#childbirtheducation

[informed-empowered-birth]

👇 Tips to prepare yourself prenatally! 👇

🤱 Take a childbirth education class that's *taught by a Lactation Consultant* and/or take a prenatal breastfeeding class. The Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Classes include lots of helpful information about newborn care and breastfeeding. This one also happens to be taught by an experienced Lactation Consultant. 👏

🤱 Call your insurance company and ask about your coverage for a breast pump. Don't assume that the one they want to give you is a good one! Breast pumps vary greatly in quality and insurance companies love to provide cheap ones when they can. Ask a lactation professional for their recommendations and read reviews yourself. A breast pump that's been opened, even unused, is usually not returnable.

🤱 Ask your insurance company about reimbursement for in-home lactation consultations. Usually, you have to pay for this at the time of service and then file a claim to get reimbursed. Knowing your options before you're sleep-deprived and stressed is infinitely helpful!

🤱 Find a Lactation Consultant in your area who takes your insurance. Check out Zipmilk.org to search for qualified professionals near you. Work with them prenatally if possible, especially if you've had trouble breastfeeding in the past. 

🤱 Find a pediatrician's office that has a Lactation Consultant on staff! This is the BEST way to get lactation care quickly without paying an arm and a leg.

🤱 Find a Baby Friendly Hospital to give birth at. You're much more likely to succeed at breastfeeding if you give birth in a facility that's dedicated to breastfeeding support. Visit babyfriendlyusa.org to search for hospitals and birth centers that are certified.

🤱 Check out CDC.gov/breastfeeding/data/mpinc to look at your state's breastfeeding report card. Ask your obstetrician or midwife how the infant feeding practices at their facility compare to the rest of your state. Your state health department may have more data available about individual hospitals as well.

[lavandamichelle]

How To Manage Nervousness About Childbirth ✨ At some point during pregnancy, most expectant mothers tend to experience rising anxiety about labor and birth. You might be very excited to meet your baby, but actually having the baby might be making you feel really scared. This is completely normal. First-time mothers and even mothers who have already had children are facing the unknown. You’ve probably heard horror stories from well-meaning people, which won’t help you feel calmer. Here are some top tips to help you manage your nerves. ✨ Be Prepared You Are Not Alone Take Care Of Yourself Face Your Fears Each Labor Is Unique ✨ ✨ ✨ #childbirth #pregnancy #birth #doula #pregnant #childbirtheducation #postpartum #motherhood #baby #midwife #birthwithoutfear #newborn #birthdoula #homebirth #naturalbirth #breastfeeding #empoweredbirth #laboranddelivery #midwifery #doulalife #hypnobirthing #birthmatters #expecting #momlife #prenatal #labor #maternity #womenshealth #birthsupport #LavandaMichelle https://www.instagram.com/p/CTddGSTgly9/?utm_medium=tumblr

[midwifemilktrails]

Everyone who begins the process of becoming a parent gets their challenge somewhere along the way. It’s inherent in such a momentous rite of passage such as birth. You are leaving one existence, group, status and entering into another – of becoming someone’s parent. But despite our best intentions or hard-pressed ideas of how it should go, it doesn’t always happen in the way it plays out in our mind. “And when things of this magnitude are different to how we expected them, it can be extra jarring to the psyche.” In this episode, Britta talks about the keeping going that is the key – the ability to continue to let the process manifest and unfold as it needs to in that moment to process, cope and grow.

[willma-birth]

I did the same thing at my last (4th) birth! I put a piece of placenta between my cheek and gum - however, my piece was half smaller than this one in the video and it worked anyway. Also (for me) it didn’t feel like I had blood in my mouth... it actually (to my complete surprise) felt and tasted good. With the rest of the placenta... I did homeopathy, a protection amulet, capsules... oh, I also did a placenta print and I stretched the amniotic sac around a frame ;) #willmafied #placenta #postpartum #crazy #birthvideo #placentaencapsulation #childbirtheducation #love #childbirth #birth #midwifery #freebirth #Repost @midwifeangelina with @get_repost ・・・ No this is not for everyone, but some people may choose raw consumption. Did you do anything special with your placenta? . . Repost from @badassmotherbirther using @RepostRegramApp - . 💠𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍💠 ✦ We know that almost every mammal consumes their placenta immediately following birth. And they eat it eagerly and in a hurry. For humans this is not a common behavior we see in today’s times for various reasons. But consumption of the placenta dates back centuries around the world and is often tradition in certain cultures. But not until the 1970’s did consumption of the placenta start to gain ground and become a growing practice among midwives and alternative-health advocates in the U.S. and Mexico. ✦ The placenta produces hormones needed to sustain a healthy pregnancy. These hormones are: 🔅progesterone 🔅estrogen 🔅cortisone 🔅interferon 🔆POEF 🔅oxytocin 🔅HPL ✦ Once the placenta is born, all these hormones and nutrients suddenly leave the body. And it can take several months for the mother to adjust. 👈🏻TO COUNTERACT THIS HORMONE IMBALANCE, MAMMALS IMMEDIATELY CONSUME THEIR PLACENTAS. ✦ Humans favorite way of consuming their placenta is by encapsulation. Slowly introducing the hormones again to the mother. ✦ Consumption of the placenta is believed to carry many health benefits: ⭐️placenta is rich in iron, high in protein and nutrients ⭐️fights fatigue ⭐️boosts milk supply ⭐️decreases postpartum hemorrhage ⭐️wards off postpartum depression... https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn27oALFyVk/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ap0tp9jpme94

