i’ve found myself with the opportunity to devote the rest of the year to completing my doula training.
that is if people will hire me…
i’m putting it out into the universe. i gotta get this thing done.
to the people makin’ babies in Columbus, OH
if you’re looking for low-cost doula care between Oct-Jan drop me a line.
i’d love to support you and your family.
share my info with every prego lady you see!
k, thanks!
just wanted to share a couple entries from another blogger i love about her preparation for labor and delivery of her first child (and i’m not talking about H, although that is necessary for some).
preparing for a journey inward
hope you enjoy and happy labor prep for any of you expecting!
just another little cut and paste for you from the Lamaze International website
| Introduction to the Six Lamaze Healthy Birth Practices |
The Six Lamaze Healthy Birth Practices can help you simplify the birth process with a natural approach that helps alleviate fears and manage pain. Regardless of your baby’s size, your labor’s length and complexity, or your confidence level, these care practices will help you keep your labor and birth as safe and healthy as possible.
if you are giving birth in america then it’s most likely your birth will be attended by your obstetrician. if you have an OB attending your birth then somewhere the word “induction” is floating around out there as a possibility because most OBs are not comfortable with a woman carrying her child past 42 weeks of pregnancy.
here’s when i’m going to have to use the P word: an induction most often means using Pitocin (or Pit in L&D lingo) to start the uterus contracting. i found some information about pitocin that i thought would be useful to share. if so many of us are facing an induced birth then it wouldn’t hurt to know a little more about this drug. here’s a cut and paste of the article:
The numbers of inductions of labor using artificial means like Pitocin and other medications has gone up dramatically in the last few years. A hospital in my area says that 90% of the women have their labors induced. Since science shows us that inducing labor can increase the numbers of complications in the labor and with the baby, you might be surprised to note that many of the inductions are not for medical reasons, but rather reasons of convenience, practitioner or mother, known as social induction.
One of the things that women tell me is that they are lead to believe that induction is completely safe and relatively easy, after all, Pitocin is just another form of the body’s own oxytocin, right?
While this statement is generally true, artificially created hormones, including Pitocin do not act identically to the hormones in ones body. For example, in pregnancy both the mother and the baby produce oxytocin. The oxytocin produced by each reacts differently in the body because they each have separate jobs.
Here are five things that you may not know about Pitocin and how it can effect your labor:
- Pitocin is released differently.
Oxytocin is released into your body in a pulsing action. It comes intermittently to allow your body a break. Pitocin is given in an IV in a continuous manner. This can cause contractions to be longer and stronger than your baby or placenta can handle, depriving your baby of oxygen.- Pitocin prevents your body from offering endorphins.
When you are in labor naturally, your body responds to the contractions and oxytocin with the release of endorphins, a morphine like substance that helps prevent and counteract pain. When you receive Pitocin, your body does not know to release the endorphins, despite the fact that you are in pain.- Pitocin isn’t as effective at dilating the cervix.
When the baby releases oxytocin it works really well on the uterine muscle, causing the cervix to dilate. Pitocin works much more slowly and with less effect, meaning it takes more Pitocin to work.- Pitocin lacks a peak at birth.
In natural labor, the body provides a spike in oxytocin at the birth, stimulating the fetal ejection reflex, allowing for a faster and easier birth. Pitocin is regulated by a pump and not able to offer this boost at the end.- Pitocin can interfere with bonding.
When the body releases oxytocin, also known as the love hormone, it promotes bonding with the baby after birth. Pitocin interferes with the internal release of oxytocin, which can disturb the bonding process.Your body’s own natural oxytocin is superior in many ways to Pitocin. There are also ways to increase the release of this natural oxytocin including skin-to-skin contact, lovemaking, breastfeeding, and others.
So, if you are presented with the option of an induction of labor, you might want to ask your provider about whether or not it is being done for a medical reason or if it’s something that a bit of time and patience will help alleviate.
original article found here with source information.
i love the last sentence of that article. i had pitocin when darla was born and if i had known more about it then i probably would have asserted myself to wait a little longer to see if contractions would start on their own. i hope this helps to start any of you expectant readers to do more questioning, discussing and informed decision making based on your own birth philosophies.
i know a good many of you have probably been wondering about that second birth experience. it’s taken me a couple of days to get life back in a rhythm, find time to write, and process the whole experience.
i wish i could give you a birth story, but it’s not my story to tell. so i will tell you what i can. i will tell you what’s in my heart.
i write and gravitate a lot towards natural birth. i believe in the power of mommas bodies. i believe in the wonderful dance mothers and their babies do to bring a new life into the world that we have termed labor. i know that i may come across as if i think mothers who choose natural birth are powerful she-woman warriors, because i do.
