By: Lisa Richards, CNM

What did I learn from the experience?

My son’s birth was such an incredible, healing experience and connected me with my body and with the process of childbirth in a way I couldn’t have even imagined. His labor was long and slow in the beginning but I was in my own space and able to hang out all day until labor turned a corner and really kicked in. I was able to really go into my body and follow my labor, doing exactly what I needed to do to be able to birth my son. I pushed in every imaginable position- in and out of the water- and felt the physical and emotional intensity of pushing. I learned that my husband and friends and midwives could be with me during labor, giving me love and support, but ultimately I was the only person who could deliver my baby and had to make the journey by myself. I learned that I had the strength to do that.

What it did for my baby?

My son was born into water and I was able to pick him up and put him on my chest right away. He was born incredibly alert and spent his first minutes while on Earth quietly in my arms looking around and meeting the rest of our family. He never left me, even while being assessed, and our new family was tucked into our own bed, nursing skin-to-skin, just hours after his birth. His breastfeeding experience was easier and he was so much calmer and more alert than my daughter was, continuing through his first couple of weeks of life.

How has it changed me as a person? My family? My perspective?

After a month of being in our home, little Miss Jayden, was struggling desperately. She was on an apnea monitor, oxygen, and her blood sugar readings were unstable, ranging anywhere from 38 to 468. Each time she ate it was a battle with her gagging and arching her back, never cradling in my arms to accept the nourishment. I remember laying her in her bassinette once as I tried to eat dinner and within 2 minutes, the apnea monitor screamed, she had stopped breathing.

Desperate for a solution and with nothing to lose, I decided I wanted to try giving her donated breast milk. I had been quite an advocate for breast milk during my parenting days, but had succumbed to formula feeding for each of my 45 foster care placements. I called a friend and asked for some of the breast milk stored in her freezer and I began slowly giving Jayden drops of the donated breast milk. For this feeding, she snuggled into my arms, relaxed, absorbing the needed nourishment. That day, I looked down to my chest, and there were beautiful brown eyes fixating on my face. I moved my head and Jayden’s eyes followed. She could see! Two days later, our little dog barked (an activity that happened several times a day) and Jayden jumped. She could hear!

Continuing on donated breast milk Miss Jayden’s skin changed to gorgeous, glowing ebony. She no longer needed to be put on oxygen or an apnea monitor, and her blood sugar stabilized, but she still wasn’t gaining much weight. At 4 months old she weighed 5.3 ounces, and still could not tolerate any formula due to her allergy to corn syrup. She was healthy and happy, just was extremely tiny. It was discovered, after 9 months of life, that she had been born with no pancreas!

Miss Jayden grew healthier and was adopted by a happy family. Breast milk is what saved my little girls’ life and is what keeps her healthy, strong and beautiful! Miss Jayden just turned 3 years old last week. She has had breast milk from nearly 250 donors! There is no way I can thank these “pumpin’ mama’s” enough for giving my little Jayden a chance to live.

-Judy Wright- Mother of Four,
Foster mother to more than 50 children.

Please visit:  mamajudy.posterous.com

We believe that the optimal start to breastfeeding comes through natural birth and a peaceful and undisturbed time following the birth, with lots of time with baby and mom skin-to-skin (bare chests touching).

While many women successfully breastfeed without difficulty, we also know that new moms and babies, or moms with new babies, take time to learn how to best breastfeed. Midwives and Lactation Consultants and Counselors offer continual support through this process, including visits devoted entirely to breastfeeding should the need arise and 24-7 on-call availability. We believe that you CAN breastfeed, and do our utmost to assist you to achieve your goals.

Madison Birth Center has been chosen as a collection site for donated human milk. Mothers who have passed an initial screening by the Mothers’ Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes and have a donor number may drop off their milk at the birth center. Any labs needed can be drawn during the milk donation visit. Donated milk is shipped once a month to Mothers’ Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes, where it is pasteurized, tested and bottled. Information about becoming a milk donor is available at Madison Birth Center or through the Mother’s Milk Association of Wisconsin.

