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What you Oughta Wear

05/07/2012 09:21:00

What you Oughta Wear

I often get asked the question... What should I wear when I am in labour? And I often reply, "What ever you want".

When you are having a hospital birth, one of the very first things a nurse will offer you, next to your ID band, is a hospital gown. Most of us obediently put one on. It's been washed a few hundred times in industrial strength detergent, it's short, ties at the back and leaves us mostly feeling exposed. But wait! You do not have to wear one. "I'll wear my own clothes, thanks" some ladies say..."Oh, you don't want to do that" says the nurse "it will get dirty." "That's ok, I'm more comfortable in my things."

Here is a list of things I have seen some women wear while they were in labour.

- comfortable work out clothes. Something that feels like pj's is great because you may doze and sleep, so be comfortable

- sports bra and shorts/hubby's boxers

- hubby's old Tshirt

- nightie

- bandeau bra and a sarong

- had one lady who bought her own hospital gown, it was black and white print, with ribbons to tie at the back, snaps at the sleeves that worked great for breastfeeding. It was quite short though, so she also wore a pair of yoga capris with it while we were walking the hallways.

- I've had ladies pack swimsuits to wear in the shower/tub

Eventually you are going to have to take off your bottoms, but not until you are pushing, and even then you can have a towel/blanket that can be placed over you if you'd like.

Do pack a couple pairs of socks, womens feet often get cold. And I have a small issue with public showers...so always encourage ladies to pack a pair of flip flops to wear in the shower. :)

I have also had a couple ladies who were most comfortable in nothing at all. The look on residents faces is priceless when they come through the door to see a lovely naked pregnant lady working away at having her baby. Why are we so modest/prudish? It always makes me laugh a little when a mama is going through transition and gets so hot and uncomfortable, and off come her clothes. Husbands look a little shocked and offers up apologys for his wife's lack of modesty!

I had a lady say she was sorry for being naked, but that's what she wanted. The midwife quickly assured her that we had all seen naked before and as unique as we'd like to think we are, we are all built pretty much the same way!

So what should you wear? There is no right answer for that, just be comfortable. It's all about you on this day, there is no Stacy and Clinton waiting to tell you what not to wear. Comfort rules over style!

Mental Mistakes that Increase Birth Fears

05/01/2012 08:32:00

3 Mental Mistakes that Increase

Birth Fears ~ A Guest Blog

Have you ever met a person who is beautiful on the inside and the outside? Let me introduce you to Gemma Stone! She is a mother of two small boys, a psychologist and author. Her Birthing from Love workshops are so helpful to many women. I have found fear and anxiety are powerful enough to stop labour in it's tracks. Realize your fears and, with help or on your own, you can overcome them before labour. Enjoy!

3 Mental Mistakes that Increase Birth Fears

Our minds are programmed to keep us away from dangerous things – like tigers. This can be a good thing in some situations, but when it comes to giving birth, this instinct can really complicate matters, especially if you’re not giving birth in the jungle.

There are basically two kinds of mistakes we can make when it comes to the tiger. The first mistake is to think that there’s a tiger in the bush when there really isn’t. This causes unnecessary anxiety. The second mistake is to think that there isn’t a tiger in the bush when there really is. This causes death.

Because of the severity of the consequences of each of these mistakes, your mind would prefer that you always make the first mistake in order to avoid the nasty, life-ending consequence of making the second mistake.

In order to keep us alive, our brains trick us into “avoiding tigers” by making three mistakes:

1. Overestimating threats

2. Underestimating opportunities

3. Underestimating resources

When you think about it, this is a great way to make sure that our species keeps avoiding the dangerous tigers, but it’s a lousy way for us to give birth. It leads to an increased risk of complications, increased perception of pain, increased labour time, and a few other things that we should avoid during birth.

Here’s what I want for you and all moms-to-be. I want you to be able to see the real tigers clearly and deal with them effectively. I want you to have the courage, knowledge, and strength to recognize when there’s really a tiger in the bush and when there isn’t.

