Pregnant With Twins? Now What?
Being pregnant with twins is hard. It’s hard on your body and your mind. During my twin pregnancy, I found it to be most difficult mentally (once the puking stopped around week 15 anyway). The medical establishment, and therefore most people, expects a woman pregnant with twins to have an elective cesarean section around week 38. This is not what I wanted, so I spent a lot of time researching my options. I am also a birth doula, so I went into pregnancy with a lot of knowledge.
The first thing to remember with any pregnancy is that you MUST be flexible. I wanted a natural, unmedicated birth. I did not get that. I spent my time finding a doctor who was supportive of the birth that I wanted, but he did lay out some guidelines. [...]
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We Need Your Birth Photos
Bloom Spokane is about to produce it’s first promotional video that will be used as a PSA (Public Service Announcement) on our website and other local media outlets, including TV. Our aim is to reach a wide audience of childbearing families in the Spokane/CDA region and encourage them to use our amazing, free resources. And we know that video is the way to do it.
Corner Booth Media, a Spokane video and film production company, has graciously offered to create a professionally-produced video that will tell the story about our organization and the families we have impacted. They do amazing work. Have you seen the “STCU is Me” ad campaign? These guys know how to tell a story!
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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Our Local Hospital C-Section Rates
2008 Washington State Hospital Cesarean Birth Rates
The data on this website is compiled from the Washington State Department of Health comparison of 33 hospital’s cesarean rates based on their reported complicated delivery rate. Interestingly enough, the hospitals with the highest cesarean rates aren’t always the hospitals with the highest percentage of complicated deliveries. Here’s how our local hospitals stacked up against each other. Click on the link above to see how Spokane-area hospitals compare to other hospitals state wide. [...]
Taking Back Our Right to Birth
In a recent article on Huffington Post titled, “A Woman’s Nation: Reclaim Your Right To Birth Right,” Christiane Northrup, M.D. encourages women (who now make up half the work force!) to use that power to influence the future of health care in America, beginning with labor and birth. She argues that the media’s portrayal of birth as a medical emergency and the actual medicalization of birth has done us more harm than good. She makes great arguments, loaded with fascinating and unbelievable statistics that should be making headlines. [...]
Birth Story Giveaway
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Every natural childbirth experience is unique. Whether you got the home birth experience you dreamed of or ended up with a surprise emergency c-section, your story can serve to educate, inspire and prepare expecting mothers for the journey that lies ahead. [...]
Why Are There So Many C-Sections?
You probably know a few women who have had c-section births and may wonder “Will I have to have one too?” The answer may lie in the type of prenatal care provider you choose and how much personal responsibility you take for the birth of your child. Recent studies put the c-section rate in the U.S. at over 30% and show it trending upward still. Because health care typically pays doctors and hospitals more for a quick c-section than it does for long, drawn-out vaginal births, there is more incentive to perform surgery and get patients in and out quickly. It’s safe to say that the health care system is providing incentives for c-sections and if you put your birth in the hands of a doctor or hospital who is paid by the insurance providers you likely have a 30% chance of having a c-section yourself—unless, of course, you have carefully selected a provider with a low c-section rate, educated yourself about the birth process and are willing to advocate for what’s in the best interest of your health and that of your unborn baby. [...]
Is Natural Birth Right for You?
There is probably no topic more hotly debated amongst mothers and healthcare professionals than the one of using pain medication versus natural childbirth. How a woman and her partner plan for the birth of their child is an extremely personal decision-making process. Every expectant mother has heard birth stories, whether positive or negative, which influence her thinking about labor and birth. Her hopes and expectations have been shaped by her own family history, television shows, pregnancy books and her friends’ birth experiences. [...]