One major benefit of waterbirth is relaxation. The warmth and buoyancy are comforting, soothing, and
can relieve some pressure with contractions. As a result, increased relaxation can lead to decreased use
of pain medications. Increased relaxation may also lead to faster cervical dilation. Another benefit may
be increased integrity of perineal tissue, meaning the heat and support of water help to prevent tearing
of the vaginal area during birth. Vasodilation, or widening of the blood vessels, may be another benefit.
The relaxation of blood vessels may improve oxygen flow to the baby during labor and help maintain a
healthy blood pressure for mom. The buoyancy of the water also aids moms – and possibly babies – to
shift positions, leading to babies that may rotate into the ideal position for birth more quickly or easily.
Many people also believe that being born into water is a gentle way for newborns to enter the world
and may be reduce stress on the baby.

Overall, waterbirth is considered quite safe. There are some theoretical risks to both moms and babies,
but none have consistently been demonstrated by research. However, some women do have conditions
that make them higher risk for waterbirth. While many women enjoy the comfort and benefits of
waterbirth, you should discuss all of the benefits and risks with your provider to make sure that you are
a safe candidate before pursuing this option.

By Lisa Richards, CNM

Some people believe that consuming the placenta after birth may decrease postpartum depression and
improve the quality of breastmilk. While there is limited research to support these claims, anecdotes
about the power of the placenta are widespread. There are several ways to ingest placenta, and it is
possible that different methods of preparation may maximize nutrients differently and therefore have
slightly different results. Placenta can be dried and encapsulated, or eaten in foods like smoothies or
lasagna. The concept of eating the placenta isn’t brand-new; one researcher published a study 94 years
ago (in 1918) that the weight of babies breastfed by moms who consumed placenta was higher than
those whose mothers didn’t. (Though this hasn’t been consistently confirmed.)

It is known that placentas are certainly nutrient-rich, and those nutrients may provide additional
benefits in other ways. People who bury placentas under plants often notice improved health or size of
their plants, and many people believe that placenta is a beneficial ingredient in personal care products
like shampoo or facial cream. (However, further examination into the appropriate origins, safety, and
effectiveness of placental products should be considered.)

New research is looking at other benefits of the placenta. In one study, researchers were curious about
why women with a certain kind of heart failure in pregnancy recover better than non-pregnant patients
with similar heart failure. They found that in pregnant women the placental cells may cross into a
mother’s blood, travel to her heart, and repair damage. As a result, a pregnant woman with the same
kind of heart failure as a non-pregnant person might have a better outcome. Pretty neat, huh?

There is probably a lot about the placenta that we don’t know yet, and so there is lots of research to be
done on all the things a placenta may do for us. As we learn more, we can get a better understanding of
how to best access all of the potential benefits a placenta might offer. In the meantime, what did you do
with yours, or what might your future plans include?

By: Lisa Richards, CNM

So how do you make plans around it? There are lots of lists online with suggestions for what to include
in a birth plan, and that can be a great place to start, but a birth plan may require more thought than a
yes/no checklist. Here are some ideas for determining what to include and how to write your plan.

For starters, while making plans can be helpful, rigid plans can lead to frustration for both you and your
provider. Thinking about things in terms of goals and hopes rather than plans can be beneficial. Think
about what your dream birth might look like, and think about what deviations from the ideal would be
acceptable to you. This can help you prioritize.

Next, it’s important to know how things usually run in your birth setting. This can help prevent you
from getting bogged down in unnecessary detail. For example, if you’re interested in documenting your
experience, ask if videos or photos are allowed in your birth setting. If not, this may be non-negotiable,
and it’s not worth putting in a birth plan because your request is unlikely to change their policy. Your
labor support team may be another area for conversation. You may be tempted to list every doula,
photographer, and relative who may be coming in and out of the room during your birth, but your birth
facility or provider may already have a policy that everyone is welcome, making such a list superfluous.
Knowing the standard rules will help keep things focused and precise.

