I received a comment via another blog asking “given my limited situation, can I really expect to have a great birth today?” (homebirth, midwife, and doula were all not options for the person asking the question). I think the answer is a qualified “yes.” The question really got me thinking about ways to help yourself [...]
Archive for the ‘maternity care’ Category
Birth Center
Posted in Resources, birth, maternity care, tagged birth, birth centers on April 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
There is one freestanding birth center in Missouri. It is about 1.5 hours from Rolla in Columbia. Though it can be a challenge to ride in a car while in labor, I have had quite a few clients who have chosen to birth their babies at this wonderful birth center. My own first baby was [...]
Honesty in Birth Classes
Posted in Birth Thoughts, birth, birth classes, birth education, maternity care, natural birth, tagged birth classes, birth preparation, childbirth education on January 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I just wrote a quick post at ICEA regarding honesty in birth preparation. I find it a difficult line to walk sometimes—to encourage confidence, trust, and joy in childbearing, while being straightforward about the challenges couples may face when seeking a natural birth experience in a hospital. I always encourage couples to “assume good intent” [...]
Postpartum Reading List
Posted in Maternal health, Resources, maternity care, mothers, tagged postpartum, suggested reading on September 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Suggested Reading—Postpartum
After the Baby’s Birth, by Robin Lim. This book is very holistic in approach and is one of my very favorite postpartum reads. It offers such gems as, “you’re postpartum for the rest of your life” (which some people have said they feel like is depressing, but I find a tremendously empowering statement!) and [...]
Do Epidurals Impact Breastfeeding?
Posted in Birth Thoughts, babies, birth, birth education, breastfeeding, maternity care, mothers, normal birth, tagged birth, birth classes, breastfeeding, childbirth education, epidurals on May 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
There was a question recently on a list I belong to about the impact of epidurals on breastfeeding. The person asking the question had been told by several hospital based childbirth educators that epidurals do not “cross the placenta’ and thus do not have an impact on the baby. Since this is an issue of [...]
Top Five Birth Plan…
Posted in Birth Thoughts, Tools, birth, birth classes, birth education, giving birth, maternity care, normal birth, tagged birth, birth classes, birth education, birth plans, childbirth, childbirth education, giving birth, hospital birth, natural birth, normal birth, planning for birth, unmedicated hospital birth on April 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Birth plans are a topic often discussed in birth classes. There are SO many things that could be put onto a birth plan that sometimes it is difficult to sort out the most important. I encourage couples in my classes to complete two different “values clarification” exercises to help them include those things on their [...]
50 Ways videos…
Posted in Resources, birth, maternity care on March 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A friend of mine from Independent Childbirth put together some creative and interesting videos on YouTube. One is called 50 Ways to Scare a Mother and another is called 50 Ways to Birth More Safely. Enjoy!
Benefits of Active Birth
Posted in Birth Thoughts, active birth, birth, evidence based care, maternity care, normal birth, tagged active birth, birth, evidence based care, maternity care, normal birth on February 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
From Janet Balaskas’ classic book, Active Birth:
“When birth is active–
There is less need for drugs.
Discomfort and pain are less.
The uterus functions better, so artificial stimulants are not usually necessary.
Labors are shorter.
The supply of oxygen to the baby is improved.
There is less need for forceps or vacuum extraction.
The secretion of hormones that regulate the whole process [...]
Overused & Underused Procedures
Posted in birth, birth education, maternity care, normal birth, tagged birth, normal birth, birth education, maternity care, labor on February 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
My previous post about a good experience and a healthy baby as well as reading a relevant section in the wonderful new Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy & Birth book I’m reviewing made me want to post about this topic. There are a multitude of common procedures that are overused in hospitals and that when used [...]
Birth Experience or Healthy Baby?
Posted in babies, birth, birth education, giving birth, maternity care, mothers, tagged babies, birth, birth education, giving birth, maternity care, mothers on February 20, 2008 | 1 Comment »
As you may have read in many blogs in the birth world, ACOG issued a press release this month opposing the choice of homebirth for women. One of the quotes towards the end of the release, “Choosing to deliver a baby at home, however, is to place the process of giving birth over the goal [...]
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