The Omamas beat us to it and a fine job they've done. They've crafted an online comparison of all the local Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA hospitals and listed their stats (yes, Cesarean rates) as well as amenities, plus offering a virtual tour.
Fabulous tool for expectant families to make decisions. And it answers all of their little questions about what labor aids are available,parking, DVD players, etc. too!'
As doulas, we have long observed that postpartum transitions not only affect the mother but the partner as well. The strong urge to provide for a new family and the changing roles in relationship and routine (including sleep) definitely are valid to recognize in father's and partners transition into parenthood as well as the mother's. This article from the NY Times will be very validating for many families: Postpartum Deppression Strikes Fathers' too
What are good tips for helping father's who may suffer from depression after childbirth?
1. Acknowledging it as a possibility and validating the partner's experience. (Yes, mama you are the one getting up and feeding the baby but you also get the benefit of the oxytocin which partners do not.
2. Get help: make an appointment for him to see has regular doctor, naturopath or a counselor. Since many men don't feel comfortable talking about this aspect of their experience into fatherhood, find someone who is understands postpartum depression and is willing to connect. Consider side-stepping the head on discussion with life-force supporting measures like acupuncture, homeopathy, flower essenses or supplements like St. John's Wort (see your professional care provider for guidance) or the Omega's (flax and fish oils)
3. Establish couple time on a regular basis (date night) and alone time (ex. an hour after work each night). For all couples this is helpful, but especially helpful for fathers who feel that the unpredictability of parenting has them in a tailspin.
4. Support his efforts with the P's: Praise, i'm Proud of you and thank you for Providing for our family. Father's need to know how that their efforts are central to contributing to the process of the families success.
5. Make sure he maintains his own ties to his regular support (friends, exercise, family) as best as possible.
Journey to Parenthood: Your Guide through Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond
This online book at Childbirth Connection provides a Childbirth Education quality information for those who need a refresher, are unable to attend a childbirth class or need additional resources.
Enjoy this overview of a woman's birth journey.
Join YourBabyYourWay.com at an Open House and Community Baby Shower
September
13 ♦ 1-4 pm ♦ Southwest Washington Medical
Center
Join us for prizes, gifts, and even mini-classes on breastfeeding, siblings and
more. Meet Southwest healthcare providers, other local moms and moms-to-be, and
support Babies in Need. Find out more
>
Adapted from handout by Penny Simkin
To get enough sleep, you must take your need for sleep seriously, which many parents fail to do. They wind up sleep deprived and after several days or a week, fall apart. Baby care and everyday tasks become much more difficult than they should be. The following approach will help you get as much (or almost as much) sleep as you need. (It does not work as well if you have other children, unless you have help with them.)
• Calculate how many hours of sleep you used to need regularly before pregnancy in order to function well. Six hours? Eight hours? That is the amount of sleep you now owe yourself everyday
• Since you cannot get this amount of sleep in one stretch because of interruptions for feedings and baby care, you will require more hours in bed to get your allotted amount of sleep.
• Plan to stay in bed or keep going back to bed until you have slept your allotted number of hours. This means that with the exception of meals and trips to the bathroom, you do not get up. You do not brush your teeth, shower of dress in the early morning. Make a mental note of approximately how many hours you have slept since you went to bed. You may have to stay in bed from 10PM until noon the next day to get eight hours of sleep! If that’s what it takes, do it. Then brush your teeth, take a shower, dress, and greet the day.
• Many parents find it easier to follow this regime if their baby sleeps with them or nearby.
• As your baby grows and begins to sleep for longer stretches, it will take you less time to get enough sleep.
Take your need for sleep seriously in order to prevent sleep deprivation. Sweet Dreams.
The journey into motherhood is only beginning the moment the baby is born. Next comes the real discoveries of creating a relationship with this new little person as well as the daunting tasks of 24 hour care, feeding, diapering, and integrating into the new life as parents. For most parents the joyful transition of welcoming baby tests every element of their life including a huge change for the mother’s body as she prepares to nourish the baby and release the hormones of pregnancy.
