Birth Center

Apr8

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 born there in 2003 (though, at the time, I lived in Jefferson City, so it was only a 30 minute drive for me).

The birth center is called Columbia Community Birth Center. Phone (573) 447-2700 or visit their website. Phenomenal women. Wonderful place.

Recent Articles

Mar21

I’ve had a fun month for publications. My Birth Lessons from a Chicken essay was in Midwifery Today and my Respecting the Birth-Breastfeeding Continuum was in International Doula.

Also, the International Journal of Childbirth Education has some of their issues available online now. The September 2008 issue has my Satisfaction with Birth article beginning on page 14. The June 2008 issue has my Celebrating World Breastfeeding Week & the Birth-Breastfeeding Continuum article and my sidebar WBW: A Simple Celebration beginning on page 15.

Breastfeeding with Comfort & Joy Book

Mar6

One of my fellow birth bloggers, the fabulous Kathy of Woman-to-Woman CBE is celebrating her 100,000 hits with a giveaway. She is giving away a copy of the new book Breastfeeding with Comfort & Joy, which looks like a real treasure. I hope I get a chance to read it someday soon. Kathy also has a review of the book on her site.

Speaking of fun blog giveaways, the Hypnobabies blog is also having a giveaway (I’m late posting about it though–it ends tomorrow, so hurry up!). Their giveaway is for a Hypnosis for an Easy Pregnancy CD. I know several Hypnobabies educators online and they have such a wonderfully positive and affirming perspective about birth. It is really exciting and refreshing.

No Right Way + Fathers at Birth

Jan10

A few weeks ago, I spoke to a mother from one of my most recent birth classes. She told me something that her husband said to her in labor that I found very profound. Staff at the hospital were becoming concerned that this mother’s labor was “not progressing” and “not normal.” She, in turn, became worried that she wasn’t normal and that something was wrong. Her husband told her: “There is no normal. There is no right way. There is only your birth.”

This was so beautiful, and so true, that it brought tears into my eyes. Last week I finished reading a new book called Fathers at Birth by Rose St. John. In it, she addresses something similar:

“Of course your baby is the greatest gift of labor. but another great gift is you are pressed to your max or beyond, and you succeed. It expands who you know yourself to be…Labor is all about finding your threshold and learning you can go beyond it…If your partner feels, for whatever reason, that labor did not unfold as she had hoped, she needs your assurance. No woman should be judged or judge herself for doing whatever she has to to do to bring her baby forth into this world. And no man should be judged or judge himself for how he attends his partner or how he responds to birth. You are dealing with life on the edge. You do not know what will happen in it, and you are not in control. Together, you are participants in the mystery, and you do the best you can…On some levels, it doesn’t matter how you both get through labor. There is no prescription. No script. No right way. Its commanding power does not depend exclusively on you or your partner to do it. No matter how you get through, it alters and expands you…whether you are powerfully present, totally absent, or anywhere in between; birth deposits its power into your lives. The transformation is enduring. You can never go back.”

She also addresses the “weight” men shoulder when attending their partners in birth:

“Since men are not the ones doing the actual labor and birth, they may be embarrassed to admit how exhausted and relieved they are once it is over and all is well. they may also be reluctant to admit the amount of dedication and work it took them to attend their partner. I don’t think most women (or anyone else) realize the weight many men shoulder during labor and birth. What happens to a man’s partner and his baby, in effect, happens to him…[quote from father re: being present for his wife in labor] I don’t think anyone has any idea of the amount of effort it takes to be in a physically supportive role where you have to take action, yet be in a witness role where you have to be truly present…”

I posted more about this new book at Citizens for Midwifery:

Fathers at Birth

and More About Fathers at Birth

and also at the International Childbirth Education Association:

Fathers at Birth

Fathers’ Roles at Birth

Fathers at Birth Book

Dec11

Today, I was extremely excited to learn about a new book called Fathers at Birth by Rose St. John. I am really looking forward to reading it and I think there is a deep need for a book like this in the birth community. I am mindful of the need to include father-specific information in my birth classes, but I find it difficult sometimes to locate many good resources for fathers, or to develop class content that engages fathers in a relevant and connected way.

I will post more when I’ve read it!

Edited to add: I posted more about this book and fathers at birth here.

Baby Carriers

Nov24

During the last week of my classes, I usually talk briefly about different types of baby carriers. I bring along a pouch (New Native), an adjustable pouch (Mamma’s Milk), a sling (Maya Wrap), a mei tai (I made), and my Ergo (structured soft pack). I enjoy each of these carriers for different reasons, but if I had to pick one for a favorite, it would have to be my Ergo. I love that thing (still use it occasionally with my 2.5 year old). We wore it hard and often and it is a little worse for wear now. I’m a huge fan.

