Archive for the ‘Information Support’ Category

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Learning to Spin Babies

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

Yesterday I joined some friends in the birthing community in learning techniques for spinning babies from Gail Tulley. We were shown many techniques to help a pregnant mom get her baby into an optimal position for birth. One of my favorites was the forward leaning inversion. Gail said, one inversion a day for 30 seconds each, is good for the round ligaments and helping position the baby.

Pregnant mother showing us a forward leaning inversion.

After the mother inverts herself, she gently crawls down and then sits up fairly quickly. This helps her balance the round ligaments holding her uterus in place. If her uterus is in balance, her baby will find the optimal position for his birth! It was a fascinating class. I’m going to practice these elements so that I can offer them to the mothers that I help with birth.

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Cupcake Inductions

Friday, April 8th, 2011


I watched this Youtube video of a news report about a bakery that is doing a booming induction business. This bakery makes a lemon drop cupcake that has had 19 women past their due dates go into labor. I find that fascinating. The bakery isn’t in Pittsburgh, I think it is in Fayetteville Arkansas, but it is an interesting phenomenon. OBs in the area are recommending the cupcakes to start labor. Most women who are past their due date will try almost anything (especially something as tasty as cupcake) to get their labor started without pitocin.

But does a cupcake have magic induction powers? Is it the lemon zest? Or is it the power of belief that keeps working the more success there is with the cupcakes? Either way, it sounds like a tasty way to start labor.

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Resources List: Mothering the Mother

Saturday, March 12th, 2011

Here is a list of resources for helping mothers who need extra support at the beginning of their pregnancies because they have had previous difficulties.

A Place to Remember

Uplifting support resources for those who have been touched by a crisis in pregnancy or the death of a baby. (Infertility, bedrest, preterm birth, miscarriage, stillbirth, early infant death, SIDS)

Journeys: Stories of Pregnancy After Loss

A book of story pairings of loss and subsequent pregnancy.

Miscarriage Manual

Solace for Mothers, Healing after Traumatic Childbirth

Babyloss

Provides information and support online for anyone affected by the death of a baby during pregnancy, at birth or shortly afterwards.

Missing Grace

Missing Grace Foundation’s mission is to provide resources and support for families that have experienced: pregnacy loss, infant loss, infertility or adoption and to advocate for comprehensive, patient-focused prenatal care for all women. Five core areas encompass the heart of the mission: Grieve, Restore, Arise, Commemorate and Educate.

The Fertile Heart

Ultimately, the intention is to turn our “infertility” into an opportunity for birthing a most fulfilling life regardless of circumstances.

 

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Mucus Plug

Friday, January 14th, 2011

Mothers often ask me what their mucus plug will look like. I tell them that it will be mucus-like and may be pink-tinged with blood. In Doulas’ Guide to Birthing Your Way, we defined the mucus plug as: “An accumulation of mucus within the cervix to further protect the baby from infection. Losing it sometimes means labor is close. You can tell you’ve lost your mucus plug if you see something that looks like mucus with strands of pink, red or brown in it.”

A helpful mother send me a photo of her mucus plug, shown below. Yours may vary in amount or color. Many moms near their due dates look for their mucus plugs and wonder when they will see them. It is also normal to not ever see it. The mucus plug can also grow back (or re-accumulate) if labor doesn’t happen within a few days of losing it. I wish I could say that losing your mucus plug meant birth would happen in 16 hours and 25 minutes, but no such luck. Losing your mucus plug is an early indicator of labor, but it can be misleading. It doesn’t definitively tell you when your labor will begin.

The mucus plug from a full-term mother. Her birth was approximately a week later.

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Midwives & Medicare

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

Midwife Salome at Jesus' birth

The Post-Gazette reported that the new health care law means that midwives will be getting the same reimbursement as doctors for births and prenatal care.

“In short, it says certified nurse midwives will now receive the same Medicare reimbursement as physicians when they provide the same services, from prenatal care to routine deliveries. They had been getting only 65 percent of the physician’s fee.”

This change will mean that more people will be using midwives more regularly and that midwives will be able to afford remaining midwives. In Pittsburgh, many midwives have had to change their practices or stop practicing because they couldn’t afford to keep being midwives. This is a banner day for birth!

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