The good news is that Mother Nature has prepared the way to support this journey. Just as mom didn’t need to get up each day and consciously say “today we build the lungs of this baby” and set to work and instead learned to rely on her body’s inner wisdom, this wisdom comes prepared to follow through when the baby is born to provide support well into the postpartum period.
New research has shed light on the incredible intricacies of Mother Nature’s design at the moment of birth. As the baby reaches the breast and latches on, activating the miraculous customized milk supply made just for this baby, in this moment mom feels the rush of the peak experience of birth as oxytocin spreads through her system that will protect her and baby from numerous postpartum concerns including hemorrhage, depression, lack of bonding and disease, as well as providing the baby a lifetime supply of health benefits.
In addition to breastfeeding, stem cell research has many families now considering the value of the baby’s cord blood by either delaying clamping (so that baby can fully receive it’s cord blood at birth), banking or donating their baby’s cord blood.
And now new light has been shed on the powers of the placenta itself and it’s post-pregnancy healing properties that can protect a mother’s transition into postpartum. Just as the placenta has nourished a perfectly unique baby via it’s protective role, the mother herself can be nourished by her own placenta to help her recover from the dramatic hormonal shift in postpartum.
A carefully prepared placenta can be turned into pills that the mother can then consume as a supplement from early postpartum until menopause.
Placenta medicine pills may help to:
• Increase general energy
• Allow a quicker return to health after birth
• Increase production of breast milk
• Decrease likelihood of baby blues and post natal depression
• Decrease likelihood of iron deficiency
• Decrease likelihood of insomnia or sleep disorders
• Assist through menopausal hormonal changes.
(Provided by Placenta Benefits: www.placentabenefits.info)
What may have been viewed as a survival technique of other mammals, or reserved for indigenous cultures or the more hippy-esque of our culture, is now rapidly gaining acceptability amongst the conscious perhaps eco/sustainability-minded new parent.
“Mother Nature is the ultimate sustainable and efficient provider. She knows exactly how to provide the perfect nourishment for both mother and baby and the placenta holds many of the properties to ensure that,” said Raeben Nolan, a placenta encapsulation specialist and birth doula with Mother Tree, also known as the “placenta lady” in Portland, OR.
Nolan will prepare the placenta, dry it and turn it into a powder then encapsulate it for later consumption by the mother for a small fee. She also includes placenta art, the baby's cord dried in heart-shape, and a tincture.
“It is well known in oriental medicine and homeopathy that relies much on the energy and healing properties of all sorts of materials including plants, animals and minerals. There is nothing more suited to the mother and her baby than the specific placenta energy that she herself has made,” commented Nolan.
Some research in homeopathy shows it can be turned into the constitutional remedy for the child as well that then becomes their own natural “reset” button for boosting their body's natural healing abilities, Nolan added.
Nolan has served several dozen clients in the Portland area and has seen an upswing in requests from home birth, birth center and hospital birth clients.
In order to preserve the placenta, it must be fresh, and refrigerated soon after birth or frozen. Ideally , it is best to start preparing the placenta the same day as the birth so some prior planning is important says Nolan.
For more details feel free to contact Raeben Nolan at raeben@mothertreebirth.com or 503-380-2408.
With your little acorn on the way finding a supportive community of
trusted resources is very important. So is finding savings to help
your resources go as far as they can. We have worked closely with over
thirty family-owned businesses and organizations that our
mama-community highly recommends and bring to you this year's 2009
Birth Buck's Book.
Save on the services you need including baby clothing, slings, diapers, acupuncture, chiropractic support, doula services, childbirth classes, toys, baby massage classes, breastfeeding support, midwifery services, home grocery delivery, green cleaning services, prenatal yoga, naturopathic pediatric care, pediatric dentistry, pure-water, counseling services, mothering subscriptions, meals-to-go, infant massage, doula training and much more!
Get one FREE until May 31st: info@mothertreebirth.com with SEND ME A FREE BBB in the subject line.
Please include your name, mailling address, e-mail and phone. (Feel free to forward to a friend!)
COMMUNITY COUPON SNEAK PEAK
This month's Community Coupons are: Eco-Baby Gear. Print this coupon and use today!
