Doula

The Birth of Olive June

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Birth has the tendency to unveil your greatest fears and expose areas of strength that you never knew existed. For me, this third baby has freed my soul and changed me in ways I’m not quite able to put into words. But before the days of toddler messes and newborn cuddles cloud my memory, I must put my best foot forward in jotting down the details of this triumphant day. The day our Olive June arrived.

Our home birth story came at the start of a new decade. Quite literally, too, as Olive made her grand entrance earth side twelve days after the new year. A due date babe. A baby born after 29 hours of physical, emotional and spiritual turmoil. 29 hours of facing my physical fears and pleading with God to remove the pain and to offer supernatural strength. Strength I knew I could not muster up in my own doing. 29 hours of trusting the process. Trusting my body to do what it was born to do. After 29 hours, light transcended the darkness and my daughter was in my arms.

This was my third pregnancy in four years. The first two were beautiful, unmedicated hospital births that I was fortunate enough to have no complications pre or postnatally. Both of which I felt supported, heard and validated in all my birthing requests. However, with the switch from healthcare insurance companies, doors opened for our family to pursue my desire for a home birth. To us, our home is sacred. A space we moved into as newlyweds. Our first big purchase together as a married couple. A space that allowed us to begin our family of three and then soon after our party of four. With the plan to move within the year, we could think of no better way but to celebrate the birth of our third child within the walls that already held so much love and memories and togetherness.

While the name we chose for her was a nod to the peaceful olive branch, the labor she and I wrestled through couldn’t be further from this. Right away, contractions were close together and filled with intensity. The birth team gathered shortly after I contacted them and the house soon filled with feelings of anticipation and excitement. A baby was soon being born into the world! Who could think of a better way to spend the weekend?!? The clock ticked and labor progressed, slowly but surely. The birth team patient, kind and plenty encouraging. My husband, my dear husband, working tirelessly to get the hose attached so I could labor in the tub.

The tub was filled and located in the center of our bedroom. A symbol of tranquility. During intense contractions, I wanted to be nowhere else except in the water. Unfortunately, though, the water slowed my labor down drastically and even stopped contractions all together. This prompted my team to encourage me to get moving. Lunges, squats, stairs. Dilation was slow, tumultuous and incredibly painful. My midwife, Deanna Kopf, and her attendant Tina Overton thought the unpredictable labor pattern I was experiencing was due to Olive’s positioning in the womb. Katie Kirkpatrick, my doula and best friend, educated in Spinning Babies and other positioning exercises, thought it best to use asymmetrical movements which would help Olive descend into the pelvis. After laboring for close to 20 hours, the team needed a little rest. The labor gods were kind to both Olive and I as the intensity paused for a few hours and Tyler and I were able to get some rest. Deanna and Tina found a bed in the basement and Katie snoozed on the floor of my daughters’ room.

Around 5:15 am the next day, I texted Deanna for my (and Olive’s) vitals to be checked. Both of which came back normal. While my family and friends were wondering where this baby was and what was the hold up, my team remained calm and assured both Tyler and I that time was the only thing this babe needed to emerge. And more movement and exercise. I pleaded desperately with them to let me just get back into the tub. They heard my request but explained that draining and refilling (since the water was cold and at risk of containing bacteria at this point) would take an hour or more. Katie gave me a peanut ball and I laid on the bed to labor there while the tub refilled. My contractions became incredibly intense and my laboring sounds changed. Both Tyler and Tina were downstairs heating up pots of water on the stove to hurry the tub filling process along. I felt the urge to push powerfully and deeply and Olive’s head appeared! Katie yelled that the head was born and Tyler and Tina hurried upstairs. Three strong pushes later and a midwife’s hand assisting Olive’s shoulders in sliding out, she plopped on my bed. Stunned, I stared at my crying baby. Tyler announced the gender and I slowly repositioned so I could hold her on my chest. All the pain was gone. Never to be felt again. The contractions vanished. The vomiting subsided. The uncontrollable shaking disappeared. Never did I think this moment would emerge but as with all suffering and pain, dawn eventually emerges. A beautiful birth story etched in my memory and never to be physically, emotionally and spiritually felt again.

