Empowering the mom with multiples!

Hello fellow birthing nuts!  Okay, maybe you aren't exactly a birthing nut .... yet... (hehe).

I've got a client due soon and have been getting in contact with a lot of moms-to-be - both of which have been getting me really amped up on birth related blogs, forums, websites, and youtube videos!  I'm going crazy over here and the baby-fever isn't letting up anytime soon apparently!

It could also partially be due to my baby Lucy turning 10 months old tomorrow! My goodness how time flies by!

Anyways, I've been posting a lot on my facebook page and realized I really should be sharing these videos here, in the CVDS blog!

This video below is a picture slide of women who carried multiples and birthed their babies on their own! That's right - NO CESEAREAN!  I think I have been especially in tune to this misconception since delivering Lucy breech.  The idea that breech babies just CANNOT be born naturally is one of modern medicine and not one of birth - the same principle can be applied to multiples births.  When you really think about it - there isn't anything inherently more dangerous.  Obviously the same rules apply though - for example, if a baby is transverse (side-lying) OBVIOUSLY they can't be delivered vaginally - or if the mother has other complications such as high blood pressure and/or diabetes and/or some other issues - the situation changes.  But for normal, boring, low-risk moms - Why not give it a shot??

So here you go!  Enjoy! (I particularly love the music in the background - so motivating)

Until next time...

Great quote

I sometimes search around the internet for great websites relating to birth, doulas or midwifery work.  One that I learned about when I was doing my doula training out of the Twin Cities was the Childbirth Collective (http://www.childbirthcollective.org/index.php)  While browsing around their site I stumbled upon an article pertaining to breech presentations at birth.  This intrigued me since Lucy was a breech birth, but what I wanted to share was the author's final words.  I think they speak volumes to what I feel women should keep in mind when making any of the many decisions required before, during or after childbirth.

"Whatever you choose to do and whatever the results of your choices, remember that you did the best you could at the time. Your baby and your body have wisdom of their own, and though it isn't always possible to know the reasons why some things happen, there are always reasons. Only you know what is best for you and your baby. If a particular choice just feels right or wrong, it may be - let your intuition be a guide. The best choices are made from love, not fear. So make yours from an open heart, and best wishes!"  ~Vanessa Stephens


Until next time...

Where have I been?!

I cannot believe I haven't touched this blog since April 8th!  Well, actually I can.  Re-reading that last post made me aware of how important that article ended up being for me.  In short, I went into labor and delivered my daughter, Lucy, just nine days after that post.  April 17th, 2011 at approximately 8PM little 6 lb. 1 oz - 21 inch long - Lucy was born in a water birth, at home, breech!

As I had written previously, I had chosen not to get any cervical checks after we were "full term" and I stuck to that decision.  I also stuck to the decision not to have my waters broken if they hadn't on their own.  Again, I reached the end of labor and still had not experienced my water breaking - my mid-wife reassured me that even if it NEVER broke, that would be fine and they would just break it as the baby crowned.  That was comforting.  But it did end up going on it's own as I began pushing and it was definitely an interesting experience.  One that I'm glad I've been fortunate enough to experience so I can share that experience with my clients.

If you'd like to seek out the full birth story (along with some blog updates that happened during labor) head on over to my personal blog: Reilly Baby Stories  If you're eager enough and search a bit, you'll be able to find my other two birth stories on there as well.

Since Lucy has been here life has been in the midst of one big transitional period that I feel confident saying 6 months later is coming to an end.  We are a solid family of FOUR with a solid routine in place.

With this routine also comes the opportunity for me to take on more clients.  Since the end of the summer I have been fortunate to attend one birth and organize myself to take on another one due in the beginning months of the year.

It all makes me very excited to get to a point in my life where I can take on more clients each month and make this a main part of my life.  Birth is amazing and women are amazing in their abilities to grow, birth and raise their babies.  I am a lucky woman to have gone down this path and be able to help other women find a fulfillment in not just having babies but in the experience of having them.

Until next time...

AROM not supported by research!

http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab006167.html

The link posted above will lead you to a review of studies regarding AROM (artificial rupturing of membranes a.k.a. bag of waters).  In the quick abstract and summary, it explains that although this procedure is very routinely done with the idea that the rupturing of the membranes will release hormones and cause labor to speed up, it actually doesn't shorten the length of labor.  Making the procedure irrelevant and pointless. 

I suppose to a mother who in the midst of what seems like a prolonged or stalled labor, the act of just doing something might be what spawns her to think her labor is going to progress and so it does.  But that is all subjective thinking and who knows if it's what really takes place!

This article is particularly interesting to me since with my last delivery, my waters were broken at 8 1/2 cm.  I wasn't fatigued at that point (or at least don't remember being worn down) but I had been having contractions for over 30 hours and in the harder stages of labor for about 4 or 5.  I denied the procedure multiple times but ultimately when the Dr. pointed out that, yes, I was progressing.  But by breaking my waters I could have the baby in about 30 minutes as opposed to 2 more hours.  Seemed logical to me at that point and really, I felt like what I was hanging on to?  So we did it and 30 minutes later, little Keller-man was born.  

