About three and a half years ago, I traveled Summertown, Tennessee to study at the renowned midwifery center, The Farm. The Farm Midwifery Center offers an in depth Midwifery Assistant course to those interested in deepening their knowledge of childbirth education and midwifery practice,...
For the past 20 years, labor induction and the cesarean rate in the US has been on a steady incline. Currently, approximately 30% of women are giving birth via cesarean and more than 22% of women are being induced, according to ACOG (American College...
The other night, my husband (Joey) and I were discussing our close friend's labor. For the last few days things have been slowly progressing. However, mom and baby seem to be doing well, so there has not been any intervention given. Joey asked me why...
For years I have been advocating for women to have an open and honest relationship with their care provider, both before and during labor. Needless to say, I was surprised that I had such a hard time communicating with my midwife when I...
"Should I practice yoga during my 1st trimester?" is a question that I am asked quite frequently. Like so many pregnancy topics, you'll come across a variety of opinions and ideas, many of which conflict. One teacher I know believes it is inappropriate...
Theory may not always translate into reality. I am speaking more specifically of pain management and relaxation techniques. We start all of our prenatal yoga classes with several minutes of relaxation, deep breathing and some sort of pranayama or relaxation exercise. Many...
The particular event that inspired me to write this blog occurred last week. I was teaching a private childbirth education when we approached the subject of induction. My student is a second time mother, and she mentioned that she was thinking of getting...
I promised myself that as I progressed further along in my pregnancy, I would try to strike a balance in my blogs between sharing my personal insight and continuing the educational intention of this blog. Today, you get a commentary from me! I...
When I first announced to my mom that I was pregnant, she was so excited and soon proudly said, "I am going to offer you exactly what my mother offered me after Craig (my brother) was born. A baby nurse!" I graciously said...
About 5 years ago, I was on a bike trip through Tuscany. When I was planning this trip all I heard about were the beautiful hills of Tuscany and the great food and wine that I would enjoy. Well, the food and wine...