Birth by Design

12/12/2024

*Clears throat* To be clear… this 👆🏽

There are many reasons why someone may want to avoid an induction of labor or want to elect or inquire about an induction of labor — from current medical complications, to past medical complications, to mental and emotional factors, to physical discomfort — all of these considerations are normal and valid.

For parents-to-be straddling these lines, here’s our advice: have a great big conversation with the care team you really trust about all of it. Get all your questions answered, understand all the factors in front of you, make a decision for next steps, and then give yourself a big hug (maybe a warm bath?). You’re going to walk out everything that comes up next together, day by day.

For medical providers who feel this engenders medical distrust: We hear you. We see you. We recognize that the vast majority of you only have your patients best interest in mind and at heart — and we also see that there are real gaps and fragments in traditional care patterns and policies that lead many parents to feel that their experiences with decisions like induction weren’t based on mutual understanding, or even felt misrepresented or coerced.

The bottom line is both parents and providers deserve a shared relationship based in transparent, compassionate, patient-centered care — that’s how we get the best outcomes for everyone involved, even when we meet challenging situations outside of control (as pregnancy and birth sometimes bring). ❤️

08/08/2022

You and your baby are working together! Your job is to dilate, baby’s job is to rotate. Work in unity with your body and baby with our daily activities, body balancing techniques, and smart birth positions.

06/13/2022

Heading to the hospital 🔜?

Check out our hospital bag checklist for our top recommendations on what to include! 👇🏽

https://www.wcdoulas.com/single-post/2017/02/24/top-20-items-to-bring-to-the-hospital-2

06/01/2022

Love this!! 💜

"Who delivered your baby?" is a question commonly asked of new parents and has implications for the emotional empowerment of women during childbirth. In thi...

02/01/2022

Always good to know what your options are for your birth. Asking questions is a great way to open communication with hospital staff. 💜

You should be able to receive peace of mind on your hospital tour. These are the 10 most important questions to ask on your hospital tour.

01/19/2022

I’ve been trying to write a post on and off all afternoon after being sent this. Far too many points for one post but I’ll just say

1. If there is a breastfeeding problem, fix the breastfeeding problem. Yes tongue tie, CMPA and other challenges can be horrific to deal with. But it’s not the breastfeeding that’s the issue - it’s the complication. If someone wants to breastfeed they should be able to get the support they need to do that. And then reassess.

Breastfeeding isn’t linked to PND. Breastfeeding complications and a lack of support are linked to PND. Fix that rather than remove breastfeeding.

Likewise if someone wants to breastfeed but is exhausted, let’s help them in other ways where they get to be more rested AND breastfeed. Research btw shows breastfeeding mums actually often get more sleep as once you’ve got the hang of things it’s easier at night.

Equally if women actually want to stop, support them to stop.

2. Breastfeeding isn’t just about health outcomes, which aren’t guaranteed anyway as it doesn’t work like that. There are many reasons women want to breastfeed other than whether you can tell if a 5 year old was breastfed. Including health protection for the mother. And bodily autonomy. And culture or religion. These all matter but are often ignored. See point one.

3. Happy baby happy mum suggests that how a mother feels about feeding doesn’t matter as long as her baby is fed. See also fed is best. Some people might find this reassuring whilst others feel like their health, wellbeing & desired way of parenting is ignored like they don’t matter.

4. Some babies might feed in a 4 hr routine but most don’t. What adult only eats/drinks every 4 hours? Our research (and others) shows trying to feed to a strict routine is linked to complications & stopping breastfeeding as it reduces supply.

TLDR: Pressurising anyone to breastfeed is wrong. Judging anyone on feeding (or any aspect of parenting is wrong). But so is telling them breastfeeding doesn’t matter, a lack of investment in breastfeeding support and just generally not giving new mothers all the support they need to make the decision right for them.

01/09/2022

One of the many reasons I am passionate in helping moms postpartum. Mental health is so important in all areas of our lives. I love the suggestion in this article to a website MyCheckOnMom.com
Such a great starting point for families to help their loved ones. 💜

How one dad has made it his mission to help moms with postpartum depression after his wife died by su***de shortly after the birth of their daughter

01/09/2022

At birth, ⅓ (or more) of your baby’s blood is still in the placenta.

That means if you immediately cut the cord, your baby is missing A LOT of blood.

If you were missing ⅓ (33%) of your blood, your heart and respiratory rates would increase, your blood pressure would drop, and you would become anxious and confused. If you lost 40% of your blood, all those symptoms would be worse and you would become lethargic.

If you lost more than 40% you would die.

So how long should you wait after birth to clamp the cord?

Ideally you would “wait for white”. This means the cord isn’t clamped until it has stopped pulsing and turned white because all of the blood is now inside the baby. This is usually over 5 minutes (I’ve waited until the birth of the placenta with my two homebirths [about an hour]).

But delaying cord clamping for even 60 seconds has been shown to have benefits including:

🔆 Increased hemoglobin
🔆 Increased iron
🔆 Increased blood pressure (early clamping means BP can be too low)
🔆 Increased urinary output
🔆 Increased body temperature (early clamping babies are colder)

If baby is having a slower transition to breathing outside the womb upon their birth, keeping them attached to the cord will also continue to provide them with oxygen until they begin breathing on their own.

12/29/2021

Information helps all of us to make informed decisions. Where we get that information is important and it’s also important that the information is Evidence Based! 💜

11/24/2021

So amazing!! 💜

A childbirth educator considers “the place of change” in labor that transcends stages and what she sees as the overemphasis on pushing. Read more…. Getting Pushy

11/18/2021

Have you dealt with biting at the breast? What tips can you share?

[Infographic with Ouch! across the top. Baby is biting at the breast! Try The P.A.C.E.D. Approach Positioning: When your baby is latched on deeply AND nursing actively, it’s physically impossible to bite. Act Fast: Watch for a hint your baby is about to bite – usually toward the end of a feed. When you feel the latch change, break the latch with your finger and remove her from the breast. Comfort: He may be surprised and unhappy that you stopped. Give a cuddle with a firm “no bite." Offer her something she *can* chew. Expression: Breast compressions will increase flow and remind her to suck and swallow if your baby seems to be slowing down. Distract: Talk, say his name, or play a game for him to laugh and give a quick release. Note: Yelling after a bite can lead to a nursing strike in some babies.]