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From the category archives:
Pregnancy
Click the pic to check out the book behind this nausea breaking food list.
While researching my latest post about morning sickness I came across what I found to be a super clever resource. Miriam Erick, a perinatal dietician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, created a list to help her clients identify what foods did sound good to them in the midst of an attack of morning sickness. Being familiar with that “nothing sounds good” feeling, I find this cheat sheet both simple and ingenious. Erick believes that whatever jumps out from the list above, is you personal “nausea breaking food.” So if you’re suffering from frequent morning sickness, you may want to print out a copy of Erick’s food words, stick it on your fridge, and see if it helps you plot your path out of yuckville. For more tips, check out Seven Tips for Quieting the Morning Sickness Demons. Good luck mama…this too shall pass!
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Mint tea, hot or iced, and lemonade are both good morning sickness remedies.
For the second time in just a few weeks I’ve been approached by a colleague who is battling the morning sickness demons. Since morning sickness affects 50 – 80% of all pregnancies, I figured that it was time to put my fingers to the keyboard and share my favorite morning sickness cures here.
Seven Tips for Quieting the Morning Sickness Demons
1. Eat, drink, and do whatever you can manage…and then try not to stress about it
For almost everyone, morning sickness truly is just a phase, easing up around week 14. The first trimester is just about getting through it, resting well, and trusting your body (and baby) to do their thing. Eat and drink what sounds good and plan to get back to your healthier diet as soon as this passes. Balancing fats (to the degree you can tolerate them), protein, and carbs can be helpful, as can eating small meals frequently. (Check out the end of this post for some info on why fats in particular can be a bit tricky.)
Ginger Chews or other crystalized ginger products can be found at most health food stores and Whole Foods. You can also order them online. Click the pic for Amazon.com's Ginger Chews.
2. Get yourself some ginger
Ginger has been well researched for its anti-nausea affects and can be taken in myriad ways. You can slice up raw ginger and pour hot water over it for instant ginger tea. You can add a bit of the root to any fresh-pressed juice, or you can grate a little into a smoothie. Ginger Chews are a popular and easy ginger delivery system as well. I will say, I’ve also met people (and I’m kind of one of them) who find that ginger brings on stomach upset. If you’re like me, skip ahead to tip number four for a better tea recommendation.
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This is a variation on a post written for Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Life,"a supercharged health hub filled with compassion, knowledge, and an anything-is-possible spirit." If you want to get it on the discussion there (and you should—what a great community!) click the pic!
As a doula and a nurse I am concerned with the birth of the baby, and with the birth of the mother. Indian mystic Osho says: “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.” I totally agree. So how do I support the birth of the mother? Or said another way, what exactly does a doula do? Well, a whole bunch of things, and many of them happen long before anyone is breathing through a contraction. Here is how I typically work with a doula client:
COMPLIMENTARY MEET AND GREET
Main goals: Meet and understand how you would work together
Most important about this meeting is to simply check out the “vibe.” Second to that is to make sure you feel good about the experience and energy your potential doula can bring to your birth.
UNLIMITED PHONE AND EMAIL SUPPORT
Main goals: Continue building a relationship, have a go-to for your questions, keep your doula up-to-date on your pregnancy
I offer unlimited email and phone support to help my clients better navigate their pregnancy and birth. I also ask my clients to contact me within 24 hours of each midwife or ob/gyn appointment with an update. I can help translate medical-speak and am often able to also see potential issues before they arise and then offer suggestions for how to stay on track with your birth goals.
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Necessary cesarean sections can be life saving for mama and baby, but like any surgery, they carry risks. A cesarean section is a major abdominal surgery, and taking steps to decrease the likelihood that you will have one is incredibly important. You may think there is nothing you can do to influence this outcome, but indeed there is. Here is a short list of some of the best ways to boost your odds of a normal vaginal delivery.
1) Deliver in a setting with a reasonable cesarean section rate. If you deliver in a hospital with a 40% cesarean section rate, there is a 40% chance that you will have a cesarean section. For NYC mamas you can research the cesarean section rates (as well as episiotomy rates, epidural rates, rates of midwife assisted births, etc…) for New York county here, and Brooklyn (King’s County) here.