While, in the moment, I wanted nothing more than relief and for it all to be over, I do not regret a single decision I

made leading up to her entrance into the world. I had to experience the pain of January 11th to gain the joy of January 12th.

Welcome to the world, sweet girl.

 

** A huge heart of gratitude and overwhelming love goes out to my extraordinary team. Katie, Deanna, Tina and Tyler, Olive and I were so blessed to have you by our side every step of the journey.

birth story

 

 

Virginia Apgar: An Advocate for Newborn Health

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The APGAR test, a standard newborn test developed in 1953 by Virginia Apgar, assesses an infant’s health immediately after birth. At 1 and 5 minutes post birth, the infant is examined and given a score based on the following criteria: heart rate, respiration, color, muscle tone, and reflex irritability. The term APGAR score is a mnemonic learning aid based on its inventor’s last name which stands for Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity and Respiration. By the 1960’s, because of its readability and effectiveness, this score was used widely across the United States. Now, it is globally used and adopted by most doctors and midwives.

This pioneering anesthesiologist worked effortlessly throughout her career to save countless newborns. Born in New Jersey in 1909, she became passionate about medicine in High School. She completed an undergraduate degree at Mount Holyoke College in zoology with minors in physiology and chemistry. She also played on multiple sports teams, reported for the college newspaper, acted in local plays, and played violin in the orchestra. Her teachers were astounded at her capacity to succeed.

She went on to attend Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (CUCPS) as one of nine women in a class of ninety. She received her medical degree in 1933 and began a surgical residency. The chairman of surgery at CUCPS highly encouraged Apgar to switch to anesthesiology. Anesthesiology, at the time, was given by nurses but surgeries became more and more complicated. This procedure then became a doctor’s specialty. Because the field was relatively new and unresearched, Apgar had the enthusiasm and grit to take it and run with it. And that is just what she did. In 1937, she received her anesthesiologist’s certificate and returned to CUCPS to become the director of the newly formed division of anesthesia and, in 1949, she became the first female full professor in CUCPS’ history.

This high position allowed her to research and study more in depth at Sloane Hospital for Women with laboring and new mothers. She soon realized that there was no developed way and standardized measure to asses the overall health of newborn babies. Mortality for children under a year old in the U.S. had been going down in this time, however, the rate of mortality for newborns remained the same. This was mostly due to the fact that doctors weren’t identifying the babies that were born at risk. Hence no necessary interventions could be put into play. This prompted the brilliant Virginia Apgar to develop the APGAR score in the 1950’s.

She went on, in 1959, to pursue a Masters of Public Health degree at Johns Hopkins University and soon after took a position at the March of Dimes Foundation directing its research into the prevention and treatment of birth defects. She was one of the first people to focus on the effects that premature birth has on an infant’s overall health. Today, the March of Dimes still works to prevent premature birth and is one of their top priorities because of the legacy Apgar left them with. Apgar published over 60 papers and continued to tirelessly work and research until her death in 1974.

David Rose wrote, on the 100th anniversary of her birth in 2009, “Virginia Apgar was an irrepressible and charismatic champion for babies whose wit and lively personality captivated everyone she encountered in her constant quest for improvements to maternal and infant health… it has been said that every baby is first seen through the eyes of Virginia Apgar.”

 

Source: www.amightygirl.com

Positive Postpartum Affirmations

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Focusing on the labor and birth of your baby during pregnancy leaves many women unrehearsed for the “Fourth Trimester” and beyond. The postpartum period is a time that many women struggle with bonding, feeding, sleeping and giving themselves basic needs for an overall healthy transition into motherhood.

Continuing to speak affirmations over yourself after birth is beneficial in building positive mental health for both you and your baby. Below are several powerful affirmations that will encourage you as embark on your new journey.

I am a strong and capable parent.

I am able to balance all of my responsibilities with ease and grace.

My body will continue to heal.

I am making the best choice for my baby.

Challenging does not mean impossible.

I am so much stronger than I think.

I will take this one moment at a time.

I will try my best to enjoy the process.

I am doing the best I can with what I have.

My baby is being nourished by me.

I will listen to advice given but listen to my intuition above all else.

I am rockin’ this mom bod and I look beautiful.

I allow my tribe to surround me with love and support.

I honor and respect the instinct inside me.

My baby is a different human than someone else’s baby.

