Recently I had my sinuses affected by an airplane flight - a struggle I have dealt with before. The insistence of my nose to dominate my thinking reminded me that I had to take time to take care of myself. So long nights of sleep, relaxed days, plenty of fluids - all efforts to get well were started.
It reminded me that as moms or even moms-to-be, we can try to ignore the signals our body gives us to take care of ourselves. It is so easy to put our own needs on the bottom of a long list. Everything seems like a priority in our lives - the job - the house - the bills - the family - what gets neglected when we don't feel well? So often we just plow ahead and ignore our body's needs.
But if we are not at our best, we can't give our best to others. So the next time you get a wake up call to take an extra nap - have a long relaxing bath - or just get a massage - why not place taking care of yourself at the top of the list? I highly recommend it.....back to resting for me......
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Postdates
When a due date is given - and usually there is more than one given - a sense of anticipation follows - until, that is. it gets near that date. Then anticipation turns to anxiety as moms fear their baby will not come on that date and induction may have to follow. Will she have to have pitocen? Will the baby be too big?
It's a difficult journey to take when a mom goes postdate. Today I attended a mom's birth - she was 4l weeks. She had been lcm dialated for weeks with no change. Her doctor was going on vacation tomorrow and her doula in 5 days. The anxiety was building. But last night her baby decided to end the suspense and start labor. After weeks of no change - her body dialated quickly her baby arrived less than 4 hours after she reached the hospital. A lovely unmedicated birth. Next month, as she looks back on her birth - the days of anxiety over being postdate will have faded with the cherished memory of her birth. But hindsight is always easy - it is being in that period of postdate that is difficult. Of course - the "real" due date is already decided by your baby.
So if you are coming up to your due date, try to remember that your baby is very smart and your body knows what to do. Trust them both. Try to stay relaxed, hydrated, and rested. Best wishes on your lovely birth - when baby is able to choose his "due date".
It's a difficult journey to take when a mom goes postdate. Today I attended a mom's birth - she was 4l weeks. She had been lcm dialated for weeks with no change. Her doctor was going on vacation tomorrow and her doula in 5 days. The anxiety was building. But last night her baby decided to end the suspense and start labor. After weeks of no change - her body dialated quickly her baby arrived less than 4 hours after she reached the hospital. A lovely unmedicated birth. Next month, as she looks back on her birth - the days of anxiety over being postdate will have faded with the cherished memory of her birth. But hindsight is always easy - it is being in that period of postdate that is difficult. Of course - the "real" due date is already decided by your baby.
So if you are coming up to your due date, try to remember that your baby is very smart and your body knows what to do. Trust them both. Try to stay relaxed, hydrated, and rested. Best wishes on your lovely birth - when baby is able to choose his "due date".
Friday, June 25, 2010
Genetics
How many times have we heard a mom ask "If my mom had short labors, can I hope to have short labors like my mom?". I asked a doctor once if genetics could predict the process of labor in a family. I was told that the only affect would be the shape of a pelvis inherited from a mom. Also I was told that if we looked at a person's sister, we could better have an idea of what this mother's labor would be.
My mom had extremely long labors and so did I for the most part. Was it genetics or just circumstances? I used to think this was genetics - but I don't know that I agree with that anymore.
After attending almost 700 births, I have not seen genetics to play as high a role in the outcome of a birth as I had thought it would.
I have worked with moms who told me their mothers had very short, easy labors - but we have worked through more than a day of labor for this mom. I had a birth recently where her mom had had 3 c/sections and her sister 2. So this mom was concerned that her outcome would run in the same direction as her family - but she tried to prepare well, added a doula to her team, and had a great doctor. Her birth actually went very quickly - pushed only 20 minutes - no problem.
A few years ago I had a family who e-mailed me on her due date that she had agreed to an induction in 2 days. Out of a need to have information - not a criticism of her choice, I wrote back to ask "is there a medical reason for the induction?" This sparked a discussion between the couple - and they opted to decline the induction. Labor came on it's own, we had an unmedicated waterbirth. Only after this did I find out that this mom's family history was a series of inductions - for her mom and sister. So she just assumed that was her lot in childbirth.
So gaining birth stories from families can be interesting to a mom facing labor - but try not to base what your path will be on the history of your family - unless they had wonderful short births - then go with that vision!
My mom had extremely long labors and so did I for the most part. Was it genetics or just circumstances? I used to think this was genetics - but I don't know that I agree with that anymore.
After attending almost 700 births, I have not seen genetics to play as high a role in the outcome of a birth as I had thought it would.
I have worked with moms who told me their mothers had very short, easy labors - but we have worked through more than a day of labor for this mom. I had a birth recently where her mom had had 3 c/sections and her sister 2. So this mom was concerned that her outcome would run in the same direction as her family - but she tried to prepare well, added a doula to her team, and had a great doctor. Her birth actually went very quickly - pushed only 20 minutes - no problem.
A few years ago I had a family who e-mailed me on her due date that she had agreed to an induction in 2 days. Out of a need to have information - not a criticism of her choice, I wrote back to ask "is there a medical reason for the induction?" This sparked a discussion between the couple - and they opted to decline the induction. Labor came on it's own, we had an unmedicated waterbirth. Only after this did I find out that this mom's family history was a series of inductions - for her mom and sister. So she just assumed that was her lot in childbirth.
So gaining birth stories from families can be interesting to a mom facing labor - but try not to base what your path will be on the history of your family - unless they had wonderful short births - then go with that vision!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
