Archive for Hospital Birth
Birth Advice from Labor & Delivery Nurses
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
In the U.S., approximately 90% of women give birth in hospitals. It is the cultural “norm” in this country and the birth setting where most parents feel comfortable. However, the latest studies point to an unnecessary overuse of technology during pregnancy and birth. As Jennifer Block writes in Pushed, “Decades of research show that the healthiest birth for you and your baby — and that means your partner, your family, and your community — is a normal, vaginal birth with minimal intervention and maximum support.” [...]
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Deaconess Labor and Delivery Gets an Upgrade
NOVEMBER 10, 2010
I stopped by Deaconess Medical Center’s open house yesterday to check out the recent improvements they’ve made to the labor and delivery rooms in the Women’s and Children’s center. Laboring moms, you will be happy to know that each room now has a deep-soaker, jetted bathtub with handles all around. You can cover your entire belly with warm, flowing water and the larger tubs allow for easier side-lying, squatting or other labor positions moms might want to assume. As many of us know, laboring in water is one of the best ways to ease the intensity of contractions. [...]
Review Your Maternity Care Provider Online
OCTOBER 29, 2010
Bloom Spokane believes that women of childbearing age must have access to information that will help them choose maternity care providers and institutions that are most compatible with their own philosophies and needs. This includes being able to access patient feedback on doctors, midwives, hospitals and birth centers.
If you’ve given birth in the United States in the past three years, you are eligible to participate in The Birth Survey. Thanks to The Birth Survey: Transparency in Maternity Care, “women can now give consumer reviews of doctors, midwives, hospitals, and birth centers, learn about the choices and birth experiences of others, and view data on hospital and birth center standard practices and intervention rates.” If enough women take this survey, it could have a serious impact on maternity care in the U.S. [...]
Spokane Business Women Features Bloom Spokane
OCTOBER 6, 2010
In September of 2010, Bloom Spokane officially became a nonprofit organization and expanded its mission to better serve the childbearing women and families in our community. As the organization prepares to launch it’s first public programs and begin fundraising efforts, we are thrilled that Spokane Business Women has chosen to feature an article about Bloom Spokane’s founder and executive director Tine Reese. [...]
Bloom Spokane Announces New Childbirth Class
It’s Your Birth. Know All Your Options.
Bloom Spokane is launching a new public education program to encourage, inform and support local childbearing families during their journey on the road to parenthood. The goal of the class called “It’s Your Birth. Know All Your Options” is to help parents identify the type of birth that’s best for them and make a plan for achieving that birth. [...]
Plan Your Hospital Birth
If you are going to have your baby in a hospital, you can greatly benefit from having a birth plan—especially if you’re planning a natural birth. In the article Eyes Open Childbirth, author Amy Scott says, “In a hospital, the possible interventions are numerous and it is wise to be aware of these methods, their usefulness, their risks, and in some cases, their misuse or overuse. It can be easy to forget that in most ways birth is reliable, and that in the case of most healthy women, it can be trusted to produce a healthy baby with no more intervention than encouraging words, soothing hands and watchful eyes.” The article goes on to describe all of the medical interventions and birth processes you should be aware of and educated about in case you have to make a game-day decision about what’s right for you. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you read it! [...]
A Labor and Delivery Nurse’s Views on VBAC
Nothing gets my ears perked up and my excitement stirred than chatting about birth. To be even more specific about what really gets my juices flowing are discussions surrounding VBAC births; vaginal birth after cesarean. It might make more sense to know that I am a labor and delivery nurse by trade and a mommy at heart. I get the pleasure of escorting new little souls into this life each and every shift and participate in someone’s best day and, unfortunately, sometimes their worst. I work at a Portland-area hospital and we see everything from the most natural, “normal,” labor and delivery patient to the most tragic, life-threatening situations; needless to say, it is a very special, very dynamic job and I am blessed to be a part of it. [...]
VBAC Less Risky Than Multiple C-Sections
The National Institute for Health issued a report this week titled, Vaginal Birth After Cesarean: New Insights. The report presents evidence to support the choice of a trial of labor (TOL) as a safe option for women who have had previous c-sections.
The conclusion of the report states, “Each year 1.5 million childbearing women have cesarean deliveries, and this population continues to increase. This report adds stronger evidence that VBAC is a reasonable and safe choice for the majority of women with prior cesarean. Moreover, there is emerging evidence of serious harms relating to multiple cesareans. Relatively unexamined contextual factors such as medical liability, economics, hospital structure, and staffing may need to be addressed to prioritize VBAC services. There is still no evidence to inform patients, clinicians, or policymakers about the outcomes of intended route of delivery because the evidence is based largely on the actual route of delivery. This inception cohort is the equivalent of intention to treat for randomized controlled trials and this gap in information is critical. A list of future research considerations as prioritized by national experts is also highlighted in this report.” [...]
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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. [...]
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. [...]
