A Q&A about placenta preparation services with 

Jenny Thompson and Tiffany Wyatt, APPAC from MotherBirth.

Fun placenta memes by Tiffany Wyatt, APPAC.

Catch Your Breath! An Exercise to Connect With Your Breathing

People often ask us how they should breathe in labor. We usually say, "You already know how to breathe. You've been doing it a long time and have been doing a good job at it!"

As a labor coping technique, it's not so much how you breathe, but how you use your breath. Your breath can be a tool that allows you to focus your attention, connect with your body, and release tension. Connecting with your breath can be a challenge if you've never done it before, but practicing it regularly during pregnancy will get you well on your way to effectively coping with your labor.

This exercise will teach you how to connect with your breath and use it to help with relaxation during labor and birth. Get into a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down. You can close your eyes, or keep them open.

•  Notice your breath. Just notice how it feels when you breathe in and out. Don’t try to change your breath in any way, just feel it. Place one hand on your chest, and the other on your belly. Notice how your hands move. Does one hand move more than the other?

•  Now try to slow your breathing down. Make each inhale and exhale as long (not necessarily deep) as comfortably possible. Notice if there is a difference in how your chest and belly move.

•  Imagine that you have a balloon in your belly. With each inhale, try to expand that balloon as much as possible. (Hint: You have to relax your abdominal muscles to expand your balloon) Feel how your hands move differently on your belly and chest. Feel the expansion in your belly.

• Move the balloon into your chest. Let the balloon expand your chest and ribs with each inhale. Feel the difference in how your hands move.

• Now expand the balloon from your belly up into your chest. The expansion starts in your belly, then moves up into your chest. Notice how this feels. Notice how your hands move. Place your hands on your side ribs. Notice how your ribs expand outward with each inhale.

• Try to move the expansion into your back. Let each inhale expand and relax your back muscles. Notice if your hands move differently.

• Place your hands on your lower belly. Feel the expansion from your lower belly up to the top of your chest. Focus your attention on your lower belly, and let your balloon expand that area as much as possible. Feel the expansion extend down into your pelvis. Feel how it expands into your cervix and birth canal. Let your breath relax and open all of these muscles.

·         Practice this exercise regularly so it will be easy for you during your labor and birth. Use it to send expansion and relaxation into any area of your body that is holding tension, and to open and allow your baby to be born smoothly and easily. 

What To Research During Pregnancy

In a previous post, How toPlan a Birth, we discussed the importance of researching various topics before attempting to write a birth plan. Many people, however, don’t know what to research or where to start.

So, we’ve put together a list of topics you should learn about when preparing to give birth. You may already be familiar with some of them, and some you may have never heard of before, but each of them is an important topic in childbirth decision-making.

         

          1.   6 ways to progress in labor

          2.   Accupressure for pregnancy

          3.   Attachment Parenting

          4.   Baby wearing

          5.   Birth ball 

          6.   Car seat safety

          7.   Chiropractic care during pregnancy

          8.   Circumcision

          9.   Cloth diapering

        10.   Colostrum

              11.     Comfort measures for labor

              12.    Conscious breathing

              13.     Delayed cord clamping

              14.   Doula

              15.     Elective labor induction

              16.     Empowered birth

              17.     Epidural/pitocin spiral

              18.     Episiotomy

              19.     Eye ointment for newborn (prohylactic erythromycin)

              20.     Gentle C-section

              21.     Healthy birth practices

              22.      Healthy gut

              23.     Heptatitis B vaccine for newborn

              24.     Lactation consultant/counselor

              25.   Laid-back Breastfeeding

              26.     Latch

              27.     Lochia

              28.     Magical hour

              29.     Midwives
        30.   Milk production

              31.     Newborn stomach size

              32.   Non-supine pushing positions

              33.   Optimal fetal positioning

              34.   Oxytocin

              35.   Pain medication preference scale 

              36.   Placenta encapsulation

              37.   Rooming in

              38.   Safe cosleeping

              39.     Skin to skin contact

              40.     Squats for pelvic floor muscles

              41.    Upright labor positions

              42.    Vaccinations

              43.    VBAC

              44.    Vitamin K

              45.    Vernix caseosa

              46.    Water birth

Remember, this is just a list of things to learn about. We’re not advocating for any particular decisions, we simply want you to be fully informed before making your decisions.

