The Thinking Woman's Guide to Normal Birth.......

"The Thinking Woman's Guide to Normal Birth.............

Stop thinking about it so much........period. Amen.
Thinking, really the "overthinking" sometimes is related to  anxiety and a sense of lack of trust.  This sometimes leads us  to "control" so much that it disrupts the "flow".....flow of your beautiful oxytocin which helps your uterus to be so amazingly powerful. Efficient in its work of labor. Remember......birth is so much about surrender....the ultimate TRUST in yourself and your babe and your body and above all God's great design. Which is pretty close to perfect, I might add.

Sometimes women, myself included, think way too much about stuff.  We can be fixated on something....and then think, think. and more think. Strategize, mold, manipulate....It's again-cuz we don't trust well. We have a need to make sure everything is ok....

Some things need to be "thought" about and planned and controlled.  Like who do I trust to care for me during my pregnancy and where do I want and need to give birth. Get a good plan, gather a great team and know where you're going with that. Period.

If you are a healthy woman having a healthy pregnancy.....it's pretty cut and dry. Eat well, sleep well, love well, move your body in ways that make you "loose" -loosen your hips, pelvis, thighs, and mind!  Your body will do the rest...you just have to get the heck out of it's way!


For now.....Janet

Pregnant in America.............

Your Typical Maternity Ward in Houston......

I watched the film Pregnant in America last week and thought I would share some of it's findings and some of my own thoughts as well.

It's an interesting film and everyone needs to realize that it is not an exaggeration. Really. Majority of our labor units in Houston are like that.....many woman get Pitocin (next post topic)....unless of course she presents completely (or near it) dilated and needing to push.

 But, the problem with that is that in the majority of OB practices, women are not given really good sound guidance about their labors and when to really come to the hospital. Meaning, that if you call your OB in the late evening or night hours ( when most labors start),  you will be told  "Go to L and D."  Well, you may only be in your early, latent phase.  So, you get there and guess what?  You are  3 centimeters, and they keep you. And, then in the morning....Start Pit please.....your OB says to the RN.  

 You need guidance. You need the truth spoken to you. But, if you get to 39 weeks you will be scheduled for your induction.....really...... do we really need to schedule so many labors?  Well, open the OR, cause half these women will be riding in on their gurney...babies don't like to be pushed out that hard......you don't really want to take the risk unless the risk outweighs the real risk of staying pregnant alittle longer. (For example: high blood pressure in pregnancy, true oligohydramnios-little fluid-, poor fetal growth, any preexisting medical condition in mom that would be complicated by keeping pregnant. Most women will go into labor by 41+ weeks-like God intended).

We know that the majority of our mommas at the Birth Center if under the management of a typical OB in a typical practice would have gotten Pitocin during her labor to "speed things up". Well,  I am here to tell you that most women don't need it.  It is not a race and real labor is a process.  It has a beginning,  a middle and an ending.  And not every woman does it fast ......the baby needs time to adjust itself and work it's way down the pelvis.  Don't rush it, don't push it.

 Most OBs nowadays are not experienced in normal, natural labor. It's not their fault.  It's their training. Period.  They don't get a chance to see it. They are trained to "manage" stuff.  So, they have to manage it. And in their defense, if you have 20-30 pregnant women a month, plus all your gyn surgery, etc,  you have to make it "doable".  Meaning something has to give, and that is your labor patients. Got to have a  life. So they have to control it in some manner. Not saying it's right. Just reality.    I can make it go faster.....I can make it pain free and quiet. I can cut it out.  I'm trained for that. In fact I trained all of my residency for it. Let's go! Neat, tidy, done. Next!  (Watch the movie....you'll get it).

I am being sarcastic and I truly hope I don't offend any one.....really.

Women, Pitocin is a great drug when it's truly needed.  It actually is a synthetic hormone that we all produce naturally in our bodies.   Wow.  Oxytocin.    Really cool hormone, at that.  Most hormones are really cool.    But, they like to be in balance.  They need to play nice nice with each other. When one of your hormones gets alittle overbearing.....your bodily functions can get out of whack.  That's why being in a calm, relaxing environment it soooooo necessary for the laboring woman.  I will repeat to make my point. That's why a CALM, loving environment is so vital to a laboring momma. It allows for her stress hormones to back the heck off and let her oxytocin do what it was designed to do.  Contract her uterine muscle in just the right efficent way to move her baby down, melt her cervix away and release her baby into her arms. Thank you very much.   Done.  

 It is so doable, women.   Really.  Normal labor is so right for your baby and your body.  It's not dangerous.  It has no  "side effects".   Pitocin does. Epidurals do.  I am not against them.....some women benefit from them.  Have no problem with my mommas wanting one.  Let's just know the when and the how to do it.....to lessen the side effects, the risks,  etc.

But, and there is a but. You have to design your birth team and your birth enviroment.  Because, as I said, " in a calm relaxed loving enviroment".     And, unfortunately, most hospitals are the EXACT opposite.  Again, not their fault. Just their design, and reality.

