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Are you considering a home birth or birthing at a free standing birth center? In our current culture, it seems that delivering your baby at a hospital is the default - but out of hospital birth can be a really great option for many people. There is a lot of misconception out there about home birth and midwives and I would love to go over some of the most common questions that people have.
So you are ready to find your Mary Poppins but the process seems a bit daunting or you simply don’t know where to start? Let me help you with that. What you need to begin with is a solid idea of who your perfect nanny would be.
The first 3 months after birth, also known as the Fourth Trimester, is a time filled with lots of change for both baby and parents. Support in this time is key to physical recovery of the birthing parent, emotional adjustment and everyone becoming comfortable in their new roles.
The reality is that the person you will choose for your maternity care (and where you choose to birth your baby) can make a huge impact on the type of care you receive, your labor and birth experience (including the choices and options you are offered), and your overall satisfaction with your birth.
We know you want to do what you can to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby! Eating right is one piece we have some control over in the process. I recently sat down with Judy Simon, MS, RDN, CD, CHES, FAND to talk about nutrition in pregnancy.
New parents deserve support. Postpartum is a time when folks need their community. We can all help, sometimes just in little ways. This past week, The Mom Network pulled off quite a beautiful trifecta of support.
This empathy link is the secret weapon of an otherwise somewhat helpless newborn. They cannot feed themselves, or care for their needs except to compel another to do so. That loving bond, and desire to care for your child is reinforced every time they cry and are comforted by your response.
Many partners feel uncertain about how to help, feeling that if they can’t take the pain away, there’s nothing they can do to help. So doulas can help give direction as to HOW to emotionally support the person in labor, since labor itself is often intensely emotionally trying.
“My favorite part of being a doula is seeing the immense strength and power that the birthing parent demonstrates in the act of giving birth.” “I especially love seeing the development of back-and-forth communication between parents and their babies that leads to growth and learning.”
There is no easy birth. A planned VBAC- with babies that come early and can’t tolerate labor; a VBAC with doubts and doubts and doubts; a planned C-section hoping to feel heard, respected and understood. As a doula, I’m helping people through the mental struggles of birth- the pain, the decisions, the doubts, the guilt people put on themselves. When I can do well, I help people feel positive about their birth.
Making change at the level needed to affect the unconscionable health disparities experienced by women of color is a truly significant challenge. If one is not reading about and hearing this information or interacting in a direct way on a regular basis, it can be put out of mind. That doesn’t mean people stopped dying, it just means we stopped noticing. Be willing to keep learning about and talking about uncomfortable topics.
Survivors can feel additional stress and triggers during the postpartum time, potentially resulting in negative self-image, difficulty with bonding and issues surrounding breastfeeding.
When going through a big transition, it’s important to take time for self-care. But many of you may not have much experience in needing to make time and take effort at self-care.
The early months of having a new baby (or babies) at home are often isolating and monotonous, yet family, friends and others around the new parents expect them to exude only joy and happiness about having a new baby. Groups for new parents can help normalize this juxtaposition of feelings and experiences and create a community around this new role.
Think of the work of putting together your birth preferences as more of a thought exercise of learning about what is most important to you and your partner. Of course a healthy mother and a healthy baby are first on everyone’s priorities. But what else?
You don’t need to necessarily say the right thing or pretend you know what to do, but don’t avoid the grieving family. They may not be able to express much gratitude for your presence, but your loving kindness will give comfort.
Many people are unfamiliar with the role of the postpartum doula, and what the training and education of becoming a doula looks like. Today’s blog post is intended to give new parents some insights about the work involved in becoming a postpartum doula, before that person walks in the door to support their family, as well as shine some light on the process for those considering this career path.
Not all websites and blogs provide quality information. Remember- anyone can write a blog and anyone can sound like an authority, particularly if they write well and can make a pretty website.
The first couple of weeks with a newborn can be quite the blur, peppered with joy, anxiety, exhaustion, and little sleep and a lot of parents find themselves wondering where the sleep fairy has gone with her bag of sleepy dust.
I love this recipe because it fits in to postpartum real life quite well, with the regular and frequent interruptions of babies, it can be put together over a period of time as one stops to tend to their child. It’s also really easy to grab a bit of bliss bits one handed while holding baby or nursing, and gets some healthy food in to you. And finally—it just tastes good- excellent even when rolled in to yogurt!
Many parents, despite the warnings of the American Academy of Pediatricians, find they bring their baby into their bed with them at some point-- often out of desperation to get some sleep when their child refuses to sleep alone. But this isn't always done in a thoughtful, safe manner.
We need each other. People are social beings and the acts of one person towards another, whether in the direction of compassion or anger make a difference.
This was an Empowered Birth. They were able to make the best decisions they could for their family, with the circumstances that presented themselves. This birth, even with it’s unexpected turn, was a chance to heal.
Taking childbirth classes is often low on the priority list and may even get bumped off in light of more demanding items. I would like to suggest that you move this line item up to the top.
In 1970, the C-Section rate nationally was just 5.5%, in 2014 that number had risen to 32.2%. That's a staggering increase. Are there really that many more people needing to have their baby born surgically?
If a baby is born premature or with some disability, we somehow blame ourselves—but it doesn’t necessarily mean there was anything that was done wrong.
What are the most important questions for families to ask before choosing which postpartum doula to hire?
Does the doula have the skills to help with the aspects of support you are most interested in?.....
Choosing the right person to provide support at such a sensitive and important time in your life is not so hard as one might think—trust your intuition. Here are a few doula interview questions to get you started informing that gut check
Yep—I’ve never met a pregnant person who preferred a three day induction over an efficient eight hour, “let’s do this” sort of birth. But most people seem to think there’s little they can do to help ensure they have a smooth labor.
We want you to know that we are monitoring the development of the COVID-19 outbreak in our area and taking safety precautions to help prevent the spread of illness to our clients, their families and the team at Calm & Confident. We understand that people are very concerned and this is a fast changing situation.