I know what my baby needs.

I trust the divine development of my baby.

My baby and I share a sacred bond.

Patience is the first lesson I am working on as a mother.

I will take the time for self-care today.

I will lean into my partner when I need help.

I will choose to be kind to myself.

I am beautifully and wonderfully made.

No one else can mother my baby better than me.

I can freely choose how to parent my baby.

 

Need Birth Affirmations? Click here.

The Golden Hour: Those First 60 Minutes After Birth Are in Fact Pure Gold

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The first 60 minutes after your baby is born are remarkably beneficial for bonding and attachment between mama and her new babe. What is the golden hour exactly? How can you maximize attachment and bonding in this hour? How long should skin-to-skin be established before those medical tasks and procedures are performed? These questions all point to this golden hour and its magical luster.

Congratulations! Your baby has been born. You have finally gotten a chance to gaze in their eyes for the first time after feeling all the pregnancy symptoms and baby’s movements. You are on the other side of labor and it feels so incredibly relieving.

That uninterrupted contact between mother and baby during the “golden hour” after birth is critical to the child’s growth and development. In the past, often times, the baby was whisked away from mother to perform all the essential procedures such as weight, bath, vaccinations (if consented by parents), diapering and swaddling. Mom would be waiting to receive her new bundle back once tasks were performed. Health care providers now understand and know that the more skin-to-skin mom can have with baby immediately after the birth, the better chance of bonding the mother will have and also the better overall experience the family will have as they embark on their new parenting journey.

The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends the following guidelines:

  • Healthy newborns should be placed directly “skin-to-skin” with mom until the first round of breastfeeding is established.
  • The medical caregiver and the nurses can conduct the first round of physical assessments on mother’s chest.
  • Conventional procedures such as weighing, baths, measuring, injections or blood tests should wait until after the first round of breastfeeding.
  • Baby and mother should remain together throughout the recovery period.

So what exactly are the benefits?

  • Giving birth generates changes in the mother’s brain chemistry and increases her desire to nurture. Taking advantage of this window is beneficial to both the mom and the baby.
  • Skin-to-skin contact and the baby’s suckling at the breast releases hormones that help the mother connect to her child and also encourages the uterus to contract and stop bleeding.
  • Nursing in the first hour, research has shown, improves infant survival rates and makes it more likely for the mother to continue breastfeeding

Expectant mothers can talk to their care provider about the standard procedures for this postpartum period. Your birth plan can also include these 60 minutes immediately following birth. Every mother and baby should have a chance to experience their “golden hour.”

 

5 Popular Pieces of Baby Gear You Can Do Without

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If you’re expecting your first child, you’ve likely started a baby registry. This can be both a fun
and daunting task. Without having your baby here, how exactly are you supposed to know what
baby gear is needed and which products you’re better off passing up? Look no further. I’m going to
give you a list of five very popular baby registry items that truly are unnecessary, some are even
considered unsafe.

Baby-Specific Laundry Detergent
If you’re seeking a gentle detergent for your baby, it’s likely your favorite brand has a
hypoallergenic, fragrance-free laundry detergent available. Most brands of laundry detergent
offer this option and all are less expensive than brands like Dreft that sport a much larger price
tag solely because new parents are willing to pay more for what they believe is “best for baby.”
Simply by avoiding baby-specific detergents, you can save quite a bit of money while still
providing a safe washing alternative to conventional, highly-scented, often high-allergen laundry
detergents. Truthfully, the “free & clear” detergents are actually a better choice for the whole
family since artificial fragrance has been linked to a wide variety of health issues no matter
one’s age.

Bumbo
The Bumbo seat and other brands like it allow baby to be in an upright-seated position before
baby is naturally able to sit unsupported on her own. Many parents may view this as a positive
thing to help baby learn how to sit upright or to develop the muscles necessary to reach this
milestone more quickly. However, it seems the opposite is true. Propping a baby into this
position at a time when his body has not organically achieved the muscle tone to do so, could
have a negative effect on baby’s core strength and in some cases could even delay or hinder baby’s natural trajectory to meet this milestone. A better and free (yay!) option is to allow baby ample time on both back
and tummy so that all muscles are getting a solid workout in a natural way, allowing baby to
reach this development in her own time.