So, if you are desiring a natural birth in a hospital.....know that you will be trudging UPHILL. Going against the WIND.  Hitting BRICK walls...fighting for your life, unless you have made a significant effort to bring your TEAM together.

 Either hire a nurse-midwife with hospital privileges ( the perfect TEAM!) or hire a good doula to  support you through your labor process. You cannot, I repeat, cannot do it alone.  Not in the hospital. You will not be given laboring  options. You will most likely be strapped to a continuous fetal monitor with  Pitocin coursing through your veins,  banging out contractions like crazy. You will BEG for an epidural. I mean BEG.  That's suffering.  That, mommas, is NOT natural labor and birth.    

Remember what I just said about your hormones?  Talk about stress on you.....oops! Where's my oxytocin when I need it?  Sorry, mom, your stress hormones, fight or flight, just took over.......(.And let's not get started about the risks to baby.........next post.)

 Okay, I'm being melodramatic, but I am so passionate about this as most midwives are.It's like we have this wonderful secret and not too many women want to hear it.....why?  Most women think that we are less than competent for their care.  They need a doctor, a real doctor.

 Certified Nurse-Midwives are highly trained, educated. We are your normal pregnancy and birth experts. And we are  educated in complications and can handle majority of them. And when you find a midwife team with excellant OB collaboration, it's a "win win" combination.   Because, I have seen all this I am talking about.  At least our hospital is "midwife friendly". Meaning they  'allow" Polly and I to admit mommas there, manage their care and catch their babies.

Also, we have three of the most amazingly supportive Obstetricans as our collabortive sponsors. We are so lucky. 

 Women need to know about our practice in Houston because, unlike the popular midwife practice in the medical center, we have more options for our moms, and all three of our OBs are so wonderfully nice and gracious to our moms when their services are needed. They are available 24/7. When we call, they're there.   Period.   And women need to know that. We are a very unique practice. Only one of it's kind in Houston.   I want the secret out. I know there are women out there who would be relieved to come to us. To find a place where they feel at home and well taken care of. It's our purpose, our mission, our passion.      For now...Janet

Water for your health.......and for labor of course!

 

Water is so important for all our mommies this time of year........it is vital to stay well hydrated. Juat like a runner who is training for a marathon, so is the mom TRAINING for her birth.  No matter how you are doing it.  You can't get hydrated the night before.  At the birth center, we need you well hydrated so that your uterus will work efficiently. It's part of the fuel that ignites the power of the beautiful rushes that will bring your baby out and into your awaiting arms.

If you are a healthy woman, having a healthy pregnancy, you should be drinking at LEAST 10 big glasses of water each and every day.  Now, of course if you are in your first trimester and you are not feeling so wel.....you know what I am talking about.....it is vital that you keep down only what you can.

Put away the carbonated beverages....(except for maybe one during the day when you really CRAVE it) and pick up the water!!

Here are some tips for making the water taste yummy.....no need to buy expensive bottled water ( no matter how "smart" they call it.  Houston tap water is probably better than most of the "natural" water you spend  tons for.  Just research it if you don't believe me.

1. Put some fresh squeesed juice in like:  lime, lemon, orange.

2. Lots of ice......

3. Put in a pretty container! 

4. Cucumber is good some people say!

5. Drink up!

6. Get your family to get in the habit of being water drinkers....cheap, healthy, good for you and your  kidneys will love you!

7. In Houston heat and humidity, you must be well hydrated or you will not feel much energy or life! (hint-wilted flowers!)

For now....Janet

Birth care givers mean allot to women....and vice versa.

I was talking with someone today who wants to be a patient of ours and I was making a comment about how some of our families drive long distances to come to us.  For, example the mom we just birthed recently who drove all the WAY f rom Katy......I mean far!  And it was her sixth baby.......but we came highly recommended ( thank you to her previous midwife.....:) 

This soon to be patient of ours said......."Well, when you find someone and someplace where you feel cared for and are truly comfortable, you will do whatever it takes to get there....."

Wow, Polly and I are so lucky to be in the presence of such wonderful moms and moms to be........makes us proud to be midwives.  Sometimes ours is a job that is hard. Stressful and time consuming. But, we always remember that we are really in a profession that has the honor of witnessing unbelievable things. Strength, courage, love, determination, perseverance, grit and humor. We get to see all that! Oh, and a baby too!   For now.....Janet

Reunion.......the meaning behind the name.

Just the other day someone asked me "why/how" we named the Birth Center "Reunion".  I really enjoy telling the story so I thought I would share it with all of you.  Janet and I met at Northeast Hospital while working as Labor and Delivery nurses MANY years ago.  We became good friend and also shared the desire to become Midwives. So for 2 years we drove down to Galveston to school together and completed the Midwifery program at UTMB.  After school our lives started to take different paths and soon we saw little of each other. If fact..... we actually lost touch for a couple of years.  Then about 6 years ago we met up again....in the dairy section of HEB (no kidding).....and "reunited".   It was after this "reunion" that we began planning to bring a birth center to the Kingwood area. We wanted to "reunite' women and families to a more natural, personalized, hands on birth experience. We wanted to "reunite" women with their natural ability and wisdom to birth their own babies without medical intervention. We wanted to "bring together" women who respect the natural birth process and give them a place that they could achieve their goal without fear or ridicule. Thus the name "REUNION" was born! Polly

Apology.....birth shouldn't be scary.

