Matrescence by Diana

11/10/2025

Sounds like this is in response to the prior announcement that Mayo is withdrawing OB staffing from Owatonna, leaving Allina to cover both locations.

Allina Health, which owns and runs the hospital, says it will consolidate labor and delivery services for Southern Minnesota in Owatonna, while it will close its birth center at its Faribault hospital.

11/10/2025

Yawn. When these articles come out, I have such mixed feelings.

I’m actually not here to jump on the “continuous monitoring sucks” bandwagon.

This has been known.

Articles like this bypass many deeper issues that deserve exploration.

Here’s my 2 cents.

(1) In some cases— tricky labors riding the edge in particular— there ARE benefits to continuous monitoring that may actually allow us to avoid a cesarean and keep going.

As someone big on cesarean PREVENTION, and labor strategy in difficult cases, I wish this was also discussed.

A trusted homebirth midwife once told me, “you know Diana, they can push it a lot farther in the hospital than we can at home, BECAUSE of continuous monitoring”.

And that really opened my eyes.

I have seen many cases where a fetal scalp electrode or hooking up for a complete tracing when heart tones did not sound reassuring actually DISPROVED fetal distress, and gave us a longer leash to keep going.

And obviously - some babies are truly in trouble, and we want to be able to catch that and do cesareans timely when needed.

(2) Plus… nobody likes to acknowledge this, but as someone who works with a more complex patient population, it’s true that there ARE many legitimately high risk pregnancies in which IA would not improve outcomes. It's not actually reasonable to suggest that we just Doppler everyone.

So what is the alternative? What is the call to action of this tired discussion.

CEFM is not going away.

In general, pregnancies are only getting less healthy, not more.

I think we’d do better to focus on helping borderline patients improve their risk stratification by helping them on the FRONT END to have a healthier pregnancy/placenta, promote spontaneous labor, and more functional labor from the get-go…

AND getting providers more comfortable with continuing as long as possible in that Category II window. Depending on the complete picture of course. It's the human element of interpretation and narrow comfort that makes CEFM a problem.

It goes without saying that we need greater access to out-of-hospital birth, and that labor units still in the dark ages need to get themselves a protocol for IA and get their nurses/providers comfortable with it. I am SO grateful for the facilities in my service area that are very practiced with the Doppler in labor, and don't jump to the discs and bands for every little thing.

—Diana’s Monday morning hot take ☕️

Decades of research have shown that round-the-clock fetal monitoring does not reliably predict fetal distress, and experts say it leads to many unnecessary surgeries. But it’s still used in nearly every birth in the U.S. because of business and legal concerns, a New York Times investigation found. https://nyti.ms/3WF7yLx

11/09/2025

Many people hire me for VBAC & cesarean prevention, but I want to be very clear on my account that I am not anti-cesarean.

Yes, I got into this to improve outcomes, reduce trauma and help people understand how to navigate the system to increase chances of success.

However, I encourage all clients to understand that a cesarean may happen or be needed despite our best efforts, and we have to be ready and able to engage with that.

Not in a surface way; like writing a “just in case” cesarean birth plan.

I mean a “we are going to look hard at our deepest darkest fears and come to peace with them” way.

🔮 What are the narratives we are carrying about what a cesarean means?

🔮 Where did we gather our understanding about c-section from?

🔮 What are we telling ourselves it means if we end up with this outcome?

🔮 What are we afraid we can’t cope with?

🔮 How can we SEPARATE the macro-level abuses & statistics from what is actually happening in OUR birth? The system is a separate issue and bringing it into our decisionmaking is a red herring.

Trauma-informed care & truly COMPREHENSIVE VBAC prep *must* include a careful look at these things.

When I trained with Pam England recently, she said that in preparing for her VBAC, she *also* prepared just as hard for what she called a “spiritual cesarean.”

“I’m actually kind of sad I didn’t get to experience it,” she said. [Footnote: Pam England herself had both a cesarean & VBAC]

This is what I encourage clients to think about.

Not the statistics. Not the evidence. Not the system.

Not what a cesarean means about you, or how terrible or overused or traumatic they are.

But how can we take the power out of them & still own our story if that’s what happens.

Remove the external narratives we are carrying around, deconstruct our own internal voice, and instead turn inward, toward the ACTUAL birth WE are having and OUR own values/coping.

This is where VBAC prep is lacking.

Cesareans can still be sacred & meaningful; they are a VALID way to give birth and safest for some people. Hard fact.

Let’s cultivate the tools to live into the birth we are actually getting, not just an ideal we’ve created in our mind.

11/05/2025

“Having a newborn is a very sloppy, ugly, disheveled time of life. I felt out of the picture. I felt very taxed and very needed, but also very invisible,” photographer Tabitha Soren wrote in 2021. “The images get at that ethereal quality of not feeling like a whole person. I’m not really in focus, because my brain isn’t in focus either.”
https://theatln.tc/B2IUHEHw

📸: Tabitha Soren

11/04/2025

Ain’t no hood like motherhood.

