Introducing The Birth Guardian, an 8 page full-color newsletter produced by Gentle Expectations. For now, The Birth Guardian is free of charge for anyone who subscribes. You can subscribe by sending an e-mail to thebirthguardian@gmail.com .
You can also pick up your copy at Babies-R-Us on October 25 from 3-7 pm!
Keep checking back, because next month, a digital version will be available for those who subscribe.
Gentle Expectations is currently recovering from Hurricane Ike. We were lucky to not receive much damage, and all of our associates are doing well.
Keep an eye on our front page for upcoming events- to include a FANTASTIC fundraiser in an effort to provide more services for free to our low income clients.
Our website might be going through a few changes, in an effort to switch everything over to our new, wonderful logo, designed by Hannah.
As always, Meet-the-Doulas at Babies-R-Us will be at the end of the month, October 25 from 3-7 pm. Join us, chat a while, and find out what we can do for you.
Wow. So someone showed me this new birth technology- BirthTrack. Just when I thought continuous fetal monitoring couldn’t get any worse… it does.
See for yourself. BirthTrack
This machine clips onto the cervix with an electrode that screws into the baby’s head. A lot of women already have internal pressure catheters to monitor contractions, and many also have internal fetal monitors, which they are told is something that is “attached” (screwed in) to the top of the baby’s scalp to monitor their heartrate. I cannot explain it well enough, what this company thinks, so I will just link to a blog that explains it all for me.
What it boils down to is this:
This machine will be a defense for a doctor who is sued for malpractice, as it is SUPPOSED to show each change in the womans cervix and the baby’s heartrate. I have no doubt that this will only increase the rising c-section rate.
There are some people who underestimate the importance of taking a childbirth education/childbirth preparation course. Those who do realize the importance of such a course, often opt to take a course put on by the hospital at which they will be giving birth. This course it touted as the ideal course, claiming to prepare expectant families for what they will experience in the hospital. Seldom does this class inform the expectant parents of all of their options, instead, only explaining those options that align with hospital protocol.
Those who choose to birth outside of the hospital, either at an independent birthing center or at home, often select a course more tailored to their birth choices, that a hospital does not prepare or host.
Many people think there has to be an either/or, and that there is not a course available that is well tailored to both hospital births and homebirth. This is not the case.
A few select families opt to seek out an independent childbirth educator, one who is well prepared to teach both hospital options, and options for alternative birthing styles.
Many people will question the skill and/or validity of such an instructor, fearing they will get someone without education on the subject or one who has a bias in one direction or the other.
Independant childbirth education can well prepare families for birth in all situations. These instructors are trained on both active and expectant management procedures and are well versed on all topics that hospital birthing classes cover. An independent childbirth educator will not be biased on hospital birth or homebirth, and will instead present all options available to the expectant families, as well as the risks and benefits of each option, so that the parents-to-be can make a truly informed consent decision.
I hold a diploma of childbirth education from Childbirth International. More information of this organization can be found at http://www.childbirthinternational.com
Today is the day of the second meeting of Healing Birth: A Sisterhood of Survivors.
I hope to see some of you there.
The Barking Dog is so wonderful to be giving us this space to use. Please come out and support them in any way you can.
There are 18 hours left until the first meeting of Healing Birth: A Sisterhood of Survivors.
I am SUPER excited. I cannot wait and look forward to seeing a lot of you there.
We will be upstairs at the Barking Dog at 6 pm. BE THERE!
Dictionary.com defines experience as both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it means, “the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something,” as well as, “knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed, encountered, or undergone”. As a verb, it means, “to have experience of; meet with; undergo; feel,” and, “to learn by experience.”
There are many things in life that we can only learn by experience. As a child, we learn to talk, walk and even use the bathroom by experience. Explaining to a child how to do all of these things really does no good until they are able to try it for themselves.
If you look at the medical profession, most things are learned by experience. A doctor can read about suturing and have common knowledge on how the process works, but until they try for themselves, they cannot say they have experience. In fact, until they have repeated the process several times, they do not have experience, they have merely experienced it, which of course, are two different things.
In doula work, nearly everything is learned by experience. You can read in a book about how to position a woman in labor, but until you put your hands on her, you don’t truly know—and so much more.
Below is a list of the little things that experience has taught me while working as a doula, and as a childbirth educator. These are things that I could never have learned from a book.
1. How to not get offended the first time a family member insults you- you may expect a family member to lash out on occasion, but handling it with grace and dignity is something else entirely.
2. How to work WITH the nurses, not against them, while still helping the mom to get what she wants. There is a fine line between being respectful and brownnosing, and knowing that line makes all the difference.
3. When to talk and when to shut up. Every mother reacts differently to noise during labor. Picking up on subtle clues to be quiet takes time. Some women are talkers, and some are not.
4. How to take criticism constructively. The first time someone tells you that you did something “wrong,” it will sting. You might think that will never happen, but trust me, it will.
5. When photographs are a good idea, and when they are not. Even if you have discussed this with the family beforehand, some memories are made to be forgotten.
6. How to make a class of dads interactive. There is nothing worse than a bunch of macho men who refuse to participate in a class, but there ARE ways to make them get involved, without forcing the hand.
7. When to eat and when to sleep. During the first few labors and births, you may think you need to be by moms side at all times, but you cannot do a good job if you do not take care of yourself.
8. How not to be anxious when on call. Again, especially during your first few clients, you will be anxious around the clock and you will jump every time your phone rings. Only time can get you over it.
9. How to make cheesy games actually fun for a class of 30-somethings. Much like forcing macho men to participate, sometimes you will get a class of moms-to-be who think that learning games are silly. We all learn differently and these games serve a purpose. There is a trick to making it “worth it.”
10. When to walk away. Sometimes, it is hard to admit that you are not needed at that second. Knowing when to step back and let mom and dad have a moment alone can make a good birth experience extraordinary.
These things you often think you know, but only the experience will make you understand exactly the part that each lesson has on your skills and abilities.
“Doulas earn their reputation one birth at a time.”
This is the official blog of Gentle Expectations.