but now i have learned and witnessed another kind of power, another kind of strength that i hadn’t given its due credit until now. i haven’t had a ton of experience and i think somehow the universe knew which window to open and let me see through for my second experience. to give me more perspective and a well-rounded mindset moving forward. the last line from the excerpt i posted last week keeps ringing in my head: mothers and nature always find a way.
i’ve known all along that being a support person means supporting all kinds of births be they natural, interventive or surgical. even though i have my own personal philosophies, my biggest philosophy is that every couple gets to make their own birth decisions and deserve to be supported through those decisions. i just haven’t had a chance to actually practice what i preach too much.
i’ve now seen the kind of strength it takes to be able to reset and reconfigure when things don’t all go according to plan, because more often than not it’s not going to. i’ve seen the strength it takes for a couple to quickly shift from one path to another. i have to say that i’m a very stubborn person and i don’t know if i would have been able to recalculate with as much grace and acceptance as what i saw this past week. i would have thrown a stubborn aries fit. i would have had an emotional breakdown. i am very lucky neither of these parents were like me. mothers who can shift and accept a different path to birth their babies are powerful she-woman warriors, too. mothers find a way.
i’ve seen the strength it takes to face complications with positivity.
i was reminded that i am going to be very privileged to witness couples at their best. i don’t have a ton of births under my belt but i’m kinda getting the feeling that couples are at their best in labor. at least i hope. maybe i’ve just been lucky to see two great couples give birth. but i can say that i think i will be hard-pressed to find a husband and birth partner more supportive than what i witnessed last week. i’m willing to keep doing this to find out though…
to my friends: thank you a million times over for allowing me to support you through your labor. your fortitude astounded me. your love and support for one another was amazing. i know how lucky i am to have been there. i just have a feeling that starts at my core and radiates out to every fiber of my being that everything will be ok with time. these early complications will fall away and be but memories.
your beautiful baby is one lucky girl to get to have you as parents. aaannd i’m already jealous of her hair. i’ll show her how to shake it one day ;-)
all my love and admiration, your doulette
not to turn this into a me thing, but today is the day of my friends’ induction and i’m anxiously awaiting my second support role experience. it’s scheduled to start in a just a few hours. i’ve been flexing my memory muscles to a year ago, when i was doing the doula thing for the very first time.
these past few days have taken me through a bevy of questions, emotions and thoughts. and i’m not even the one giving birth!
i’ve of course been questioning if i’ll be successful in giving another couple support. do i have what it takes? i’ve been thinking about my own birth philosophies and how hard it can be some times to sit on those and reflect quietly to myself. how hard it is to challenge my own thoughts and maybe change one or two of them in the process. i’ve been remembering my own labor and delivery and thinking back to how little i knew then, but how amazingly wonderful and empowering the whole experience was. i’m thinking about how much i’ve grown in my knowledge since then. i’m thinking about how much i will relish being with child, laboring and birthing again. Gasp! What!?
i get a lot of questions now about what a doula does and you know it’s still a bit hard for me to explain. Mabye that’s because i don’t really have a lot of experience (anyone else need a doula? i’m available!) and maybe it’s because it’s just kind of something you have to experience to understand.
i know that i was born a natural cheerleader and honestly it seems that a lot of my first doula experience was being a cheerleader for the momma/baby/papa team. but i need to iterate that it was genuine enthusiasm i was cheering. i whole-heartedly love the labor and birth process. i think this is the reaction that happens when a woman is supportively doula-ed through her birth, she then loves the whole process and wants to be there for others.
i love women. i love babies. i love papas. i love families. i love finding a way to cheer people on to finding these strengths they would never find in themselves until a life event such as birth.
this post is kinda all over the place because frankly i’m a bit all over the place in my head and heart at the moment. what i want to say is that i HIGHLY, SUPREMELY, ENTHUSIASTICALLY, suggest involving a doula in your birth process. we just want to help, and love and support. we are genuine in those desires.
women give birth every day in unbelievable places and circumstances…
in hot tubs, and warm ocean pools…
in rice paddies, mountain villages and igloos…
in beds, birth huts and birthing chairs,
Mothers the world over give birth
counting stars and under bright lights…
in fields, dugouts, and by fireplaces…
in planes and trains…
in one-room shacks and operating rooms.
