Pregnancy

Informed consent is a hot topic lately, and for good reason. The principle at the heart of informed consent is to ensure that people have autonomy over their own bodies and health care. When enforced, it gives us the right to make informed decisions about our health care, including whether or not to undergo a test, procedure, or treatment. In this blog post, we will discuss what informed consent means for women and families, ways you can enforce it in your care, and how it impacts your health care.Informed consent is the legal process by which a person

June 6th is International Homebirth Day – as I saw others share their experiences in celebration, I too reflected on my own homebirths. Homebirth was an amazing experience for me and my family, and it set the course for our lives in a very different direction. Homebirth is becoming more and more popular around the world, as families are beginning to see the benefits of giving birth at home. In this blog post, we will discuss why homebirth is such an important experience for families, and how including your children in the process can change the way the world sees homebirth.When I had my first child, I did what many first-time parents do – I followed the recommendations of my doctor and had my baby via a scheduled c-section in the hospital. It was not the experience that I had imagined for myself. While I was grateful.......

There's no denying that pregnancy and childbirth are amazing, life-changing experiences. For many women, becoming a parent is the best thing that's ever happened to them. If you're one of those women who loves everything about pregnancy and childbirth, then becoming a birthkeeper may be the perfect career choice for you.What is a birthkeeper? A birthkeeper is someone who helps to guide and support a woman through pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum, more than a doula and yet not a midwife. They are also known as traditional birth attendants. You will generally find that a Birthkeeper...... 

You are not alone on your journey and I myself was unable to conceive for over twelve years, where I wasn’t on contraceptives or doing anything to prevent pregnancy. During those twelve years, I was in a few different relationships that were anywhere from a year and a half up to six years. The problem had to be with me right? I felt like I was never going to be the mom I had dreamed of being and that I was destined to spend my life alone. Was I broken? What had I done wrong? Was I to blame? I had a lot of thoughts and feelings that I needed to work through as I’m sure you have experienced yourself if you have had your own struggles with infertility. 

I remember my reaction to my second pregnancy (first child) so well. The excitement was so hard to contain and trying to keep the secret until we were ready to share was SO HARD. But the worst part for me was the fear that I was going to do something that would jeopardize my pregnancy in some way. I was in better shape than ever and working out daily, well at least until I let the fear stop me anyways. So I quit doing everything but walking and hiking easy trails and I also went off my bread strike which did nothing for my weight gain. I wanted to live in a bubble. My fear was tangible and I let it control so many things that I wish I hadn’t. Living in that space made my experience less than ideal and more vulnerable than I already was being pregnant and all. Don’t let fear control your experience the way I did, here are three ways that I have found to decrease your fear and create a pregnancy experience you will want to relive over and over again.

With more women looking to birth differently these days I see this question asked a lot. If you are looking to hire a midwife there are a few things to think about before you get to the interview stage. I think that we all want to choose a midwife like we have been choosing doctors over the past decades but that really isn’t an option if you want your needs met. If you choose your midwife by location, fees, and availability alone then you may be disappointed in the service you receive.The first step to finding the right midwife for you is to know what it is that you want in your birth experience. Having a clear vision of your birth plan will help you find a midwife or traditional birth attendant that aligns with your beliefs, needs, and will support your choices. If you haven’t given this much thought I have something for you at the end of this blog. The next step is......

Are you a mom who is considering a homebirth but your husband says no? You're not alone! In this blog post, I'll share how I got my homebirth with my husband and how you can too. Keep reading for tips on how to get your partner to see that homebirth is the right choice for you.I remember when I wanted my first homebirth and the long conversations trying to convince my husband that this was the way to go. We even met with a midwife, had all our questions answered, and she aligned with our beliefs in all areas of pregnancy and childbirth. He still wasn’t on board, and it wasn’t about concern for me, which may be the block you are dealing with.For him it was about the out of pocket expense, which I understood, we weren’t rolling in extra funds by any means, but for me my freedom to choose was EVERYTHING! I never gave up, we kept having the conversations and then the moment happened…… 

When you have had the cascade of interventions, the experience of being bullied in labor, or ended up with a planned or unplanned cesarean you know that you have questions that need answered. Most of you will go see the same doctor, unless you have moved or had other reasons to switch your providers. Many of you will find out that your care provider is less than enthusiastic about you wanting to “try” for a VBAC. You have questions and want answers, which you should, but will you actually ask your questions? Are you too nervous to have the conversation because your doctor makes you feel inferior any time you ask a question? Here are some ways that you can prepare for your VBAC, that you have control over and will have a huge impact on whether you are successful or not.

January of this year marks 8 years since I gave in to having a scheduled c-section. This was something I didn’t want and, to be honest, I didn’t think it was necessary, even with my daughter being breech. See, my OBGYN had criticized me, belittled me, and just plain torn me down throughout my entire pregnancy, including pushing the topic of a c-section from 4 months on. When I caved it was because I had no support or knowledge of what was possible, and, to be completely honest, I wanted my OBGYN out of my life. I was done being torn down at every appointment and just wanted it to be over. I walked away from this experience thinking I was broken and that my body just didn’t work the way it was supposed to. Until a few weeks later when I had an epiphany…..

During the second trimester you will probably be asked to take a glucose test where they will have you drink a beverage, often referred to as Glucola, consisting of 50 grams of sugar. After drinking the beverage you are made to wait an hour and then have your blood drawn to see how your body reacted to the sugar. What they won’t tell you about this test is……