Simple Reminders

I was panning through an old presentation and came upon this quote from Gera Simkins, the President of MANA (Midwives Alliance of North America):

Midwives have the vision and skill required to bring forward the best...in women’s health care that serves the individual, the family, the community...and serves in a sustaining manner.

The start of the week brought the Solstice, the day we fill the earth with light and begin to watch life grow and be fertile. With this quote, I am simply reminded of the love, activism, and advocacy that midwives make in our world each day. Thanks Gera for leading our way.

Storytelling

I love the art of storytelling. When it comes to a birth story, the reflection of a woman comes out as she proudly announces her experience and her new arrival. I love birth stories. I love them when they are flowery and juicy. I love them when they are three sentences long. It's rare you get the birth attendants birth story, because it's not our birth. We can always add our part. From my perspective, this mother had enduring confidence in herself and trusted every step of the way. When a birth unfolds, such as Jenna and Morgan's birth unfolded, it is sometimes unimaginable that the birth process can be so quick. I had yet to check her cervix when she got the first urge to push and when I asked her to breathe through some of the initial "pushie" contractions. When her body began to shake with hormones and the look in her eye said, "Let's birth this baby," the process began. I believe a mother's body knows best. I love being reminded every birth has it's own tune, and we as the midwives and doctors must learn to dance a new dance every single birth. Sometimes, we can repeat the steps...but that is on a rare and blue moon. Thank you Dodge's! Enjoy the beginning of a new moon phase and also the new week!

Morgan Perry Dodge, born at 7:23 a.m. on Saturday, May 29, 2010. He weighed 7 lbs 12 oz, is 19" long, with a 15" head circumference. Here is his story:

I woke up at 1:14 a.m. to a sharp, painful contraction. I went into the bathroom, not wanting to wake up Ben, and came back to bed a couple of minutes later. I tried to go to sleep but was awakened by another contraction at 1:27 a.m. Again, I headed to the bathroom, but at this point I was a little bit scared and shaken up, so when I came to bed, I woke up Ben. I told Ben that I had had 2 contractions and I wanted him to sit with me through the next one, and we could start to time them. I told Ben that I thought they felt much different than anything else I had felt before. I was a little shaky and feeling really scared, honestly. I think that I knew it was the real thing happening, but I didn't want to say it out loud.

We don't have any regular watches or anything to easily time the contractions, so Ben quickly downloaded an app for his Droid that times the contractions for you. Gotta love technology! After about 5 more contractions that came at most 5 minutes apart, we called the midwives (Rebecca Egbert and Erin Ellis of the Green Midwife Community Birth Services). Rebecca advised that we try to relax and sleep through them (yeah, right!), and that maybe we get into the water, and to call her back in an hour. We filled the tub and I sat in it for a few contractions, but I found that I wanted to move, and the tub wasn't big enough for me to move in. I really liked the hands and knees position, or the knees-to-chest position, so I sat through a few contractions on the bed in the knees to chest position. I really liked that.

At 3 a.m. or so, we called Rebecca again to give her an update, per her request. Again, she advised that we try to rest through the contractions and we agreed to call her back when we wanted her to come over.

Around 3:30 a.m. I decided that I should call my Mom to have her make the drive from Missoula. I hadn't wanted to call before 4 a.m., but at this point, I wasn't sure I she was going to make it if I called any later. We didn't tell her how close the contractions were (3 minutes from start to start!) because we were worried about her making the drive as it were, being so early in the morning.

Around 4 a.m., we called Rebecca again. I was feeling a little "pushy" but knew that I should be trying to resist the urge, because I didn't want to push before I was fully dilated. But, realizing that things were progressing quickly, we called Rebecca and told her we wanted her to come over. She told Ben that "She's probably only 2 or 3 cm right now, and she'd come over, but it still might be a while". Ben hung up the phone, relayed the message. In the next contraction my water broke (4:14 a.m.) and I told Ben that "if I'm only 2 or 3 cm dilated, I don't think I can do this!" It was intense, and because I had no previous experience to compare it to, I was worried that perhaps I was only 2 or 3 cm dilated and not just not nearly as "tough" as I thought I would be!

