Chandra Shares Her Birth Story

Brielle Cain Davis’ Birth Story

I first started feeling contractions on Wednesday morning, April 14, 2010 at approximately 3:30 a.m. I decided to get up and do some work until I had to get dressed and ready at about 9:00 a.m. I had a midwife appointment and a sonogram scheduled later that day. I went through the rest of the day not feeling any more contractions.

At around 8 p.m. I went into Brielle’s room to do some last minute finishing touches and I felt a little bit of water leaking out. I thought to myself that my water may have broken, but there was no gush like you hear about on TV/movies. So I realized I had a few last emails I wanted to send to my bosses, so I got on the computer and worked until about 9 p.m. The contractions started to get stronger and more regular. I admitted that I was actually in labor and thought that I better get focused on giving birth to Brielle. I went upstairs and asked George to start timing the contractions while I rolled around on my exercise ball. The contractions were about 8 minutes a part. I watched Glee and some other show we had on DVR. George went to sleep for about 45 minutes! Lucky him! When he woke up the contractions were about 6 minutes apart and getting stronger. I asked for my wine, which tasted pretty good, but it seemed to slow down the contractions, so I only drank about 3 good sips. In order to manage the pain, we danced, changed positions, and I sounded.

Mother Baby Friendly Initiative

I had published this in my blog last year. But after a mom came to the Meet the Doula Tea this past week and shared that she had had a list of questions to ask her doctor when she was first pregnant, but once she asked them she did not know what the answers really meant. I have heard it said that question 2 about episiotomies is one of the most- if not the most- revealing question to ask. If they routinely find it "necessary" to cut a first time mom, they are more than likely very interventive. I had a client get this answered by one doctor as he only did it when "necessary." When asked further when he found it necessary, he said, if it looks like she is going to tear. Ouch! She decided he was too interventive for her and she found a new care provider.

I think when the care provider determines you are "late" is also a revealing question. In the ACOG pamphlet  it states,  "The day your baby is due is called the “estimated date of delivery,” or EDD. Although only about 1 in 20 women give birth on their exact due date, your EDD is useful for a number of reasons. It is used as a guide for checking your baby’s growth and your pregnancy’s progress. The EDD gives a rough idea of when your baby will be born. Most women go into labor within about 2 weeks before or after their due date. "  There are several things a physician can do to help determine the well being of a baby who is still in utero after 40 weeks. But if they say things like, "nothing good can come after 40 weeks." and "your baby is only getting bigger and your placenta is only getting older." both things I personally have heard care providers say, then perhaps they need to rethink their association with the ACOG stance. You have a due month for a reason- babies come sometime between that 38th and 42nd week because most often the due date is merely a guess!

So here is the repost!

In Sheri Menelli's bookJOURNEY INTO MOTHERHOOD she addressses the CIMS initiative of questions you should ask your care provider and expounds a bit about them:

HAV I N G  A  B A B Y ?  TEN QU E S T I O N S TO A S K: 
How to have your baby? The choice is yours!
First, you should learn as much as you can about all your choices. There are many different ways of caring for a mother and her baby during labor and birth. Birthing care that is better and healthier for mothers and
babies is called “mother-friendly.” Some birth places or settings are more mother-friendly than others.
A group of experts in birthing care came up with this list of 10 things to look for and ask about. Medical research supports all of these things. These are also the best ways to be mother-friendly. When you are deciding where to have your baby, you’ll probably be choosing from different places such as:
• birth center,
• hospital, or
• home birth service.

Here’s what you should expect, and ask for, in your birth experience. Be sure to find out how the people you talk with handle these ten issues about caring for you and your baby. You may want to ask the questions below to help you learn more.

1. “Who can be with me during labor and birth?”
Mother-friendly birth centers, hospitals and home birth services will let a birthing mother decide whom she wants to have with her during the birth. This includes fathers, partners, children, other family members or friends. They will also let a birthing mother have with her a person who has special training in helping women cope with labor and birth. This person is called a doula or labor support person. She never leaves the birthing mother alone. She encourages her, comforts her and helps her understand what’s happening to her. They will have midwives as part of their staff so that a birthing mother can have a midwife with her if she wants to.

