On June 25, 2018 I was called to my 5th birth this month. Her membranes had released 24 hrs prior and I was the back up doula , and her birth photographer . Unfortunately she was not progressing as the birth center had needed due to the laws here in …
I have been serving as ‘doula’ for the past 25 years to close friends and family in a virtual way. They would call and text me often during pregnancy , labor and postpartum asking my advice. Either face to face and via phone, text and Skype. I have decided to now …
Is Assessing strength and patterns of contractions useful? In many birth settings people often ask ‘how strong are her contractions?’ or ‘is she having effective contractions? While it may be possible to find out how often contractions are coming, and how long they are lasting – I dispute …
What is Optimal Fetal Positioning? OFP is a phrase coined by Jean Sutton for the goal of her childbirth preparation through maternal positioning: the left occiput anterior fetal position. OFP directs pregnant women to spend most of their time with the abdomen lower than the spine (forward) and the knees lower than the …
Cervical Scar Tissue – A Cause of Preventable Cesareans Dawn Thompson is the founder of ImprovingBirth.org. She has spent the past eight years on a mission to understand how scar tissue on the cervix affects women in labor, and to let the public know about it. In her article below, …
Did you know that the umbilical cord has two arteries and one vein that are protected from crimping by a substance called Wharton’s Jelly? It keeps the cord rigid and flexible to protect the blood’s ability to flow through the cord even with a knot! (The cord in this …
One of the biggest repeat questions a doula/caregiver can hear during labor and birth is ‘how far along am I’. Some women would prefer not to know, some women could care less, and some women desire this knowledge almost habitually. As with any intervention in labor and birth, cervical checks …
