Spinning Babies - Love that Gail Tully!

You just gotta love a woman who gives like this mother of birth movement education.  I had the privilege what seems like eons (a decade and a half) ago, to be trained as a doula by this remarkable lady.  She is still so near and dear to my heart - even though we've not spoken in months!

When you're in labor, especially if you're experiencing back labor, the last thing you want to be doing is trying to figure out what position you should be in for best fetal motion and tilt and angle and and and...

Gail makes it look so easy.  She's a natural teacher, and so gentle.  Her hands have magical love beams coming out of them.  OK, I might be exaggerating, but only slightly.  I promise.

If you're an expecting parent, get a load of these online classes.  You will be so glad you prepared yourself fully when the Big Day comes along.  If you're a doula/midwife, you cannot afford to practice another minute without these techniques.

http://muvi.es/w6753/330222

Trust me, you can take all the usual childbirth prep classes you want, but as a doula, the one thing I use the most in birth is OFP.

OFP = Optimal Foetal Positioning  or MFP = Maternal Foetal Positioning 
(Yeah, Canadian spelling, ey?)

That means we get the mama into her best position/pose/tilt to allow the baby to get into their best position/angle/tuck.  Because babies will.  They want to be born easy.  They do.  Our bad posture becomes an obstacle to baby's proper descent at times.  But you can correct the problem.

Doulas, midwives, partners...  You need to see this movie too.  Understanding these techniques by watching and listening to Gail yourself is like having a secret weapon in your arsenal of birth tools.  These concepts make me a super hero at complicated births.  They really do.  I feel fine to admit that. No shame.  Gail - the Spinning Babies lady turned me into a super hero almost 2 decades ago.  It's her fault that I have such an incredible low cesarean % rate.  Maybe if her techniques didn't work so good, I wouldn't have such an ego.  Thanks, Gail - you are the best!

Do you want your birth to go smoother, safer, easier?  Do you want to help your clients' births to go smoother, safer, easier?  Want to lower your practice's cesarean rate?  Learn these techniques.  Employ them.  Don't wait.  It's totally worth every penny and more.

http://muvi.es/w6753/330222

Imagine me looking at you with that weird eyebrow thing now, where my eyebrows are saying why haven't you clicked the link yet...?  Yeah, I feel quirky today.  Can you blame me?  It's like the weekend has almost started!  And Spinning Babies is accessible right on your computer anywhere in the world.  It's like Christmas!

Have a great weekend, People of the Birthing Planet!
Anne

Giving Birth Again

You gave birth.  It didn't go the way you expected, the way you planned, the way you wanted...

Now you find yourself pregnant again and you're a little scared.  Maybe you're really, really scared.
What can you do to make sure that things go better this time?
Did you stuff the trauma you experienced deep down, not realizing it would surface (ever)?
Now you've got a toddler, and your pregnant and there's a lot of emotional work you need to do, but really don't have time or energy for it.  You're not that mom.  You want better and you will find a way.
 Why? 
Because your birth experience isn't just for you - it's your baby's only birthday.

One of my kids told me (you may have heard it somewhere too) that if you repeat the same thing over and over, you will get the same result over and over.

The same goes for birth:
If you were uneducated last time, get educated.
If you were out of shape last time, get in shape.
If you ate a lot of junk last time, get healthier food.
If you were hurt emotionally, physically, mentally last time, get healed.

So you get the idea.  You agree.  
Where do you start?

1. You must swear off the drama.  Don't fall into the drama-trap.  Birth is not a crisis.  You are not sick.  When you look at this process truthfully, you will find that there is no reason for fear and drama, and that will only make you vulnerable to deception.
2. Next, I would sit down with a cup of raspberry leaf tea and a lovely book that will encourage you while educating you: "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin (a birthy, hippy hero of mine)  In this book you will find healthy, happy, normal birth stories.  Read it!
3. Get shopping for a doula.  Find one who has excellent training, current certification credentials, and lots of experience.  Don't settle for the lowest price.  This is your baby's birth.  If you want care that will change your experience for the better, don't be a cheapskate.
4. Start eating right and exercising immediately.  Drinking lots of fluids and eating loads of protein every day is of utmost importance.  Those are your top priority.  Your prenatal vitamin cannot make up for a poor diet.

If you have issues still rising in your mind about your previous birth(s), please talk to someone about it.  Residual anxiety can have a heavy impact on how your next labor will go.  One way to work through those feelings is to use your 5 senses.  Explore each sense and ask yourself questions about it.  Often when we experience trauma we don't always store it with words.  Sometimes we store memories of them in the form of sensations.  Those sensations need to be tapped into and cleared away - you don't want them to pop up and surprise you when you're in labor!

