Archive for March, 2010
New Controversy Over Babywearing (Slings)
Last week the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning “advising parents and caregivers to be cautious when using infant slings for babies younger than four months of age. In researching incident reports from the past 20 years, CPSC identified and is investigating at least 14 deaths associated with sling-style infant carriers, including three in 2009.” The CPSC announcement concerns “bag” slings, a very particular style of baby carrier. It does not mean that all infant slings are dangerous. [...]
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Prenatal Pilates and Birth Education
I have been reminded, once again, how lucky we are here in Spokane to have so many passionate, smart, skilled and caring people working to educate and empower the women in our community! I recently met Elizabeth Jones, a local Pilates instructor and physical rehabilitation specialist who has focused much of her career on working with pregnant women. As we began talking, something Elizabeth said captured my attention. “Society has lost interconnectedness with families and with birth.” I was drawn to this statement because it encapsulates the core reason that so many of us (midwives, doulas, educators, etc.) do what we do. We are trying to reconnect women and families to the importance of birth in our lives. Elizabeth Jones does this by providing women a way to stay in good physical health while preparing their bodies and minds for birth. [...]
Birthing From Within Weekend Class
I received an email yesterday from Charlene Hamilton, a Birthing From Within childbirth educator based in Seattle. She will be coming to Spokane in late March (just a few weeks from now) to teach her weekend intensive childbirth preparation class. Please check out her website to register for the class and contact her with any questions you may have.
Deaconess Women’s Clinic: Part 2
In my recent interview with Catherine Shields, one of the certified nurse midwives at the Deaconess Women’s Clinic in Spokane, we talked about the things that make the clinic’s practice unique in our area—especially for women who wish to have a natural birth in the hospital. This article contains her answers to many of the questions that pregnant women should ask of their prenatal care providers. It also bears witness to the loving heart of a self-proclaimed “Old Midwife” who has seen it all and lives for the opportunity to guide mothers through the most important experience of their lives. [...]
Deaconess Women’s Clinic: Part 1
In my ongoing effort to bring Bloom readers insights and expertise from our local natural birth professionals, I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to speak with Catherine Shields, one of the certified nurse midwives at the Deaconess Women’s Clinic in Spokane. It’s no secret that I had my second baby under the care of the Clinic’s midwives and so I know how passionately devoted Catherine is to the care of pregnant women and babies. To hear her speak about birth is a transformative experience—just as birth itself should be! [...]