11/03/2025

Let the dads know! What a great new offering — Sean is awesome 🙌🏼

🐻💙 Meet Sean Chambers 🐻💙

Papa Bear Sean Chambers describes himself as a "proud girl dad" of 16-month-old Lillian, who will be getting a little sister in December of 2025!

Sean and his wife, Brianna, live with their family in Eau Claire and own 2 Roots Art & Wine Gallery downtown.

2 Roots is a family-owned wine bar with one of the largest by-the-glass programs in the country, beer, and plenty of N/A options.

The Chambers clan has become regular attenders of our in-person on Saturday mornings!

Now, Sean has graciously volunteered to host , a monthly group we are super excited to help launch.

Sean's vision for the group is simple and laid-back: "a group to connect with other dads who are balancing family life while figuring it all out together."

Opening up their space during non-business hours, Sean will host dads at 2 Roots, 214 South Barstow Street. Free street parking or paid ramps downtown.

Babies in arms are certainly welcome, but thank you for making other arrangements for older/mobile kiddos.

Please bring your own coffee; we'll supply the snacks!

More details / dates for can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/14PcWsMGC87/


Follow Mama Bear for other great events like this one:
https://www.facebook.com/MamaBearFamilyCare/events.

Register for our email list to stay "in the loop":
https://mailchi.mp/50ef4e9721cb/subscribe-to-mama-bear?fbclid=IwAR3uz3qvT8mLGzO0j6sWp_YVede4QIE-GHedAr7LVuIfxv4H9vkYb1qiF2Q

More info on the Mama Bear team:
www.MamaBearFamilyCare.com

11/02/2025

👋Doula 🆘: if I’ve recently had a postpartum visit with you, or attended a birth with you since 9/23, please let me know if you’ve found a random pair of glasses, because mine have been MIA for a month 🥴

11/01/2025

This client’s birth history could land her a contract for a Lifetime movie and this is just the abridged version! Strap in ✈️

Her first baby went surprise breech partway through an induction, earning her an immediate c/s.

Her second baby was found to be surprise breech AGAIN at nearly 42 weeks when she presented for a biophysical profile. Another cesarean it was.

For her third, she planned a VBA2C with a physician in MN, but eventually managed to be accepted at WWH due to her breech history. Not long after, client went into spontaneous labor and had a glorious (head-down!) VBA2C.

This time, she planned to deliver back at Baldwin, and we were hopeful this fourth pregnancy and birth would be a bit less stressful…

Instead, she got the biggest run for her money yet 🤍

At 38 weeks, client received a surprise diagnosis of mild preeclampsia AND (you guessed it)…another breech baby.

After a brief scramble to arrange an ECV, by the time she was admitted, baby was back head down (!)

We discussed induction options, availability of ECV if needed, controlled AROM to lock baby into the pelvis, a compression band - all the “unstable lie” things…

But despite the max dose of pitocin overnight and a solid pattern previously, by the next morning, contractions had all but ceased 🤔

We came up with a plan to let her body rest & reset, and to backtrack for a balloon catheter if needed, when we discovered (you guessed it)….

Baby had flipped breech again.

There were tears and big feelings, resources that had to be marshalled - but nobody was giving up.

By the time the ECV doc arrived, baby was back head-down 🙃 On the basis of her proven pelvis, he agreed to a controlled leak, which brought baby down safely to 0 station and well applied!

Before long, contractions were ROCKIN and client was 8cm working hard👏

But this little cherub was not done.

After all the hurdles client overcame to make it to active labor; all the advocacy, miles driven and maneuvering with providers; all the tears and struggles of arranging childcare far from home to manage a long, unexpected hospitalization…

A last minute loss of station and unusual fetal heart rate clued us in that something was not right — even with his swimming pool drained, baby had flipped transverse, ending us in the OR 💔

Despite all of it, client’s JOY in meeting this final baby and pure STRENGTH in standing up and walking to be at baby’s side just 3 hours after being sliced open mid-transition…outshined all the struggle and pain.

I am not sure I have ever met a client more resilient, more FIERCE with mamabear energy, or more firmly rooted in love for her children and family than this one 😭

She said, “This sweet boy makes my heart EXPLODE through all the challenges we've faced. He's worth it all x a million.”

Please join me in uplifting this client and celebrating her highly unique journey to 4 beautiful babies. I told her someone should do a case study on her, and she said, “my price is high” lol

10/31/2025

If you or someone you know is experiencing a gap in benefits or food resources, please reach out to any of these programs - they are here to help care for our community! ❤🍎

River Falls Community Food Pantry - RFCFP
Ruby's Pantry - Ellsworth, Wi.,hosted by Bethel Covenant Church
Prescott Area Food Pantry
Family Pathways
St. Croix Valley Food Bank
Our Neighbors' Place, Inc.

10/28/2025

Ask me why I named my practice “matrescence” 💫