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Should your family and friends attend your birth? Jacki's Birth Story

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Should your family and friends attend your birth? Jacki's Birth Story

In this month's Ask the Midwife Newsletter, Anne discussed having family members at your birth. (Sign up for our newsletter here.) 

The following is the homebirth story of Jackie Wolfe and her second son featuring this month's topic:

The night before I went into labor was my due date.  I made jerk chicken for dinner and had pineapple for dessert, secretly hoping that the spicy and acidic foods would coax our little boy to come!  I was mentally ready to go on the journey of birth - I was not afraid; I knew I was taken care of and that every step had been taken to ensure our safety and wellbeing.

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The Kids Are Alright

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The Kids Are Alright

When you gave birth to your first, there was no one else to worry about – just you and your baby. Well…now, wait a minute. You probably worried about your partner, too. And if you have a cat or a dog or a ferret or other such companion, you likely made sure that they, too, would be looked after while you were in the throes of labor.

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In & Out...just breathe

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In & Out...just breathe

Mountain. Half Moon. Pigeon. Dancer. These are the English words for some well-known “asanas” (or poses) which make up the body’s yoga vocabulary. Most people – especially the uninitiated – equate the practice of yoga with physical exercise. But movement is only the beginning.

Any authentic yogi will tell you that yoga is not just about holding postures and moving our bodies. A huge component of yoga teaches us to breathe and move consciously with awareness. This delivers well-documented and numerous benefits that can be accessed anytime in order to achieve a sense of calm and well-being.

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Do I Really Need to Do(ula) This?

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Do I Really Need to Do(ula) This?

Let’s have a little doula chat, shall we? You’re pregnant, and as a result, you’ve acquired a whole new vocabulary: baby-wearing, layette, milk-duct, meconium, hybrid-diapers, effacement, linea alba – the list goes on.  One word that will become ever-present on your prenatal planet will be this one: “doula”. You’ll hear it from friends, on social media, in your childbirth class, maybe even from your local grocery store check-out staffer. So, because you have an inquiring mind of the prenatal kind (where you HAVE to know everything, but then forget it five minutes later), you are going to investigate the heck out of this doula thing. And we applaud you for that. If you want a solid intro as to why you should hire a labor support doula, please watch Anne’s video.

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A Homebirth....in Hospital?

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A Homebirth....in Hospital?

Homes and hospitals. They might not seem to have a whole lot in common, except for the fact that they both begin with the letter “H”.

But homebirth and hospital birth can and do co-exist, though that is sometimes hard to reconcile. We are so accustomed to categorization in our society – something has to be either/or; this or that. And often times those two choices are seemingly opposing ones. Why? Must there be conflict and judgment at every turn, especially when we are talking about teenie-weenie, precious babies and their awesome, warrior moms?