New Bill Opens Opportunities for Local Midwives and Nurses
Last month House Bill 2186 was signed into law with flying colors, passed by the House of Representatives on a 95-0 vote, and the Senate on a 49-0 vote. This new law will allow nurses for the first time to coordinate with and work at the direction of licensed midwives in our state. Rep. Barbara Bailey, who [...]
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A New Generation of Nurses
When I started nursing school, I had no idea that I would one day want to become an obstetrics nurse. The limited experience that I had with OB revolved around the fact that my mother had natural births with my two siblings and myself. She calls herself “pioneer woman” because of this, and at first, [...]
Planning a Day To Remember
People spend years imagining their weddings. Months go into planning every detail. We invest our time, money, and energy because this will be an event to remember for a lifetime. We don’t often think of it in the same way, but our child’s birth is also an event that you will remember forever. It makes [...]
Fear and Birth
“Worrying is using your imagination to create something you don’t want” We all have fears about birth, it’s only natural. But fear can manifest itself in many negative ways during labor: including anxiety, anger, frustration, and irrationality. It can even disrupt the birth process itself. Knowing this, it’s important for expectant parents to identify and face those fears [...]
Why I Chose a Home Birth
I never imagined myself having a baby at home. In fact, I was pretty sure home birth was something only hippies did. However, it turns out home birth is on the rise and there are many reasons to give birth safely at home. After the birth of my daughter, which was a wonderful hospital birth, [...]
Delivering a Baby: Just as Easy as Catching a Ball but Way Scarier
We had planned on our second son being born at a home with an experienced midwife, and a friend to babysit our firstborn (18 months at the time of the birth). But the best laid plans being what they are, I had the joy of delivering our new baby while our older son watched Blue’s Clues [...]
Why I Chose a Hospital Birth
When I was pregnant for the first time I thought long and hard about my birth location. With so many hospitals, birth centers, and home-birth midwives to choose from in the Spokane area it was no easy task. In the end I decided to birth my son “the old fashioned way” (vs the VERY old [...]
The Only Due Date Calculator You Need
I’m happy to have found a “due date” calculator that actually sets proper expectations for women. It gives you a safe range of dates in which you can expect your baby to be born and explains why our current cultural thinking around due dates isn’t helpful.
“One of the biggest obstacles to natural birth is misunderstanding your “due date.” A due date does not mean there is only one safe day for your baby to be born. It is meant to establish a range of time that your baby is mature and safe to be born. Because modern obstetrics narrows this to a specific day, unnecessary interventions, like inducing labor, come into practice.” [...]
Birth Doula Training in Pullman, WA
There will be a 3-day birth doula training in Pullman, WA this March. If you are interested in becoming a doula or are seeking DONA certification, you should check out this class! Birth Doulas are the latest addition to the maternity care team, assisting families to have both a safe and memorable birth. They provide physical comfort, emotional support, and information to families before, during and just after childbirth. The birth doula brings back a kind of care that’s been missing in modern childbirth. [...]
Go Ahead. Eat During Labor.
A new article published today on Reuters’s website begins, “There is no reason why pregnant women at low risk for complications during delivery should be denied fluids and food during labor, a new Cochrane research review concludes.” The entry, titled No Need For Pregnant Women to Fast During Labor cites the new research findings that show that there aren’t any adverse outcomes by allowing women the option of liquids and/or a regular diet in labor. [...]