It was brought to my attention yesterday after I posted this article link on our Facebook page that the beginning paragraph was really scary to one soon to birth mother....(not a Reunion mom...). I want to apologize if I allowed something to frighten anyone. I am sorry.

My intention was honorable.  I want women to understand what really is going on in our maternity wards today. Become informed. Become aware. Know your options.

Many women who know nothing about nurse-midwives think we are unsafe, a lesser choice than an obstetrician.
I guess as  a midwife I feel that we so often have to defend our profession. We just want people to understand who we are and why we do what we do. Understand our committment. Our honor of the laboring mother.

Obstetricians are highly trained surgeons. Trained to fix problems. They are not necessarily experts in normal, natural birth. How can they be?  When was the last time your OB sat at your side while you experienced your early contractions.....encouraged you as you journeyed your way to transition........rubbed your back .........prayed with you. They unfortunately don't have the time. .....they are fixing everyone elses problems.....that's where they are truly needed. And thank God for them.  Polly and I have the most amazing collaborative Obstetricians midwives could ever hope for. We love them. Honor them. Respect them. And they do the same for us. It would be a dream for all maternity practices to have such a great collaborative team.  Midwives for normal, docs for abnormal. Less unnecessary c-sections. Less morbidity/mortality ( proven fact when you add midwives to the mix....)
Happy moms. Every one getting what their body/baby needs.

When you are at most hospital units laboring with your epidural ( or not) and with Pitocin running (or not) you are not being "watched" and comforted by loving hands, usually.  You are being monitored at the nurses station.  RN's watching the monitors for any signs of fetal distress, period.
                                  Pitocin running-Check. Epidural in- Check. Patient quiet-Check.
 I have been there, I know.  I am sure there are some wonderful hospital L and D units where the nurse sits at your bedside and charts. But not in most. And if you are going "natural" not too much help there either.  And with due respect, I know that it is not possible for  the nurse to "labor" you when she has two other patients on a busy unit.....But I ask: How safe is that, really? And some people think what we do at the birth center is "putting your baby in danger"......really.
I certainly don't think that all moms are risking their babies birthing with OBs at the hospital.  I do believe that women should do their research for their birth care just as they would if they were getting anything else done to their bodies or their children's bodies.  We seem to just take what comes with birth. And we shouldn't.
For now....Janet

Technology in Birth.......a great read.

I stumbled across this article yesterday and it really made me happy.  Happy that I am a midwife. Happy that I have the ability to birth women in the hospital when the need arises for whatever reason we need to leave the birth center and  continue the birth there. I say that because I know given the nature and philosophy of midwifery, Polly and I can so help these women achieve the birth they are meant to have. And, if you have read any of the recent posts you will know that that does not always mean a vaginal birth.....
I know that we will be there at her side....we will be the ones truly overseeing the care she receives. And believe, that is a good thing, if I do say so myself.
Case in point. Our last momma.  She pushed out a 9#10oz first baby  after one hour of pushing!!!  Now, because of some other circumstances that had nothing to do with "this might be a big baby" we transfered to the hospital for some needed power to get the birth moving along....Now this mom came to our practice late in her pregnancy because the OB she was seeing kept harping on the fact that she thought the baby was going to be too big for her and would most likely induce her early.......bad mistake. I believe had she stayed with this provider, she more than likely would have ended up in a c-section....and everyone would have said..."Thank Goodness, that baby was just way too big for you!"  Well, our motto is "Let's prove this baby is too big...." I always say that a baby that is too big for you will show itself in the nature of your labor and or pushing stage.

Well, back to the article.  Marsden Wagner is a perinatologist who supports midwifery around the world and who works at making birth more safe..... He wrote an article which can be found on Midwifery  Today   www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/technologyinbirth.asp . I would wish that all women pregnant or considering pregnancy read this article.......here are a few excerpts that made me go "Yeah, Marsden!!!"

"There is not a single report in the scientfic literature that shows that obstetricians to be safer than midwives for low-risk or normal pregnancy and birth. So,if you are among the more  than 75% of all women with a normal pregnancy, the safest birth attendant f or you is not a doctor but a midwife."

"If you are considering a hospital birth with an obstetrician as your primary birth attendant, ask him or her how much time he or she will spend with you during your labor. One of the reasons a midwife is generally a better choice to attend your hospital birth than an obstetrician is because the midwife is there in the hospital with you during your labor while the obstetrician is not....

So, who you ask is mananging your labor at the hospital, all you women who have OBs as birth attendants?  The L and D nurse......how invested in your care do you think she really is?  Especially if  you "want things" like being able to get out of the bed.....try your induction without an epidural.....etc.

Please read the article, it is really interesting.  Birth center and/or home birth is certainly not for everyone......but searching for a good midwife to support your labor and birth at the hospital should be something all women check into....and that's not to mention the great one-on-one prenatal care we give.....that's fodder for another post!  For now, Janet