I want you to be able to determine whether the fears that you have about birth are real or whether your brain is tricking you.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Is your mind focusing on scary birth stories and fearful thoughts about birth? (overestimating threats)

2. Is positive information about birth being downplayed? (underestimating opportunities)

3. Is your brain causing you to doubt your strength, your body’s ability to give birth, and your baby’s ability to be born? (underestimating resources)

Remember that your mind is wired to pay attention to the bad news and to tune out the good news.

Our contemporary birth culture (which is fear-based) and the inner workings of your mind may be teaming up to trick you into fearing your upcoming birth experience. The first step is knowledge; as you increase knowledge, you decrease fear. Now that you have more knowledge about how your mind works, you can use it to your advantage.

Gemma Stone is a mom, psychologist, speaker, and writer who is passionate about birth. She focuses on empowering pregnant women to have peaceful and positive birth experiences (no matter how the birth process unfolds). Visit her at www.birthingfromlove.com and sign up for the free guide to Birthing without Fear.

What are your tigers and what is holding you back? Let go of the fear and enjoy the process of labour and birth. ~ Twila

It's really just a good guess!

04/30/2012 09:43:00

Due Date ~ It's really just a good guess Date.

Once upon a time, a long time ago (in 1830 actually) a Doctor of womens health, Naegele was his name, came up with a tool that we still widely use today. I am not kidding...1830!! Naegele was born in Germany in 1778 and he was the first person (well maybe not the first, but he's the first to have published it) to try and estimate women's date of delivery. In my humble opinion there are right away two things wrong with this statement, the words estimate and delivery....but that's just me.

If you have ever seen a little plastic wheel with dates on it that doctors use to "date" your pregnancy, this is the rule they are following. This is how it works. You take your first day of your last normal menstrual period (normal...ha!) and count back 3 months and then add one week. This equals 40 weeks or 10 lunar months. Pretty handy for calculating and maybe that's why it's so popular. So if your last period started on April 1st your EDD would be January 7 th.

Now this is all fine and good if you are "normal". 28 day cycle and all that. However about 100 years later some rather bright people started to say that maybe Naegle was out dated (no pun intended).

A Mittendorf study (sounds like maybe he went to Hogwarts!) in 1990 showed the average length of human gestation to be 41 weeks plus one day. Average of 274 days for first time moms instead of 266 days that Naegle says. Mittendorf says we should figure out due dates like this. Count back 3 months and add 15 days for first time moms and 10 days for second or more time moms. So now your due date is January 15th or 10th....

A Yale University Professor of Midwifery, Carol Wood Nicholas developed this calculation (in 1985, I think but please correct me if I've got this year wrong). She takes into account variations in womens cycle length, because who has 28 day cycles anyways!

Here is what her Rule looks like:

First time mom with 28 day cycle - LMP (last menstrual period) + 12 months - 2 months, 14 days. So lets stay with April 1st....that makes your EDD January 15th.

Second time mom with 28 day cycle: LMP + 12 months - 2 months, 18 days. Gives us January 12th.

Now for cycles longer than 28 days, say 33 days, it looks like this. EDD + (days in cycle -28). So 33-28=5. So add 5 days .... January 20th.

For cycles shorter than 28 days, EDD- (28 - days in cycle). So 28-24=4. So subtracting 4 days will give us January 11th.

Carol Wood Nicholas made a very good point in stating "Routine labor induction on the basis of dates alone is discouraged!"

It all comes down to this, 90% of babies are born within 3 weeks of their EDD. 68.2% will be born with in the dates of one week prior and one week after your EDD. 21% are born with in 3 days of their EDD and only 4% (or less depending on who you ask) will be born on their due date. Here's an interesting fact.... each day within the week of the EDD has a (you guessed it!) 3-4% probability. But hey if you don't believe me, just ask my friend Wikipedia!

