Posts Tagged ‘lamaze’

July 11th, 2011

Procrastination? I Think So!

I have a problem with procrastination.

Last July I took a three day childbirth educator training course called Passion for Birth. I graduated the program, and got my certificate giving me the title of a Lamaze Educated Childbirth Educator and when I finally sit for my Lamaze certification exam, I will be certified.

Procrastination is what I have done since completing the course last summer. I think I slightly got burnt out on the idea not just because I was pregnant, but because I was writing about pregnancy and birth daily on Being Pregnant. I absolutely loved contributing there for the 10 months I was there, but I just felt like I didn’t have as much to contribute as I used to.

My blog here started out focused around pregnancy and childbirth, and really morphed into parenting in general over the years, but I am back on track in my personal life to accomplish a ton in the next couple months.  Including finishing my entire class (writing my childbirth education class) by the end of August. I told myself originally I would do it by the end of July, but I didn’t want to rush, I wanted to do it right.

And I will plan to sit for my exam in April like I did this time around, but my due date was just too close to the test day. There was no way I would have been able to concentrate the way I needed to.  Plus, they only hold the test two times a year.   October is too soon, at least knowing our family schedule from now until then, with parades, and my husband taking tests, and classes.  I know I wouldn’t be able to properly prepare myself.  I will instead take the winter time, a more calm time for the family, and clearly more time in the house to prepare and make sure I am ready to rock it when I sit for the test in April.   (April and October are the only two times a year the test is offered)

I certainly feel recharged again, and ready to take the project on. Just like I was last summer after I took the actual course, before Addison sent me into a tizzy of morning sickness, and all those crazy thoughts that go along with a surprise baby.  To say I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate would have been a serious understatement.

I can’t wait to be finished and teaching though!

January 12th, 2011

Giving Birth with Confidence Blog Carnival

If you haven’t heard about Lamaze’s new online community Giving Birth with Confidence by now, you probably live under a rock… but if you haven’t I am not only here to tell you about the site today, but I am also encouraging you to make a submission to the blog carnival they are hosting!

The blog carnival is similar to one done last year on their sister blog Science and Sensibility.

The blog carnival is calling for birth success stories, that include one or more of the six healthy birth practices Lamaze promotes.

• Let labor begin on its own
• Walk, move around, and change positions during labor
• Bring a loved one, or doula for continuous labor support
• Avoid interventions that are not medically necessary
• Avoid giving birth on your back and follow your bodies urges to push
• Keep mother and baby together post birth

All are pretty easy steps for a healthy birth, and a lot of you, especially my readers have had births that would be great fits for this blog carnival without even knowing it!   So submit your story!

Complete your post and upload it to your blog or website no later than Wednesday, January 19. Please also e-mail Cara over at Lamaze at cterreri [at] lamaze [dot] org to let her know when and where they are available!  Also, make sure your post links back to this one (http://givingbirthwithconfidence.org/2011/01/were-having-a-blog-carnival-and-youre-invited/).

Even better… if you do not have your own blog, you can just simply email your submission in to participate!

Now, about the website itself… Not only does Giving Birth with Confidence have a great blog section including Lamaze educators, and all kinds of birth professionals writing (Including myself!) but it also has online communities, and resources for pregnant women. There are VBAC support groups, breastfeeding support communities, and anything you could think of!

An amazing place for women to be able to help each other!

Be sure to check out their website, and join!

January 2nd, 2011

Week 1 – Giving Birth With Confidence Giveaway!

I am super excited to kick off the Momotics Virtual Baby Shower with a review of, and giveaway of the new Lamaze Guide to Giving Birth with Confidence. As most of you know earlier in the year I took a Passion for Birth workshop which left me with with the title of Lamaze Educated meaning I can sit for my certification exam… woot woot!  Something I have always wanted to do, but even though I am really partial to Lamaze, I think the guide is fantastic.

It provides a lot of valuable information for pregnant women, especially first time mothers. From birthing positions to breaking down the cycle of modern maternity care, and how to avoid the typical assembly line type care many mothers see when birthing today. For me this is a must read for all pregnant women!

