See my latest articles below, or click on a topic category to find out what I've written on that specific topic, enjoy!
Disclaimer:
Let me start this with a disclaimer as I know how touchy the topic of birth can be for many reasons. I'm also writing for future births. I was terrified at the idea of birth before watching 'The Business of Being Born'. After watching this eye opening doc my mind was blown
There are several options for midwifery care in the United States, during preconception, pregnancy, birth and postpartum; and there a variety of routes to becoming a midwife, with different types of education, licensing, and abbreviated titles that seem confusing to the public. Each midwife has her own personality, philosophy, standards, level of experience, and practice guidelines – even within the field of midwifery.
A birth story doesn’t begin with the first contraction. (It also doesn’t end when the baby emerges, but that’s another day’s story.) To really grasp the scope of a conscious and powerful birth, one must know the history of the mother, especially in the pregnancy. Birth itself is a culmination of events leading up to it, and it is not merely a physical experience. Birth is primal, and spiritual.
Around 6am Christmas morning I got up to pee and discovered traces of blood. When but in the ninth month of pregnancy is blood on the toilet paper a cause for joy? It was like Christmas morning! Wait, it was Christmas morning . . .
I started having contractions, but nothing so heavy that they might not just go away. I told my husband that we’d better get present opening going so we didn’t miss our chance!
The placenta is the essential organ that forms during the womb in pregnancy and attaches to the baby via the umbilical cord. It belongs to the baby. It is the only organ essential for fetal survival, but is not needed by the baby post birth, after baby receives the cord blood (1/3 of the baby’s blood supply that backed up into the placenta during birth). It is the organ that gives baby life; it provides oxygen and nutrients, and also filters waste products. It makes hormones that support the pregnancy, help baby grow and develop, and provides protection against bacteria and infection. Toward the end of pregnancy, the placenta passes antibodies from you to the baby, which can provide immunity for up to three months after birth.