How close where your children born of their Estimated Date of Delivery?

Labour, it's like a box of Chocolates

04/23/2012 11:03:00

Labour ~ it's like a box of Chocolates ~

I've been contemplating this statement since Easter and I've come to this conclusion.... Labour is like a box of chocolates! And here are the reasons why.

It comes to you all wrapped up shiny and pretty. We want it, we can't wait to have it, we plan for it and then we open to lid. Oh, the choices, they all look so go on the outside, but it's what's on the inside that counts.

There are the smooth and sweet ones, melt in your mouth "can't wait" to have more ones. They can be addicting, just ask those who have more than 3.

The nutty ones, when it seems like your birth attendents and care providers are from an other planet and speak in a different language. They say things like "oh, we don't do that here" and it makes you wonder why women keep going back to the nutty ones, maybe it's something to do with the crunch...

The liquor filled ones, they make you catch your breath and your eyes tear up. Women are so careful of what they eat and drink in pregnancy and then when they get to the hospital they are offered all sorts of narcotics and mind altering drugs to "help" you not feel your birth.

The java filled ones. The ones where a jolt of caffine might help you get through that long early labour. Espresso, please!

The semi sweet ones. The vaginal delivery with the assistance of an epidural. One of the most popular varieties at more than 70%.

The bittersweet ones. The labour that ends in a c/section. Yes your baby is here and perfect in everyway, but the bitter after taste from the c/section makes you wonder why anyone would choose that one.

The half dipped ones. Oh, you almost got all that you were planning and hoping for.

The milk chocolate ones. A breastfeeding journey begins and you love the flavour of these ones.

As Forrest Gump said "You never know what you're gonna get."

Eating for Two ~ A Guest blog

04/23/2012 08:46:00

Eating TOO Much for Two ~ A Guest Blog

I recently asked my friend Sarah Remmer if she would be interested in writing a guest blog for my site. Sarah is a Registered Dietition and mother of one sweet boy! It has a lot of really good information about nutrition and gaining weight in pregnancy. And remember "eating for two" doesn't mean a free for all at the buffet! ~ Twila

Eating TOO Much for Two!

Being wise about weight gain during pregnancy
By: Sarah Remmer, RD, CDE

Gaining weight is a normal and important part of a healthy pregnancy. You will likely need to eat slightly more than you did before becoming pregnant, but the notion that you’re “eating for two” just isn’t true.Gaining too little or too much weight can be harmful to both you and your baby, so you need to know the guidelines for weight gain.As an expectant Mom, you do require certain nutrients to help sustain proper growth of your baby. Extra protein is needed to help the baby’s brain and body develop normally, and is usually obtained from meat, dairy products, eggs, legumes, and grains. During pregnancy, a woman should plan for one extra serving a day of one of these foods.

Calcium is an essential component of the growing baby’s bones and teeth, and if there is not enough in the mother’s diet, some may be taken from her own bones. The most common source of calcium is dairy products milk, yogurt and cheese and about one to two extra servings a day will provide enough. Calcium can also be found in spinach, broccoli, dried beans, almonds and canned salmon. If you cannot tolerate dairy products, you should discuss this with your doctor or a nutritionist, as a supplement may be necessary.

Iron is part of the red blood cells (in both mother and baby), which transport oxygen throughout the body. It can be found in liver, eggs, red meat and dried beans. Vitamin C aids iron absorption, so drinking orange juice with the meal, for example, will maximize the benefits of iron-rich foods. Folic acid is a B vitamin which has been found to be very important in preventing spinal cord defects (like spina bifida). These problems originate early in pregnancy, so many experts recommend increasing the intake of folic acid even before conception. Foods high in this nutrient include dark green vegetables, legumes, oranges, cantaloupes and honeydew melons. It is also important to take your prenatal multivitamin. A good supplement for pregnant woman generally contains more folic acid, iron and calcium than a general multivitamin.