Rebecca made her way over, showed up at around 4:45, at which point I was laboring on the toilet or in the hands and knees position, hanging on Ben's lap. I was very vocal during the contractions, and I was surprised at how natural it felt to vocalize, and how I didn't feel self-conscious about it at all, even though I thought I would be. Rebecca took one look at me and said "Okay, I'll get set up", realizing I think that we didn't have as long as she thought we would with most first time mamas.

The advice to resist the urge to push continued, I'm not sure how long, but maybe for another hour even. I finally told Rebecca that I just couldn't resist anymore - it was taking all of my willpower and concentration, and I found myself pushing during contractions, like I couldn't help it. She did a quick check, determined I was fully dilated, and gave me the go-ahead to push!

Pushing was WAY better than not pushing. It hurt, sort of, but it was also incredibly rewarding. I could reach in and feel Morgan's head, and I could feel him enter the birth canal. It was awesome. It definitely did hurt a bit, and I was afraid of the "ring of fire" that I've heard about, which is the burning sensation you get as the tissues of the vagina get stretched to the maximum. However, I knew it was inevitable, so I might as well embrace it. We ended up pushing for about 30-35 minutes, primarily in the squat position, with me resting between contractions hanging on Ben's legs (he was seated behind me in a chair). We ended up giving the final push in the hands-to-knees position, which proved the absolute most effective at that point.

When he was born, Ben immediately said "It's a boy!" and I exclaimed "Oh! He's so cute!" I was expecting the typical Winston-Churchill look-alike newborn, but to me, MY baby was cute :) I guess that's the maternal love hormone cocktail working it's magic. I wish we had gotten the birth on video like we had planned, but everything happened so fast that I forgot to get the video camera upstairs, and for that matter, I didn't show anyone how to use it, and I even forgot that we had a video camera until I was pushing. We did get lots of birth photos that we are making a slideshow out of so I'll share those soon :)

Reflecting on the event, the thing that surprised me the most was that I never felt like I needed or wanted any drugs. The only time I had any self doubt was when the contractions started up for the first time. Well, and then when Rebecca said she thought I might be at 2 or 3 cm is all, but I knew that she wasn't here to see me so she was just guessing. At least, I had hoped she was very wrong!

Afterwards, Ben asked me if it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I thought for a minute, and said "No". It wasn't, really. It was intense, and it definitely wasn't easy, physically. But, it was easy in the sense that I trusted my body to do what it needed to do, and I knew that whatever was going to happen wasn't optional. My body was going to give me a certain amount of pain/stress, and it was up to me to handle that pain in the best way I could. I also knew that, like everything else in life, this too, shall pass. I just kept thinking about the fact that when this was over, the pain would be gone, and I would have my baby in my arms.

However, if Ben had asked me the same question sometime between 5 and 7 a.m., I might have had a very different answer for him. That's the thing about natural birth - it only sucks when you're in it, and then you immediately forget.

Thanks, oxytocin!

Nurturing the Yin

Tip of the week: Nurturing the Yin, especially in our Yang mountainous environment. I went to bed last night meditating on the Yin, the feminine, also the ruler of our left sides of our bodies. In women's health, the left ovary and the left fallopian tube are ruled by Yin energies. In midwifery school, I was notorious for reminding my classmates that as busy midwives and students we needed to take time out and prevent our adrenals from crashing on us. It became the butt of jokes and I was reminded up until graduation of my ability to remind others, "You have leaking adrenals." When your body is naturally doing "the work" of pregnancy, there is already an inherent process going on where your adrenals need more support than your non-pregnant state.