[midwifical]

What a juicy cord! The umbilical cord is covered with Wharton’s jelly, which cushions the cord from most compression that occurs while the fetus is still in utero. 📸: @monetnicolebirth * * * #midwife #midwifical #midwifery #umbilicalcord #midwives #pregnancy #birth #obgyn #childbirtheducation #childbirth #delayedcordclamping

[doulacollective]

Intro to Birthing from Within Childbirth Education

by Corina

You’re pregnant and someone - maybe your friend, relative, health care provider, or the person ahead of you in line at the grocery store - told you should take prenatal classes. Where do you start?

There are so many different types of prenatal education classes it can be overwhelming! Not sure what you may want your birth to be like and whether you want a play by play of what happening physiologically or whether you want to breathe your baby out in meditative silence? Somewhere in between? Do not fear! At the Doula Collective we offer private prenatal classes catered to you! One of the styles of Childbirth Education classes that we offer is Birthing from Within.

Birthing from Within is non-outcome focused - meaning that we celebrate your baby’s birth whatever that looks like (unmedicated vaginal delivery, medicated vaginal delivery, cesarean birth, surrogate birth, adoption, etc.). We believe birth is an important (and highly personal) right of passage and we prepare you for this journey.

Part of this preparation includes things that you may learn in other childbirth education modalities - such as signs and stages of labour, labouring and birthing positions, informed decision making, hospital bag prep, partner work, complications, interventions, breastfeeding, postpartum planning, and comfort measure. The big difference is how this information is presented.

Birthing from Within classes are largely peer-led and focused on conversations rather than didactic instruction. We focus on embodied learning and preparing you not only for the physical journey of labour and birth but also on the emotional and mental journey.

Curious and want to learn more? We always encourage people to read the book that started it all - Birthing from Within by Pam England (the founder of Birthing from WIthin) or, her newest book Ancient Map for Modern Birth. Give us a call or email if you have any additional questions! 

647-542-4414     [email protected] 

[informed-empowered-birth]

🤗 Pocket Guide to Comfort Measures for Labor and Birth 🤗 First off: If you're still looking for a holiday gift for expectant parents, Evidence Based Birth®'s pocket guides are a fantastic idea! They also make thoughtful, practical baby shower gifts. Heck, put 'em right on your baby registry if you're building yours now. They include summaries of the effectiveness, advantages, and disadvantages of nearly every coping tool a laboring person might try. I'm personally a fan of: 🌼 Water Immersion AKA Hydrotherapy or water birth: It's super helpful for comfort and carries minimal-to-no risks as long as the water temperature is kept between 36.0-37.5 degrees Celsius. 🌼 Doula Support: Continuous, trained labor support enhances the birth experience and reduces numerous risks, including the need for pharmaceutical pain relief. Of course, there are no risks to having a Birth Doula 🌼 Hypnosis: Medical grade childbirth hypnosis training often leads to lovely birth experiences for those who can dedicate a lot of effort to it during pregnancy. The only real risk is that it doesn't work for everyone. People who are hypnobirthing successfully can also appear so calm that hospital staff may not believe they're actually in labor. 😂 🌼 Nitrous Oxide AKA Laughing Gas: Some people love it, some people hate it. As long as the birthing person doesn't have a vitamin B12 deficiency, it carries no known risks to them or their baby. 🌼 Sterile Water Injections: These hurt like 🐝 stings and then provide pretty effective pain relief for 1-2 hours, especially for back labor. There are no known risks other than the initial pain associated with the injections. 🌼 There are so many other options. One of the best things pregnant folks can do for themselves is learn about them all!

[informed-empowered-birth]

Oh, my least favorite word: "Allowed." I've been asked some variation of this question way too many times. I always like to remind people that technically they can do anything they want. 🤰💪 So what CAN medical professionals do if you do or decline something they don't want you to? If you choose to discharge yourself when they don't believe this is safest for you or your baby, you can be asked to sign discharge papers that state you're leaving "Against Medical Advice." This prevents you from being able to sue them if something happens to you after you leave the hospital. However, it's a MYTH that your insurance company won't pay for your visit after doing this. They can ask you to sign a declination form, which states that you understand the risks of declining whichever intervention is on the table. This also prevents them from being legally liable for anything that happens as a result of your choice. They can request that higher up medical professionals (such as the charge nurse, the chief of obstetrics, or administrators) come talk to you about whatever intervention you're requesting or declining. You have the right to not speak with these people if you don't want to. What CAN'T medical professionals do in these situations (even though they might believe they can)? They can't force you to do, or prevent you from doing, anything. This is true even if they're saying that your safety or your baby's safety is at risk. If any medical professional tries to physically force you into something you don't consent to, this is a form of assault. They can't report you to child protection agencies. Before a child is born it does not have the same legal rights and therefore child protection agencies won't get involved. They can't forcibly separate you from your baby unless there's involvement from child protection agencies or the baby's life is imminently at risk after it's born. They can't withhold medical care from you or your baby. If you're requesting reasonable, safe medical care (such as an epidural or birth control), they can't refuse to provide this under any circumstances.