Wild Heart Doula

08/12/2021

If you were told this, you were lied to.

Is there a place for induction? Sure. And that place is for you to decide in your particular situation.

But when you’re making that decision you should be told ALL the things so you can make the best possible choice for you and be happy with that choice, no matter how things go.

A few points to consider...

Induced labor is almost always more painful, with less of a break between contractions to recover.

Because of that, you’re more likely to agree to medical pain relief, which can lead to heart decelerations in your baby, which can lead to surgery.

Labor induction is rarely suggested out of actual medical necessity. More often than not it’s suggested out of fear of liability or to accommodate someone’s schedule (usually not yours).

Pitocin, which is lab-manufactured, synthetic oxytocin (what your body makes naturally during labor), is NOT oxytocin. It is a drug.

If you’re induced and your body isn’t ready, you risk a “failed induction”, which means you go through all that pain for nothing. You may choose to go home and wait out spontaneous labor, but, more often than not, you’re taken to surgery.

If someone is suggesting induction based on how long you’ve been growing your baby & the potential for stillbirth, ask for the actual numbers. The risk is very small, but they won’t make you feel that way. Also ask for the risks associated with whatever interventions they’re suggesting.

Also remember that your dates could be off. Or you could just take longer to grow babies. Forcing your baby to be born before they’re ready can result in a lot of unwanted complications.

08/10/2021

No other mammal doubts their ability to give birth.

They seek out isolation - darkness - quiet - and they let the process unfold.

It really is silly, after all, to doubt our ability to procreate when it is quite literally what keeps our species alive.

But the indoctrination is real.

From before we can remember we’re told how painful & dangerous & impossible birth is. We’re told how long aunt Sally’s labor was & how many interventions were “required” & how she almost bled to death.

And then, once we start seeing birth on TV and in the movies, it’s always portrayed as a dangerous, intensely medicalized experience with a lot of rushing around, screaming, and machines constantly beeping.

So it’s no wonder that, by the time we get to be pregnant ourselves, we have no idea what our bodies are capable of.

But the truth is, YOU WERE MADE FOR THIS.

For those of you who are about to comment that birth doesn’t always go well & that, even in undisturbed births there can be complications, of course that’s true. My informational posts are always about how the majority of cases go, not the outliers, but I don’t deny that the outliers exist. It’s a waste of your time to argue with someone who doesn’t disagree with you, so please don’t bother.

If we trusted our bodies to birth like we trust them to digest food or pump our blood or do any of the other incredible processes they do without help or even a thought, the world would be in an entirely different place.

07/27/2021

07/10/2021

07/07/2021

Induction 👉 increased pain 👉 epidural 👉 non-reassuring fetal heart tones 👉 "emergency" c-section

Do you see what happened there?

That was the cascade of interventions.

It starts with something that you're told is harmless, like an induction. "It's the same as natural labor", they say. "Aren't you ready to meet your baby?!" they say. "Your baby is measuring big," they say.

So you agree.

But then the pain is too much. The contractions are right on top of each other. You can't get a break.

"If you get an epidural, you can rest," they say.

So you agree.

And you do get some rest, but then your baby's heart rate is starting to dip and not recover.

"Baby's not tolerating labor well. We think we should get them out," they say. They mean c-section. You're afraid for your baby.

So you agree.

"Thank goodness you were in the hospital," your family says. "Those doctors and nurses saved your baby."

But did they?

Maybe. But if they had left you alone, if they hadn't induced you unnecessarily, if you had gone into labor on your own and given birth how you wanted, would there have been anything to even save you from?

I hear this exact story almost daily. Some women recognize what was done to them, others don't. Either way loads of them end up with depression, anxiety, and PTSD from their birth experience, and it didn't have to be that way.

07/03/2021

No one--exhausted, overworked mothers least of all--ought to have to associate rest with danger.

04/11/2021

Much gratitude for this post by :
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While we are bringing to the forefront, let us also bring awareness to the standard of care being offered after a c-section. Those who have a belly birth deserve better and we need to

Some ways to make sure you are receiving proper postpartum care after a belly birth is hiring a postpartum doula, pelvic floor therapist, and lactation consultant.

Tag a postpartum doula, pelvic floor therapist, lactation consultant below for those in need! 💛

Post from .wellness

03/16/2021

I know I am not alone when I tell others how exhausted I feel these days.

The last year has been a lot, and for so many, it has required of us what we feel we do not have to give.

I've heard countless people say, "It's just too much."

It is in this context that I have seen so many emails, posts and "friendly reminders" that all of us should be practicing self-care.

For someone who is struggling, using every ounce of energy and willpower they have, just to keep the daily tasks of life and work and family on the rails, these suggestions are the furthest thing from "friendly".

They are loaded with shame, and feelings of inadequacy and isolation.

The problem as I see it, is that this "self-care" revolution has become a convenient and comfortable way for us to discharge our uncomfortable feelings around the suffering and burnout of those we do not know how to help, or are unwilling to invest the time or resources to supporting.

As employers, coworkers, neighbors, friends, leaders, and fellow-humans, there are so many examples where we see messages being sent with reminders to "practice" self-care or share a self-care victory or accomplishment.

The thing is, so many people are feeling beyond overwhelmed right now. When we continue to add to their to-do list or stand by as they struggle, and then turn around and tell these same people to practice self-care, this is not compassion and is often short-sighted and possibly even damaging. If we prescribe self-care but do not reach out to see if there are any tangible and urgent needs that are not being met, or if the person is in a state of well-being even CAPABLE of administering this type of self-resuscitation, this is both insensitive and hurtful. Instead of being a compassionate act of outreach, it instead presents as a self-serving attempt to fulfill our own needs and ego. We feel better for having preached self-care but in actuality we have likely done nothing other than add another task to the list of "shoulds" for somebody who is already unable to cope.

If we are truly looking to care for those who are feeling desperate, burned-out and alone, the first step should always be to alleviate some of the pressure and offer our time, energy and available resources to both determine and meet the unmet needs.

Once people are rested, back on their own feet and standing in their own power, then (and ONLY then) might self-care act as a powerful preventative tool for future burnout.

02/27/2021

“Women and babies are individual and, because one size doesn’t fit all, many women, families, midwives, doctors and birth folk feel frustrated that there exist recommendations about what all women should do, for instance at a particular stage of gestation.
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For some women and babies, induction of labour is a life-saving intervention, and there are quite a few women who can’t wait to have their babies and who are delighted at the idea of their labour being induced.
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But there are also women who would much rather go into labour on their own and who are frustrated that induction is recommended simply because they have reached a certain point in their pregnancy or because they have a certain risk factor.
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Many people find it difficult that systems of care make population-level recommendations about the care of women and babies.”
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Dr Sara Wickham. Inducing Labour: making informed decisions.
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Loads of information about induction, due dates, decision making and my books on these topics at www.sarawickham.com/iol
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02/20/2021

A while ago, I told a mom friend I was hosting a sleepover. I confessed to her I rarely let my daughters have them because I always get all worked up about what the girls will do and where they’ll sleep and if, heaven help me, EVERYONE IS HAVING A GOOD TIME. “I don’t do them, either,” she to...