When I sat down to read this myself, I couldn’t put it down, and I found the information cited in the book so valuable not only as a mother, but also as a childbirth educator. Real numbers that women should know. And don’t forget to check out their blog and virtual community at Giving Birth with Confidence!

Today to kick off the giveaway… I are not just going to be giving away one copy of Giving Birth with Confidence… I am going to be giving away 5 copies!!

How can you enter to win? (each 2 actions equal one entry!)

1) Follow Momotics on Twitter
2) Follow Lamaze on Twitter
3) Follow Momotics on Facebook
4) Follow Lamaze Educators on Facebook or Lamaze International
5) Become a subscriber to Momotics (Scroll down in the left hand column, and subscribe)

BONUS : For a bonus entry… Join the Giving Birth with Confidence online community!
Also be sure to leave a comment for EACH entry!

Goodluck!  I will announce the winners, in this post Sunday of next week before I post the new Virtual Baby Shower Giveaway!

****Edit: And the winners are!****

#36 – Miranda
#8 – Emily
#33 – Trebor
#13 – Emily
#23 – Tina

Congrats to all the winners!
You will be getting an e-mail from me in the next 24 hours!

November 17th, 2010

Lamaze Update

Remember that Passion for Birth workshop I took over the summer? Yeah, I haven’t taken my eye off of the prize yet. Just had a lot of things going on at once. I am still working on writing my class, and I will be doing my observations at a local hospital in the area after the first of the year once things have calmed down… a lot.

While I do not have to sit for the classes to observe, I feel like it is something that is going to be helpful to me in the long run. Seeing how other people run their classes, especially people who are running classes as Lamaze instructors. There are many rules, and steps you need to consider when calling your class a “Lamaze” class, or “Lamaze childbirth course”.

One thing I did decide on is breaking my class up into a six week course. The more women I talk to, it sounds like what women are looking for locally. Of course I will always keep the option of doubling up class hours for certain couples by request, but I am not going to advertise them as super intense courses.

I decided to sit for the next exam in April also. It seems so far away, but because I did not have time to truly be prepared for the October exam, it is next best. I will able to get it knocked out before the baby comes. Another side note on that, Teri the Passion for Birth founder and instructor that came out to teach our class also suggested that those of us who have not taught before wait till at least April to sit for our exam. She has been doing this for gosh, I think 30 years now, so I am going to take what she has to say to heart.

I am not in a rush to just throw something together and start teaching like some people think is the process. I have had a couple people question why I am not “done” with it yet, and I have had to explain the process. Certainly old at this point. Haha!

I have roughly three more weeks to write of course work. Worksheets, handouts, the latest research… a lot more work than people seem to think!

I am hoping to be able to start advertising my courses by next fall at the earliest and go from there.

August 9th, 2010

BlogHer Wrap Up

First things first!  I want to thank all the amazing companies that helped me make my trip possible.  Lamaze, Kandoo, Go Mama Go Designs, and RJS Designs. Without all of you, I would not have been popular because I had swag, but I also would not have been able to afford to go.

I was able to give women Potty training wipes, coupons, and awesome Lamaze pregnancy skin care sets.  Total scores all around especially since I became the queen of swag before I left!  LOL  (I will get to that later in the post)

Friday I hooked up with Gina, Jill, Jenn, and a ton of bloggers I have talked to over the past year and really become friends with. Of course my luck I ended up continuing to run into this woman I had no interest in associating with. She blew me and my roommate off sticking us with $450 of charges for our hotel room. She made a commitment and backed out the day before the conference. Shitty if you ask me. Of course I ran into her at The People’s Party, the newbie breakfast, EVERYWHERE!  I finally hooked up with Gina at the breakfast and we hung out basically all day. The Expo hall sucked us in, and I totally missed the first session I wanted to go to on Friday.  We made rounds till lunch time then grabbed some lunch.

Then went back to the Expo hall, I think I entered for almost everything, but of course I knew I wouldn’t win. I never win anything. We also spent some time at the Ecco shoe’s suite and get pedicures, and of course I stopped by the Windows Suite.