I just saw a contest to win an Ergo on the Northwest Mom Finds blog. Check it out here.

There is another contest here at the babywearing blog Along for the Ride.

And, there is a contest to win a Second Womb ring sling on this blog (which is where I learned of the two contests above). My first baby LIVED in a ring sling. I used to think I would actually die without it. I know that sounds extreme, but I would carry him in it almost all day and as I did so, I would occasionally think to myself, “what if I didn’t have this sling?” My answer: “I might die.” (I may have been dealing with a little PPD, in hindsight!)

Speaking of baby carriers, we are lucky enough to have a newly opened local store in the Rolla/St. James area that sells various baby carriers.

Why Honey Sticks During Labor?

Oct13

I have already written about eating during labor. One of my suggestions is honey sticks–but why honey sticks and where to buy them? Honey sticks, also called honey straws, are plastic tubes of honey similar in size to a drinking straw. During labor, honey sticks can provide an instant energy boost for a laboring mother. They are especially good to pack along if you are going to be laboring in a birth setting with restrictions on food or drink intake (read more here about why withholding food and drink from laboring women is not a good idea!). They are also handy if a mother is very tired and needs some quick energy, but is not interested in eating anything more substantial. Dads who are feeling a little tired or woozy in the birth room may also find honey sticks a quick boost for themselves as well! The sticks hold about a teaspoon of honey and you can easily pop the end open with your teeth and suck the honey out.

Where to buy? Here are a couple of ideas:

Online store where you can buy individual fruit-flavored honey sticks.

Online store that carries plain honey sticks.

Online store that carries honey sticks in large quantities (perhaps you have lots of friends who’d like to share?)

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Postpartum Reading List

Sep26

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 “when the tears flow, so does the milk” (with regard to the third day postpartum). It does have a large section on Ayurvedic cooking, which, personally, I don’t connect with, so be aware that that section is in there and depending on your belief system, might make perfect sense to you, or might seem inapplicable like it feels to me.

Mother Nurture: A Mother’s Guide to Health in Body, Mind, & Intimate Relationships, by Rick & Jan Hanson. This book is phenomenal. Very comprehensive. It addresses mothers of children from birth to age 5, so even if you are several years past the early postpartum weeks, this book has much to offer to you! One of the focus areas is on “Depleted Mother Syndrome” and addresses coping with it via all areas (body, mind, social/relational).

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, by Diane Weissinger and Diana West for La Leche League International. This classic book from the original mother-to-mother support organization has been published for more than fifty years. This nurturing, conversational book will help you with all of your breastfeeding questions from birth and onward, whether your breastfeeding goal is three days, three weeks, three months, or three years. Reading this book is like having access to an experienced, friendly network of breastfeeding mothers who know all the practical, as well as emotional, ins and outs of mothering through breastfeeding. (And, to get this kind of support in person, check out an LLL group near you!)

The Year After Childbirth, by Sheila Kitzinger. Another book covering the physical, social, and emotional changes after birth. This book is more “basic” and less in-depth than the two above.

The Post-Pregnancy Handbook, by Sylvia Brown. This book is the most “mainstream” of my suggested titles.

Mothering the New Mother, by Sally Placksin. This book is excellent for people supporting new mothers, as well as for mothers themselves. It is very validating and affirming of women’s feelings and needs after birth. This is the book in which I learned the term “matrescence”= becoming a mother.

What Mothers Do: Especially When it Looks Like its Nothing, by Naomi Stadlen. I love this book! It takes a close look at how women mother and how skillfully they do so (so that on the outside it looks like they are doing “nothing”). This is not a “how to” book, but a book that tries to look below the surface and explore concepts that are very difficult to verbalize/articulate. She strives to put into words/give us language to describe what is it that mothers do all day–their often invisible contributions to life. Contributions that are often invisible even to ourselves. This is a very affirming and unique book.

Postpartum Memoirs:

Misconceptions: Truth, Lies, and the Unexpected on the Journey to Motherhood, by Naomi Wolf. This was the first book that I ever read about a woman’s postpartum experience. It was suggested to me by the doctor at the birth center when I expressed some teary frustrations about adjusting to my new life and wondering if I would ever get “back to normal.” This book is on the “angry” side–it is not a nurturing and tender read in the way my earlier suggestions are. I did not identify with the author’s birth experiences or feelings about birth (I felt tremendous during birth and powerful, empowered, triumphant, and confident), but her postpartum feelings closely match my own (weak, wounded, invisible, etc.)

