Panhandle Birth Center

12/13/2025

At full dilation, clinical guidance often includes instructing the patient to tuck the chin, draw the knees back, and push with a deep breath while the staff counts to ten. This approach is typically repeated with each contraction.
Coached pushing (Valsalva pushing) is sometimes used when a first-time mom has a heavy epidural and can’t feel anything below the waist. This may help speed up delivery or assist an OP baby needing extra effort to rotate. Sometimes, a woman reaches full dilation, but her contractions ease, and the uterus rests before the second stage moves the baby down steadily.
But must this happen to every mother? Multiparas sometimes arrive at the hospital with a baby at +2, no epidural, and doing well, yet staff still coach them. What happened to letting the head ease out? It seems women aren’t trusted to know how or when to push.
Coached pushing vs. passive pushing or laboring down is at the heart of my argument. When pushing occurs for 10 seconds, it reduces oxygen flow to the mother, the placenta, the baby, and the tissue. In addition, coached pushing can cause micro-damage to the tissues of the pelvic floor that is cumulative, resulting in a greater degree of pelvic floor prolapse and urinary incontinence. Letting your baby labor down and pushing when you feel the urge may be the best alternative. My main point is that a one-size-fits-all approach to pushing does not serve every mother or baby well, and individual needs should guide the process.
I only skimmed the research; I didn't have the time or patience to study it closely. Still, I found there is no clear consensus.
Babies are less stressed when women listen to their bodies and push as it feels natural. Women know how to birth without instruction.
This approach highlights an area of ongoing professional debate.
As a midwife, Valsalva pushing is a last resort. Most women can and will labor down until there is an urge to push. Waiting is the physiologic approach. A physiological approach to natural labor & delivery most often yields the best outcomes.

12/13/2025

How many times have we heard, “Oh, I had to have my baby by C-section because the cord was wrapped around my baby’s neck, foot, chest, or some combination thereof”? It’s important to know that cords are wrapped around babies about 30% of the time. In fact, having a cord around the body can be safer than the cord being in the va**na, which may serve as nature’s way to provide protection. Cords are surrounded by a substance called Wharton’s jelly that protects the vein and arteries running through the cord. If the cord were not around the neck or body, it could potentially fall in front of the baby’s head before labor, which would cause issues once labor begins. Once the baby enters the birth canal, the cord can become pinched—and that’s where actual concerns may arise. So, if your OB explains, “Your baby’s cord was wrapped around their neck, and that’s why they were stressed,” keep in mind that while stress from a nuchal cord is possible, it may be less common than often implied. Sometimes, other factors, namely pitocin, failure to wait, or any combination of interventions during labor, could contribute to the baby’s condition.

12/05/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1KqR3Seoeb/

11/21/2025

This too

11/21/2025

journey through motherhood is uniquely yours, and you deserve the confidence to embrace it fully! 🤰❤️ Remember, you shouldn't have to become a mini midwife to advocate for your choices.
Let's shatter the myths and stand united! Every woman has the right to feel safe, respected, and cherished during such a pivotal moment in her life. 💪💖
Join me in celebrating informed choices, trust, and empowerment in birth! Share your experiences and let’s uplift one another. You are powerful! 💖

11/17/2025

Hire a well educated doula.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/17X2zR7vSv/

11/12/2025

11/12/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/17GsMiwheT/

✨ It’s not always “the system.” ✨

In some birth spaces, there’s a belief that birth trauma is almost always caused by the medical system.

Yes... sometimes it contributes. But those who’ve truly listened to hundreds (or thousands) of stories know that the roots of birth trauma usually go much deeper than that.

Pam England, who has spent over 50 years listening to birth stories, identified what she called the “Seeds of Birth Trauma.” These are the places where disorientation and distress take root, long before, during, and after birth.

When Birth Story Listeners hear stories, we often find that even when interventions or medical decisions were part of the experience, what lingers isn’t just what was done, it’s how it felt and the meaning we take from that.

✨ Did I feel heard?
✨ Did I feel supported?
✨ Did I show up for myself the way I hoped I would?
✨ Did others show up for me?

One of the most common seeds is the Relationship Seed.

This grows when, after birth, we question how others responded to us, our caregivers, our partners, our support people ...... and how we believe that we turned up for ourselves, how we coped and how our body labored.

We might find ourselves wondering:
💭 “Why didn’t I speak up?”
💭 “Why didn’t they listen?”
💭 “Why didn’t my body do what I expected?”

These tender questions are often the true source of conflict, not necessarily the interventions themselves.

There are other Seeds too:
🌱 The Promises & Expectations Seed
🌱 The Overwhelming Physical Experience Seed

…and more to come in future posts.

Understanding these Seeds helps us move beyond blame — of the system or ourselves — and into healing.

If this resonates, Birth Story Medicine can help you find the peace and meaning your story has been holding all along.

📖 Book a Birth Story Medicine session and begin transforming how you feel about your birth — today. DM us.