We have had such bad luck in the past couple years that I was almost certain I would go home without all the swag everyone was telling me about before I left for BlogHer.  WRONG!  4 on Friday I headed up to my room to relax, and blog, which didn’t get done. About a half hour into my “relax” hour I got a phone call from a random number, it was the Playtex booth calling me to tell me I won a Flip Cam!  No way!   So I headed down to the Expo hall to pick it up and it was for real!  I won a flip cam!  Something I have wanted, but just couldn’t afford to dish out the $200 for!  Score!

I headed out to the Babble.com party as a plus one of Jenn, it was fun, different, and certainly something I didn’t expect, but we had some totally exciting news at the party…  Gina found out she was pregnant! For those of you who don’t know the back story of Gina & her husband… they have been trying to get pregnant since January.

I also went on a great tour of NYC with NYCityMama and won a huge basket of toys valued at $300 for the kids. Needless to say between all the toys that were given away, the basket, and swag… I got my Christmas shopping virtually finished.

Needless to say, it made for an exciting night. I hung out with my roommates, made some rounds in the hotel, and conference space, and went to bed. I knew I had a long day on Saturday.

I woke up Saturday morning to some crazy exciting news…
“Congrats to @birthbabiesblog on winning 2 Dell Inspiron 14R PCs. Stop by the #Win7BlogHer suite (4331) by 2pm EST to collect your prize!” – BenThePcGuy on twitter

Um… no shit? Really? No!  It couldn’t be!
So I strolled up to the 43rd floor to the Window’s suite, and of course, it was right. I had won not one but TWO Dell laptops!  I couldn’t believe it. I really still can’t believe it, and I am home, checked them out, and gave one to my rockin’ husband.  Our desktop died about 2 months ago, so it has made it hard for him to get online, and download music because that is what he does best.  So, now I was up to 2 laptops, a flip cam, the toy basket, and all the free stuff I got in the Expo hall which included toys for the kids.  I hit up two sessions, and decided to make one last lap around the Expo hall.

I stopped by the diapers.com booth… and won $100 gift card!  Woot!  So needless to say, it was super eventful.

I had a dinner that eventing provided by Tavern Direct, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. A great cause I plan on getting involved with once things calm down a little.

Saturday night was for SparkleCorn, CheeseburgHer, A Bloggy State of Mind… and every other party I could get into, or sneak into considering I made friends with the event staff, and the guys watching the door. Smart huh?  Oh and don’t forget the wine party I rocked in my room provided by The Wine Sisterhood!

Sunday morning I was on The Feminist Breeder & Friends radio show, then headed over to 11th ave, to pick up my Lincoln MKT press car for the week.  Score huh?  I can’t wait to share some more about that!  Stay Tuned!

So overall, BlogHer was amazing. I met SO many awesome women I look forward to following, linking, and getting to know better, including another Fire Fighter wife, a couple women from Connecticut, and some rather interesting women.

Huge success all around, and DH and I are already planning our trip to San Diego for next year’s BlogHer 2011!
Check out some of the pictures!

August 2nd, 2010

It is Official! I am Lamaze Educated!

It is official!  I am Lamaze Educated!  I have completed my BIGGEST step towards my certification minus the test to become certified. Today was the last day of my Passion for Birth workshop, and while I am sad to see Teri, and the other women I shared this amazing journey with, I am relieved that I completed it, and now it is on to my next step in becoming a childbirth educator.

It also means I have 3 days with my family, to finish shopping, packing, planning, and then head to New York City for BlogHer, but that is a whole other bucket of stress at this point because I have virtually all my packing and preparing left to do.

So what does this mean?  What is next? Where do I go from here?

Next step?  The lengthy process of writing my class/curriculum, or whatever you want to call it.
A full 6 weeks, and 12 hours of classes, information, games, group activities, role playing, and anything you could imagine that would be a easy way for couples to learn. I read through a sample curriculum today, and while it was only printed on the front sides of the pages, it was SO long!

So my goals for the next couple weeks (starting after I get back from BlogHer)

• Find a local Childbirth Education course that I can sit in on and observe.
• Find at least one pregnant woman whose birth I can attend in the next 3 months.
• Start writing my curriculum
• Create games for learning
• Buy my Study Guide for the Lamaze Certification Test
• Join Lamaze as a Student Member

Most of all I want to continue to be in touch with the women I went through this experience with, especially the ones who are new educators like I am, and will be because we will be working on all of these steps at the same pace mostly, and it will be interesting to connect, look at each others courses, take tips, help each other, and really help each other through it.