But now I question it.  Obviously I can not know what would have happened since it didn't play out that way, but I can't stop wondering if I still would have delivered in about 30 minutes even without the rupturing of my water.  I know I'll never have an answer, which is frustrating, but also just a little mystifying. 

As an update: I'm 37w3d and baby is still "in".  It's in a low lying position but since I'm opting OUT OF internal checks for the rest of the way (they really are pointless...I'll post on that later), I have no clue what is going on down there.  And now that I know more about AROM's...that is for sure OFF my list of possible "helpers" during labor.

Until next time..

And I'm back!

The reason I began this blog was to create a place that contained not only first hand experiences of this doula but also to put information out there regarding pregnancy, labor, birth and all the fun stuff that comes after.   However, I've been absent from this blog for far long enough!  Currently, I'm 36 weeks pregnant and looking forward to a planned home birth.  I'm excited to be able to outline our birth story and to get to share it with all of you.  I hope it goes as well as I imagine it going.  This will be my third delivery experience.

I'll try to be brief in explaining my last two experiences now so everyone has an understanding of what knowledge I'm bringing into this one.

We first got pregnant in May of 2008.  EDD was Dec. 29th, 2008, however on December 1st (36 weeks on the dot) I went to see my DO due to extreme discomfort and a concern about the baby's activity levels.  He couldn't detect a heart-tone with his dopler or fetoscope so I was sent to get an Ultrasound, but heartbreakingly, there was no heart beat.  Our baby had died sometime in the previous few days (we figured this out after delivery due to the condition of her skin, hair, etc.).  We were directed to a local hospital and the path that we'd go down depended upon if my body went into labor on its own or if we'd have to be induced.  Also, the baby at the time was laying semi-transverse so unless it dropped into place before labor we'd be looking into surgery.  Definitely NOT the path we wanted since it was a previously planned home birth.

Fortunately, as they were performing another ultrasound to determine positioning, my water broke spontaneously and our baby's head dropped into place.  Labor began.  And boy did it hurt! At the onset of labor my cervix was dilated to 2 cm.  Within 2 hours I was to a 6, and 3 1/2 hours later I was pushing.  Intense is the only way to describe this birth story.  I did opt for a Stadol (sp?) drug after about 2 hours to provide some mental relaxation relief between contraction.  Don't confuse this for a pain reliever though, I felt it all.  Pushing was short, maybe 15 minutes and at 11:37PM our daughter Madison Elizabeth was born at 5 lbs. 3 oz. and 19 inches long.  Good sized baby for 36 weeks.  No cause was ever determined and we opted out of an autopsy.  My husband and I have both come to a place of understanding and gratitude towards this experience.  She was a blessing in our lives, even if it was only for 9 months.

Life can throw you for a whirlwind though and lo-and-behold 6 weeks later we were pregnant again.  The pregnancy was uneventful just as the first, however, at 33 weeks I started to have these very strange abdominal cramps that just felt like I had to fart.  It took a bit but I noticed they lasted somewhere between 30 seconds and 1 minute and came about every 2 minutes.  Strange... I thought.  But went about my day since they didn't seem anything like the contractions I had experienced before.  Slowly throughout the day though they did get a little more intense and stayed consistent.


PLEASE NOTE: if you experience something like this...you're in labor.  It may stop on its own or it may continue, but it's early labor all the same.

Anyways, by the time I got in touch with my midwife (since again, this was a planned home birth) and got the definite instruction to go to the hospital to see if it was labor, it was somewhere around 10PM.  I walked into the ER and got up to L&D around 11:30PM.  My husband, by the way, was a 6 hour car ride away at a Chiropractic conference.  He had been updated by me all day long but didn't end up leaving and heading home until 1:30AM when I was finally checked and told that yes, this was pre-term labor and no, they didn't think they'd be able to stop it.  My cervix was at 3 cm dilated and my bag of waters was bulging.  I was given medications to try to stop/slow the contraction and ultimately this dragged my labor out for another 12 hours. But honestly, I didn't mind.  My contractions stayed mild and at 5 cm they ended up sending me (and baby of course) by helicopter to another hospital 2 hours away (45 minutes by air) since our baby would need a Level 3 NICU.  My husband in the meantime had gotten back home and was able to see me for about 10 minutes before the air-transport team got me strapped to a board.  Then he was off again, stopping at home to grab some things and then driving the final 2 hours to the next hospital.  Poor man.

Once at Rochester Mayo (that's where we got sent), labor was allowed to progress on its own without anymore interruptions.  My husband walked into my room shortly after I got there (he may have broken some speeding laws...) and we got settled into our rhythm and routine through contractions.  It took another three hours for the contractions to get to a point where I was having a hard time with them and another two of hard contractions to reach 8.5 cm dilated.  And although there was that initial fear of my water breaking, it was still in tact! After being asked what felt like 100 times, I finally agreed to allow for an artificial rupturing of membranes.  It only took 30 minutes to reach 10 cm and only another 15 minutes to push our son out.  He was born crying (a very good sign for a 33 week preemie) weighing in at 4 lbs. 5 oz. and 17.5 inches long.  Again, I was able to have a natural delivery and was excited about that even with the circumstances being what they were.  Keller Resop is now a very healthy and active 19 month old.  He has certainly been keeping this mamma busy throughout this pregnancy!