Mothers and nature always find a way.
from my current read, Birthing From Within by Pam England. Just a reminder to not focus on the surroundings and the circumstances but the doing and the act itself.
we had a very sunshiny week, which was nice for a change. we’re just itching for more of the great outdoors.
and we spent a few days with our burkeybuns friends. it can get pretty hectic with 3 kids but moments like these are more frequent than one might think.
darla and adam were so excited when joni woke up from her nap they decided to climb right in her bed with her. it was so sweet.
i love seeing all three kids able to share toys and activities now.
some other fun. look at all those conjoined darlas! it makes me happy and nervous. this photo was created with a real kaleidoscope. no iphone apps were harmed in the making of this photo.
what else about our week? hmmm.
i gave darla her first haircut. i never thought i’d be one of those moms, but i saved her hair. i just couldn’t throw it away right after. it now looks like i have a little shrew hibernating in my jewelry box. i’m sure i’ll throw it away in a couple of weeks, or sprinkle it on our garden when we start the process in march. jeez, these softy sides sneak up on me every now and again.
i’ve remembered why i stopped participating in lenten activities: BECAUSE GIVING UP THINGS IS STUPID! i’ve had a much harder time than i thought avoiding the sweets. i hadn’t realized how much i was indulging until now. i ate TWO gummy vitamins the other day because that is the closest i can get to real candy. i feel like a crack addict trying to figure out how i’m going to secretly score. is that what crack addicts call it? scoring? i don’t know yet. breaking bad is my next tv series on netflix, so i’ll find out then. not surprisingly, my body is already feeling healthier. from the lack of candy, not the crack. oh geez.
the last exciting thing is that darla and i came over for a nice long weekend visit with my family and also for me to consult with one of my lifelong friends about being her doula! i’m so excited to be back on track and a step closer to my certification. i love talking to couples about their birth choices. my friend and her husband are going to be great parents and it seems like they also have a great outlook heading into their labor and delivery. i’m just happy to be a part of these events and so thankful. the next seven weeks will consist of a lot of review of my birthing materials and prep. I REALLY CAN’T WAIT UNTIL MORE OF YOU LET ME BE YOUR DOULA.
it was a good week for us. now we’re just enjoying our weekending. hope you are too.
i wanted to pass on some good news from the fabulous penny simkin. please visit her site and read her books if you’re looking for more insight and wisdom on childbirth. here’s some great news on birth statistics in the US in 2010.
Good News in Maternity Care
We’ve been getting some good news lately, which might mean we’re seeing the beginnings of a different direction in maternity care, for example, some tiny and some large improvements in a few key outcomes. For example, for the first time in 14 years, the cesarean rate in the US went down a tiny bit – from 32.9% in 2009 to 32.8% in 2010. Could this be the beginning of a trend? This tiny .1 percent (one 1000th) reduction is more significant when we recognize that the relentless upward swing has paused. If the annual rate of increase that we’ve seen over the past 14 years had continued in 2010, we’d see a rate between 33.5 to 34%, rather than 32.8%. That’s worth celebrating! (Unfortunately, the cesarean rate in my state of Washington increased.) I made some calculations of the numbers. One in a thousand is not much, until you consider that 1/1000 of the 4,000,000 births per year in the US represents 4000 fewer women who had a cesarean. It’s a start.
For the 4th straight year the US preterm birth rate has decreased from 12.8% in 2006 to 12.2 % in 2009, with most of the improvement coming in the late pre-term (34 to 36 weeks’ gestation) births. The March of Dimes gets a lot of credit for this, having made preterm birth reduction the major focus of its work. (The March of Dimes granted me a full scholarship for my Physical Therapy Training in 1959-60, when their goal was an end to polio. Once that goal was achieved, they turned to pregnancy related issues. I am proud of that connection with the March of Dimes, and the fact that our paths have converged as they have.)
Also, teen pregnancies have dropped to the lowest rate (9.3% in 2010 from 10% in 2009) in 70 years!
Let’s work for greater improvements in these and in other outcomes next year!
alright you pregnant ladies and expectant gentledudes, when i say “a doula” i mean ME. me. me. M. E. ME! even if it’s not me just get yourself a doula. you’ll be forever thankful that you did.
but reasons why it should be me: 1 – i’m awesome 2 – most of the time i smell nice 3 – i’m not a full blown doula yet so pricing is in your favor. i’m referring to myself as a “doulette” until i complete all my certification. if you are one of my certifying births you will receive the full doula experience at less than half the cost. make smart decisions b/c we’re in a recession! i do have one birth experience under my belt, in addition to that of my daughter, so i’m not totally green. maybe more like chartreuse.
happy birthing to you all!
Source: facebook.com via Sarah on Pinterest
momjeanz 