I hope more of you out there that read, and would like to become a childbirth educator seriously consider taking a Passion for Birth workshop!

August 1st, 2010

So Far… So Gooooood

I have had a ton of awesome things happen in the past two days when I have been really neglecting my blog, e-mail, family, and thing around the house that need to get done. I knew this weekend would bring long days. Why?

I completed day two of my Passion for Birth workshop today!  I am so over the moon about becoming a childbirth educator again. I really think I needed a kick back into the birth stuff. Lately I have really been slacking for a number of reasons. One of my major ones is BlogHer, blogging, social media, and networking has really taken my main attention in preparation for BlogHer next week. Another big reason is because right now, we aren’t planning anymore children in the upcoming years. So occasionally it becomes difficult to talk about birth 24/7 when its something not going on in your own life, while the desire stays there.

My anxiety went up, and come Friday morning meeting all the women I would be learning with, seeing the middle ground between so many of us, including a SUPER awesome Mom who is local to me, with kids my kids ages, I knew that everything would be ok, the training would be painless, and then came Teri!  Oh Teri!   (For those who do not know the back story, Robin Elise Weiss was scheduled to come out and teach, but had an untimely and tragic death in her family.)  While I am still bummed that I haven’t been able to meet one of my best mentors, Robin… I LOVE TERI!

She is fun, but professional, silly, yet calm, and seriously one of the best educators I have met. Her stories crack me up, and her teaching style makes the workshop energetic and full of laughs. It also helps that our group seems to be a real set of hysterical ladies!

Of course, all won’t mesh, or agree 100% at all times, especially with the vastly different backgrounds. We have two RN’s in our class who are also educators at their hospitals. Heck, one of the women describing her hospital makes me want to up and move two states away because of the amazing feel her facility has, heck, they are just no introducing epidurals, and they have a walk out porch in L&D!  Um, yes please!

It is so interesting to learn and hear about the way things are being done in other parts of the east coast. It is truly amazing how different things can be if you travel a simple 3 hours in another direction.

I love sharing this experiences with these women, and I have learned so much already, and I still have an entire day left!  I think my plans and time line of becoming an educator, sitting for my Lamaze Exam, and the direction towards certification I want to obtain has drastically changed. But in the end, I will still be a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator in the next calendar year.

I can’t wait to sit down, write my course, make up educational games, and get into it.

Stay tuned!

July 21st, 2010

Busy Weekends on the Horizon!

I feel like the “professional” part of my life is really starting to catch up with me with some seriously busy weekends coming up. As if my Monday through Friday isn’t already up there now that I am officially working from home too.

I will start with my new job. Yes… JOB!  I am handling all the social media for Go Mama Go Designs. One of my sponsors for BlogHer, and a great company. I love the women there, and I am super excited to be helping them out by taking over their social media.  I am handling their Twitter account, Facebook fan page, networking with other companies, and of course blogging.

This Friday I am having my wisdom teeth out, along with one problem tooth being pulled. Putting me out of commission all weekend long. I am going to be going to my parents house Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday because with the kids, and me being so high maintenance when I am sick, injured, or in pain, I figured it would be easiest for my husband.  Who needs a 25 year old child to take care of too?

Then comes my Passion for Birth workshop with the beautiful wealth of knowledge Robin Elise Weiss. She is coming all the way across the country to teach my class, and I am so excited to finally meet her as we have been buddies online for quite some time. I am super excited to be taking another great step to becoming a Lamaze Teacher, because we certainly need more childbirth education teachers in our area, as well as Lamaze teachers.

Just as that ends, I have barely 4 days to tie up my lose ends, and head off to New York City for the BlogHer Conference. I will be rooming with Marie Cooper from Nourish Ourselves, who I already love just from chatting with her on the phone, and email!  We also have a third roommate, I have only e-mailed with thus far, but she seems like a cool chick from MFA Mom.  I am beyond excited.
I still need to do a million things :

My blog her to do list, although I did get some things crossed off is still FULL!