Now, we know this is a lot of stuff to think about, and it can be pretty overwhelming. Also, a simple Google search of some of these topics can bring up some pretty crazy stuff. So, here’s a list of our favorite online resources to get you started.

www.Lamaze.org

www.ChildbirthConnection.org

www.TheWholeNetwork.org

www.AskDrSears.com

www.AttachmentParenting.org

www.SpinningBabies.com

www.KellyMom.com

www.CoSleeping.nd.edu

www.EvidenceBasedBirth.com

www.VBACFacts.com

www.LLI.org

www.HappiestBaby.com

Acadiana's Best Kept Secret for Healing After Birth

What if I told you there was a postpartum supplement that is reported to:

•   increase your milk supply?

•   increase your energy levels?

•   reduce your risk of postpartum depression?

•   quicken uterine healing AND cut postpartum bleeding in half?

•   reduce pain?

•   reduce inflammation & swelling?

•   increase mom/baby bonding?

•   decrease fatigue?

•   promote healing?

You’d say it was too good to be true?

It’s really not. But you’ll have to get past the “ick factor!” It’s placentophagy in the most popular form of PLACENTA ENCAPSULATION! 

Chances are, you probably know someone who has had their placenta encapsulated, they just might not talk about it. It's our most popular service!

MotherBirth professional placenta specialists are double and triple certified, have collectively been performing placenta preparation services for over 15 years, and have served well over 300 clients to date.

I know – I know… eat my placenta? Yes, BUT you never even have to see it in it’s birthed and bloody form. MotherBirth provides a lovely transport kit that your birth team will use to package it up while you are enjoying looking into your baby’s eyes for the first time. Your specialist picks it up and does the whole process within the next day or two and delivers an amber bottle of capsules that truly look like vitamins. (We don’t even put “placenta” on the bottle for those nosey MILs) ;-)

I can hear the analytical minds thinking, “what’s the science?” Well, I’m glad your mind asked, see below:

Composition & Reported Benefits:

• Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone: prepares & aides lactation; stabilizes postpartum mood; regulates post-birth uterine cramping
• Prolactin: increases milk supply; enhances the mothering instinct
• Oxytocin: increases mother/infant bonding; counteracts stress hormones; reduces postpartum bleeding; enhances the breastfeeding let-down reflex
• Opioid-Enhancing Factor: produces natural opioids, including endorphins; reduces pain; increases well-being
• Thyroid Stimulating Hormone & Hemoglobin: boosts energy & mood
• Corticotropin Releasing Hormone: helps prevent depression
• Cortisone: Reduces inflammation and swelling; promotes healing
• Iron: increases energy; decreases fatigue and depression

———— And that’s a limited list!

Here are a few scientific studies you can skim, because I know nearly all of the OBs out there say there are no studies…. (eye roll)

1.    Hormonal Changes in the Postpartum and Implications for Postpartum Depression by HENDRICK, M.D. ALTSHULER, M.D. SURI, M.D.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9584534

2.   Beard, J.L., Corwin, E.J., & Kolb-Murray, L. E. (2003). Low Hemoglobin Level Is a Risk Factor for Postpartum Depression. The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 133 (12), pp. 4139-4142

https://science.report/pub/4361780

3.   The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 36. American Society of Biological Chemists, Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, original press: Harvard University.

http://www.jbc.org/content/36/3/569.full.pdf?sid=f787e410-a8c9-4309-bf7a678880412ec8

4. ”Powdered Placenta Hominis was used for 57 cases of insufficient lactation. Within 4 days, 48 women had markedly increased milk production, with the remainder following suit over the next three days." Bensky/Gamble. 1997. Materia Medica, Eastland Press, 549.