2) While you’re at it, research to find a provider with a cesarean section rate you can live with. Midwives often have lower cesarean section rates than ob/gyns, even when adjusted for the fact that ob/gyns take higher-risk patients. While ob/gyns are specialists in high-risk pregnancies, midwives are specialists in normal physiological birth. So if you’re not sure what kind of provider you would like, definitely look into these highly skilled birth professionals.
3) Hire a doula. Research shows that women with doulas are 50% less likely to have a cesarean section. Want more info? Here’s my Doula 411.
4) Avoid induction. Induction increases the risk of a cesarean section significantly. Tons more info on induction here.
5) Stay healthy. You need to exercise regularly (everyone loves prenatal yoga!) and be well rested, fed, and hydrated throughout your pregnancy to be at the top of your game for the big day. Staying healthy is also important because if you do end up having a cesarean section, it will decrease your risk of complications and increase your ability to heal quickly and completely. Want some tips for how to stay healthy in pregnancy? Check out this post: Tips for a Holistic Pregnancy and Birth.
6) Educate yourself. Take a childbirth education class with your birth partner, watch videos like The Business of Being Born and Orgasmic Birth (both available on Netflix), read a book by Ina May Gaskin. All of these things will help you make the best decisions for your birth and empower you to trust in the process.
Based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization, Lamaze International has created a similar list of ways to support normal birth (much of which you saw echoed above). To find out more visit the Lamaze International website.
Lamaze Care Practices That Support Normal Birth:
- Labor begins on its own
- Freedom of movement throughout labor
- Continuous labor support
- No routine interventions
- Spontaneous pushing in upright or gravity-neutral positions
- No separation of mother and baby with unlimited opportunities for breastfeeding
Here’s wishing you a healthy, happy birth!
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Image from A.D.A.M.
As a pregnant woman gets closer to the birth of her little one, she will typically have more exams and may be introduced to a whole new vocabulary. When attention shifts from keeping the baby thriving inside to getting the baby safely outside, the cervix becomes a focus of attention.
First things first, the cervix is the lower “neck” of the uterus, and sits at the top of the vaginal canal–which is also referred to as the birth canal. Just as sperm travelled through the cervix and into the uterus for conception, the baby will eventually travel out of the uterus through the cervix during birth. Throughout pregnancy the cervix has been tightly closed and fortified with a mucous plug to keep the baby safe and sound. This all begins to change toward the end of pregnancy and throughout labor. The end result of cervical change is a cervix that is dilated to 10 centimeters and is ready for the second stage of labor: pushing. There are 5 different cervical changes that occur to get to this point, and each comes with its own lingo.
#1: Position: Posterior, mid-position, anterior
This is a way to describe the position of the cervix in the birth canal (aka the vagina). The cervix starts out in the posterior position, which means it is oriented toward the backside. In early labor the cervix transitions from the posterior position, to the anterior position. Anterior means front of the body and this alignment is necessary for the baby to move through the birth canal.
See how cervix points to the back? This is called "posterior." The cervix will change to an anterior position to align with the birth canal. Image from http://www.methodisthealth.com
#2: Consistency: Firm, medium, soft
Some say a soft cervix feels like an overripe pear
These sound like descriptions for how to choose fruit, and you know what? That’s not a bad way to make sense of what we’re talking about here. Matter of fact, a soft cervix is often referred to as “ripe,” and prostaglandins, which can aid in the softening of the cervix (for example semen, a natural source of prostaglandins, or cervadil, an artificial source of prastaglandins used in some labor inductions) are sometimes called “ripening agents.” At its most firm, the cervix will feel like the tip of a nose (or perhaps unripe fruit), at it’s most soft, it will feel like lips (or perhaps very ripe fruit).
#3 & #4: Effacement & Dilation: Effacement is measured from 0 % – 100%, dilation is measured from 0 centimeters (closed) – 10 centimeters (complete dilation)
Image from Relay Health, as displayed on http://www.med.umich.edu/
These two definitely require visual aids.
Effacement speaks to the “thinning” of the cervix, while dilation speaks to the opening of the cervix. In the non-pregnant state, the cervix is typically 3 – 5 centimeters long. As labor approaches, the cervix starts to draw up and over the baby’s head thus becoming shorter and thinner. Imagine your baby pulling a turtleneck over his or her head. (Very funny visual, no? And not too dissimilar!)
Dilation is the opening of the cervix from completely closed, 0 centimeters, to completely dilated, 10 centimeters.
