Safe & Sound Births Blog
Should i get maternity photos?
Pregnancy is this special slice of your life. It’s such a fraction of a moment. Nine months of perhaps sickness, of finally being warm all the time and cold no more, of watching your belly grow with delight instead of judgement, nine tiny months of blooming with this culminating end result of a living human being wriggling on your chest, wet and warm, and yours forevermore.
You might not believe it if you’re currently anticipating the arrival of your bundle of joy, but you will one day forget how those kicks feel. You’ll have a memory of the feeling, but my youngest is six year old now, and when I try to reach back into my mind to find how she felt inside me, I remember it viscerally, but it’s also like trying to grab at a bubble—as soon as you touch it, it’s gone. In the words of the great Rose Dawson, “he exists now only in my memory.” What helps me the most with remembering what those stirs of life felt like is watching videos of her actually in my belly…
Is Unmedicated Birth Worth it?: Epidurals & Birth
Why would someone want to go unmedicated? You don’t get a trophy.
Ok, yes, you don’t get a trophy. But I don’t love that sentiment. Maybe a person just wants to feel empowered by having the experience of a natural, uninhibited birth. It’s never been about trophies, so I cringe when I hear this.
We all love our children no matter how they are born. However, there is something about heading into your birth with the understanding of why doing it without an epidural can be beneficial for both mother and baby; it’s different going into birth without being terrified of labor.
Mindset plays a huge role in how a birth can unfold.
What does a birth doula do?
In the Annapolis area, one of my main functions as a birth doula is to make sure you know your options throughout the process. I go over them in detail at the prenatal, which is usually at about 28-34 weeks—after that meeting, I develop a birth preferences sheet catered to your exact wishes. Sometimes these plans change in the moment. For a lot of people, one of the goals says “I am planning an unmedicated birth supported by my partner and doula.” Sometimes the birthing person decides they want to get an epidural or other pain relief medications. I call it a birth preferences sheet instead of a birth plan because birth is a trip—you can be very well read, you can have listened to every podcast—you can have given birth before, but each one is different, especially in the moment. Things can change quickly.
I recently had a surrogate mom who had two births previously. Her second baby came fast and furious and was a beautiful, unmedicated birth. When it came time for this third birth, the parents to be flew in to be by her side, along with her husband, and myself as her doula. The plan was to go unmedicated again, but this little lady in her belly had other plans. She was not in the best position (being OP) and it was causing a great amount of pain and back labor. The birthing mom (also called the gestational carrier) said to me “I won’t be badass anymore if I get an epidural” and she kept apologizing for wanting one. I told her, “you are literally carrying someone else’s baby. You couldn’t be anymore BADASS.”
five THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AN INDUCTION
FIVE THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AN INDUCTION in the Annapolis Area.
Should a first time mom who is about to hit 41 weeks get a medical induction who is otherwise healthy and has no pregnancy complications and no medical indication for induction? I think that’s a no from me, friends. Every situation has its own reasonings and I can’t give medical advice. I’m a doula, not a doctor.
BUT I’m not talking about those situations where someone is conned or bullied into an induction because they “didn’t know any better”—a phrase I hear from so many second time moms who hire me for their second baby after having a mess of a labor with their first. The system is kind of set up for first time moms to be held to the whims of the medical industrial complex unless she is fully informed (which falls on her, unfortunately, and it can be hard to know who to trust with ALLLLL the information out there) and prepared (which the doctors don’t usually talk about what to expect in those 15 minute -you-peed-in-a-cup-and-got-weighed-appointments).
I’m talking about when someone has different pregnancy complications like gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, severe polyhydramnios, etc. Legitimate medical reasons to change up your birth plan and do what’s best for mom and baby. When you need to be induced because it’s actually what’s safest for you, here’s what you need to know:
The Best Yoga Poses for Pregnancy, Labor, & Birth
A meta-analysis by multiple institutions revealed that women who yoga during pregnancy experienced up to two hours of shorter labor and were 2.5 times more likely to have a vaginal birth. These women also had comparatively higher comfort levels than those who did not do yoga (Boopalan et al. 2023; Corrigan et al. 2022).
I’ll break down the following poses and explain what muscle groups they help and why they matter for your birth.
A pelvis that moves in pregnancy is going to be a pelvis that moves during labor. We need you to be able to move your body to help move your baby Earthside. You can do it!
Protecting the Pelvic Floor- Breathwork & Movement Through Yoga in Pregnancy & Birth
Not only can yoga help with pain prenatally, it can help with your labor! If you’re already in pain before you’re even in labor, think about how much worse labor will feel. You have to address those issues before you go into labor. Yoga will help with this.
During labor, your powerful amazing uterus will be contracting like a beast 60 pounds of pressure per square inch-all to bring your baby Earthside.
A pelvis that moves in pregnancy is a pelvis that’ll move during labor.
We need you mobile, loose, and limber for labor. If your hips are tight during labor, you’ll have a harder time getting into lunging positions that’ll help your baby move down into your pelvis.
Finding the Right Birth Class for You & How HypnoBirthing Is My Jam
HypnoBirthing Childbirth Education Classes in Severna Park, Maryland.
HypnoBirthing is a comprehensive childbirth ed program that’s evidence based. It covers the basics of what to expect in labor, how to move through the waves of contractions, and how to arm yourself with the knowledge of your options, how to talk to providers, how to relax, and how to birth with calm and confidence whether that’s unmedicated or otherwise.
Most classes have similar components- the educational part about what to expect/what needs to happen to bring a baby here and then different ways to relax. I can’t tell you what’s going to be the right class for you. You know yourself better than I do. Trust your gut.
A Deep Dive into Mother Blessing Ceremonies
A mother blessing is about …the MOTHER. She is celebrated by her closest girlfriends and confidants. It’s intimate and homemade, and time is spent honoring the relationships the mother to be has with the people she loves and trusts. There are many different rituals that can be performed or it can be less structured and just an informal gathering with the focus on the mom.
The point is to honor her journey and give her support, love, advice, hold space for her to reach the end of her pregnancy adventure, her labyrinth of labor, and her transition into Motherhood.
On Belly Buttons, Umbilical Cords, and Severing That Tether
Belly buttons in particular are so interesting to me because of their connection in the womb. The funiculus umbilicalis was our original cord that tethered us to our own mother Earth.
You are literally the entire planet to your baby in there. Babies in the womb are like astronauts- both are in a protective, isolated environment, floating in a world of their own. Just as an astronaut relies on life support systems, the baby relies on their mother for those same systems.