you may feel in labor, take some time to learn what you can do to have a less stressful birth.

Hire a doula!

Studies have shown that the presence and support of a professional labor assistant (doula) can:

  • Shorten Labor by 25%
  • Reduce the overall cesarean rate by 50%
  • Decrease the need for pain medication by 30%
  • Limit the requests of epidurals by 50%
  • Decrease the need for forceps by 40%

You may find yourself less frightened if you know you will not be alone during labor. Choose caregivers and attendants who will remain with you throughout the birth process, and will provide you with the information you need and the nurturing support you desire.

Turn off the TV – and your friends and relatives.

I am not a fan of most of the cable TV birthing shows.  They do not depict what I know as “normal” birth.  Most feature a c/section or induction every episode, often making women feel that being strapped to a bed with no choice or control during their birth experience is “safest.”  Know your childbirth options, choose the ones that work for you, and then tune out the friends, relatives, and television shows that do not support your views.  Make sure everyone invited to your labor is supportive of the choices you have made, and surround yourself with people who provide emotional support and encouragement.

Hypnosis!

Using hypnosis techniques during labor has proven benefits that can lead to an easier and more comfortable birth.  Consider taking Hypnobabies or HypnoBirthing classes and hiring a hypno-doula to assist you.  The body’s natural response to stress, anxiety and fear can cause the uterine muscle to work to constrict the cervix, which can then cause unproductive contractions and increasing pain.  Prevent the release of stress hormones by being prepared for labor and using relaxation techniques such as those used in hypnosis to stay calm and relaxed.

Overcoming the fear of labor is the first step towards a natural birth.  Remember that childbirth is a natural and beautiful process!  I hope you can look back on the day your baby was born and feel both fierce and strong, as well as nurtured and protected.

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