Vivian...11 months today. In any given day, I think of you too many times to count. I wonder what you would be doing, what your giggles would sound like, and the endless ways in which your brothers would torment and tease you. Today I ordered more pictures to begin putting together your scrapbook. I wanted more. I longed for more visuals of us celebrating you, of us capturing doing life with you. There wasn't even a single picture of me with my full on baby belly. Oh I was cute, too. There wasn't a picture of Mom & I spending the day in St. Louis shopping for all things Vivian. The day was filled with such joy and love! Anticipating, preparing, dreaming and planning for your arrival. The two of us with our love for fabric oodled over the most beautiful dresses we'd ever seen in a baby boutique. To be immersed in a day of all things girly and feminine seemed a right of passage...soon to be three generations doing life together...Mother, Daughter and Granddaughter. What a gift. We should've taken more pictures. Some details of memories are already fading. I stop to remind myself that no amount of pictures would ever truly capture or depict the love and joy of you. A deep soul love that was created before you were ever visible to us.

It's been a while

With one semester of nursing school to go, I'm focusing on family and ending strong. This blog fuels a passion that can be a time hog and there's no 'extra' time to give these days. Signing off for... a while.

Don't be too trusting...

This is a great video clip breaking down why cesareans are so high in the US. It's to the point, concise and hopefully will empower one person to empower another...

OBGYN vs. Midwife

Thought this was worthy of sharing...Keep in mind Nurse Midwives care for low risk moms-to-be.

MORE Business of Being Born! Yahooo!!!

Are you a woman reading this or know a woman? Check out the link below to support a sure-to-be another empowering documentary for Moms-to-be. If you're not already aware I'm a HUGE fan of the documentary 'The Business of Being Born' by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein. Simply put... these are women, many who are Moms, with a passion for educating women on current birthing trends (of which many, aren't necessarily for your benefit). Since this second film is funded by them, consider clicking on the link to learn more about the film and to show your support by donating as little as $5. Know you're contributing to empowering another future Mom-to-be...


http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/211982196/more-business-of-being-born-ricki-lake-and-abby-ep

Eating during labor

As one of my writing assignments, I researched the history of NPO (nothing by mouth) after midnight before heading into surgery. To give you a brief over view...It started in the 1940's when an obstetrician (Curtis Mendelson) took note of a couple deaths (out of 44,016 cases) related to aspiration during labor and delivery while under general anesthesia. These deaths were related to food and liquid intake, so he recommended fasting during labor for everyone (Crenshaw & Winslow, 2008, p.963).

Fast forward 60 years... Few laboring women under go general anesthesia for C-sections and of those who rarely do, they are at a greater risk of death associated with intubation difficulty rather then aspiration (Sharts-Hopko, 2010, p.198). Not to mention the quality of anesthesia has greatly improved along with the expertise in administration. Soooooo... based on research, eating popsicles and ice chips is no longer an acceptable practice. If your doctor says this is what you should follow, challenge it AND bring your own bag of snacks to the hospital to eat as you feel up to it.

There have been numerous studies on oral intake during labor and the conclusion is that "no adverse maternal or infant outcomes were associated with food ingestion" (Sharts-Hopko, p.202). In fact, numerous studies revealed that those who drank water up to two hours prior to surgery exhibited lower gastric volumes than those who followed a nothing by mouth diet (miller, 2009, p. 16). More stomach acid equals a greater risk for nausea/vomiting. Fluids taken two hours pre-operatively actually stimulated peristalsis (digestion) and emptying (Crenshaw & Winslow, p.967).

Here's a link to the benefits and suggestions of light foods to eat during labor:
http://www.suite101.com/content/eating-during-labor--a4982


References
Crenshaw, J. & Winslow, E. (2008). Preoperative fasting duration and medical instruction: Are we improving? AORN Journal, 88(6), 963-976.

Sharts-Hopko, N. (2010). Oral intake during labor: A review of the evidence. American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing, 35(4), 197-203.

Upright = shorter, less painful recovery...

An excerpt from The Birth Book by William and Martha Sears:

"Being upright for birth not only gives baby an easier angle for delivery, but it also widens the passage. When you're up and out of bed your pelvic joints, loosened by the hormones of pregnancy, are free to move and accommodate the little passenger with the large head and broad shoulders. While sitting or lying down, these bones aren't as free to move and your pelvic outlet narrows. In addition, vertical birthing allows more natural stretching of the birth canal tissues and is kinder to the perineum, making episiotomy unnecessary and tears less likely (p. 186)."

Five reasons NOT to birth on your back:
- It can hurt mother's back
- It can harm baby by reducing blood flow/oxygen
- Labor slows and becomes less efficient
- Episiotomy or tears are more likely
- You're working against gravity