We are very excited to share that we have hired a doula! Some of you may know of my plan of having a natural childbirth-- meaning no medical intervention unless absolutely necessary for the health and safety of the baby. I've gotten a mix of reaction from different people-- some supportive and some not quite so! My mom thinks I should have been born in the 50's when no medication was available to women! Anyway, I am happy to say that my dear husband is very supportive of my decision to hire a doula and my plan for a non-medicated birth. Whew! It would have been really tough if he and I were on different sides!
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| 25 weeks, 2 days |
I'll call our doula DH. She really fit into our personality style and was very knowledgeable on natural birthing. She also had knowledge about the hospital I'm giving birth in and my OBs and gave us some really good information of what we should expect (unfortunately my hospital is not very natural childbirth friendly so it may be a bit of a struggle). This knowledge was a big plus for me. I even spoke with two of her references who gave her and her partner outstanding references. I feel like I made a good decision in hiring DH. I'm really looking forward to having her at the birth so she can help me manage my pain (oh, those contractions!!) and help me achieve the birth I want. Will keep you updated on this as we get closer to the birth. Until then I'm including the latest picture of my blossoming, er, blossomed belly!
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1 comments:
What a great blog! You've done a fantastic job. And, yes, the little baby icon showing how many 'days to go' is awesome.
So glad you hired a doula! It was the best money we ever spent. It really did make all the difference for us - she was compassionate and competent, she was my advocate and my assistant, she (and her comfort techniques) really helped me get through labor. Interestingly, she never 'got in the way' of my husband (his initial fear was that he would have 'nothing' to do with paid labor support usurping his role); it was just the opposite. Because she was so well trained (she knew exactly what to do for back labor, for example, or how to help me change positions during pushing) that that freed him up to hold my hand, stroke my hair, whisper in my ear, verbally and physically encourage and hold me - really, it was a hugely bonding experience between my husband and I, and, I believe, the single most important shared experience that cements us together as a couple today.
And yay for being open to birthing naturally! While interventions do have their role in certain situations (and by 'interventions' I mean everything from inserting an IV line, all the way up to abdominal birth), the majority of women can, and (when allowed to labor freely, in an environment where they feel safe and secure) do give birth naturally. And I'm not just saying that because all four of my babies entered this world drug-free, wide-eyed and bushy-tailed - for 10 years I worked at Pennsylvania's only Mother Friendly, free-standing Birth Center. Day after day, teenage girls, women in their forties, and everyone in between birthed their children on their own terms - standing, kneeling, squatting, side-lying, in the tub, on the rocking chair, in an inflatable pool - listening to Meditation CDs or whale song or the Rolling Stones (I think my last birth went along to the soundtrack of Van Morrison's current album at the time). When you are birthing naturally you feel everything - and, as others will quickly point out, that does include feeling the contractions - but you feel everything else - not only how and when to push, when to get up, when to walk around, when to bear down, when to breathe and relax - but you feel all the empowerment, all the ecstasy, all the joy.
I've seen many births - natural, minimally medicated, anesthetized, and surgical - and, for all these moms and dads, finally seeing and holding their baby was life-changing. But, for those couples who chose the (currently counter-cultural, but quite long-standing) course of natural labor, they hit the roof emotionally when their babies are born; they turn to each other and say - not the doctor did it, or the nurse, or even the doula - but they say, 'WE did it.' And they can't believe how strong they are, both individually and as a couple. And they start crying. And laughing. And kissing. And one couple even started French kissing, and we had to jokingly ask it they wanted us to leave the room.
But starting out on that high is irreplaceable going into (the very trying days of) early parenting; you think, 'Hey, if I could do THAT, maybe I can handle this baby/nursing/no sleep/diaper thing, too.' And I think the official 'studies' that report on 'efficacy' and 'drug safety' and 'maternal and fetal outcome' fail to take this into account, take this huge surge in self-confidence, in empowerment, in sheer joy into account. But this is important. And while not everyone can or has achieved it in their life time, it is, in my opinion, still worth trying for.
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