for Holistic Mamas-To-Be (and mama-wanna-bes too!)
From the monthly archives:
This reminds me of labor. It’s so important to stay present and get through contractions one at a time, totally letting the last one go. It’s a lesson for life really, and the cure for overwhelm, which is in actuality just evidence of not being in the present moment. Today’s mantra: there is only this moment, and in this moment there is hope.
via icanread:
(via bratinlove)
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This is a link to the list of 83 US hospitals and birth centers that have implemented the UNICEF-WHO baby-friendly hospital initiative. In the NYC area, the one hospital that made the cut is Harlem Hospital.
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Perfect video teaching you how to swaddle your baby. I can’t even guess how many times I did this as a labor and delivery nurse, but I do still remember how excited I was the day I learned “the swaddle.” It’s a great thing to know and so important for newborns who need to feel safe and secure.
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Great book tip! Being inclusive to all the ways families come to be is so important in this work. Love it & definitely adding it to the HDNYC Store.
via snazzified:
This weekend I half-assedly flipped through The Doula’s Guide to Birth by Ananda Lowe and Rachel Zimmerman. As far as birth books go (and you know I’ve been reading them like crazy) this one was the most inclusive so far. What I mean is that they didn’t stop at explaining all of the birth options, but also had sections for lesbians, single women, surrogate mothers, and women who chose adoption. Let’s just say no other birth book I’ve read so far has discussed whether or not to have the sperm donor present at the birth! Just for its inclusiveness to all women giving birth, I would recommend this book.
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The quote below sums up what I think is one of the most important aspects of the doula role. It is critical, exciting, and soul satisfying to work with birthing women in a way that helps create strong, empowered, know-they’re-rockstars mamas.
If you’re a mama-to-be, make sure that everyone you choose and allow to be part of your birth makes you feel all of those things. You wouldn’t set off to run a marathon with anything less than a team of coaches and sideline support who 100% believe in your ability to rock it out. This is your marathon.
via jdoughty:
The moment a child is born,
The mother is also born.
She never existed before.
The woman existed, but the mother, never.
A mother is something absolutely new.
- Rajneesh
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WOW. What a great couple. Beautiful!
Okay…
I really..really enjoy my wife, Hannah.
This could be stated as something obvious…that maybe you’re married because you obviously enjoy her so much — that you wanted to be together for, well life.
Doing life together.
I do love this phrase, because that’s what it is.
Doing life together.
For those who don’t know, Hannah is a doula…she assists women in pre-natal, birth and postpartum with all things birth related – emotional, comfort exercises, and technical…things…. [and by technical, I mean helping with intimidating doctor lingo.]
But another word I could use to describe Hannah in this process is an advocate.
She empowers the women she works with to make their own decisions about their own birth – not a doctor who wants to be home by 5pm and schedules a “crucial” c-section. (but that’s for another day..)
She advocates for their freedom to make choices and to feel in control of what their bodies can do.
I must say…I am so intrigued by it all.
I’ve seen too many illustrations of breasts and bellies…and…well…you get the picture. [literally.]
“10 centimeters…!?” I proclaim in awe.
Yes,
10 centimeters.
Needless to say…I’m so proud of Hannah – how confident she is to help guide these women through highly emotional times and the impact it has on her… So much life in it all…it’s incredible.
Hannah got a call at 11:30 last night as she was in that ‘mid-dose-off’ kind of sleep. It was a momma who was beginning the first stages of labor. I sat…and watched Hannah go from sleepytime to “Do-Work Doula” explaining that “Yes..that’s fine…that’s going to happen” and “You should try to rest if you can, but it’s completely up to you to make these decisions”.
3am rolled around as I was slapped awake by a phone call from Han’s client who needed Han to come be with her. Hannah got up, got dressed and took a cab to their house.
Simply…incredible. Such an intimate moment in these peoples’ lives…and Hannah is there and is trusted.
She is a comfort to them because she is empowering and advocating for them to have the best birth possible by making their own decisions and affirming their thoughts- creating such a powerful birth experience.
This is just one of the reasons I enjoy Han so much…besides the fact that she’s such an incredible person, friend, wife…she is truly an inspiration to me and teaches me so much about loving others – and expanding my heart for God and the Beloved.
yep.
my wife’s a doula.
and she kicks ass.
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Video mentioned in previous post. Honest, informative look at placental encapsulation by comedian Joel Stein. New things (though actually ancient in this case) can make us a little squirmy…it’s ok!
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Click pick to read Joel Stein’s funny & informative Time Magazine Article.
Some background & commentary…Joel Stein is one of the comedians on those snarky VH1 shows. You know, “The Most Deliciously Horrible Songs of the 80’s” or some such. Anyway, when his wife wanted to have “placental encapsulation” following the birth of their baby, he wrote an article and made a video about it for Time magazine.
Placental anything in the hands of a comic is not likely to get a particularly gentle treatment, so if you’re looking for a precious account of placental encapsulation this is not the article for you. If, however, you are curious about the whole placenta eating thing, and humor makes the topic a little easier to stomach (so to speak), this article is a great demystifier and laughter inducer.
I’m quite amazed that Time magazine featured this story. While there is certainly fun poking, there is also awareness raising, and that’s always good from my point of view. As for the capsules? I say, if the idea appeals to you, why not? If you want to learn more you can check out this site or do a Bing or Google search.
One more thing, as a labor and delivery nurse, post-delivery placenta management was one of my responsibilities. I looked them over for any abnormalities, sometimes drew blood from them, and then packaged them up for the lab or disposal. A good healthy placenta isn’t really so super scary, and most of the time, unless you want to, you won’t even have to look at it. That said, a fair number of moms and partners did want to get a look because it is such an amazing organ.
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In a prize-winning essay, Jacqueline Maybin says the female body could hold the key to a medical revolution.
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