Operating Instructions, by Anne Lamott. This is a classic. A memoir of the author’s first year with her son. She is a single parent and so the book addresses some of the challenges involved with parenting solo. This book is incredibly funny at times.

Let the Baby Drive: Navigating the Road of New Motherhood, by Lu Hanessian. Another wonderful read! I first read this when my own children were out of babyhood and still found it tremendously relevant and enjoyable.

Callie’s Tally: An Accounting of Baby’s First Year, [or, What My Daughter Owes Me], by Betsy Howie. Very funny, though not particularly “AP” (so if you’re looking for that, read Let the Baby Drive instead). This book chronicles how much money the author has spent on her daughter during her first year of life.

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You might also like to check out my list of Non-Advice Books for Mothers | Talk Birth.

Which Pelvis Model to Buy?

Sep17

The content in the post was originally made in response to a question on a message board regarding what type of pelvis model do childbirth educators suggest for use in birth classes. I’m posting similar content here for any fellow childbirth educators who may come to this blog looking for pelvis feedback 🙂 Some people had expressed disappointment with a very tiny pelvis model that is out there for sale (and looks deceptively larger in photos) and others were concerned about whether the pelvis was flexible or not and also whether it had “bolts” at the joints for flexibility. Here is my response:

I have a non-mobile pelvis I bought from ebay (around $50) and like it quite a lot. It doesn’t have the flexibility elements, but I point to each joint and describe how it can flex, and that seems to be enough for most people. (The seller was “vanscience” when my husband got it for me for Christmas, not sure what is on there now.)

Then, I have the very tiny one as well (purchased from ebay, not from the Doula Shop). It is only about two inches probably. This is the one I actually prefer to use to show some of the cardinal movements and posterior/anterior positioning of the baby. I have a tiny fetus that I picked up from Birthright. It is a “12 weeks fetus,” but in an odd twist of providence, it fits PERFECTLY through that tiny, cheap pelvis that I regretting having for a long time. Now, I love it and find it really useful. My mom knitted me a tiny uterus with dilating cervix that exactly fits the tiny baby as well! The tiny baby even gets “stuck” on the back of the pelvis when it posterior and then when it rotates to anterior, it slides right through with a little “push.” It is like they were made to go together. The baby is hard plastic, so I can’t flex it to show all the movements, but they get the idea. I just share that babies go through a series of cardinal movements, but I don’t go through a big demo of exactly each one, I just show the baby rotating and slipping through.

I find the tiny set really easy to manipulate and convenient to demo with. The large one works well for tipping back and forth to show how different positions might compress or open and to point out the parts that are flexible in real life. But, I actually find that people seemed more interested in the positioning of the baby when I started to use the tiny set to show that part. I generally teach private, one-on-one classes, so that might be why it works so well for me. It would not work well in an up-in-front-of-a-class setting.

So, I use the big pelvis and big uterus and big baby each as separate teaching tools and then the little pelvis and baby as a “unit.”

Just wanted to share that that tiny pelvis isn’t all horrible! (though, man, was I disappointed when I got it and saw its microscopic nature. I was like, “this is a rat pelvis!”)

Lamaze: Pregnancy, Birth, & Beyond

Jun4

In addition to the Healthy Birth guides I posted about in my last post, I also received my first shipment of Lamaze’s new publication, Lamaze: Pregnancy, Birth & Beyond. This magazine is excellent! I was very favorably impressed. It is brief, but provides an excellent, positive, overall overview of pregnancy, birth, and early parenting. I found myself thinking that if I could give only ONE handout in class, this would probably be the one to choose, since it neatly touches all the important bases and in the tone of confidence, trust, and respect that Lamaze does so well. There is a particularly good article called “Position Statement” that reviews the pros and cons of 11 different positions for labor. It has great photo illustrations as well as clear, accurate information.

I was really pleased with this magazine. The articles are clearly written and easy to understand and takes a clear position on the normal, healthy nature of birth. I also appreciated the articles for new parents about taking care of yourself after the baby’s birth, safe sleeping, and breastfeeding. It is important to remember the continuum extends from pregnancy, through birth, and on to breastfeeding and newborn care! Childbirth educators can sign up to receive their own free shipments of these magazines here. It is published once a year, but shipped quarterly.

There is advertising for disposable diapers as Huggies is a sponsor of the magazine, but absolutely NO formula or bottle advertising, which, of course, is no less than I’d expect from Lamaze and their philosophy.

Speaking of Lamaze, I also really enjoy their basic guide, Giving Birth with Confidence.