Be flexible. You should be ready to go with the flow when things don’t go according to plan. It can also
be helpful to show flexibility in your written plan and to make requests rather than demands. Putting
flexibility into writing can help you be emotionally prepared for the possibility that expectations may not
be met. This can also be very beneficial if you’re concerned about how your care providers will receive
your birth plan. For example, if you’d like delayed cord clamping or immediate skin-to-skin time with
your baby, these things may only be possible depending on your baby’s status at birth. Include these
ideas in your birth plan with a statement like “…if baby’s well-being allows.” This way your provider
knows you understand that your requests will be met only when safe and appropriate. Another example
might be for comfort in labor. Maybe you think that you’ll want to use a birth-ball. This request might
best be made by saying “I want to try laboring on a birth ball, but please also suggest other positions
that might be helpful.” Using a phrase that both expresses your desires and invites the provider to be
part of the team can help get everyone on board with your plan.

But how do you know if you might want to try a birth ball? Or if you’ll want music playing? Or if you’ll
want your mother in the room? It may be hard to know for sure, but one thing that might aid that
decision is thinking about what makes you feel better when you’re sick, tired, or experiencing pain. If
you have cramps, is heat comforting? If your back hurts, what positions help? Is music relaxing and a
positive distraction for you? Can you be completely at-ease with the people invited to your birth? You
may not be certain of these things ahead of time, but talking ideas through with your labor support
team might help you decide, while also helping you (and them) know what to expect. Your birth
partner(s) might even know you well enough that s/he’ll have ideas for your comfort that you haven’t
thought of.

By Lisa Richards, CNM

What did I learn from the experience?

I learned how strong I really was. It was very hard for us to tell our family, friends and coworkers how I would be giving birth. Many times their negatives responses would get me down but I learned to stay positive and true to my beliefs. I now know that you never know how strong you can be until strong is your only option. When you have the right support you can do anything. I am a strong woman and I hope I have inspired others to be the same.

What it did for my baby?

Even before one becomes pregnant you already know that you want to do the best for your child but I do not think many people consider the way they bring their child into the world has any affect. I know it does. Our son’s birth environment was peaceful, calm and full of love. Full of love not only from my husband and I but from our two midwives who were with us. Our baby, in my opinion, was brought into the world in the best possible way and his birth has set the stage for the rest of his life.

How has it changed me as a person? My family? My perspective?

I’m proud of myself, my husband and my baby, and we are a stronger family already because of the way we were brought together. I thank the God everyday for the amazing experience we had and for the way we were able to meet our son. My husband and I have realized that you don’t have to accept the majority and we now explore alternate options for raising our son.

 
The African Birth Collective (ABC) is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote greater safety and empowerment of birthing women in Senegal. Through the ABC, American student midwives travel to one of two maternity clinics in Coastal Senegal. These students attend women for prenatal care, and in their labors, births and postpartum experiences under the supervision of practicing American midwives, while also working alongside the birth attendants (matrones) and midwife (Sage-Femme) who attend the majority of births in these clinics. Through the trips, women work to exchange supplies, skills, and knowledge with the matrones and Sage-Femme who runs the maternity clinic and trains each of the matrones.

 
Maternity care in Senegal largely falls on the shoulders of the matrones, who have training and education often limited to 6 months of on-site practical training in clinics without any academic instruction. Clinics are busy, and matrones and the Sage-Femme have little time to go beyond basic training in protocols, rather than developing an understanding of what is occurring in labor and birth and how this might be best supported and managed. Much of the information women are learning is based on outdated or and often detrimental Western obstetric practice, while traditional practices are frowned upon. Among many other reasons, because there is little money to go toward medical care when needed, because rural areas lack adequate access to hospitals and resources for high-risk pregnancies and complications, because birthing women in these regions have little access to education about birth and money to pay for care, Senegal is a country where infant and maternal mortality are high. These exchanges were started in response to a need for further support and education, on all sides.

 
AnnMarie first traveled with ABC in 2006 as a student midwife, and has since wanted to return, to give back both to the women in Senegal, and to offer support for the student midwives participating in the exchange. If you are interested in learning more about the African Birth Collective, go to www.africanbirthcollective.org for further information on programs and educational projects needing sponsorship. If you wish to make a donation to the upcoming trip, the following medical supplies will be accepted and donated to the clinic when AnnMarie leaves. Monetary donations will be put toward purchasing needed supplies.

 
Jerrijeff and Jamm Rekk! (Thanks, and Peace!)