1. Go clothes shopping for something to wear to all these parties!  Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights all have important adventures I certainly need to shine up like a new penny for. Plus it gives me the excuse to get dressed up when I rarely have the chance since motherhood. (Got a great deal at our awesome  Thrift store, and walked out with almost everything I need for $45!)
2. Collect all my favorite Bloggers telephone numbers so I can get in touch with them once I get to NYC. I heard since there are so many people at BlogHer it is sometimes near impossible to find some of the ladies you are looking for without cell phones. What the heck did we do before them? If you want to hook up in NYC for BlogHer, Click here!
3. Order my business cards. I currently have them in my cart of Vista, but I am going to hold out another 3-4 weeks until I know for sure if I do or do not have a second sponsor. I would HATE to waste money getting more printed to add another sponsor on the back. Cards ordered, and delivered!  Beyond excited how cute they are!
4. Steal my Moms rolling suitcases to pack. I by no means have luggage. We never go anywhere and if we do, we have smaller overnight type bags we use. Not only that but I am going to need to have my stuff on wheels because of the train aspect of my travel.
5. Find a place in NYC that is not only reasonably priced but local to the hotel I am going to be staying in for dinner on Thursday night. I have 4 possible places to eat dinner on Thursday night, in a mini dinner party, interested?  Click here!
6. Get invited to one of these special parties being hosted by private companies. I would give ANYTHING to be invited to the Nikon party!  (Still waiting NIKON!)
7. Find a babysitter for the children for Friday the 6th. All set since my mom decided to quit her job. But that is a whole story in itself. LOL
8. Manicure, pedicure, massage, and haircut.  Haircut and dye scheduled!
9. Think about other materials I can make with my blog information on them to give out while networking. Since I know I can’t be giving out swag at BlogHer, I need to think of cool things to use my blog logo on. Bumper Stickers? Post Cards? Pens?  What do you think? All my materials are printed, and IN!
10. Thank my husband again for all the help he has been giving me with planning my BlogHer trip. I could not have asked for a more supportive husband!  He is awesome and super excited for all of the things taking off!

Last but certainly not least at all!  I have a meeting scheduled the day I go into the city for BlogHer with a Publisher!  Yes, you heard me right, a publisher!  This all just happened in the past hour as I was writing this post, but I am OVER the moon! I guess hard work really does pay off right?

Needless to say, The next couple weeks are going to be slightly insane for me!  So excuse my lack of posting if it comes to that!

June 17th, 2010

Birth By Numbers (Part 1)

I have wanted to share the Lamaze Birth by Number’s video for a while. It features Eugene Declercq one of my favorite Silver fox’s discussing the numbers surrounding maternity care in our country, where we rank in the world and the issues our care system presents. I have tried to find a way to get the video embedded here on my page, but I was unsuccessful in that mission. But the link for the video is :  Birth By Numbers and I highly suggest taking the 25+ minutes to watch this.  Whether you are a first time mother, childbirth educator, veteran mother, or just someone interested in the childbirth community, it is a must watch.,

4,138,349 – The number of births in the United States in 2005, the year this video’s information focuses on. The numbers are still similar, although they have increased and decreased in years since then.
18, 884 – The number of Neonatal Deaths in the United States in 2005. Meaning, the number of babies that died in the first 4 weeks of their lives.
1,248,815 – The number of Cesarean Sections that took place in the United States in 2005. And that number has increased every year since then.
4.6 – 4.6 neonatal deaths per 1000 babies born in the United States in 2005.

42 This is the number that the United States ranks in terms of our neonatal mortality rate. Meaning?  41 other countries have lower neonatal mortality rates than the United States and all of our magical medical technology.  Below is a list of the countries who rank better than we do, which is surprising.

There are several countries on this list that cannot realistically be compared to the United States because of the small number of births they have annually, but if you were to take all the countries that have at least 100,000 live births per year, The United States still falls behind.

Take these 15 countries, and The United States has the 2nd worst rate, only behind France. Still horrible in terms of concern for health in our mothers and babies.  When the numbers are broken down into countries that have at least 300,000 births per year, we are still in bad shape. 8th out of 9 countries with only France worse off than us again.

Now we move onto Maternal Mortality which is even more grim.

