The cesarean rate in our country (and many others) is undoubtedly too high. Normalizing birth, talking about women’s choices, sharing stories and educating ourselves will help reduce the amount of surgical births. With that said, there are times when a cesarean section is necessary to save the mother and/or baby’s life. This is when obstetrics is a blessing. When a…
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Amazing Womanhood: A BWF Mama Birth Announcement
“I feel so fortunate to be part of this amazing womanhood. At 37 weeks pregnant something clicked in my head and I knew I would be going natural. I did so much research and really educated myself about everything. It felt amazing to learn so many things that I never knew when having my first child. I thought that having…
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Trusting Birth and Trusting Ourselves as Birthing Women
When it comes to birthing in our country, there are many different opinions on what is safest for mom and baby. What it comes down to is, there is not one blanket right answer. Yes, most of the time, the more unhindered the birth, the safer it is. However, every mom, pregnancy and baby are different. Each woman needs to…
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Face Presentation Vaginal Birth
Babies really can come out different ways. My last baby was birthed facing my left thigh. Yes, I birthed him sideways, shoulders and all. A friend of mine recently gave birth to her sweet baby girl. Not only did she have a successful VBAC in the hospital, but her daughter was birthed with a face presentation (yes, her face was…
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Breech Does NOT Equal C-Section
I have written before how a breech baby is another variation of normal. Having a breech presentation does not mean you automatically need to schedule a c-section. Remember, our babies are wise and know just how they need to be for birth. Most of the time, babies will turn, even late in pregnancy and labor!!! You can read my other…
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This is for Zelda…
I recently read Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent, CNM. It is an inspiring book that took me on a 40 year journey of obstetrics, nursing and midwifery. It is an emotional ride with slow buildups, screaming with excitement drops, unexpected turns and even solemn moments. The first chapter grabbed me by my heart and reached into my soul before I…
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Two Amazing Hospital VBAC’s!!!
This mama had 2 VBAC’s in the hospital with midwives. She shares both here. Enjoy! These are my birth stories for my 2 VBAC’s, I have three sons and my first was an ‘elective’ caeser due to him being breech. It left me with feelings of failure, which lead to breastfeeding failure and mild PPD. I then researched, researched, researched…
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16 and Pregnant; Who is the Biggest Idiot?
I’m going to answer that for you. We don’t usually watch a lot of T.V., but the other night I decided to veg out. I was flipping channels and came across the MTV show, 16 and Pregnant. Now, I personally have no issue with the show or teenage girls and their journeys. I will tell you what I do have…
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One Mama, Two Births {Growing From One Birth at a Time}
I waited excitedly for 9 months to share my birth story because I knew that it would prove to people how great home birth really is and that is exactly what it did. When I was pregnant, what I hated the VERY most was reading stories of women who went natural and how “painful” it was because I didn’t want…