How many more calories should I be eating per day?It takes about 71000 calories to grow a baby (good healthy calories of course). This is why Health Canada suggests that healthy weight women take in an extra 340 calories per day in the 2nd trimester and an extra 450 calories per day in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. Health Canada is in the midst of revising the guidelines for weight gain for pregnancy (new guidelines should be out in 2010). Many women are not able to tolerate this much of an increase in calories due to morning sickness and other issues and to be honest, may not require this many extra calories to sustain a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Every woman is different. Health Canada suggests to find out what your pre-pregnancy Body Mass Index (BMI) is and determine how much weight to gain from there. To determine your BMI, figure out your pre-pregnancy weight in kg and divide this by your height in metres squared. There are many online tools to help you figure this out easily such as http://www.babycenter.ca/tools/bmi/.

According to Health Canada, women with a healthy weight before pregnancy (BMI 18.5 to 24.9) should gain 11.5 to 16 kilograms (25 to 35 pounds). Women who were underweight before pregnancy (BMI<18.5) should gain 12.5 to 18 kilograms (28 to 40 pounds), and women who were overweight before pregnancy (BMI>24.9) should only gain 7 to 11.5 kilograms (15 to 25 pounds). It is recommended that pregnant women gain weight slowly over the entire pregnancy. This means approximately 1 to 3.5 kilograms (2 to 8 pounds) a week during the first trimester and 0.3 kilograms (0.5 pounds) a week during the second and third trimesters.

There is new research from the Unites States Institute of Medicine that obese women can gain little or no weight during pregnancy — and even lose a few pounds — without harming their babies. It was found that obese mothers who put on less than the recommended 15 pounds were less likely to develop pregnancy-related high blood pressure or deliver by Caesarean section and more likely to have a normal-weight baby. There is growing concern in North America that weight-gain guidelines for pregnant women are outdated and don’t take into account the nation’s obesity epidemic. We will have to see if the new 2010 guidelines reflect this concern. Until then, I recommend that if you are overweight or obese, you should improve your diet by limiting junk food and including exercise (see your doctor first). As a nutrition professional, the most important aspect of nutrition that I stress with my pregnant and breastfeeding clients is to focus on nutrient-dense foods and try to follow Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating. If your diet is poor to begin with, it is very important to make the transition to eating nutritious, well-balanced meals. Limit junk food as much as possible, as it offers empty calories, which means that these foods are calorie-dense (high in calories) but offer little or no nutrition, and this might lead to excess weight gain. For pregnant women, Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating recommends:

7 to 8 servings of vegetables and fruit (a serving is the equivalent of 1 cup raw veggies or fruit and ½ cup cooked veggies/fruit or 100% fruit or veggie juice).
6-7 servings of grain (a serving is the equivalent of 1 piece whole grain bread or ½ cup cooked rice, pasta or other grain)
3 to 4 servings of milk or dairy products (a serving is the equivalent of 1 cup of milk, ¾ cup yogurt or 1 ½ oz cheese)
2 to 3 servings of meat and alternatives (a serving is equivalent to 3 oz meat, poultry or fish or ½ cup beans/lentils or ¼ cup nuts/seeds).

Your body becomes more efficient when you’re expecting a baby and makes even better use of the energy you obtain from the food you eat. Your own appetite is the best indication of how much food you need to eat. You may find your appetite fluctuates during the course of your pregnancy: In the first few weeks your appetite may decrease dramatically and you may not feel like eating proper meals, especially if you suffer from morning sickness or nausea. During the middle part of your pregnancy your appetite may be the same as before you were pregnant or slightly increased. Towards the end of your pregnancy your appetite will probably increase, but if you suffer from heart burn or feeling full quickly, you may find it helpful to have small frequent meals. The best rule to remember is to eat when you are hungry. Don’t worry about your changing appetite as long as you are following the advice given about the type of food you need to eat and you are gaining weight at the appropriate rate, which your midwife or dietitian will monitor.

