i’m helping another wonderful mama and papa bring their little one into the world today. I’m feeling so incredibly thankful and excited.

in honor of this event, i wanted to share a few birth related items i’ve come across this week.

I found two interesting articles on Marvelous Kiddo:

the first is an article from science daily about new research findings in regards to limits of gestation length in humans. it’s long been theorized that cephalo-pelvic relations (i.e. baby’s head size in comparison to mom’s pelvis) contributed to the end of the mother’s pregnancy term. new evidence shows the end of gestation has more to do with metabolic rate. full article here.

the second article is about Oxytocin. Oxytocin is a delightful hormone that plays a big part in labor and birth, and a whole lot more in life for that matter. Oxytocin stimulates uterine contractions. It also helps mom get an endorphin rush post contraction helping mom cope with labor pain AND oxytocin helps establish momma + baby bond immediately after birth. what a wonderful little hormone! Pitocin is the synthetic form of oxytocin that is sometimes administered during labor to start and/or strengthen contractions. Beware – evidence shows the brain doesn’t react to pitocin the same way as oxytocin naturally occurring in the body. mom may not get the beneficial endorphin rush post contraction and it can make contractions longer and stronger than would be in natural labor. full article here.

and i saved my favorite for last. I snagged this study summary from Mary Catherine Hamelin Birth + Family Arts. The study shows evidence that 100% of women benefit from supported birth:

Overall, women who received continuous labor support were less likely to experience:
•    Epidural or other regional analgesia •    Any analgesia/anesthesia, including epidurals and opioids •    Birth with vacuum extraction or forceps •    Birth by cesarean •    Dissatisfaction or a negative rating of their experience. The authors concluded that all women should have support throughout labor and birth.

the last two lines are the most important. it doesn’t matter your chosen method of birthing your baby, it matters how satisfied you are with your experience. doulas help give mom the optimal emotional support to compliment their optimal medical support. think of what our maternity care system could be like if we had a doula for every mother.

this article is from the site childbirthconnection.org. this site is packed full of information. any expecting parents should check it out!

hope you enjoyed this influx of birth information. looking forward to sharing more info and experience as time goes on.