5.”It has been shown that the feeding of desiccated placenta to women during the first eleven days after parturition causes an increase in the protein and lactose percent of the milk...
All the mothers were receiving the same diet, and to the second set 0.6mg of desiccated placenta was fed three times a day throughout the period. Certain definite differences in the progress of growth of the two sets of infants are to be observed. It is evident that the recovery from the postnatal decline in weight is hastened by the consumption of milk produced under the influence of maternally ingested placenta." McNeile, Lyle G. 1918. The American journal of obstetrics and diseases of women and children, 77. W.A. Townsend & Adams, original press: University of Michigan.

6.   Placentophagia in Humans and Nonhuman Mammals: Causes and Consequences

http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~kristal/placentophagia%20review.pdf

7. Steamed, Dehydrated or Raw: Placentas May Help Moms’ Post-Partum Health

http://www.unlv.edu/news/article/steamed-dehydrated-or-raw-placentas-may-help-moms’-post-partum-health

8. Participation of Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor in Opioid-Modulated Events at Parturition

http://www.mcmaster.ca/inabis98/komisaruk/kristal0542/two.html

9. Effects of placentophagy on serum prolactin and progesterone

concentrations in rats after parturition or superovulation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7431335

10. Nutrients and hormones in heat-dried human placenta.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10932499

11.  The Impact of Fatigue on the Development of Postpartum Depression

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1177/0884217505279997/abstract

12. Placenta as a Lactagogon by Soyková-Pachnerová, Brutar, Golová, Zvolská, Vol. 138, No. 6, 1954   http://www.karger.com/Article/PDF/308239

13. Placenta ingestion by rats enhances y- and n-opioid antinociception, but suppresses A-opioid antinociception   http://cogprints.org/5771/1/DiPirro_and_Kristal.pdf

From MotherBirth’s placenta specialists’ international certifying body:

13. Placentophagy Papers, Reviews & Studies: What They Really Mean

http://placentaassociation.com/placentophagy-papers-reviews-studies-what-they-really-mean/

14. Uncovering the Truth About Bacteria and Heavy Metals in the Placenta

http://placentaassociation.com/uncovering-the-truth-about-bacteria-and-heavy-metals-in-the-placenta/

Acadiana's Best Kept Secret for Healing After Birth

What if I told you there was a postpartum supplement that is reported to:

•   increase your milk supply?

•   increase your energy levels?

•   reduce your risk of postpartum depression?

•   quicken uterine healing AND cut postpartum bleeding in half?

•   reduce pain?

•   reduce inflammation & swelling?

•   increase mom/baby bonding?

•   decrease fatigue?

•   promote healing?

You’d say it was too good to be true?

It’s really not. But you’ll have to get past the “ick factor!” It’s placentophagy in the most popular form of PLACENTA ENCAPSULATION! 

Chances are, you probably know someone who has had their placenta encapsulated, they just might not talk about it. It's our most popular service!

MotherBirth professional placenta specialists are double and triple certified, have collectively been performing placenta preparation services for over 15 years, and have served well over 300 clients to date.

I know – I know… eat my placenta? Yes, BUT you never even have to see it in it’s birthed and bloody form. MotherBirth provides a lovely transport kit that your birth team will use to package it up while you are enjoying looking into your baby’s eyes for the first time. Your specialist picks it up and does the whole process within the next day or two and delivers an amber bottle of capsules that truly look like vitamins. (We don’t even put “placenta” on the bottle for those nosey MILs) ;-)

I can hear the analytical minds thinking, “what’s the science?” Well, I’m glad your mind asked, see below:

Composition & Reported Benefits:

• Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone: prepares & aides lactation; stabilizes postpartum mood; regulates post-birth uterine cramping
• Prolactin: increases milk supply; enhances the mothering instinct
• Oxytocin: increases mother/infant bonding; counteracts stress hormones; reduces postpartum bleeding; enhances the breastfeeding let-down reflex
• Opioid-Enhancing Factor: produces natural opioids, including endorphins; reduces pain; increases well-being
• Thyroid Stimulating Hormone & Hemoglobin: boosts energy & mood
• Corticotropin Releasing Hormone: helps prevent depression
• Cortisone: Reduces inflammation and swelling; promotes healing
• Iron: increases energy; decreases fatigue and depression

———— And that’s a limited list!

