Thank you for your patience as I work to find information about each of Cincinnatis hospitals c-secton, episiotomy rates and more. I believe in informed choice and am excited to offer Cincinnati’s pregnant population concrete information so they can choose for themselves which hospital is best for them. Stand by and keep a look out in the next week for a totally informative, and important post.
You probably know that you want to have a calming and relaxed environment for your birth. This is because your cervix is really quite demanding with it’s very own timetable of how quickly it wants to dilate. So bossy! But it only want to dilate in a space that feels safe and for your cervix, you’ll do anything so let’s get started.
You can create this space in lots of different ways and simply being in your own home is an excellent place to start! Bring enough of your own things and you can set up a hospital room to be very cozy too.
I like to think though all five of the senses when preparing a birth space. Let’s start with what you will see. Here is where birth affirmations come in, the low lighting (think lamps and candles),and a clean environment. During a natural birth, your eyes will be closed at least half the time, when they are open they won’t always be focused but every once in awhile, when you are focused, it would be great if see something encouraging and beautiful before you sink in again.
Next let’s do what you smell. Here is the essential oil diffuser, attendants who don’t smell like anything (no BO people!) and bland food. Fresh fruit, cheese and nuts work well. Fresh ice water is a must (okay, well I guess this covers what you will taste too).
How about what you hear. Heres your birth playlists which could be songs or the sound of waves. Voices around you should be soft, calm and encouraging. You could have a carpet on the floor too so the sound of steps is muffled.
Finally is what you will touch. This is where water shines! In the shower, bath or a birth tub all forms of water is soothing and when immersed, the weight of your own body is lighter so you can change positions without the groans.
So when your preparing your birth space, grab an aspect for each of your five senses, make it your own and give your cervix a place to do its thang.
I’ve began offering placenta encapsulation to clients in the greater Cincinnati area 8 years ago, when I was trained by a local home birth midwife. Since then I have undergone a more traditional weekend workshop on placenta encapsulation and I’ve learned tons through my personal experience.
I began by offering the raw method of placenta encapsulation because there’s a belief that none of the potential benefits of the placenta are cooked out. I am now also offering the Chinese traditional method.
I know that there are many reasons that clients might prefer this. Some of which may be because of their religious beliefs, that they want to share their placenta capsules with someone else, or they simply feel safer consuming a placenta that has been steamed. Either way feel free to tell me your preference when you book me. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have!
Here’s to a happier and more whole postpartum season!
Almost every client is worried about tearing during the birth of her baby. Tearing is a real and legitimate fear women have and I am glad that I have the experience to address it! When I read blog posts I want writers to GET TO THE POINT so, I’ll go ahead and bullet out a midwives approach to preventing tears during birth now.
1. Slow down drastically at the birth of your babies head.
2. Support your tissues externally as they stretch during birth.
3. Get body work at term to keep you and your baby in an ideal position for birth.
For those of you who want more information about those bullets above I will go into detail now.
1. Slow down drastically at the birth of your babies head:
The whole purpose of this is to allow the vaginal tissues to stretch instead of popping open. (I know some of you just did a involuntary kegel with that word pop! Lol.) When a client reaches term, we discuss that when she feels a burning or stinging sensation during pushing (otherwise known as ‘the ring of fire’), she should communicate that to me. This is the point where the head is crowning, or where the largest portion of the head is at the vaginal opening. Its interesting to me that slowing down at crowning isn’t something that women naturally do. Its much more common for women to feel the intensity of crowning, think to themselves that they can finish the birth real quick and just blast the baby out. This is the point when your support people come in. When I see and hear that a woman is crowning I say a couple things. First, I ask her to take a breath, then open her eyes and tell her it’s time to slow down. Then we lock eyes and take a couple big breaths together. If she can just breathe through a couple contractions, allowing her uterus to push but not putting force behind it, that is usually all the stretching that the tissues need to be tear free!
2. Support your tissues externally as they stretch during birth:
Otherwise known as perineal support. See image below.
When I’m at a birth as a midwife, I use a folded washcloth to support the anus and perinuem as much a possible during every contraction once there is active head movement with pushing. This extra exterior support not only reminds mom to slow down but also holds the skin together to keep tearing from happening. Perineal Support is even more beneficial if the mom is providing it for herself because she can feel exactly where the support is needed, but alas, it’s difficult for her to reach! Providing perineal support can be discussed with your care provider to see what their practice is.
