Golden State Midwifery & Birth Services

11/07/2025

Now at First 5 Mendocino

Starts this Friday!

Hosted by local doulas, this is a welcoming space for new parents to connect, share, and find support.

📅 When: First Friday of every month at 10:00 AM
📍 Where: First 5 Mendocino – Community Room
419 Talmage Rd, Ste M

✨ Babies are welcome! Bring your little ones and come as you are.

Questions? Contact Shelby at 707-391-7202.

10/24/2025

Skin to skin has been the way in community birth settings. Keeping the baby with their parent is the norm. And it comes with all the benefits you might imagine and more.

The 2025 Cochrane review on immediate and early skin-to-skin contact after birth highlights that further randomized controlled trials comparing skin-to-skin contact with ‘usual care’ are no longer ethical.

The findings show there is now enough evidence to make immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth the global standard of care, and as WHO already recommends skin-to-skin the standard of care, the authors argue that randomizing the separation of mother and newborn may no longer be justifiable.

Read more:
https://centerforbreastfeeding.org/cochrane-review-2025

09/23/2025

No need to suffer. Reducing fever with appropriate medication is good for fetal development. And pain relief is important too!

The American College of Nurse-Midwives affirms acetaminophen, also commonly known as Tylenol, remains a safe and effective option for relieving pain and reducing fever during pregnancy when used as directed. Ongoing research and expert reviews continue to support its appropriate use, and pregnant individuals can feel confident using it in consultation with their midwife or other healthcare provider.

09/18/2025

❤️. Access to support and care are key to ending inequity.

For the inaugural Deaf & Hard of Hearing Breastfeeding Week, The Anthropology of Motherhood are sharing an ASL Breastfeeding Education Video Series.

The first of its kind, this breastfeeding series features education and information specifically targeted to engage Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. There is no spoken English used throughout the series, only ASL and closed captioning. The production company, Blue20, is owned by a Deaf person; more than 90% of the talent engaged and the production team is Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

The series includes:
1) Answers to Common Breastfeeding Concerns
2) The Gift That Lasts a Lifetime
3) Breastfeeding: In the Beginning; Returning to Work Advocacy
These three videos were produced by the D.C. Breastfeeding Coalition and Blue20 with love and care.

Link to access these free resources 👉 http://bit.ly/46wumBI

09/17/2025

Labor Induction: Why, When, and How? takes a close look at the most common reasons induction is recommended and what the research really shows.

It also provides strategies for every path: supporting a safe, healthy birth if you want to await labor, ways to encourage labor naturally, and best practices for an induction to go smoothly if that is your choice or when it becomes necessary.

Find out more: https://hencigoer.com/labor-induction/

09/10/2025

07/26/2025

Autonomy and informed choice are the foundation of good care.

What are the ethical implications of routine medical intervention in childbirth?
A new piece from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics explores the rising rates of cesarean sections and labor interventions in U.S. hospitals—and their impact on autonomy, informed consent, and maternal well-being.

The article examines:

📌 Trends in cesarean rates and outcomes
📌 Financial and emotional costs of intervention
📌 Ethical concerns around informed consent during labor
📌 The role of patient autonomy in decision-making
📌 Implications for marginalized and low-income communities

As author Madison Patrick writes, "Childbirth is not a problem to be solved, nor a liability to be managed. It is an intimate, human experience that demands the highest standard of ethical care."

🔗 Read the full article via the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. : https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/bioethics/resources/ethics-of-medical-intervention-in-childbirth/

For more News and Research visit: https://www.nacpm.org/researchandcurrentevents

07/04/2025

05/27/2025

04/11/2025

Contribute to move towards equity. There’s a long way to go! And every bit helps.

It’s and we’re calling on YOU to turn solidarity into action—and action into impact!

When you give to BMMA, you’re investing in Black-led solutions, advocacy, and care that centers Black Mamas, birthing people, and families. Your support powers our movement for birth justice, reproductive freedom, and health equity.

💸Put your money where the justice is.
📲 Text BMMA to 844-844-6844 or visit bit.ly/bmmagiving to donate today!

01/25/2025

Fox H, Topp SM, Lindsay D, et al. A cascade of interventions: A classification tree analysis of the determinants of primary cesareans in Australian public hospitals. Birth 2021;48(2):209-20.

https://bit.ly/4gKQVpw

12/31/2024

Fully

Going into 2025, remember with your friends with newborns:
“to hold the mother, not the baby.”

What that means is the baby’s being taken care of—
fed, snuggled, and given all the love in the world—
by not only the mother,
but her partner, grandparents, siblings, cousins, and friends.

But the mother,
may have gaps in her mind from lack of sleep,
may be mechanical in her motions as she’s healing,
may be sitting in bed, crying, feeling overwhelmed in her body and life,
may be full of mom guilt because, in her mind, "she's not good enough,
and she’s bleeding, wincing in pain, swollen and emotional.

And the mother's that baby's whole world and needs to be seen so she doesn't disappear into that postpartum fog.

So, hold the mother, not the baby.

A mother agrees that her baby matters more.
But she’s hurting, while she’s the person behind the baby,
in the background, making it all happen:
feeding her baby at all hours,
snuggling her baby close to comfort newborn cries,
and being that baby’s everything.

So, it’s the mother who needs your love.

And a mother will remember who held her up.

So instead of saying, “I’m coming to see the baby,”
try saying, “I’m coming to see you 𝘢𝘯𝘥 meet the baby, too.

It matters.

✍️: (Danielle Sherman-Lazar)