Today I had the honor to attend a beautiful birth. Anya was born at 12:13 pm. Her mom was induced and fought hard for her beautiful birth. Welcome to the world Anya!!! I can not wait to see what you can do!!

This is a great Sesame Street Clip!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3DWRhfNm4c&feature=player_embedded

The EmPoWeReD Birth leadership is concerned about this ban on children across the board. So we are arranging rallies at 3 local hospitals–Easton Hospital, St. Luke’s Bethlehem, and Lehigh Valley Hospital. To read more about why we are taking this action, please go read a full statement at
http://www.facebook.com/jennriedy?v=app_2347471856&ref=profile#/note.php?note_id=185810323687

2010 still seems so far away, and yet I am already booking for Jan. 2010! So if you are pregnant and thinking of having a doula at your birth, drop me an email! I am looking for clients for Jan and on!
If you think you may need post partum help, I am taking on a limited number of post partum clients each month.
If you have interest in any classes I have to offer, let me know! I LOVE giving discounts. The more classes you take, the bigger the discount you get.
Also, don’t forget I offer a military discount!
Contact me for more info!

A new class is starting in the Berks county area!! My Smart Hands is a sign language and play clas for babies. The goal of this class is to introduce ASL to babies, in the hopes that it speeds up a babies ability to communicate with their parent sooner.
I started teaching my children sign languiage 10 years ago. My oldest child really picked up on it and it was wonderful to know exactly what she wanted!! I did not have to guess, we did not have screaming fits… But I did not know any sign language before I started!! I could have benefited from a class like this. Now that I am on child #5, and working on teaching her simple signs,I could still use this class!! I think it has a huge benefit to every parents and baby.
For more information please join My Smart Hands facebook fan page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Berks-County-PA/My-Smart-Hands-Berks-County/144062059134?ref=mf

This is an interesting article.

http://www.theunnecesarean.com/blog/2009/9/27/best-of-week-birth-activists-jennifer-zimmerman.html

My husband and I HIGHLY recommend Amy! As first time parents, she was exactly what we were looking for in a birth doula. She met with us during our pregnancy to discuss the process of labor/delivery, our wants/needs, our “ideal birth”, and helped us create an extensive birth plan. At 40 weeks, our midwife thought the baby may be breech and Amy met us at the hospital for an ultrasound and possibly inversion. Thank goodness no inversion was needed, but Amy talked us through the experience and eased our emotions. At 41 weeks, I finally went into labor at 4:00 am and Amy was on the other end of the phone talking us through early labor - I might also add that she was 20-something weeks pregnant with her 5th child at the time! She met us at the birthing center at 8:30 and assisted my husband in my pain management with massage, encouragement, and attending to my needs. Amy was a God-send and I can’t imagine our next birth without her at our side. She visited us at home a week later and brought the most precious gift ever - a timeline of our daughter’s birthday! It is a wonderful addition to her birth records. We now think of Amy as part of our family - that’s just how much she has impacted our lives.
Jodie and Joe

We used Amy with the birth of our first child, and were so happy with her, and the services she provided. We met with her several times before the delivery to discuss a birth plan, pain management, and the birth process in general. She was so knowledgable, but also really helped us decide what we wanted… At the hospital, she was very helpful in letting the staff know what I wanted and did not want, which was great, especially since I wasn’t up to doing that. I had a long labor (almost 18 hours), and Amy was with us the whole time. She helped my husband coach me, and offered help with pain management. I really don’t think that I would have been able to deliver naturally if she had not been there encouraging me. After our beautiful baby was born, Amy was so helpful with breastfeeding. I called her multiple times with all sorts of questions, and she is always available and willing to answer my questions (about anything too — cloth diapering, home schooling, vaccinations, etc).

Probably the thing that was the most special about having Amy there was the birth timeline and pictures that she took. My husband was so focused on me, that he wouldn’t have been able to do these things. Amy created a detailed journal of my labor and delivery and gave it to us, as well as pictures of the whole process. We treasure those! We would highly reccommend Amy as a doula!

Caroline and Steve

It was crazy, but wonderful!! I had 2 births in 2 days. The first mom had an edd of 8/27/09. The 2nd mom had an edd of 9/24/09. Who would think that moms due almost a month apart would have their babies a day apart!
Both moms were amazing. I was honored to be a part of their birth expirence. I was able to be there to see 2 new familes be born. That never gets old.
What did get old was the hospital. The language the staff used… The consent forms..( One mom had to sign a consent for c section upon being admitted. This seems like giving up from the get go to me).
The hospital (both familes used the same hospital, but different OB practices) really pushed the c section, for both moms. As soon as labor diviated from the path the ob’s wanted it was time to talk about “options”. But I was left wondering : what options? why ? Just let things be, I thought anyway.
There was even a point that I thought maybe this dr was correct and women can not achieve a birth with out teh epiodural, or c section. (Then I realized I accomplished this 5 times!! And have seen MANY moms do the same.)
I felt beaten down… and I am so sad thinking of all the women who go through that hospital and have to fight that battle alone. And I am trying to figure out how I can try to change this. I feel like it is so much bigger than I am, but if I don’t try, how can I be who I am?
So now I need to figure out how and what.. and I am drawing a blank… hopefully it will come to me soon.

Pregnancy Needn’t Mean Hard Labor: Laboring Without The Labor Bed Cuts Need For Artificial Oxcytocin To Advance Slow Labors

ScienceDaily (July 7, 2009) — A University of Toronto pilot study that re-conceptualized the hospital labour room by removing the standard, clinical bed and adding relaxation-promoting equipment had a 28 per cent drop in infusions of artificial oxcytocin, a powerful drug used to advance slow labours.

The study, called PLACE (Pregnant and Labouring in an Ambient Clinical Environment) was published in the current edition of the journal Birth.

In addition, more than 65 percent of the labouring women in the ambient room, compared to 13 per cent in the standard labour room, reported they spent less than half their hospital labour in the standard labour bed.

Led by Dr. Ellen Hodnett, Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing professor and Heather M. Reisman Chair in Perinatal Nursing Research at the University of Toronto, PLACE included 62 women at two Toronto teaching hospitals.

Hodnett devised a set of simple, but radical modifications to the standard hospital labour room, with the intention of surrounding the women and their caregivers with specific types of auditory, visual and tactile stimuli.

“The removal of the standard hospital bed sent a message that this was not the only place a woman could labour,” says Hodnett. A portable, double-sized mattress with several large, comfortable cushions was set up in the corner of the ambient room. Fluorescent lighting was dimmed, and DVDs of ocean beaches, waterfalls and other soothing vistas were projected onto a wall. A wide variety of music was also made available.

“The intent was to allow the women the ability to move about freely during their labour, to permit close contact with their support people, and to promote feelings of calm and confidence,” says Hodnett.

Reaction to the ambient room was overwhelmingly positive, as respondents were pleased to have options for mobility and for helping to cope with their labour. They also indicated they received greater one-on-one attention and support from their nurses.

“This study raises questions about the assumptions underlying the design of the typical hospital labour room,” says Hodnett. “The birth environment seems to affect the behaviour of everyone in it – the laboring women as well as those who provide care for her.

Hodnett hopes to further this study with a larger, randomized controlled trial.

Adapted from materials provided by University of Toronto.
Email or share this story:| More Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the following formats:
APA

MLA
University of Toronto (2009, July 7). Pregnancy Needn’t Mean Hard Labor: Laboring Without The Labor Bed Cuts Need For Artificial Oxcytocin To Advance Slow Labors. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 11, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/07/09070611