Sharon Said, Founder of the Cincinnati Family Enrichment Center, former doula and hypnobirthing instructor now has a hypnosis CD, A Birthday Celebration, available on Amazon! Check out this positive and calming CD from a Cincinnati local! Listen Here!
Your purchases through these links help fund the operation costs of this site. Thank you.
www.happiestbaby.com - Learn how to turn on your baby’s Calming Reflex, the off-switch for crying that all babies are born with!
http://hypnobabies.com - “Our website is dedicated to those seeking answers for empowered, easier and much more comfortable as well as *safe* childbirth options.” – Hypnobabies
Birthing in the water, a global tradition, is considered be the gentlest of gentle births. More and more women are discovering how wonderful a pool of warm water can be during labor and birth. The many advantages of water include comfort, pain relief, fetal buoyancy and freedom of movement. Water helps the woman surrender to the birth process and creates a feeling of tranquility to the whole birth experience.
www.waterbirth.org
www.waterbirth.net
When attending your childbirth class and cesareans were being discussed did you sit there thinking, “the woman next to me, maybe, but it’s not going to happen to me!”? Did you skip the section on Cesareans in your birth book and then wind up with surgery? Are you looking for more information on VBAC? Has your doctor recommended a cesarean? ICAN is an excellent resource whether you’re pregnant for the first time and motivated to give birth vaginally, or whether you’re a refresher mom interested in a VBAC.
Resources
“Why don’t you hire a baby-sitter?” is a frequent question from a breastfeeding mother’s friends and colleagues who want to see more of her. “Can’t we go out together just for one evening? It’s healthy for you to have an occasional break from your baby.” But breastfeeding mothers don’t always want breaks. They are building relationships with their babies, and separation can interfere with that. They often welcome practical help and support rather than separation.
La Leche League – lalecheleague.org
Breastfeeding Cafe – breastfeedingcafe.com
More Than Food – harriethartigan.com
In most cultures throughout history, women have given birth at home. The majority of women worldwide continue to birth their babies in non-hospital settings today. In many cultures birth is viewed as an integral part of family life. Today in the United States advances in science and technology account for many positive changes in our quality of life, yet more and more women from all walks of life are choosing to give birth the old-fashioned way — in their own homes. Though each couple may have individual reasons, most plan homebirths because they believe that most of the time pregnancy and childbirth are normal functions of a healthy body — not a potential life-and-death crisis that requires the supervision of a surgeon. It takes a high degree of commitment and responsibility to go against the majority who believe hospital births are better. Studies done comparing hospital and out-of-hospital births indicate fewer deaths, injuries and infections for homebirths supervised by a trained attendant than for hospital births. No such studies indicate that hospitals have better outcomes than homebirths. If the following Myths intrigue you, perhaps you’d like to investigate homebirth for yourself.
Homebirth Myths:
Myth #1 — Hospital births are statistically safer than homebirths.
Myth #2 — You can get more professional attention in a hospital than you could get at home.
Myth #3 — The more modern technology you have on hand, the easier and safer the birth will be.
Myth #4 — A hospital is a more sanitary place to have a baby than at home.
Myth #5 — A hospital is the most comfortable place to have a baby.
Resources for your consideration and encouragement:
www.mybestbirth.com/video/spanish-mattress-commercial?xg_source=activity
http://naturalpapa.com
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/homebirthchoice.asp#Why
Pregnancy is a natural time of creativity. The body is busy creating life – the most magical and mysterious creation of all. But it is easy to get caught up in all the choice making and researching of birthing options, education classes, and nursery supplies shopping, and before you know it your pregnancy is almost over and you realize you’ve taken little or no time to just focus inwardly on the miracle of your body and upcoming birth.
Moms-to-be are beautiful and should nourish their minds bodies and babies with lots of pampering, indulgences and unique experiences, such as birth art. Whether it’s journaling, belly casting, painting, or working with clay, it is as raw, honest and spontaneous as birth itself. Expressing your feelings about your pregnancy and upcoming labor and birth can be surprisingly revealing, fear-releasing, and sometimes even healing. An active, gentle exploration process through a variety of art mediums not only brings overlooked resources and strengths to your conscious awareness, but identifies fears and inhibitions that might prevent you from utilizing them.