So to sum it up, I am thrilled to be at 36 weeks with an active and healthy little one inside.  We have officially been given thumbs-up that if we were to go into labor, a home delivery would be just fine!  I can't even begin to explain how over the moon I am about that.

I hope this didn't wear you out reading such a long post, but going into this next delivery I thought some background was necessary.  I'll be posting throughout these next few weeks regarding topics that usually come up around this time for pregnant women and hopefully all of you gain some insight into the OPTIONS you have.

Thanks for reading!  Until next time...

Oxytocin - the ultimate bonding chemical

This is an interesting article describing how Oxytocin (a brain chemical that aids in labor/deliver and mother-infant bonding) levels in new parents correlate and how even though it is the birth process that ultimately creates the rise in oxytocin for the mother, the father's oxytocin levels were also elevated.  Please read the article, which was found on the Science Daily website, for further details.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100820101207.htm

Oxytocin: It’s a Mom and Pop Thing

ScienceDaily (Aug. 22, 2010) — The hormone oxytocin has come under intensive study in light of emerging evidence that its release contributes to the social bonding that occurs between lovers, friends, and colleagues. Oxytocin also plays an important role in birth and maternal behavior, but until now, research had never addressed the involvement of oxytocin in the transition to fatherhood.

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See Also:

Health & Medicine

• Children's Health
• Vitamin D
• Infant's Health

Mind & Brain

• Child Psychology
• Child Development
• Psychology

Reference

• Maternal bond
• Pituitary gland
• Oxytocin
• Hypothalamus

A fascinating new paper by Gordon and colleagues reports the first longitudinal data on oxytocin levels during the initiation of parenting in humans. They evaluated 160 first-time parents (80 couples) twice after the birth of their first child, at 6 weeks and 6 months, by measuring each parents' oxytocin levels and monitoring and coding their parenting behavior.

Three important findings emerged. At both time-points, fathers' oxytocin levels were not different from levels observed in mothers. Thus, although oxytocin release is stimulated by birth and lactation in mothers, it appears that other aspects of parenthood serve to stimulate oxytocin release in fathers.

Corresponding author Dr. Ruth Feldman noted that this finding "emphasizes the importance of providing opportunities for father-infant interactions immediately after childbirth in order to trigger the neuro-hormonal system that underlies bond formation in humans."

The neuroscientists also found a relationship between oxytocin levels in husbands and wives. Since oxytocin levels are highly stable within individuals, this finding suggests that some mechanisms, perhaps social or hormonal factors, regulate oxytocin levels in an interactive way within couples.

Finally, the findings revealed that oxytocin levels were associated with parent-specific styles of interaction. Oxytocin was higher in mothers who provided more affectionate parenting, such as more gazing at the infant, expression of positive affect, and affectionate touch. In fathers, oxytocin was increased with more stimulatory contact, encouragement of exploration, and direction of infant attention to objects.

"It is very interesting that elevations in the same hormone were associated with different types of parenting behaviors in mothers and fathers even though the levels of oxytocin within couples were somewhat correlated. These differences may reflect the impact of culture-specific role expectations, but they also may be indicative of distinct circuit effects of oxytocin in the male and female brain," commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry.

These important findings may now provide a foundation for studies of disturbances in oxytocin function in high risk parenting.

Editor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Elsevier, viaAlphaGalileo.

Breastfeeding is the BEST!

Breastfeeding? Bottle-feeding? Formula? Pumping? A cup!?

It can be overwhelming not knowing how exactly to feed your new baby.  So let's simplify it:

If it is possible (meaning no medical implications) a baby should be exclusively breastfed. 


To date, I have yet to read an article or publication stating infants should be given formula.  Most professionals agree that formula is, however, a suitable substitute when breastfeeding is not a possibility.

Nothing can lay a better foundation for your baby than giving him or her what your body is designed to give them.  Human Milk.  It really does do miraculous things.

With that said, breastfeeding do NOT come naturally and is NOT instinctual for a mother (babies are different).  This is why it is so important for women to come together to support and help each other in a positive way to learn how to breastfeed.  I urge you, if you do not know of it already, look up your local La Leche League meeting place and GO!

Here's the link:  http://www.llli.org/Web/Wisconsin.html
This is for Wisconsin, if you live in a different state, just click http://www.llli.org/WebUS.html and find your state.

For any questions you might have, here is a great link http://www.llli.org/FAQ/FAQSubject.html?m=0,0,3 with questions you might have and probably a lot you never even knew to ask!

Good luck and remember, comments are welcomed if you have any tid-bits of advice or information to spread around :)