let the contractions begin!

"surprisingly, each fetus determines when it wants to be born. a small specific area of the brain sets in motion a series of events that will lead to the beginning of labor."
-klaus & klaus.

i attended a birth yesterday that was full of reminders for me as a doula. my client's water broke early in the morning. late morning she went to see the midwives at the hospital for antibiotics because she was group b strep+. they suggested considering induction and insinuated that she probably would not start contractions on her own. she decided to leave the hospital after the antibiotics were through in order to try some at-home methods of induction. castor oil, homeopathy, acupuncture, etc. - hours went by, and still no contractions. the midwives had encouraged her to wait 12 hours at the most before induction. my client decided to return to the hospital only when her second round of antibiotics was needed - 15 hours after her bag of waters broke! and here's the beauty of it - her contractions began one hour before she went back in. she ended up having a lovely birth. from the time her contractions began, her labor lasted only 7 hours. this was her first baby. i cannot assume what her labor would have looked like had she been induced, but it would have been an unnecessary intervention - and the contractions from the induction would have been more difficult than the ones her body was producing naturally, making it harder for her to have the birth experience she was hoping for.

i was really proud of my client for trusting her body enough to leave the hospital in order to pursue home induction. she wasn't willing to risk infection, but she felt that she needed to at least try to let her body do its own thing. and it worked. i spoke to her about an hour before her contractions began, and at that time, i began preparing myself for an induced labor. i was thrilled when i found out her labor started on its own and was reminded of the natural beauty of the workings of our bodies.

now it is time to educate others to trust their bodies the way my client did - to trust without being reckless.

a birth yesterday...

I attended a birth yesterday and had a rather shocking and pleasant experience. When my client's doctor came into the room after my arrival, he immediately introduced himself, shook my hand, and told me he was glad I was there. That, in itself, was shocking - I am not usually welcomed by the medical team working with my clients, particularly if the caregiver is a doctor as opposed to a midwife. I continued to be amazed throughout my client's labor. He only came in the room a few times, but every time he told my client that she was doing great, that she had a great team. He was gentle and didn't try to force her into any decision. After the baby was born, he had to stitch up a small tear. He explained to the new father that "in the old days" they used to perform episiotomies, but they realized that it only made the tearing worse and now just let the skin tear if it needs to. Before we parted ways, he asked me for my card so he can refer his interested clients to a doula in the area. I was literally amazed and found myself wondering why doctors have such a hard time accepting doulas into the labor room. Of course, this man was a family doctor, and in my limited experience, I have found a great difference between family doctors and OBs. I won't make any firm judgments because everyone is different, but as someone's doula, I would recommend a family doctor over an OB every time.

The birth itself was incredibly lovely as well. A startling experience all around...

postpartum hemorrhage

Two weeks after my son was born, I suffered a severe hemorrhage that was unexpected and incredibly scary. Thankfully we went to the hospital where I received the necessary treatment to fix the problem. Every year, more than 500,000 women around the world die from pregnancy-related complications - many of them due to postpartum hemmorhage. These lifewraps work to stabilize a woman until she can receive whatever treatment she needs. What a difference they can make, especially in the developing world. I love them and hope to learn how to use them in the near future.

Breastfeeding: A Vision for the Future

United States Breastfeeding Committee aims to increase awareness of the importance of breastfeeding and focuses on nine objectives that must be met in the United States to fully address the barriers faced by mothers.

1. Meet and exceed the Healthy People objectives to increase the proportion of mothers who breastfeed.
2. Implement maternity care practices that foster normal birth and breastfeeding in every facility that cares for childbearing women.
3. Ensure that health care providers provide evidence-based, culturally competent birth and breastfeeding care.
4. Create and foster work environments that support breastfeeding mothers.
5. Ensure that all federal, state, and local laws relating to child welfare and family law recognize the importance of breastfeeding and support its practice.
6. Implement curricula that teach students of all ages that breastfeeding is the normal and preferred method of feeding infants and young children.
7. Reduce the barriers to breastfeeding imposed by the marketing of human milk substitutes.
8. Protect a woman’s right to breastfeed in public.
9. Encourage greater social support for breastfeeding as a vital public health strategy.

The goal is to reach over 15,000 supporters of Breastfeeding: A Vision for the Future. Show your support by signing your agreement with their mission.

Thank you in advance for your support. Together we can make a difference for future generations!

*United States Breastfeeding Committee*
2025 M Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202/367-1132
Fax: 202/367-2132
E-mail: office@usbreastfeeding.org
Web: www.usbreastfeeding.org

"Birth is a joyous affair here..."

An interesting article in the New York Times about nurse-midwives at a Native American hospital in Arizona. I especially like the quote: "Midwives are better at being there for labor than doctors are. Midwives are trained for it. It's what they want to do."

Lessons at Indian Hospital About Births

Halloween baby!

After spending four hours in pre-labor at the Bryn Mawr Birth Center, my client decided to down some castor oil... Two hours later, active labor began - rather definitively. She went from moderate contractions that required walking and swaying to sudden intense contractions during which she leaned back hard against her husband as he pressed on her lower back. These contractions involved incredibly voluptuous hip-shaking and some lovely moaning sounds. Between contractions, she rested against her husband's chest; they kissed, nuzzled. The intimacy was strikingly beautiful. At one point during this stage, my client started crying - not because it hurts, she said, but because it is so intense.. (Yes, of course tears came to my eyes too!)
As she progressed, she became more and more vocal with even fuller movement. Between contractions, she had deep laughter and said that she felt almost high. The two of them spent a bit of time in the shower - my client was marching and explained to her husband that she was on a hike they had taken in the Grand Canyon. She kept marching and started laughing really hard about some experience they had involving tuna fish, soda, and kids. While in the shower, the vocalizations she made during contractions really portrayed her progress. They were loud and beautiful and exactly what she needed to get through.
One very intense hour later, a beautiful baby boy was born.
This birth was definitely at the top of my experiences so far. It was thoroughly fun. And I really mean - fun. My client had a difficult first labor and birth. Throughout this experience and many times within the first hour postpartum, she said - this is so much better, this is so much better.
I love being a part of such beauty and intensity...

The Beauty of Breastmilk.

Check out Holistic Moms Network. The following article was published in the autumn 2010 issue of their magazine, The Wise Mom.

wisemom_Breastmilk[1]katewright