Large reclining high chair
This common-style of high chair is not only large and awkward, difficult to store, and often in the
way, it’s also totally unnecessary. The main purpose of a high chair is to facilitate feeding solids
foods to your baby. The latest recommendations for introduction to solids include waiting for
baby to show signs of physical readiness, one of the most important signs being the ability to sit
upright unsupported. If one is waiting until baby is physically capable of doing this, the reclining option on the seat is negated, leaving this type of seat largely pointless. A simple booster seat with a tray that straps to an
existing dining chair or a seat that latches directly to the table are both far less expensive and
take up far less space than does a traditional stand-alone, reclining high-chair.

Bucket Car Seat
I know, I know, this is a tough one for people to swallow because it seems like such a high-
priority item. However, with convertible car seats available that are made to hold brand new
infants up through older toddlers, if money-savings is at all a thought for you, skipping the infant-
carrier/baby bucket type car seat is a great option! Many people lean toward this handled car
seat because babies sleep so much in the first few months. It’s thought to be a no-brainer that
you can just carry baby from car to destination and leave baby sound asleep without
disturbance. However, the latest information and recommendations warn against babies
sleeping in this type of seat other than when in-transit since the positioning is not ideal and can
pose a risk to baby. Taking away the convenience of keeping a sleeping baby asleep once
no longer in a traveling vehicle, really seems to greatly decrease the appeal of this type of seat.
You may now wonder what one would do with a baby in a grocery store for instance or out at a
social event if there isn’t a car seat to keep baby contained. This is where babywearing really
comes in handy and is often less cumbersome than lugging around an infant in a heavy car
seat.

‘Smart’ Monitors
With all the hoopla surrounding the many smart-monitors available now, it seems parents are
flocking to these pricey products in the hopes of preventing SIDS or other potential health
issues. The problem with these is that they haven’t been shown to reduce or prevent either of
those scenarios nor have they been approved by the FDA. A study done in 2017 shows that
false alarms are common while actual potential issues for oxygen saturation or heart-rate were
sometimes not detected at all. Doctors are warning parents not to rely on these physiologic
monitors since their effectiveness is questionable and could cause parents either undue distress
or an assurance everything is fine when perhaps it is not. It seems that outside of a true medical need for
constant oxygen/respiration monitoring, which should be done with only hospital-grade
machinery prescribed by a medical professional, this type of monitoring is not needed at all and
should not be viewed as a guaranteed accurate measure of baby’s state of physical well-being.
With baby items, like anything else, most of what is sold is unnecessary. Babies, particularly
young babies, require very little in the way of material goods and a great deal in the way of
physical nurturing and emotional support. If you don’t have the desire for or cannot afford all the
latest gadgets marketed to new parents, take heart, you and your love for baby are what is
needed most and that cannot be purchased!

Acupuncture and Moxibustion: A Dynamic Duo

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What is Moxibustion?
Moxibustion is a form of heat therapy in which dried plant materials called “moxa” are burned on or very near the surface of the skin. The intention is to warm and invigorate the flow of Qi in the body and dispel certain pathogenic influences.

Moxa is usually made from the dried leafy material of Chinese mugwort, but it can be made of other substances as well to achieve the same goal.

What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is the method of treatment based on influencing the body by inserting needles in the specific points of human body, called acupoints. The name originates from Latin and literally means “inserting needles” – Latin “acus” – needle and„ “punctura” – to needle/to stick needles.

Why are these two therapies often used as a pair?
Practitioners often pair the two therapies because it is believed that the two of these together can be more effective when the diagnosis allows for it, such as a breech presentation of baby.

 

How can this double therapy be helpful in pregnancy?
This powerful pair is often used in relation to breech baby presentation which typically appears around 20+ weeks of pregnancy. This happens in about 4% of all pregnancies. Many times, baby turns on his/her own and no further treatment is needed. However, when approaching the end of pregnancy with a breech baby, these two ancient Chinese therapies could find themselves extremely useful! A study in 2009 showed that these two methods were, in fact, effective in changing the presentation of the baby.

The conclusion of the study is as follows: Acupuncture plus moxibustion is more effective than observation in revolving fetuses in breech presentation. Such a method appears to be a valid option for women willing to experience a natural birth.

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