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 [...]
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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 [...]
Natural Birth in Hospitals
Even though it is a radical idea to many mainstream childbirth professionals, it is entirely possible to have a natural birth in a hospital—one without any medical interventions, pain medications or surgical procedures. It is even possible to have a beautiful, satisfying and empowering birth experience in a hospital, provided the parents have chosen the proper health care professionals and received thorough education about natural childbirth methods.
However, pregnant women must take matters into their own hands—your birth is your responsibility! If you believe that natural birth in a hospital setting is the best option for you, finding the right Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) who will support your vision of natural birth is key to achieving your goal. As well, you should prepare for the experience by taking natural childbirth classes (Lamaze, Bradley Method, HypnoBirthing) and make sure that you have proper labor support. First time mothers giving birth in a hospital can greatly benefit from, and are more likely to achieve a non-medicated birth, with the help of a doula. [...]
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. [...]
What is a Doula?
This wonderful article was written by my cousin’s wife, Hannah Reasoner, who is a doula in Ft. Worth, TX. Check out her blog for more information.
A doula is a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during and just after childbirth. She understands the physiology of birth and the needs of a laboring woman.
The role of the birth doula greatly depends on the woman and family for whom she is providing care. The doula’s main purpose is to be a friend, a mentor, and a helper to the mother, as well as a support to her partner and/or family. If the mother chooses a doula in the early stages of pregnancy, the doula can help to provide information and education for several months leading up to the birth. This can also help the mother and family build an established, comfortable, and trusting relationship with the doula. [...]