If you're in the San Antonio area, consider taking a class to help you prepare.  Tranquil Seasons offers classes monthly on a variety of topics.  Check out the list and see if any draw you.
You can find the list on the website: Doulas and Childbirth Education in San Antonio

If you're not in San Antonio, I can get you into our private, online birth mentoring program.
Just ask me!
210-548-8800

Blessings,
Anne Croudace

Breastfeeding Help and Lactation Support Consultant

When a mother first gives birth, it doesn't matter how many books or videos she has learned from, she will need to intuitively begin to nurture and nourish her newborn according to how her baby responds and how her body provides.  Sometimes, this comes very naturally...  The baby latches on well with very little effort on either party's part.  Sometimes this comes with a little work and encouragement.  Sometimes it seems to not work at all.

Have you considered the vastly important role of the Lactation Consultant?
Like doulas, there are many different "stripes" of breastfeeding support in existence. The doula and lactation training organization that I am with has a program called the Lactation Support and Educator program.  (yes, this appears to be a shameless plug!)


This program is fantastic, because it is so unique: 
Lactation Support & Educator
It's the only program in existence that offers 2 facets:
1. it specifically equips doulas to support breastfeeding moms who have literally, minutes ago, just -given birth.  We are there for that first latch, right?  What if it doesn't go perfectly????  We need to know how to help!
2. to teach breastfeeding 101 classes to the expecting and newly postpartum mother and her partner.

As doulas, labor and postpartum, we usually see mom at least once after the birth as well.  We may be that first line of action when the baby isn't breastfeeding well.  After going through this course, not only can you help to avoid a possible "failure to thrive" scenario, but you'll be rounding out and adding value to your business model offerings.

If we are not the Gold Star of Lactation Support (and by that, I mean IBCLC), how can we possibly achieve the big claim I made about avoiding a failure to thrive scenario?
Well, we are trained to recognize when a latch is normal and we can help babies to achieve a good, productive latch while breastfeeding, that helps them get the most milk at each feeding.  If we find that after working with a couple, the latch is still really not happening, or there is a possible problem such as a tongue tie, or baby is truly not gaining weight, or we notice the jaundice increasing, we can help a mom get medical treatment sooner than later.  This is important, because while new moms might have a "hunch" that something is wrong, they don't always know what, why or how to respond.

I will be in San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston and many other cities to help train women who want to be Doulas and Lactation Support & Educators.  MaternityWise is also looking to add Trainers to their team, so if you are interested in either of these options, please get in touch.  I'd love to hear from you and I would love to meet you in person!

Hugs,
Anne
952-457-6506
annecwj@gmail.com

How to Become a Doula - Step 1.

Women naturally want to support one another in pregnancy, birth and during the postpartum phase.  Still, with our Western, disconnected, non-communal mindset, we have a hard time figuring out how to get involved without being too involved or helping enough without appearing obnoxious.  haha

I get asked all the time, "Where do I start?"

Well, get some training.  that is step 1.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of women out there who put the badge on their chest of "I am a DOULA" but they really don't understand or know how to serve.  What they want to be is an advisor, a consultant.  And that is very needed!  It's OK!!  It really is!  

However, moms need nonjudgemental, unconditional love first, practical service helps next, and our gentle, guiding knowledge (read: advice) last.  So if you've got a lot of wisdom to share, good!  It's needed!!!  Still, navigating the emotions and perceptions of a tender, vulnerable mother is something that MOST of us need a little guidance on, ourselves.  

Where can you find the best doula training?  Simple.  There are a lot of organizations out there providing trainings.  You'll want to make sure the training you receive is of the top-tier quality though.  It's integral to the success of your business and the impact (positive or negative) that you will have on the mothers you come into contact with.  Imagine what the family would say about you, when you're gone, if you've unintentionally made the mother feel badly about something, or you gave advice and it backfired.  What if you gave advice and the baby or mothers'  health suffered for it...?  It happens.  

You'll earn a bad reputation and you will have spent money to get trained, and have wasted it.

You don't want that to happen to you!  Get trained AND finish your certification!  Parents are getting wise to ask if you're just "trained" or attended a workshop, or if you're actually CERTIFIED.  They know the difference and it matters.

The next thing you want to know about your training organization is if they will help you create and grow your business.  Will they help you become successful?  We will discuss building and growing a doula business next week.  :)

Follow this blog (click on the right) and you'll receive the next posts in this series right to your email.

