In recent weeks, through midwifery meetings, webinars, or films, I’ve been exposed to some new and interesting things. Here are a few of them to share and think about! I’ve been working hard on the 2nd draft of my upcoming book Confessions of a Childbirth Educator, so I’m taking advantage of the blog to not […]
People of all ages and professions come to my Supported Birth classes having been exposed to nothing in their lives about birth but Hollywood images. This is so non-beneficial and destructive. We usually don’t realize how much the media effects our minds and beliefs, in this case, causing completely unrealistic fears from exaggerated images. Our
Here are more excerpts from my upcoming book CONFESSIONS OF A CHILDBIRTH EDUCATOR from chapter on What Mothers want Women to Know Before Giving Birth. These are some segments on Birth Center and Home Birth experiences: JL: There is no reason why you cannot birth outside of a hospital setting. I gave birth to my
ADVICE FROM MOMS TO NEW MOMS ABOUT OUT-OF-HOSPITAL BIRTH Read Post »
Here are more excerpts from my upcoming book CONFESSIONS OF A CHILDBIRTH EDUCATOR from Chapter 4: What Mothers want Women to Know Before Giving Birth. These are some segments on Labor & Delivery: JP: I know it’s been said, and many women are posting on Instagram all the time now, but I strongly believe one
ADVICE FROM MOMS TO NEW MOMS ABOUT BIRTH Read Post »
Please attribute to a British midwife, whose name I no longer recall. She was writing her PhD dissertation on this topic at the time of the lecture. It was Aristotle who first said that pregnancy was 10 lunar months, which was taken to mean 280 days. From Aristotle’s observation, Franz Karl Naegele created a rule
In Midwifery Today Winter Volume 2021, Midwife Lois Wilson writes: “When I entered the world of birth and midwifery in 1985, pregnant with my first child and determined to have a natural birth, there was no internet, no social media, and no famous overnight “influencers.” For information, I devoured Ina May Gaskin’s Spiritual Midwifery and
Telling Your Truth Read Post »
I attended my first birth as a doula almost 27 years ago – a 16 year-old African American girl living at St. Anne’s Maternity Home. She was tough as nails, and would jump up and pace back and forth during each contraction, then rush to the bed to lay down in between. She didn’t need
PREPARING FOR BIRTH Read Post »
In the United States, failure to progress is the top reason for unplanned primary cesarean (first c-s delivery). Failure to progress is a subjective diagnosis, pronounced when a healthcare provider thinks labor is taking longer than it should. It really depends on what the care provider views as normal and abnormal. The couple may or
UNPLANNED CESAREAN FOR FAILURE TO PROGRESS Read Post »
This article describes many helpful ways to utilize positions while laboring with an epidural. We usually think that if you have an epidural, you can’t move. The optimal physiology for birth is when women are up and moving about, following their bodies’ signals, and helping their babies navigate their way through the pelvis. When women
OPTIMIZING LABOR POSITIONS WITH AN EPIDURAL Read Post »
Foreword It has been more than two decades since the World Health Organization (WHO) issued technical guidance dedicated to the care of healthy pregnant women and their babies – Care in normal birth: a practical guide. The global landscape for maternity services, pregnancy classes, and birthing classes has changed considerably since that guidance was issued.