Now when we take countries with at least 300,000 births, The United States ranks last. We lose the most women around the time of birth than any other country who have somewhat the same amount of births.
What is most troubling about it all is that the numbers are getting worse, not better as the years go on.

While other countries are decreasing, this shows that we continue to increase or stay the same. A scary statistic for women who are having babies in the United States today.

Back to our mothers again. See that increase? EEK!

But why are we seeing a huge change like this? What has happened over the past 10 years that is aiding this problem?  One thing!  The increase in use of a sometimes valuable medical intervention…. The Cesarean section.

Now, if you know me, or have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I preach religiously about the over use of the cesarean section rate, and how it is causing more harm than good in our country. This next graph shows the issue with this, and why we as a country should truly be concerned by the number of surgical births taking place.

Since the 1990′s the cesarean birth rates have steadily increased, along with the maternal death rates.  Also with the preterm birth rates, and other complications that this video does not go into detail on. How do I know?  Because this is now something I have spent over two years of my life looking at, researching, and learning about.

When you take a minute to look at the cesarean section rates by state (below) it shows that it is not evidence based medicine being practiced across the board, it is more of a cultural impact in certain areas that impacts the overall cesarean birth rate.

What stands out to me personally, areas like Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, which have a couple trends to me have these low cesarean rates.  One is a strong religious or Christian population. The other is a strong immigrant population. Although California has the same immigration rates with a much higher cesarean rate.

Some argue that the mothers are driving these rates up with Maternal Request Cesarean sections, but in fact that is not the issue at all. Check out this information and quote from the Listening to Mothers Survey :

I am not sure what world she lives in. No pain?  No hassle?  LOL!  This must have been BEFORE she actually had the c-section!
But all in all, blaming the 50% increase in cesarean births on women choosing them is ridiculous because women are not signing up.

I want to keep my post to a minimum toady before it gets way too long I am going to stop here, and pick up in a couple days on the second half of this video. Considering it is almost 25 minutes long, putting it all into one post would be overkill, and slightly foolish.

June 4th, 2010

Announcing my BlogHer Sponsor!

I know everyone has been anticipating it as much as I have, and also has been waiting for my big announcement. I has been killing me to keep it to myself because I have wanted to scream it from the roof tops because, yes, my sponsor is that awesome.

So yesterday I was making my new business cards for BlogHer, I realized not only did I need to make business cards for my blog, which I do not have, but I need to reserve the space on the back of the card for this amazing company that has put their support being me because of my popularity in the childbirth, and new parents community.  So, the front of my business card is going to look like this :

How do you like it?  I am kind of partial to it because of course I designed it. I want to thank Theresa at the Healthy Baby Network again for making my awesome Momotics logo too!   I think it fits perfectly into the design I picked out on VistaPrint.

So are you ready to see the back of the card and see who I am holding hands with for BlogHer this year?
You sure you are ready?
Yes, I have to drag this out as much as I possibly can, because that is what I do!

Lamaze is an amazing company that manufactures all kinds of great products for mothers, and children. Educational books, toys, and mother friendly products including a body care line that is aimed at pregnant women and new mothers.

I have been working with Lamaze recently in their new online community Giving Birth with Confidence, which is an amazing resource for new mothers, as well as veteran pregnant women. They have groups, forums, and all kinds of great informative posts written by amazing women in the childbirth community.  I am honored to be blogging next to women like Judith Lothian!

But I knew finding a sponsor this year was not going to be easy, I am still one of the “new kids” on the block, and why the heck would anyone want to sponsor me?  I sent out a couple e-mails to companies that I love, and truly believe in their cause and when I heard back about Lamaze, I was over the moon. They are just such an amazing company, as well as organization all around. I am even more happy to be working on becoming a LCCE because the women there are just so amazing.

Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks for a great giveaway of an awesome Lamaze product, and in the time following the BlogHer conference!

I am so excited to be able to go this year as New York is amazingly close for me making this a reality! So who is going?  Who am I going to be meeting up with?

SEE YOU IN NEW YORK CITY!

June 3rd, 2010

You & Your Baby After Birth

In the first hours after your baby is born, skin to skin contact, and keeping the mother with the baby at all times is something hospitals, and parents should be practicing everywhere. Unfortunately it is not as common as it should be, especially in U.S. hospitals.