So what can you do to keep your adrenals strong and healthy, and keep your already working pregnant body healthy and regulated? Here are some of my tips (and a lot of these tips have been gathered from personal experience and my work with Chinese Medicine practitioners, naturopaths, herbalists, homeopaths and energy healers).

On a daily level:

Tip #1: Evaluate your personal stressors: work, relationships, community, family, and environment. Evaluate how much stress you really do have or take on in a day, if you notice it existing in your body than I recommend you sit down and relax either lying or in meditation for 5 to 10 minutes a day. Only 5 to 10 minutes will help you prepare a relaxed mind for birth and labor. Take a "fetal love break" if you haven't had the time to connect with your baby, this too will give your adrenals the regulated and healthy hormones it needs to operate.

Tip #2: When you're pregnant, you're encouraged to eat a healthy diet and exercise. When you're body is doing the work of pregnancy, I also encourage you to eat foods that support the adrenals. Here's a list based from a Chinese Medicine philosophy:

millet	barly	tofu	string bean
black bean	black soybean	mung bean	mung sprouts
kidney bean	blackberry	mulberry	blueberry
melons	wheat germ	potato	seaweeds
spirulina	chlorella	black sesame seed	water chestnut
crab	clam	sardine	eggs

As you can see, these foods might already be part of your diet. Dark foods, such as black beans, black sesame seeds, dark greens, etc. will feed your kidneys. They are known as "kidney tonics." Amply nurture your diet with these foods, and your adrenals have a better chance of fighting off depletion. Diet is the easiest way, in pregnancy, to ward off any conditions that put you, the mother, and your precious baby at risk. The number one way to avoid problems in my book is diet.

Tip #3: Exercise, exercise, exercise. The number two reason we prevent conditions that put mom/babes at risk is by having or establishing a daily physical exercise routine. It is most beneficial to get 45 minutes of aerobic activity, heart rate rising activity to be exact. This means it is best to get a brisk walk, hike, run, bike ride or swim in while also doing some stretches or yoga to end your day. If you're feeling depleted and have a Qi Gong practice, please do this activity. Qi Gong is a beautiful practice to help your adrenals flourish, plus it brings Qi to you, your baby, and to the space around you.

Tip #4: Believe in yourself and your ability to have a strong and healthy pregnant body. Attitude alone can energetically affect our adrenal system. The more stress, depression, and weakness invited into our bodies the more we deplete our adrenals. We need these adrenals to be strong people, so every day of your pregnancy breathe in strength, confidence, and health and direct it towards your adrenals. Maybe I sound woo-woo, but we all know mind over matter really works.

Tip #5: It's springtime in the Rockies, it's WET and there are nettles EVERYWHERE. Go on a hike, harvest nettles (please wear gloves that are thick because they do sting) and hang them up to dry or blanch them in hot water and drink away! They may taste like dirt, but they are one of the richest mineral dosing herbs we can find. Drink nettles often throughout pregnancy and support your adrenals. They are great for iron depletion, as well.

Having strong adrenals helps us operate with ease, while living in our healthiest state. I guess I bring this to you today, as my tip of the week, because I love and believe in your body. We are an active mountain culture, and we must remember to thrive in the Yin energy of this generous and damp time. Pregnancy is a Yin state. Nurture yourself to your fullest since pregnancy ends in a shorter time than ever imagined. Even if you're 34 weeks pregnant, nurture yourself, love your adrenals, and feed your body and your baby what is healthiest. Make the most of these final weeks.

As I rampage to end the crisis of leaking adrenals, find light in your day!

A Conscious Woman

Inspired to give a tip of the week, I come upon the Conscious Woman Website and the work of Gloria Lemay as I wait for the current downpour to reside. Gloria leads a series of webinars named, "Essentials of Maternal-Infant Care." Take some time to check out the webinar options as a birthing woman, midwife, physician, doula, or anyone interested in Gloria's perspective.

Thank you Gloria and to the women of Conscious Woman!