2. “What happens during a normal labor and birth in your setting?”
If they give mother-friendly care, they will tell you how they handle every part of the birthing process. For example, how often do they give the mother a drug to speed up the birth? Or do they let labor and birth usually happen on its own timing? They will also tell you how often they do certain procedures. For example, they will have a record of the percentage of C-sections (Cesarean births) they do every year. If the number
is too high, you’ll want to consider having your baby in another place or with another doctor or midwife.
Here are some numbers we recommend you ask about.
• They should not use oxytocin (a drug) to start labor for more than 1 in 10 women (10%).
• They should not do an episiotomy (ee-pee-zee-AH-tummy) on more than 1 in 5 women (20%). They should be trying to bring that number down. (An episiotomy is a cut in the opening to the vagina to make it larger for birth. It is not necessary most of the time.)
• They should not do C-sections on more than 1 in 10 women, (10%) if it’s a community hospital. The rate should be 15% or less in hospitals which care for many high-risk mothers and babies. A C-section is a major operation in which a doctor cuts through the mother’s stomach into her womb and removes the baby through the opening. Mothers who have had a C-section can often have future babies normally. Look for a birth place in which 6 out of 10 women (60%) or more of the mothers who have had C-sections go on to have their other babies through the birth canal.

3. “How do you allow for differences in culture and beliefs?”
Mother-friendly birth centers, hospitals and home birth services are sensitive to the mother’s culture. They know that mothers and families have differing beliefs, values and customs. For example, you may have a custom that only women may be with you during labor and birth. Or perhaps your beliefs include a religious ritual to be done after birth. There are many other examples that may be very important to you. If the place and the people are mother-friendly, they will support you in doing what you want to do. Before labor starts
tell your doctor or midwife special things you want.

4. “Can I walk and move around during labor? What position do you suggest for birth?”
In mother-friendly settings, you can walk around and move about as you choose during labor. You can choose the positions that are most comfortable and work best for you during labor and birth. (There may be a medical reason for you to be in a certain position.) Mother-friendly settings almost never put a woman flat on her back with her legs up in stirrups for the birth.

5. “How do you make sure everything goes smoothly when my nurse, doctor, midwife, or agency need to work with each other?”
Ask, “Can my doctor or midwife come with me if I have to be moved to another place during labor? Can you help me find people or agencies in my community who can help me before and after the baby is born?”
Mother-friendly places and people will have a specific plan for keeping in touch with the other people who are caring for you. They will talk to others who give you birth care. They will help you find people or agencies in your community to help you. For example, they may put you in touch with someone who can help you with breastfeeding.

6. “What things do you normally do to a woman in labor?”
Experts say some methods of care during labor and birth are better and healthier for mothers and babies. Medical research shows us which methods of care are better and healthier. Mother-friendly settings only use methods that have been proven to be best by scientific evidence. Sometimes birth centers, hospitals and home birth services use methods that are not proven to be best for the mother or the baby. For example, research has shown it’s usually not helpful to break the bag of waters. Here is a list of things we recommend you ask about. They do not help and may hurt healthy mothers and babies. They are not proven to be best for the mother or baby and are not mother-friendly.
• They should not keep track of the baby’s heart rate all the time with a machine (called an electronic fetal monitor). Instead it is best to have your nurse or midwife listen to the baby’s heart from time to time.
• They should not break your bag of waters early in labor.
• They should not use an IV (a needle put into your vein to give you fluids).
• They should not tell you that you can’t eat or drink during labor.
• They should not shave you.
• They should not give you an enema.
A birth center, hospital or home birth service that does these things for most of the mothers is not mother-friendly. Remember, these should not be used without a special medical reason.

7. ”How do you help mothers stay as comfortable as they can be? Besides drugs, how do you help mothers relieve the pain of labor?”
The people who care for you should know how to help you cope with labor. They should know about ways of dealing with your pain that don’t use drugs. They should suggest such things as changing your position, relaxing in a warm bath, having a massage and using music. These are called comfort measures.Comfort measures help you handle your labor more easily and help you feel more in control. The people who care
for you will not try to persuade you to use a drug for pain unless you need it to take care of a special medical problem. All drugs affect the baby.

8. “What if my baby is born early or has special problems?”
Mother-friendly places and people will encourage mothers and families to touch, hold, breastfeed and care for their babies as much as they can. They will encourage this even if your baby is born early or has a medical problem at birth. (However, there may be a special medical reason you shouldn’t hold and care for your baby.)


9. ”Do you circumcise baby boys?”
Medical research does not show a need to circumcise baby boys. It is painful and risky. Mother-friendly birth places discourage circumcision unless it is for religious reasons.