I have been using a lot of the Mothers Advocate videos lately, and I wanted to share another on this healthy birth practice which fits into the 6 healthy birth practices of Lamaze. I think a blog post with a short video, or picture is always more appealing to readers, right? Haha!

But why is it so important that we keep our babies with us and have skin to skin contact with our newborns in the first hours after birth?  In the first hours and moments after a baby is born, they are going through an amazing transition into a whole new world. From the safety and space of your womb to a big new world with bright lights, noises, and new people.

Some of the new activities your babies is learning is how to breathe air, suck, swallow, and regulate their own temperature outside of the womb. Doesn’t sound like it is a lot for them to do, but it is.  As mothers we should want to make this transition for our babies as easy as possible.

So what are the benefits of having skin to skin contact after a baby is born?

• Babies who have the skin to skin contact cry less
• Have more stable temperatures
• Have more stable blood sugars (which the lack of skin to skin contact with my second son, because of my cesarean made a change in his blood sugar which resulted in a 30 hour NICU stay.
• These babies breastfeed sooner, longer, and much more easily.
• The babies are being exposed to normal bacterias on the mother, which can protect them from getting sick from unhealthy, or other types of bacteria, especially if birthing in a hospital.
• And they have lower levels of stress hormones.

These are all big plus’s for mothers right?

But what about my sleep? Why can’t I just send the baby to the nursery for the night and rest up till I get home, then I can do this whole skin to skin thing right?

Wrong!  Studies show that mothers who give birth in a hospital and have their babies room in, get just as much sleep as those mothers who are sending their babies off to the nursery for the night.  These same studies have shown the babies who went to the nursery often have more issues breastfeeding, making the breastfeeding relationship between mother and baby much more difficult.

But what if my hospital doesn’t allow this?

If your hospital cannot bend to accommodate a mothers wishes, especially something as simple as skin to skin contact after birth, or postponing most newborn evaluations, look for a new hospital that is more mother and baby friendly. It is never too late to change the birth venue.

For more information on Skin to Skin contact and why it is so important for newborns, check out the Mother’s Advocate handout.

June 1st, 2010

Why Aren’t Women Choosing Natural Childbirth?

This seems to be a question that keeps popping up in my life. From the discussions I watch on Cafemom, to people in my own lives. Over the weekend when discussing childbirth among women at the fire house, mostly girlfriends and wives, I was shocked when most discussed wanting a natural birth. It was almost like that pleasant change I have been working so hard towards, and I haven’t even been brainwashing this crowd. LOL!

So, I wanted to share a quote from The Official Lamaze Guide, and discuss some of the things detailed in it and why they concern me. If you would like to read along in the book if you own it, the quote is located on page 5 in the box on the side.

” In spite of evidence, U.S. maternity care continues to sabotage normal birth rather than support it. In 2002, the Listening to Mothers survey learned that among nearly 1,600 new mothers across the U.S., 44% had labor induced, 71% did not move freely during labor, 93% had electronic fetal monitoring, 86% had intravenous lines, 74% gave birth on their backs, and almost 50% of their babies spent the first hours after birth with hospital staff. Only 1% of the women experienced all six care practices that promote normal birth, and none of these women gave birth in a hospital.”

Lots of alarming statistics in there. Of course the survey only included 1,600 women, but it does give us a real look into the way women are giving birth today, despite evidence showing these practices are outdated, unfounded, or harmful rather than helpful.

44% of women had their labor induced!!

That is a huge number for labor induction, especially since labor should only be induced in a medical situation. Letting labor begin on its own is key for a successful natural birth experience for so many women. It is also the way our bodies are meant to work, and the natural stages of pregnancy, and life in general. We need to stop interfering with a natural process with no indication of actually needing to step in.  Inductions lead to more epidurals, more cesarean sections, pit to distress, and many more complications including premature babies.

71% of women did not move freely during labor.
Being confined to a bed while laboring is not ideal by any means, not only does it decrease the size of your pelvis, but it also can cause lowered blood pressure, and fetal distress.