#5: Station: -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3
Station refers to how high the baby’s head (or other presenting part–for example, the bottom in most breech presentations) is in the pelvis. At 0 station the baby is in the pelvis and considered “engaged.” The lower the baby is in the pelvis, the less distance he or she needs to travel to eventually be born. Starting to push when the baby is too high in the pelvis can lead to maternal exhaustion. There is something called “laboring down,” in which mama sits tight at 10 centimeters allowing the uterine contractions (vs her active pushing) to do the work of bringing the baby further down into the birth canal. This can be a great way to be efficient with both mama and baby energy, and to save up all that pushing power for when it’s really needed.
Image from Nucleus Medical Media
How to use your newfound cervix lingo
Why is this knowledge useful? First of all, it is just nice to feel like you know what the heck your practitioner is talking about, right? Second of all, you may want to write down whether you are soft or firm, closed or a little dilated, and all the rest to share with your doula. This information is useful to us so that we can remind you of the progress you have made toward birth. Thirdly, if your practitioner starts talking with you about an induction, and it is something you are considering, this information takes on a special importance. There is something called the Bishop Score which assesses cervical favorability based on the 5 cervical qualities you have just learned. Want to know more? It’s all right here.
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Dr. Sami David preformed New York’s first IVF treatment, and now says there is often a better way
If you have a menstrual cycle, you should have this book. I was shocked when I realized how much both I and my girlfriends didn't actually know about our cycles.
In this 3-part video series from Julie Menin’s Give and Take, Dr. Sami David shares a ton of critical information for future mamas, as well as clinicians concerned about fertility. Some of the points that I most appreciated include:
- The need for clinicians to be dedicated diagnosticians–it is becoming a tragically lost art
- Real stories that highlight the fact that there is often hope for mamas who have been told there isn’t any
- How silent infections can get in the way of getting pregnant, and the need to treat the couple to effectively clear them up
- Discussion of sperm health–sperm quality and quantity has diminished significantly over the last couple of decades
- Acknowledgement of environmental contributers to suboptimal fertility
- The value of blending the best of East and West in healthcare
- Mention of Guaifenesin–the primary ingredient in Naturade’s Herbal Expec and Robitussin–for improving cervical mucus. This is a great tip I first read about in Toni Weschler’s Taking Charge of Your Fertility, a must have book for everyone with a menstrual cycle (the book is in the HDNYC Store under “Books: Women’s Health” and Herbal Expec is under Products: For Sexual Health and Fertility).
I had a wonderful paradigm shift a few months ago when I read that true infertility is incredibly rare, and what most couples are dealing with can be more accurately characterized as suboptimal infertility. This differentiation is important for a few reasons. First of all, it is often simply more accurate. As you will see in the interview, many people who are told they are infertile do in fact achieve pregnancy. Secondly, the mind-body connection is real–as is the placebo effect–and “optimizing one’s fertility” is a whole different mindset than “struggling with infertility.”
I hope you will join me in shifting the dialog from infertility to suboptimal fertility. It really changes the tenor of the dialogue, and I believe will have a positive effect on the bodies, minds, and spirits of anyone looking to invite a pregnancy into their lives. On that note, let me know what you think of the videos, and here’s wishing you great success in your fertility optimization!
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Register in 2009 and get the Early Bird Special price ($40 off!)
Sneak peek at the kinds of things the course will cover click here. Registration and additional details here.
If you are a holistic mama in NYC looking for the best childbirth education class, then this HDNYC course is for you. If you aren’t in the market for childbirth education right now, but may know some families that are, please help spread the word! All of the details and online registration can be found here.
I created this unique series to cover all of the topics you would expect in a childbirth education course, in an unexpectedly fresh and engaging way. The course includes all you need to know to be well informed and empowered on your birth day, including the latest in evidence-based care. Holistic perspectives on health and healing are woven into the traditional curriculum to create a childbirth education class that is comprehensive, holistic, and integrative.
Concepts are conveyed through television and video clips, lectures that include insight and examples from my experience as a labor and delivery nurse and doula, and well chosen activities. The course format and materials are designed to make the subject matter easy to grasp, and memorable enough to recall.
A special feature of this series is weekly demonstrations by yogis, massage therapists, acupuncturists and other experts in holistic health that will give participants hands-on experience with self-care techniques that are perfect not only for pregnancy, labor and postpartum, but for a lifetime of well-being.
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