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Archive for May, 2007
My journey into this career was quite unexpected. I became a doula after a student, an OB doing her fellowship at a NYC hospital, invited me to observe birth. Having not given birth myself, I was very curious to see it first hand. At that time my experience of birth was all text book information, friend’s stories and movies. After 12 hours on the labor and delivery floor, my eyes were wide open to the over medical and isolated way we birth in this country.
The turning point came while watching a scared mother delivery her first child with a shell shocked husband by her side. The medical team was quick and efficient and after a vacuum birth, the little baby boy was born. The baby was not brought directly to the mother’s chest, instead they suctioned him and placed him under a heater. The mom and dad disheveled by the commotion were in a state of surprise and paralyzed. The new little being was alone. As a very innocent and out of place bystander, I decided to stand by this new little soul. Someone had to be with him. Even though I didn’t pick up the baby, I figured my presence would be helpful for this child.
I went home that day realizing I need to do more than just teach prenatal asana in the class room. I wanted to be an advocate for women as they birth. In class we focus on finding strength in the pose for mental and physical stamina. We look to build confidence through our own inner wisdom to birth freely. As a doula, I can take this work to the next step. I can remind the moms of their innate power and help them through the arduous hours of labor.
My job as a doula is not to have the birth I want, but to help the mother have the birth she wants. I offer them continuous physical as well as emotional support and help with pain management techniques. I am available to explain the pros and cons of procedures to the best of my ability and reassure them that labor is progressing normally. Sometimes I am just there to offer a hand for holding or massage. Most importantly I am there to be present, attentive, encouraging and supportive.
Of course having a doula present does not mean that the “magic wand” will be waved and everything will turn out alright. The very nature of birth is unpredictable and often does not go as planned. Labor can be long or even surprisingly quick and sometime complications arise. Having a constant, supportive figure that is not emotionally involved like the father, can be a very grounding force.
My own life has been greatly affected by this occupation. There is nothing more real to me than the life altering experience of birth. Even when the journey stretches into the early hours of the morning and many cups of coffee have been consumed, the hours can fly by unnoticed. There is an immediacy and impermanence to the fleeting moment. The complete focus on the breath make it impossible to be any place other then in the present moment. As a yoga practitioner, I embrace the opportunity to be fully alive, aware and present. Who would have thought this is where I would find that experience! And that the students I teach in class would become my teachers in life!
I find that these women inspire me in the choices I make. Whether it be something as arbitrary as holding a yoga pose for longer then I care to, or making tough decisions, I think of my clients and how they pushed through the painful contractions and were brave in their choices and this helps me continue my own personal struggles.
May 30th, 2007
Here are 5 questions to ask your doctor BEFORE your birth…
1. What is your c-section and episiotomy rate? How far past my “due date” can I go?
Of course the well being of mom and baby come first, but some doctors have a low threshold for allowing the expectant mother to go past her due date. Postdates pregnancy is defined as a pregnancy which exceeds the 42nd week. Check to make sure that your doctor will allow you time to birth on your body and baby’s schedule.
Today, most doctors do not perform episiotomies unless it is extremely necessary; most like to allow for a natural tear. Check to see if your care giver will try other methods to allow the perineum to soften and stretch. For example, some doctors will apply warm compresses and massage the perineum before reaching for the scissors to cut.
As I said before, the mom and baby’s health is top priority, but some doctors tend to react quicker to c-sections than others. The USA is an extreme example where the c-section rate climbed from 4.5% in 1965 to 22.7% in 1985 without a decrease in mortality rate. (Information from World Health Organization) In NYC in 2004 the c-section rate rose to 28.6 %. Check out your doctor’s c-section rate. (Information from Medical News Today)
2. If all is well with mom and baby, do you allow intermittent monitoring?
Intermittent monitoring will allow you time off the monitors to move around as you please. You have the freedom to walk the halls, take a bath or shower and assume any position that feels comfortable to you without the discomfort of the monitors. “Only in women with increased risk, such as labours which are induced or augmented, complicated by meconium-stained amniotic fluid or by any other risk factor, does electronic monitoring seem to be advantageous. In the majority of labours without increased risk, electronic monitoring increases the number of interventions with no clear benefit for the fetus and with a degree of additional discomfort for the women.” (Information from World Health Organization)
3. May I labor in any position I find comfortable and effective?
Until the time comes, you will not know what positions feel beneficial and comfortable to you, so it is helpful to know that you will have freedom to choose how you want to labor.
4. May I push my baby out in any position I find comfortable and effective?
Some doctors are very strict about this and want you in a reclined position with your feet in stirrups or semi-seated drawing your knees to your shoulders. This is a very traditional position, which gives the care giver the best “view.” But it is probably the least helpful for the laboring mother since she is working against gravity and closing off all the elastic space of the rectum. This decreases the mobility of the tail bone and the space of the pelvic outlet.
Other options are side lying, squatting, on all fours, and a supported squat using a birthing stool. Even if you don’t end up using any of these positions, it is nice to have the option.
5. What is your philosophy on birth? If I choose not to take pain medication, are you fully supportive of natural birth? Or do you prefer your patients to have a medicated birth? If I have had a previous cesarean, do you support VBACs?
