Doulas: Your Maid of Honor for Birth
Who is your maid of honor? Your maid of honor is someone who knows your story. She’s someone who understands the importance of your relationship and the event that will set the stage for your marriage. You ask her to take part in your wedding because you know she’ll support you. You know that she’ll [...]
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My Husband’s Doula
This may sound crazy, but when I found out that I was pregnant, my thoughts immediately turned to my husband. He is handsome, strong and very sensitive, and because of this “sensitivity” and the fact that he had never seen me in the pain that I was about to experience, he would have no clue how to handle it! [...]
Oprah.com Reports on Alternative Birth Options
I am always beyond excited to see a non-sensationalist article about natural birth appearing on any mainstream website, television program or other media outlet. Though natural birth at home has been the norm throughout history, in recent times it has become a radical, outsider and even legally-banned practice in the U.S. That’s why I’m giving Oprah.com a gold star for raising awareness about the subject and letting American families know that they have other options besides hospital birth attended by obstetricians!
A recent article appearing on Oprah.com, by Fritz Lenneman, begins “With Caesarean section surgeries occurring in nearly one in three pregnancies and traditional hospital births by obstetricians costing an average of $8,000 to $10,000, some pregnant women are exploring other options. And the future of childbirth in America might start looking more like the past.” He then describes the roles of midwives and doulas in the birth process and talks about the legal challenges faced by some home-birth midwives. “Though about half of states allow at-home birth, it remains uncommon in the United States—just 1 percent of births occur in nonhospital settings including home births and birthing centers.” He also discusses alternative methods for inducing labor such as acupuncture, acupressure, walking, eating spicy foods and sex. Yes SEX! [...]
Insurance Coverage for Doula Services
How many times have I heard pregnant women say that they aren’t hiring a doula for their hospital birth because it is too expensive? TOO MANY TO COUNT. And it always saddens me because I know that they stand a much better chance of achieving a natural birth in the hospital with the assistance of a doula. As Doula.com says, “For the time and services that goes into doula work, you get an excellent deal for your money.” I have always believed this to be true, but understand that in these financially-troubling times families are hesitant to spend any extra money on something that isn’t absolutely necessary. [...]
Top 100 Natural Birth Blogs
Top 100 Natural Birth Blogs
This list of the top 100 natural birth blogs, compiled by MRI Tech’s Health Blog, pulls together their favorite sites, resources, and tools that provide information about natural birth. The featured bloggers include midwives, doulas, moms, hypnosis experts, childbirth educators and other natural birth advocates. While I haven’t peeked at every blog on this list, I am familiar with several of them through my own research on the topic. Here are a few of my personal favorites, not listed elsewhere on Bloom, in case you don’t feel like perusing a list of 100 sites. [...]
Every Woman Should See This!
If you are pregnant or even planning to have a baby, I highly recommend watching this documentary. It will strip away any illusions you may have about the experience of giving birth in a hospital or at home.
After having her first child, actress Ricki Lake (of talk show fame) decided to explore and question the way most American women are having babies. “The Business of Being Born” is a controversial documentary that will open your eyes about the shocking state of our current maternity care system in the U.S. It presents intimate birth stories, juxtaposing standard hospital deliveries against the growing movement of women who are choosing to have natural births at home. [...]