3. Get body work at term to keep you and your baby in an ideal position for birth:
An ideal baby position at birth will keep the diameter of the head the smallest it can be to lessen the likelihood or tearing. This means your babies chin will be well tucked and the babies back is towards your belly, on the left hand side. Body work can align YOU, so the baby is free to move to the best position. I always recommend a deep tissue massage therapist who is comfortable working on pregnant moms for body work.
Notes to know:
There are degrees of tear depth, that go anywhere from just a scratch all the way to through the anus. See the image below:
Questions? Feel free to contact me or comment below.
This one goes out to all you ladies out there patiently preparing your mind body and spirit to meet the baby that you have been working so hard to grow and nourish in your womb! I see you and I bless you on your work!
It does seem like a lot doesn’t it?! Plus laboring mom that’s five people right there! It feels like too many to be watching you push a head that feels SO big, right out of you. I know, and it might be if everyone stayed there staring at you the whole time. But while your working your baby down and out, theres all of labor to go through beforehand. Though everyone will be there at the very end, I promise, you won’t care!
Let’s break it down. First of all, you should know that your doctor plans to only be in the room with you for the very last moments of your birth. Like, once they can see the head, they will be there with you and stay until the birth of the placenta. And then they are saying, “Congratulations!” and are out the door. Its not that they dont care about you, its just that they don’t want to be a disruption. So they do their work and wait to be summoned by the nurses. At the very end, it’s very exciting, you can feel how close you are and the doctor flies in like a burst of light! They catch your beautiful baby and then is gone to let you mask in the glow of the sweetest baby you have ever seen!
The nurses are in and out of the room. There’s no way to tell who you will get, and shifts change whether you want them to or not. They are smiling at you while they monitor you and the baby. They do vitals, listening to the babies heartrate and charting everything. If you need ice chips or more pillows, they will be happy to grab them for you. They are so sweet but usually have other moms to help too.
Your partner is your rock. They arent leaving your side and are supporting you though every contraction. They are encouraging you, massaging you and sneaking you honey straws. Your partner is a dream until they don’t know what to do anymore. Here’s where the doula cones in.
The doula is the gap filler, the runner, the second support to the partner and laboring mom. It can get tribal during labors, it hurts! Mom can get interrupted, loose her flow and start getting anxious or scared, feeling out of control. The doula is there to help know what to say, what positions to try next. To remind everyone that this is normal, that we can continue to say yes to the process, and that this is the feeling of your baby getting closer to meeting you! She will also do little things like making sure your cup is full, you are emptying your bladder and that your partner doesn’t need anything.
Laboring mom, partner and doula are the three constants in the room. While nurses and doctors come in and out, the partner and doula are charged with maintaining a calm and supportive atmosphere, your doula especially is a sponge of things that could effect the couple. Simple questions, comments, opened curtains are no match for her!
Really, with a role for everyone, it works together really nicely. You can even add a photographer in there or best friend who’s only job is to hold your hand and it would be great.
As a doula and midwifery apprentice I see a lot of dads and other partners at a birth who are standing around awkwardly, just lost, and not knowing what to do. And thats okay, I know how hard it is! I started out that way too, but now I’m deep in this process of supporting women during birth here in the Greater Cincinnati area and have learned some things. I want to prepare you, as partners to a pregnant woman, to be your very best self, one who is prepared, willing to work hard and will meet the mom right where she is.
So there are a couple things I want to talk about…
First: If you get nothing else from this post, I want you to remember that during a birth, you should be calm, grounded, peaceful and know without a shadow of a doubt that she can birth her baby. Everything else after your grounded energy comes second.
For those of you who are list people, here are the top things i think you should have under your belt.
Before the birth, its incredibly valuable if you, as the partner…
Luckily for you… I have midwifery classes, which means I have to make client handouts, and then want to share them with all of you! So here is mine on supporting moms as partners during her labor and birth : ) PS: its a trifold in case you want to print it out. Partners at Birth.pdf
Another reason to love Ted Talks! This is beautiful animation of the transformation from conception to birth.