If you're interested in knowing about my experience with training under several different organizations over the years, give me a call.  I will be happy to tell you what I found to be pros and cons of each organization, as well as the organization I found a home with.  :)

Have a great week!

Anne Croudace, CLD, CPD, CLDT, CPDT, CLSE

952-457-6506

Mommy Guilt

Dear Mothers,

You are not bad, defunct, broken, ignorant or unnecessary!

You are good, selfless, strong, intuitive, gentle and NEEDED!

I wish I could write a letter to all expecting mothers.  A letter they would read, and believe, and base their self-worth on.  If only all mothers knew how important they are.  If only they grasped their innate wisdom and trusted themselves more than the forums on the most frequented websites.  If only they really stood in their strength and walked tall in their ability.

Imagine what a beautiful, cheered up, gentle-ways world we would live in, if mothers were given their power back...

I found this fun and inspiring website and it reminded me about the common phenomena of "Mommy Guilt"  Please check out her article: http://theglamoroushousewife.com/2014/03/motherhood-cult-guilt/?body= http://theglamoroushousewife.com/2014/03/motherhood-cult-guilt/

and share with your mommy friends who need to be empowered and encouraged.  :)

Use this icon above for your Facebook profile image, to show your support for all the birthing mamas out there who need to know birth DOES matter and they are not crazy for wanting the best experience possible for their little ones and themselves.

Start the new year out with a promise to yourself, to make a change.

Love,
Anne
http://www.tranquilseasons.com 
http://www.maternitywise.com

Nurses Hotline? No.

So often, postpartum doulas get confused with "baby nurses"
but they are not the same!  And it reminds me that parents often don't know the difference between real baby nurses (like the RN kind who work with doctors) or the babysitter kind who are not necessarily trained in anything...

Postpartum doulas are trained (and our San Antonio Doulas are not just trained, but also certified by MaternityWise International) in supporting the mother and helping her to care for her baby without completely doing it for her.  We are often called baby nurses because people don't know the term "postpartum doula".  And they also often don't know the difference.

A baby nurse traditionally (the non-medical kind) will take care of your baby for you like a nanny or grandmother.  Years ago, she was also considered a nurse because she literally nursed the baby - yes breastfed it.  This was common among affluent families and especially in the south.  Don't be squeamish.  Get over it.  It happened.  And for mothers who truly didn't make enough milk, it was a godsend.

These baby nurses usually had experience with babies children, and took over the mothering duties to allow the mother more freedom to live a less motherly life.  Remember Peter Pan?  The dog was the "nurse".  Many children's stories have a nanny who is referred to as the "nurse".  Again, don't be offended.  It happened.  And it still happens.  If you don't want to be one of those mothers, it is OK!  You can get an extra hand and get some more sleep without giving up your mother-ness.

MaternityWise Certified Postpartum Doulas are trained in helping to empower the mother who wants to be THE mother.  :)  We can help troubleshoot breastfeeding issues and assist with mom's nutritional needs.  We can give advice on everything baby related including gassy, fussy colicky babies, burping, diaper rash, food sensitivities, gentle sleep training assistance, etc.  Meanwhile we can also help with more practical matters such as laundry and dishes, and meal prep as well as errands - so that your world can revolve around your baby!!  (as it should)

Now, to clear up a few things.... 

We at Tranquil Seasons Doulas in San Antonio, come into your home, listen to you as the mother.  We ask questions and get to know you and your baby and your preference in the way of doing things.  At some point, we may have tips to tweak your routine, and you might ask us loads of questions and want all of our advice, but we never "walk in and take over".  A number of the services in our city do just that, and parents come to us, worried that we will do the same.  They don't want a less expensive, less qualified service, if it means having a stranger come in to tell them how to rearrange their lives.  Neither would I.

I was speaking to a mother recently, who is expecting twins.  She said something very wise.  She knows that there is no way to really plan for or know in advance exactly the way things will go with the twins, but she wants to learn and she wants to have the freedom to make mistakes.  I thought that to be one of the most healthy and mature perspectives on early parenting that a mother could have.  It is going to be a real pleasure to walk that journey alongside her, assisting, supporting, never judging or "bossing", but having her back, reassuring and helping her learn about her babies at her own pace.

One more clarification...

We are NOT a baby nurse hotline - as in the medical kind.
I've had several calls in the middle of the night recently with parents I've never met asking whether or not they should take their baby into the emergency room.  I could hear the concern and the anxiety in their voices, but this is not something I can help with.  They were not my clients, I did not know them or their baby.  I had no prior history or experience with them.  Unfortunately, I could not give them the listening ear they wanted.  If their baby was exhibiting symptoms that concerned them, I explained, they needed to contact their pediatrician's office.