Your art, like your labor, doesn’t have to be perfect. Gift yourself the opportunity to slow down and get in touch with your creative energy; you might just surprise yourself!
Giving birth is a key life passage for women. But modern culture has become preoccupied with the arrival of the baby-to-be and has lost touch with birth’s profound impact on the expectant mother. The Blessingway is a mother-centered ceremony that honors a woman as she prepares to transition through pregnancy and birth into motherhood. Presently, our society marks this transition time by having a baby shower. The addition of the Blessingway can “round out” the experience; instead of the focus being solely on the baby, it is on the role of the family, particularly, the mother.
The Blessingway encircles the mother-to-be with love and support from the most important women in her life and is a custom-designed ceremony with a variety of joyful and sacred rituals that honor and pamper the mother-to-be, instilling a sense of power and confidence, encouraging the mother to prepare mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for the work of birthing, opening her to her instinctive abilities.
The following are some elements to consider as you design your ceremony.
**If you are interested in having a Blessingway, the Cincinnati Family Enrichment Center in Northside provides a warm and inviting location, along with a Ceremony Planner to help make you our your Blessingway a memorable, sacred event, unique to you!
InEurope, midwives assist at more than 70% of normal vaginal births. Though midwives assisted at only 8% of American babies in 2006, that percentage has been slowly increasing. But most Americans aren’t sure what midwives do, how they’re trained, or if they’re even available.
The word “midwife” comes from Old English and means “with woman.” Midwives have helped women give birth to their babies since the beginning of time. A midwife’s education stresses that pregnancy and birth are normal, healthy events until proven otherwise. Midwives view their role as supporting the pregnant woman while letting nature takes its course. Midwives also focus on the psychological aspects of how the mother-to-be feels about her pregnancy and the actual birth experience. They encourage women to trust their own instincts and seek the information they need to make their own valuable decisions about pregnancy, birth, and parenthood. Physicians, in spite of their advanced training and surgical specialties, have never been proven to be better childbirth attendants than midwives.
In testimony before the U.S. Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality, Marsden Wagner MD, (former) Director of the World Health Organization, suggested the need in theU.S.for a “strong independent midwifery profession as a counterbalance to the obstetrical profession in preventing excessive interventions in the normal birth process.” Wagner stated that inEuropemidwives far outnumber physicians: “In no European country do obstetricians provide the primary health care for most women with normal pregnancy and birth.” He pointed out that theU.S.has the highest obstetrical intervention rates as well as a serious problem with malpractice suits and concludes that a strong, independent midwifery service in theU.S.would be a most important counterbalance to the present situation. Understanding the potential danger in the overuse of childbirth technology, the World Health Organization has repeatedly implored theU.S.medical authorities to return to a midwife-based system of maternity care as one way to help reduce our scandalously high mortality rates.
Wondering if a midwife is right for you? Here are some resources for your consideration:
http://www.planetc1.com/cgi-bin/n/v.cgi?c=1&id=1152244116
The transition to parenthood is a life-altering event. One day you’re “just” a woman or man, and then literally overnight you take on a completely new identity as you become a mother or father. We enter this uncharted territory with a concept of what parenting means based on our own childhood, perceived expectations from others, and the media. Throughout the pregnancy we imagine the type of mother or father we’ll be, maybe idealizing ourselves a bit. We swear that we won’t make the mistakes we see others making.
While becoming a parent is instantaneous, it is really an ever-evolving process. New moms and dads are tested to their limits and beyond. Sometimes they get it right and are overjoyed – and sometimes, well….. we all have our moments! Parenting is like riding a roller coaster. One day you’re on the top of the hill feeling confident and happy, the next day you’re flying down the hill feeling out of control and at a loss of how to cope! You may even secretly be thinking, “Let me off this ride!”. Parenting can be lonely and isolating so we’ve shared some resources for you that will encourage you to explore and acknowledge your feelings, as well as find companionship and support along the way.
Pregnancy and new parenthood are challenging enough, but when you’re also experiencing a special circumstance, such as a multiple pregnancy, single parenting, or a health issue, it can be overwhelming at times. Here we’re creating a list of resources that we hope others will add to so that our local families who are experiencing a challenging situation can find information and support.
Please share any resources you’ve found helpful.
Additional Research Sites