Blossoming Birth Services

This article perfectly sums up my instinct on cord cutting and cord blood banking. I support preventive medicine. I believe that allowing a baby to have all his or her blood at birth by waiting until the cord is done pulsing is more important than cutting early and saving it for later “just in case” they come down with a serious disease that their saved stem cells might be able to fix.

http://midwifethinking.com/2011/02/10/cord-blood-collection-confessions-of-a-vampire-midwife/

A birthing ball is a great fun tool to stay fit while pregnant, ease your birth experience and calm your new born child!
http://mynaturalchildbirth.org/birthing-ball/

Dear Home Birth and Midwifery Supporters,

THIS WEEK WE INTEND TO CALL SB3712, THE HOME BIRTH SAFETY ACT, FOR A VOTE ON THE HOUSE FLOOR!! The vote will likely be Tuesday.
This is probably the last day you have to call your Representative in support of SB3712, The Home Birth Safety Act!

There are 24 Representatives whose votes are unknown and 15 Representatives who are Likely Yes/Maybe. We must reach these legislators and find out their intentions. PLEASE HELP US REACH THESE REPS!

We need Illinois residents to call their representative AT THEIR SPRINGFIELD OFFICE.

Because districts overlap into certain areas, to help people verify their rep, have them go to http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx

When they contact their legislators via email or phone, we need them to simply say:

“I live in your district. I believe that regulation of home birth midwives will make home birth safer for mothers and babies and I want Rep. ____ to vote Yes on this bill. Can you please tell me how you will vote for the Home Birth Safety Act, SB3712, when it is called for a vote this week?”

If they get a secretary or aide who is discouraging about the possibility of the bill being called, they should just say “yes, I understand, but IF the bill gets called, what will the Representative’s vote be?”

~Special Place~

Hypnosis for childbirth makes the most sense to me. Learning hynosis techniques during pregnancy provides moms with tools to relax their mind and body, which allows them to enjoy their gentle natural birth. Hypnobabies is a full birth course, it does not need to be supplemented with any other birth class such as Bradley or Lamaze.

PLEASE consider the Hypnobabies program to learn hypnosis for your birth experience and overall life improvement! I personally enjoyed my daughter’s birth with hypnosis, and have been honored to attend other moms using Hypnobabies as a certified Hypno-doula.

http://www.hypnobabies.com/

Going to Be a Big Sister!

Older children can be a wonderful addition to the birth experience.

Here is an article with some thoughts to take into consideration when planning on having an older child attend the birth of their sibling:

http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/articles/pregnancy/childattend/index.php

Check out this video interview of Placenta Benefits.Info founder Jodi Selander.

Placenta for Postpartum Depression

I am proud to say that I am now a PBi  Placenta Encapsulation Specialist.

Why encapsulate your placenta?

• Help reduce postpartum fatigue, which will avoid postpartum depression
• Increase milk supply
• Speedy recovery for postpartum healing
• Hormonal  Balance

http://placentabenefits.info/medicinal.asp

I personally used these interview questions from Ina May’s book Guide to Childbirth:

• How, when, and where did you receive your midwifery education?
• Are you certified or licensed?
• What physician collaboration or backup do you have?
• Do you maintain statistics from your practice? May I see them?
• How many women are due within a month of my due date?
• Do you work with a partner If so, what are her qualifications?
• What is your plan if someone else is in labor when I am?
• Do you use pharmaceutical products to induce labor?
• What prenatal tests do you require?
• What are your recommendations about my diet during pregnancy?
• Do you carry an oxygen tank to births
• What methods do you suggest to alleviate labor pain?
• Is your certification in neonatal resuscitation up to date?
• To what hospital do you transport if this becomes necessary? Who will go with me?
• How often will you make postpartum visits?
• So you participate in regular peer review?
• How much do your services cost? Are you willing to create a payment plan?
• Where are you located? How often will I need to visit you?

Nature knows what’s best! Read this fascinating article on the possible evolutionary purpose for placentophagia.

http://placentabenefits.info/biological.asp

There must be some other evolutionary cause for placentophagia. A very interesting adaptive theory is that consuming placenta may actually affect the mother’s immune system, by suppressing her body’s inclination to create antibodies as a response to antigens present in the baby’s blood. As an example, women who are negative for the Rh antigen can have difficulty supporting a subsequent pregnancy if her first baby is positive for the Rh antigen. Her body can create anti-Rh antibodies, which then attempt to fight off the next pregnancy if the next baby is Rh-positive, mistakenly recognizing it as a threat. Placentophagia may actually cause a suppression of this response, allowing her to have successful subsequent pregnancies. Human women who are Rh-negative are often encouraged to get a shot of Rhogam, a vaccine that blocks the creation of high levels of these antibodies. Mammals may have adapted their own antidote over thousands of generations, simply by practicing placentophagy.

This is an exciting area of research, and we will hopefully learn much more about the benefits of placentophagy in the future. Perhaps we will even discover that Nature has had a cure for this antibody issue all along.

April and Aran

One of my most important jobs as a doula is to support dads and or birth partners during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. During birth, my role for dads is vital! I make sure to remind them to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, take a walk etc. It can come as such a relief to dads, because during  the birthing time they tend to forget about themselves. I also take time to reassure dad that everything is going normal and calmly educate him about the birth process and possible hospital procedures. Moms and their partners can be so psychically linked that if the partner is uncomfortable the mother may pick up on this and become unable to relax, loosen up and surrender to the experience herself. I make it a top priority to take care of dads because it will inevitably support the mother.

Dads and Doulas make a great team! One should not replace the other!