by Eva Martin, MD When I speak to women in their first pregnancies, they usually have no idea what cervical dilation is. But, ask any mom who has gone through labor, and she can tell you it’s very important. The cervix is the doorway from the womb (uterus) to the birth canal. When a woman
I was thirty nine weeks and four days pregnant when I woke up at 11pm with regular enough contractions to start timing them. A half hour later I woke up my husband, Ravi, and said, “Um…soooo…I think I’m in labor.” I felt bad waking him since I knew he had only gone to bed a
Doulas are trained to provide emotional, physical and educational support for mothers during all parts of birth, and are considered by many to be indispensable to women wanting to have a positive birth experience. So consequently this is one of the most important decisions that an expecting family can make while planning for the birth
In the age of the “career woman,” more and more prospective mothers are choosing to delay conception for a variety of socioeconomic reasons. In spite of this widespread social and economic trend, pregnancy biologically favors the young. It is universally understood that egg quality and number decline and the uterine environment grows increasingly hostile with
Really hard! It silences survivors… very easily! It can affect generations. Many women (and men) live alone in their trauma. It can cause damage to the absolute core of a person… especially if done by someone who is suppose to love them, like a family member or a friend. Sexual abuse can cause physical damage,
I remember years ago—long before our daughter was even a thought in our mind—Crys mentioning she wanted, someday, to do a water birth (which, from all the things I had seen on Baby Story and all those TLC and Discovery shows, also meant birthing at home). My initial thought, back then, was one of, “Damn
by Elon Bartlett, D.C. As a prenatal chiropractor, my professional, and personal, experiences validate my belief that our bodies know how to birth babies, and that fewer interventions lead to safer births. I was born at home in San Francisco in 1970. My mother had had a previous birth in a hospital and let’s just
Last year, while supporting a first time mother and her partner through a particularly intense (aren’t they all really?) and precipitous labor, I had a very illuminating experience as her doula. Upon our arrival at the hospital, my client was clearly in active labor and after routine monitoring, baby was doing fine. When the nurse
Friday night. Long week. DVR’d re-runs of the latest show you’re obsessed with play on the TV. Princess Preggers is snuggled into your arms, reminding you every few seconds to keep rubbing her belly because it’s good for the baby and good for her and…wait? Did that commercial just say I could save hundreds of
There are many modern names for a doula, (pronounced ‘doo-la’,) including labor coach, birth assistant, and birth attendant. The roots of the word itself stems from a Greek word meaning “woman servant or caregiver.” Doulas are trained to provide emotional, physical and educational support for the mother during all parts of the birth, and are considered by many to