It is so important that you and your doctor are on the same page about how you want to birth. I had a client that was really working hard to have a natural birth. During her labor when she was in a lot of discomfort the doctor made the comment, “I want an epidural during my annual check ups, I would never have a baby with out one!” To the woman in labor, this was not displaying a lot of support for her choices. The doctor that made this comment was a very capable doctor, but probably not the right fit for my client.
I have had many conversations with students that lament, “I got the name of my doctor from a friend and, if I had known what to ask, I probably would have switched doctors. Now I feel it is too late to change!” (I actually had a doula client last summer that switched to a new OB 10 days prior to her due date. And she was glad she did! She ended up with a beautiful natural birth in the St. Luke’s Roosevelt Birth Center. Some doctors are willing to take on new patients even at the end of the pregnancy if their schedules allow it.)
Ideally it would be best to have this conversation with your doctor at the beginning of your pregnancy, to make sure that the way he or she practices medicine matches up with the way you want to birth. But if that is not a possibility, at your next appointment, go ahead and ask these important questions! During your labor is not a good time to start negotiating your labor wishes. It is essential that you feel heard, supported and respected.
May 20th, 2007
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and expectant mothers in the world!
I just said goodbye to my mom who came down from Boston to visit for Mother’s Day. Usually I try to go home for Mother’s Day, but I am on call for a birth, so she graciously came down here. We did the typical Mother’s Day brunch and gift giving and opening of the cards…
…The Mother’s Day card…I realize I usually write pretty much the same thing every year. “Thank you so much for everything that you have done for me through the years. I know that we have had our ups and downs, but I understand that you always had the best of intentions…” that is the basic idea. And of course, my mom always responds the same way. “I hope you when you become a mother, you will learn from my mistakes.” And then we laugh, because she has been hinting for a long time that she wants a grandchild SOON!
I believe I had a pretty average childhood and teenage years. There were fights and tears and misunderstanding. I think my favorite moment was in my “gothic stage” when my mom said “Are you trying to make yourself look ugly?” And I, of course, threw a fit. In hind sight, I was a bit scary looking with the pale make up and dark lipstick.
When we choose to become mothers, we have the best of intentions for our children. We want to love them and protect them and give them the best we can. And through this desire to help guide them through life, sometimes we can get a little over zealous. My mom was a good mom and I hope that I can pass on the values she gave me, but I must admit that there is the fear that some of my personal insecurities will infiltrate my parenting and “mess up” my child. My husband always reminds me that, we all come with baggage and hopefully between the two of us we can balance out each others idiosyncrasies and our true intentions will be seen through our love and actions.
Maybe along with the college fund, I should start saving for therapist bills!
Many of you are new moms, are you the mother you thought you were going to be?
May 13th, 2007
Hello World!
My name is Deb Flashenberg and I am the Director and Owner of the Prenatal Yoga Center. I thought I would start off by explaining my intention for this blog. I am here to talk about my experiences in the prenatal yoga community, the students experiences on and off the mat, life as a studio owner and doula and even my own journey to motherhood.
(To be honest, my husband, the guy who created this whole website, thought this would be a good idea. I have never even been on a blog before…so please bare with my rookie mistakes.)
I guess like Maria Von Trapp sang “Let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start!”… I started taking yoga on and off for several years before I truly plunged into it. I had moved to New York to pursue a career in musical theater (hence the tribute above to The Sound of Music) and a choreographer used the Bikram yoga series as out warm-up for the rehearsal. A friend of mine then introduced me to the owner of the Bikram Yoga NYC studios and I started taking there regularly. About a year and a half later, I decided to get certified in Bikram Yoga. It didn’t take long for me to realize, that was not the style that I wanted to continue to teach.
After class one day, one of the teachers mentioned getting certified in prenatal yoga. That idea intrigued me. I started researching the best prenatal yoga teacher trainings. The one that looked the most thorough was at the Seattle Holistic Center with Colette Crawford. So I packed up and headed out West. When I came back I started teaching prenatal yoga out of a small room in the Bikram NYC Studio on the Upper West Side. I started with 2 classes a week and the room fit only 6 students. (Amazingly enough, I still teach some of my original students. I was even the doula to one of them!) Anyway - by the time I was told that the small room I was renting was being transformed into a dressing room, I was up to 6 classes a week and squeezing 7 students in the miniscule room.
Well, the obvious choose for me was to rent a bigger space. I found a partner to go in on this adventure with me and within a few months the Prenatal Yoga Center was born! My business partner didn’t last long. Within the first year of opening the studio - she headed off to India. Luckily, I had the support of my husband and the inspiration of my students. The studio really organically grew. I don’t have a business background - (I went to the Boston Conservatory and have a BA in Musical Theater!) but I believe in following common sense, respecting my students and teachers and offering the best possible service I can. I also think it helps that I truly stand behind what I teach.
It has now been over 6 years since I taught my first prenatal yoga class. In that time I went on to becoming a certified doula through DONA and a certified Lamaze childbirth educator. Hopefully soon, I will be adding “new mother” to my evolution.
Running a business has its challenges, but it is completely worth it when I run into students at Fairway or anywhere on the street and they tell me that their births were empowering and fulfilling and that their classes at the studio added to that experience.
May 6th, 2007