Eat small frequent mealsTry to eat every 3-4 hours. If you find that nausea, food aversions, heartburn or indigestion make eating a chore, you may find that eating five or six small meals, rather than the usual three larger ones, is easier on your body. You will also keep your metabolism (the rate at which you burn calories) fast and strong all day and avoid feeling “starving” and overeating. Try to include both carbohydrate and protein into each meal and snack. Carbohydrates come from Vegetables and fruit, whole grains and milk products. Protein comes from meats and alternatives and milk products. An example of a healthy snack would be a piece of fruit and a low-fat yogurt, or, raw carrots and hummus. Protein foods help to make us feel full and satisfied, that is why it is recommended to include them regularly throughout the day. Remember, your developing baby needs regular sustenance, so try not to miss meals.

Don’t dietDieting during pregnancy is potentially dangerous to you and your developing baby. Most diets leave important food groups out and are too low in calories. They also leave you low on energy and important vitamins and minerals such and iron, folic acid, and other important nutrients. Remember, weight gain is one of the most positive signs of a healthy pregnancy. Women who eat well and gain an appropriate amount of weight are more likely to have healthy babies. So if you’re eating fresh, wholesome foods and gaining weight, relax: you’re supposed to be getting bigger! What you want to watch out for is getting too big. This can happen if you are eating junk food (calorie-dense foods high in fat and sugar) regularly, or just eating too much in general.

Treat yourself once in awhileYou don’t have to give up all your favourite foods just because you’re pregnant. But high calorie processed foods and snacks and sugar-packed desserts shouldn’t be staples in your diet either. So as far as snacks are concerned, try a low-fat yogurt rather than a pint of Ben and Jerries, or a frozen fruit sorbet instead of canned peaches in sugary syrup. But don’t feel guilty if you crave the occasional cookie. Enjoy every bite! Nutrition is a crucial part of a healthy pregnancy for both mom and baby. Pregnancy is a great time to refine the way you nourish your body and become more health conscious. Ensure that you eat a balanced diet with lots of variety and that you are gaining a healthy amount of weight for you. Focus on nutrient-dense foods rather than calorie-dense junkfoods. Eat small frequent meals and let hunger be your guide.

I hope you enjoyed Sarah's post!

A women only Birth Story

04/12/2012 19:47:00

Write your post here.A Women Only Birth Story!

I love birth stories. I will read, cry and laugh out loud and always come away feeling encouraged and empowered. A couple of weeks ago I put a call out on my facebook page for interesting birth stories that women would like to share. I was overwhelmed by the responce I got. I've got a few more to share, but thought I'd start with this one.

Kim's husband was overseas and on his way home, but his son wasn't waiting. He arrived 8 hours before his Dad and his strong (or maybe slightly crazy, high on oxytocin) Mom went with the new baby to welcome Dad home.

Take a few minutes to enjoy this amazing story and pictures of the birth of Sean Heath.

~ Twila ~

I love to share my story, especially for women who won't have the support of a partner during their labor & birth. My husband had been deployed for 7 months and made it home a mere 8 hours after our son was born.

My daughter, our first baby, was born in a great little small town hospital, and we had a successful Bradley style birth with her. My husband had been such a wonderful support for me then, and so there was definitely fear and sadness about him not making it for the second birth. But such is life as a military wife. We moved, and our new local hospital was rumored to have a 60% cesarean rate. I knew before we even moved that if we had babies during our time there, I would NOT be having them in the Navy hospital.

Both my natural births have inspired me and changed my life, but my homebirth made me realize that as great as my natural birth in a hospital was, it was nothing compared to having a wonderful hands-off midwife and doing it the way women have been doing it for centuries. And honestly, being surrounded by only women was such an amazing and empowering experience that I'd *almost* choose to do it again that way if we had another.

Anyway, just a little prequel to sharing my actual story. :) Thanks for the wonderful Facebook page you run!

Kim

http://neohippymom.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-birth-story-sean-heath.html