Birth Plan Workshop

For those wanting additional in-depth and personalized guidance through the process of creating a birth plan for hospital birth, Jun Nicole Matsushita of Bamboo Birth will be offering a Birth Plan Workshop at Heartland Yoga on Saturday, March 5 from 11:00-1:00.

To register: call Jun-Nicole at 319-430-6736 or email her at junnicole88@gmail.com
Cost: $25 for Mindful Birthing students
Please bring a draft of your birth plan!

Embodiment

We have begun our fourth group serving the Iowa City area's expectant parents and it was an inspirational class. I so appreciate the lively discussion during the class as well as during the breaks and afterwards. When I went home this week I was reading an excerpt from Gayle Peterson, Ph.D.'s book "Birthing Normally" and found that it had a strong link to our mindfulness practices so I thought I'd share it.

"Unhappy, dissatisfied mind states are reflected in body posture and movement. Our feelings can be read in our movements, as we physically relate to the world in context of our perception of ourselves in relation to others. the importance of getting familiar with our bodies and of making such information accessible to ourselves is reflected in the body experience of birthing. The more a woman can cooperate with her body to push her baby out, the smoother the journey through the vagina becomes. Being aware of tension, being able to relax and to let go of tension in a particular part of the body, becomes the process of yielding and working actively with the physical labor of birth."

Tips for Safe Babywearing

You may have heard some warnings in the news lately about the dangers of baby slings. What you may not be hearing is that there's one brand of sling in particular that causes problems: the bag-style sling. When wearing a baby in a sling, it's important to be aware of how to position the baby safely. The sling you use should mimic the way you would normally hold your baby in your arms.

For individualized help with babywearing, I encourage everyone to attend the Iowa City Babywearers group. They meet the first Saturday of the month at FairGrounds Coffeehouse. Here are a few other good resources:

These drawings are courtesy of Sleeping Baby:

Yes


No



And here's a nice video on how to properly position a baby in a ring sling:

Postpartum Meal Planning Tool

MealBaby is the online tool for setting up a meal registry for parents postpartum. You can set it up for yourself or have a friend set it up for you. This would make an excellent baby shower gift.
Check it out!

Interesting Article from the New York Times

A small, underfunded hospital, run by the Navajo Nation, with about 500 births per year, is out performing richer institutions in keeping Cesarean rates down. Larger more well funded institutions are taking notice. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/health/07birth.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th

The Natural Cycles of Labor

Here is a fantastic article by Michel Odent, phenomenally mindful French obstetrician and world renowned childbirth expert, explaining the body wisdom and physiology involved in, as well as the environments that optimally support the natural progression of labor. It is an informative, easy to understand and fascinating read and is a great refresher to Monica's wonderful presentation of the stages of labor. You may find this very useful in helping you to clarify your preferences for your birth plans, whether you are planning a hospital or home birth.

Please click, or copy and paste this link to view or download the pdf file. http://embedit.in/tyauRLuUi7

Enjoy! And happy birth planning!

Inspirational Birth Photos

Labor & giving birth is an adventure which may challenge us to the core of our being; a right of passage that invites us to realize that we are so much more, so much stronger, far more capable than we ever imagined. While none of us can expect that this journey will end up looking exactly as we've planned, it's important to align the anticipation and imaginings of our labors with images that inspire us. I wanted to forward a link to a website with images that have brought a lot of inspiration to many, myself included.

One of the co-teachers of my prenatal yoga teacher training was another amazing childbirth educator, doula/birthing advocate, like our phenomenal Monica, named Anna Verwaal. She was featured briefly in the film, The Business of Being Born. In her sojourn through doula-hood, after witnessing too many Dads/partners stressfully juggling the role of birth photographer while simultaneously attempting to stay intimately involved with their birthing counterparts, Anna found herself putting on the birth photographer hat. We had the good fortune in our training of Anna using her enormous, awe inspiring volume of photographs, collected over many years in many different birth places and situations, as she guided us through the childbirth education portion of our training. I do hope she puts a book together someday. Her photographs, taken in all birth settings from hospital non-emergency, hospital emergency, cesarean, and home birth environments, have an incredible story to tell. The images posted on her website, however, present birth in the home setting. There are a few graphic images, in the same nature as the film Monica presented, Birthing in the Squatting Position, but the majority of the photos capture the essence of each couple/family as they work together supporting Mom in the delivery of their new baby. I love returning to her site from time to time to sit with these images, the spirit of peace & joy they generate. Regardless of whether you are planning a home or hospital birth, you may enjoy viewing these photographs, too.

Check it out! www.fromwombtoworld.com Click the "Photography" link at the bottom of her homepage. Her story in the link "About Anna" is interesting, too. Actually, each of her other links feature more of her birth photography. Two of my favorites, highlighting Dad's experience, can be found in the links "Services" and "Contact".