93% had electronic fetal monitoring.
Even though numbers of studies have shown no improved outcome to mothers and babies with electronic fetal monitoring. Also, recently there has been a number of controversial articles about fetal monitoring and how providers, or medical professionals are reading the fetal heart tones.  Many think that the over analyzable of small decelarations in fetal heart tones is leading to a higher rate of unnecessary cesarean births.

86% had IV Lines.
Meaning, the hospital providers had easier access to give mother things like pitocin with or without her consent. If I had a dime for every woman that told me she was put on pitocin without even being asked, or told it was going to be starting in her IV line, I would be a millionaire!  Unfortunately until women start complaining about this practice, it is not going to change.

74% gave birth on their backs.
Which we know is probably the worst position for a woman to give birth in. I recently wrote about this in two posts, Positions You Should Be Giving Birth In Part 1 and Part 2. Decreased pelvis size, blood pressure complications, lack of gravity to help with the birth itself are all huge factors in the lithotomy position.

50% of babies spent the first hours of life with hospital staff!
Horrible!  After birth, in those first few hours, it is the most critical time for mother-infant bonding. Between breastfeeding, skin-to-skin contact, and the hormones a mother releases with birth, it is so important for these babies to be with their mothers, not with a stranger.

Only 1% of these women experiences all 6 Lamaze Healthy Birth Practies
Surprising, but not all that surprising to me. Of course they were not in a hospital setting, because if they were in a hospital, they would not have experienced all 6, or even just a few. Hospitals are becoming more and more unfriendly for normal birth practices, as well as less and less Mother & Baby friendly.

Unfortunately despite the number of people who are concerned about these growing trends, the hospitals and maternity care in the U.S. is continuing to get worse, not better. It is a fight for women to have a normal birth rather than one where she is not in control of her care, or treated like a birthing mother, rather than a money making machine.

We are all fighting for change!  Please, if you would like to see change, take a couple minutes and head over to Science & Sensibility, and leave a comment on Amy’s latest post.

May 25th, 2010

Avoiding Common Interventions in Childbirth

Today, childbirth has become more of a medical procedure than a natural function of our bodies. Many women who do have a desire for a natural birth are often looking for resources and information on how to achieve that experience. A great resource I have come across several times in my journey to becoming a childbirth educator in recent months is a website called Mother’s Advocate. They offer a wonderful plethora of videos aimed to help in the teaching process.

The video I am going to use today is Avoiding Unnecessary Interventions, while writing a little of my own thoughts.

Realistically, if you truly want to avoid the common hospital interventions, the best place for you to give birth is either at home, or a child birth center. In my experience personally, it can be an uncomfortable or stressful fight with hospital staff to avoid simple things like an IV line. But it all goes back to birthing where you feel comfortable.

What are some of the common medical interventions during birth?

• An IV for Fluids
• Epidural Anesthesia
• Electronic Fetal Monitoring
• Pitocin
• Breaking the bag of water
• Episiotomy

Most of which are unnecessary in many of the cases we see them in today, an IV for example. The purpose of an IV could be cut by simply allowing a woman to eat and drink during labor. Recent studies show that there is no need to starve a woman while she is in labor.

Constant electronic fetal monitoring is also overkill in low risk women, in recent years The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has shown that in the 40 years electronic fetal monitoring has been the norm, there has been no improved outcomes in mothers or babies. Of course like anything, there are some situations when necessary, but mostly in high risk cases.

Epidurals for those who choose to use them for labor can be the right fit, but they are not risk free. Epidurals can slow labor, or pose other risks to mothers and babies. There are various ways to help relieve the pain of labor.

Pitocin can cause contractions, but it can also cause contractions that are too strong resulting in fetal distress, or the cascade of interventions.

Episiotomy has been shown in recent years to be medically unnecessary in the majority of cases it is taking place in.

Skipping these common Interventions :

There are several ways you can go about skipping the routine hospital interventions listed above. Some of the ways you can do that are :

• Hire a birth doula
• Write a birth plan, or your wishes for birth
• Talk to your provider about your expectations of case, or practices and procedures you are not comfortable with.
• Take a tour of the hospital you will be giving birth at.
• Research their statistics for intervention before giving birth there.

All of these can help to lower your changes of these common medical interventions having an impact on your desire for a natural birth.