Lucky Me!
This past week was a tough one, I’m not going to lie… All the after school activities were in full swing, which makes my job – evenings and weekends mostly – more challenging. Oldest daughter was back at dance five days a week, oldest son in soccer five days a week plus saxophone, and my […]
Breathing – It’s Not Just for Labor Anymore!
As a Childbirth Educator, I’m charged with teaching my students about ways they can successfully cope with contractions. This includes all sorts of techniques: position changes, medications, hydrotherapy and the original coping technique: breathing. Breathing gets a bad rap, as far as I’m concerned. In movies and TV shows, Childbirth Preparation classes are a joke, […]
Making Predictions During Birth – About as Magic as the 8 Ball!
Did you ever have a Magic 8 Ball? I did. I loved that thing. I loved being able to ask a question, any question, and have the almighty oracle predict my fate. Inside the little window floated a single die, with twenty possible answers to life’s biggest questions. Some of which included: “Signs point to […]
Either/Or? How About Yes/And?
During introductions on the first night of class, Janet* sat up, told us her name, and added: “I’m planning on getting the epidural – and you can’t talk me out of it!” She pointed straight at me when she said this and I threw up my hands in mock defense replying, “I’m not going to […]
Rethinking Early Labor Series: PART III
In my last two posts, I discussed how laboring women and their partners are being encouraged to stay at home and away from the hospital for most, if not all, of their early labor. But the definition of early labor has changed. It is now believed that a woman is still in early labor until […]
Rethinking Early Labor Series: PART II
In my last post, I identified that laboring women and their partners are being encouraged to stay at home and away from the hospital in early labor. But the definition of early labor has changed. It’s now widely believed that a laboring woman needs to get to about 6 cm dilation before active labor […]
Rethinking Early Labor Series: PART I
In doing some research for my book, just recently I read an article entitled, “What is women’s experience of being at home in early labour?” This article cites that there were four main reasons women came into the hospital “too soon” despite knowing that there was no need to arrive before active labor was well established: […]
Did You Know?
Expecting parents are often surprised at all they DON’T know! That’s why Childbirth Education is so important!