Moved Our Blog

Jami my wonderful daughter and social network extraordinaire has redesigned our  blog to be easier to view and find things within. Please visit it at Labor of Love Blog. Thanks!

Polly Perez is Amazing

Do you know who Polly is? She is an amazing nurse, doula, childbirth educator, business woman, writer and speaker. I have had the opportunity to read her books, glean from her wisdom at conferences, sit and chat with her on several occasions and even co speak with her at the ICAN conference in Atlanta two years ago. She is a truly amazing woman. And did I also mention she is recovering from a brain attack as well?  Truly amazing!

I remember years ago when she had her stroke, those of us who know and love her sent her hearts. She loves anything with hearts on it! I think that is because she has a big one!

Having Renee There Made A Huge Difference

Renee was my Doula at my son's birth in September of 2010.  I did not have a doula with the birth of my first son in 2007 - having Renee there made a huge difference.  She helped keep me calm and focused on having a natural child birth.  She graciously blended into the scenery and was supportive when I needed her and also seemed to fade into the background when I didn’t.  She helped my husband support me in ways he didn’t know how and brought us closer in the process.  

Kudos for the Ladies of the Labyrinth!

I knew I wanted to hire a doula very early in my pregnancy, but it was well into the third trimester when I finally started looking.  After a brief phone conversation with Teresa, I knew A Labor of Love was for me.  Teresa made me feel confident in my ability to choose the best birth for me and my baby.  I attended the next Meet The Doulas Tea.  I listened to each doula speak about herself, and I felt drawn to the Ladies of the Labyrinth.  I hired them on the spot.

Why Don't We Allow Ourselves To Dream Big?

Often times when I ask a mom what would make her birth ideal, she hesitates to answer me. I just read a prenatal form that is so like many others. She wrote, "I'm almost hesitant to answer this question and may gracefully back out of doing so at the risk of being disappointed if my "ideals" don't happen. " I can tell you that is almost verbatim what I hear often. I do hear things like short labor, no tearing, attentive nurses, etc... but most of the time there is hesitancy to answer what ideal would be to them. And they always follow up with the remark about being disappointed.

Who Will Play the Roles At Your Labor

Often couples are confused by the roles the different players will have in their labors. I thought I would offer some descriptive words of who does what in the usual labor. Some roles may overlap and others will not. I am sure there are responsibilities I may miss. Some nurses and midwives, when able to, offer similar labor support as a doula. Some midwives are more like a doctor in the way they practice. Each provider of support offers their expertise and personality into your labor.One doctor may bring laughter and encouragement when another only arrives to catch the baby. Often times one nurse has two patients and may be watching another while a birth is occurring or a nurse is on break. Some midwives may be sleeping after being up all night or busy with several moms in labor. Feel free to add more in the comments section. What did your partner, nurse, doctor, midwife or doula do for you?

Quite a Journey

I wanted to share a bit of a story of  a woman's journey in labor and birth to help you see things from a perspective that is not the norm in our area. A highly interventive hospital does not mean lots of interventions if you make some other choices that help avoid just that!


This is a first time mom who started her labor right around her due date. Her labor started with a bang! Contractions started fairly intensely lasting about 45 seconds and coming every 3 to 4 minutes. She tried laboring in the tub at home for a while, but as they escalated and were timed at 2 to 3 minutes apart lasting a full minute, she went ahead and left to go to the hospital. She had been in labor for about 4 hours at this time.

100 Ways To Help Achieve A Natural Birth

100 Ways To Help  Achieve A Natural Birth

Decisions in your early pregnancy:

1. Choose a care provider that supports and believes in natural birth. Ask when you are considered “late.” Their induction rate will tell you a lot!
2. Interview your care provider prior to confirming as their patient. Ask for statistics of moms who wanted to go natural, how many actually did.
3. Understand your provider's philosophy of birth- ask good questions in the beginning. This is an important relationship- don’t choose them on a referral- interview them!
4. Hire a doula, a birth professional with experience in labor and birth.
5. Interview your doula carefully. Does she have any hidden agendas about birth, is she trying to heal from her own birth through yours? What is her experience and training?

Midwives: What is the Difference Between Them?

There are basically three kinds of training for midwifery; CPMs, CNMs and DEMs.  Although there are a few others designated. The midwives training is different as well as their licenses. I thought for clarity sake I would share them with you. Although the restrictions of the type of care they can provide varies from state to state.  I have gathered this information from the websites that represent the different types of midwives.

Dear Warriors- A Letter From A Student

Guina teaches an immersion two weekend series. This is a letter from one of her students. The editing done was only for brevity.

Dear Warriors:
Hi everyone! Doug and I wanted to let you all know that we welcomed Louis Livingston Frederick into the world on December 29, 2010 at 1:06 AM. At the end of this very long email, I will list some thing that I found helpful through the process. 

Here's a little of the birth story for you:

Choosing Childbirth Classes

Mothers Advocate offered a great article on choosing a childbirth class. Here are their questions- with our answers regarding our classes. My input is in italics and is in purple below.

Choosing a Childbirth Class
What to Consider When Looking for a Childbirth Class

Guest Blogger: Reid Forrester of A Natural Path

Maya Abdominal Therapy and Yoga:

Time-tested Tools for Getting the Body “In Tune” for Birth

You spent your life dreaming of the birth of your child.   You imagined that moment, after your hard laboring, when your child journeys from your body into your arms, as a moment filled with light and love, one of life's most amazing and joyous memories.

Come the day, you feel exhilaration as the “It’s time!” is messaged from your belly.   Your bags are packed, your spouse is primed, your birth caregiver is apprised, and the excited parents-to-be set out for their birth location.