Posts Tagged ‘pregnancy’
With Woman
It is anticipation, flutters and quickening. Life and growth and unparalleled beauty. It is squeals and coos, wriggles and dimples. Hanging scales with tiny feet peeking through. It is knowledge and wisdom, training and practice. Books and research, instinct and reason. It is squatting and reaching, twisting and folding, meeting a mother and her baby right…
Read MoreThrowback Thursday: Dilation Isn’t Everything
A look back at one of our most popular blog posts of the past few years. Originally published May 18th, 2015. And still every bit as relevant! A mother waits patiently on the small triage bed while the nurse concentrates on what her fingers are telling her about the progress of this labor. After a…
Read MoreNourish Your Pregnancy
We are so excited to welcome Dawn Franz, a Nutritional Health Coach, to chat with you about good prenatal nutrition! Bring your partner, and enjoy a snack while you learn tips and tricks to build a healthy baby, prepare for labor and birth, and ensure a healthy recovery. You can RSVP by emailing info@prepforbirth.com, or…
Read MoreDrink More Water: Creative Ways to Stay Hydrated in Pregnancy.
“Drink more water.” It seems to be the pregnancy panacea. Having a lot of Braxton-Hicks? Drink more water. Feeling tired? Drink more water. Having headaches? Drink more water. Constipated? Drink more water. How many of us feel like we are paying our care provider to tell us to stay hydrated? In Colorado it’s doubly tough,…
Read MoreGrace Under Pregnancy: Responding to Horror Stories
We’ve all heard the horror stories. The homebirth turned cesarean. The induction gone wrong. The horrible hemorrhage. Cracked and bleeding nipples. Breastfeeding sabotaged by circumstances. And more. There is almost a compulsion to tell these stories, and we are often left feeling a little dazed as we walk away. These are valid experiences, but hard…
Read MorePassenger or Driver: The Importance of Informed Consent.
Yes, it almost sounds like a Dr. Seuss-ism – “Would you rather be a passenger or a driver?” Most of us would rather be the driver, I would venture. In every other aspect of our lives, we exercise informed consent. We want to be involved, in control, and overseeing every detail. Take for example the…
Read MoreWhy take childbirth classes anyway?
Why take childbirth classes anyway? You and baby are made for this process, so what is the big deal? You go into labor, have many contractions, eventually become fully dilated and push out a baby. Bam. It’s nature! Right? Not quite, I’m afraid. In a perfect world, women would grow up around pregnancy, labor, birth…
Read MoreA Doula For The Dying, Part 2: 5 More things I learned while doulaing my dying father.
When I set out to be by my father’s side in 2012, I had no idea what to expect. My sister and I both lived in Colorado Springs, so naturally we caravaned to Oregon together. We talked about it a lot. What would we have to do? How would we help our mom? This was…
Read MoreDilation Isn’t Everything: The many jobs of your cervix.
A mother waits patiently on the small triage bed while the nurse concentrates on what her fingers are telling her about the progress of this labor. After a minute, she pulls her fingers out, and chirps brightly, “You are 5 centimeters dilated!” She flips her gloves into the trash can and turns to the computer…
Read MoreA Doula For The Dying: 5 Things I Learned at My Father’s Deathbed
Almost three years ago, I packed up my four children and drove to Oregon to help care for my father. His melanoma had metastasized to his spinal fluid, and everything that could be thrown at it to kill it, had been. There was nothing left, but to wait. Probably only weeks were left. His decline…
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