While I might be able to explain what normal is for my clients, it will always be in their hands to make the decision to seek medical treatment or not.  As a doula, my job is to educate, but not to make a parent feel pressured to make a choice in any direction.  That is not my decision, because it is not my baby.

That probably sums it up.  We are not the parents.  We are the assistants.  The servants.
The Doulas.
And you'll be glad we limit our care to the Scope of Practice in which we do.
Because we know our place, our role, we do it well and the benefits you'll receive are immeasurable.

If you need help getting sleep, or caring for your newborn, and you want advice that could make your life easier in this sometimes rocky transition, please visit our website or give us a call.

Many Blessings,
Anne Croudace
CLD, CPD, CLDT, CPDT, CLSE
Tranquil Seasons Doulas in San Antonio, TX
210-548-8800

Sneaky Psychology of Birth Expectations - Part 2 Setting a Solid Foundation

Continuing on the thread of messing with moms' minds as part of the profit-driven practitioner...

Have you ever been told at your 37/38/39 week prenatal, during a vaginal exam, that you're ___cm and ___% effaced and "baby is really low"?

Was it followed with, "I doubt you'll make it through the weekend"...?

It seems like that was the previous trend (before the unfavorable cervix shenanigans began) that OBs and even midwives were using to build an expectation in mothers' and partners' minds.  Again, education is the key to overcoming this silly gullibility before birth and the depression due to regret that comes afterward.

Put yourself in the profit-driven practitioner's shoes.
What happens is this: As a profit-driven practitioner, you tell a woman what you're "expecting" and since you're the professional, so she expects it too.  Mother tells all her friends and family members that she's bound to go into labor before the weekend.  She builds it up in her mind.  She finishes the nesting, packs her bags, over-analyzes her cravings, her sleep, her poop, her aches, pains and everything her body does.  Poor thing gets all excited.  Day after day she wakes up, and expects that today will be the day.  Then it doesn't happen - because she and her baby are not ready, but your prediction has effectively poisoned the waters.

Imagine how she feels...  A strange combination of disability, failure, impotence, embarrassment, even shame.  She wonders what is wrong with her (but doesn't question what was wrong with the prediction, because her heart is tender and vulnerably focused inward, as it should be).  Another week passes and her anxiety increases.

Her family and friends are sharing this unrealistic expectation and start pressuring: "What's wrong?"  "Haven't you had that baby yet?"  "This happened to _____ and she had to have a cesarean because her body just wouldn't go into labor."

Half of the work of a profit-driven practitioner is done for him/her already!  
Guess who is now primed and ready to sign up for that induction...
and worse, the scheduled cesarean, which is allowable after 37 weeks for very little reason - if any.  All that needs to be done now, is to give it an official diagnosis:  Failure to progress, Unfavorable cervix, Low amniotic fluid, YOU NAME IT, we can put a labor on it.  :)

Remember how I mentioned the depression due to regret earlier?  These are the moms whose babies end up in the NICU, whose deeply desired breastfeeding is ruined, whose baby struggles in their first weeks and months to thrive and grow, because they are so sleepy, jaundice, allergic to formula.

I just want moms to stop signing up for the snowball effect with their eyes closed.  I want them to be educated about the process of birth.  I want them to know how their bodies REALLY work and that they were built for this process.  I want them to understand that their mind is where the battle really is - not their bodies.  And if they can trust themselves to give birth the way they trust themselves to do anything else, they will give birth when their baby says they are ready, and they will have a healthy, alert, good eater and good sleeper in their arms upon delivery.

The USA has a profit driven health care system.  If you want to make lots of money, this would be a great industry to get into.  That is, until individuals begin to take responsibility for their own health and begin to question what is being recommended to them.  At some point, the insurance industry is going to fall apart because the public cannot afford to pay and the industry itself cannot sustain the abuse it's been funding for decades.

Most of all, I think we as women need to get back to the way we've cared for the health of our families for millennia - and that is to educate ourselves but follow our intuition.  Why have we replaced intuition and good sense with beeps and pills?

Your children depend on your good sense and intuition for all other areas of their lives and well-being.  Don't let them down on the day they arrive earth-side.

To learn more, to be mentored, or to take online interactive childbirth classes, please give me a call and I will be happy to direct you to some fantastic resources.

May this new year be the year you start asking questions and taking charge of your own health and the health of your family.  You deserve to have respectful, honest caregivers and so do your children.

Warmly,
Anne Croudace
952-457-6506
http://www.maternitywise.com