10. “How do you help mothers who want to breastfeed?” The World Health Organization made this list of ways birth services support breastfeeding.
• They tell all pregnant mothers why and how to breastfeed.
• They help you start breastfeeding within 1 hour after your baby is born.
• They show you how to breastfeed. And they show you how to keep your milk coming in even if you have to be away from your baby for work or other reasons.
• Newborns should have only breast milk. (However, there may be a medical reason they cannot have it right away.)
• They encourage you and the baby to stay together all day and all night. This is called “rooming-in.”
• They encourage you to feed your baby whenever he or she wants to nurse, rather than at certain times.
• They should not give pacifiers (“dummies” or “soothers”) to breastfed babies.
• They encourage you to join a group of mothers who breastfeed. They tell you how to contact a group near you.
• They have a written policy on breastfeeding. All the employees know about and use the ideas in the policy.
• They teach employees the skills they need to carry out these steps.

Would you like to give this information (and more) to your doctor, midwife or nurse? This information was taken from The Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative written for health care providers. You can get a copy of the Initiative for your doctor, midwife, or nurse by mail, e-mail, or on the World Wide Web at www.motherfriendly.org.
©2000 by the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services

What is Prenatal Preparation?

I received a call yesterday from a good friend and someone who I adore. It was my acupuncturist Dr. Gurusahay Khalsa. He was sadly telling me that due to restrictions in his insurance he can no longer see a patient for the first time for acupuncture. Often times we send our clients there when they have a breech baby and need help turning this baby. He mentioned it would be better if they had already been seeing him along their journey. I totally agreed! And it got me thinking about prenatal care and preparation.

When someone becomes pregnant they seek out the care provider they will see for prenatal care. But really they needed to be seeing a good midwife or physician prior to becoming pregnant to make sure their health was good - taking folic acid prior to becoming pregnant- watching their diet, being clear of medications that could harm a developing fetus, etc. This is the pre- prenatal care that insures a safe and healthy pregnancy. But we all believe a good provider found early in pregnancy is essential. But what else is essential?

So, I thought I would share what I would consider a wonderful path to prenatal care and preparation.

• First I would seek the care of a midwife if I wanted a non interventive birth and was healthy. There are a handful of doctors who practice holistic care and they are wonderful alternatives to a great midwife. There are some midwives who practice like the most interventive physician as well- so all care providers are not created equal.If you would be considered high risk, a physician may be a good choice. But keep in mind what some consider to make you high risk may not be risky at all to others. for instance I have supported women as their doula who were in their early 40's and were being seen by a midwife.
• I would choose a care provider based on where they practice hospital wise if choosing to birth at a hospital versus home. There are a lot of hospitals in our area- and they offer different options. Don't expect that all hospitals are created equal in respect to what you are "allowed" to do for your birth experience. For instance in our area there are only two hospitals that offer water birth- AMC and North Fulton. You may not initially be interested in a water birth- but this could change as you learned more about it. At least it would then be an option to consider.
• I would take an early pregnancy class. If you do not know what kinds of questions to ask and what options you may want- then it makes it hard to have those options later if you did not ask or know what your choices could be. I would try to find a class that was offered by an independent person- not paid by the hospital itself.
• I would begin, if you had not already done so, to seek some alternative therapies that would keep your body in the best condition for the pregnancy. 
• I would seek a great massage therapist who was familiar with the pregnant body. 
• I would seek a good chiropractor who also knew the webster technique to help you stay in perfect alignment and know what to do if your baby did not! 
• I would seek the skills of an acupuncturist to keep my balance and help to harmonize my  life energy during this important time. 
• I would consider seeing a naturopath to help me understand the things I could do to help keep myself healthy and in case I became sick to understand safe alternatives to the allopathic medicine path. 
• I would try to start eating organic and move my diet into the healthier range if I was not already doing so. 
• I would seek out some great pregnancy exercise classes- prenatal yoga, prenatal dance, belly dancing, walking, swimming, etc.
• I would take childbirth and breastfeeding classes early enough in my pregnancy to be able to practice and absorb the ideas that can change the "garbage in garbage out" situation we often are in listening to others share their horror stories and give us erroneous information. The mind body connection is imperative for a fearless birth experience.
• I would seek the support of a doula. The studies are in- they do make a difference- big time! 
• I would read a few great books to help me prepare for the birth and even more books to help me prepare for parenting. 
• I would attend La Leche League meetings in my second trimester. 

In doing these things often we will find a core of new friendships that will help us in those early months as a new parent.

Ironically folks do not do most of the stuff in the previous paragraph. But folks believe that a fit pregnancy and healthy outcome just happen. As a doula I would attest that most of the time those who follow the true prenatal preparation path have better outcomes. So, just as you follow guidelines from your doctor or midwife to follow their guidelines for your diet and medication- consider that there is more to prenatal preparation than the selection of your care provider.

So, don't limit your thinking when it comes to what prenatal care and preparation really means. A healthier mom produces a healthier baby and has a more gentle outcome for herself and her baby.