Here are a few scientific studies you can skim, because I know nearly all of the OBs out there say there are no studies…. (eye roll)

1.    Hormonal Changes in the Postpartum and Implications for Postpartum Depression by HENDRICK, M.D. ALTSHULER, M.D. SURI, M.D.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9584534

2.   Beard, J.L., Corwin, E.J., & Kolb-Murray, L. E. (2003). Low Hemoglobin Level Is a Risk Factor for Postpartum Depression. The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 133 (12), pp. 4139-4142

https://science.report/pub/4361780

3.   The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 36. American Society of Biological Chemists, Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, original press: Harvard University.

http://www.jbc.org/content/36/3/569.full.pdf?sid=f787e410-a8c9-4309-bf7a678880412ec8

4. ”Powdered Placenta Hominis was used for 57 cases of insufficient lactation. Within 4 days, 48 women had markedly increased milk production, with the remainder following suit over the next three days." Bensky/Gamble. 1997. Materia Medica, Eastland Press, 549.

5.”It has been shown that the feeding of desiccated placenta to women during the first eleven days after parturition causes an increase in the protein and lactose percent of the milk...
All the mothers were receiving the same diet, and to the second set 0.6mg of desiccated placenta was fed three times a day throughout the period. Certain definite differences in the progress of growth of the two sets of infants are to be observed. It is evident that the recovery from the postnatal decline in weight is hastened by the consumption of milk produced under the influence of maternally ingested placenta." McNeile, Lyle G. 1918. The American journal of obstetrics and diseases of women and children, 77. W.A. Townsend & Adams, original press: University of Michigan.

6.   Placentophagia in Humans and Nonhuman Mammals: Causes and Consequences

http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~kristal/placentophagia%20review.pdf

7. Steamed, Dehydrated or Raw: Placentas May Help Moms’ Post-Partum Health

http://www.unlv.edu/news/article/steamed-dehydrated-or-raw-placentas-may-help-moms’-post-partum-health

8. Participation of Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor in Opioid-Modulated Events at Parturition

http://www.mcmaster.ca/inabis98/komisaruk/kristal0542/two.html

9. Effects of placentophagy on serum prolactin and progesterone

concentrations in rats after parturition or superovulation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7431335

10. Nutrients and hormones in heat-dried human placenta.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10932499

11.  The Impact of Fatigue on the Development of Postpartum Depression

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1177/0884217505279997/abstract

12. Placenta as a Lactagogon by Soyková-Pachnerová, Brutar, Golová, Zvolská, Vol. 138, No. 6, 1954   http://www.karger.com/Article/PDF/308239

13. Placenta ingestion by rats enhances y- and n-opioid antinociception, but suppresses A-opioid antinociception   http://cogprints.org/5771/1/DiPirro_and_Kristal.pdf

From MotherBirth’s placenta specialists’ international certifying body:

13. Placentophagy Papers, Reviews & Studies: What They Really Mean

http://placentaassociation.com/placentophagy-papers-reviews-studies-what-they-really-mean/

14. Uncovering the Truth About Bacteria and Heavy Metals in the Placenta

http://placentaassociation.com/uncovering-the-truth-about-bacteria-and-heavy-metals-in-the-placenta/

If I Have a Midwife, Do I Need a Doula?

With the opening of the new birth center, Acadiana BirthHouse, just around the corner, there is a lot of talk among Acadiana’s birthing families about midwives. While you may know that midwifery care is very different from physician care, if you have never experienced it, you may not really know what to expect.

One question that is often asked is, If I am planning to deliver with a midwife, do I still need to hire a doula?

The short answer is… YES!  (For the long answer, read on!)

Midwives and doulas have very different roles in childbirth, and each allows the other to perform their respective roles to the best of their abilities. We often say,”A midwife helps you have a safe birth, and a doula helps you have a great birth!”

A midwife is a healthcare provider, just like an OB is a healthcare provider. They are responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of you and your baby. Midwives are highly trained in providing  healthy, low-risk women with the same level of care as an OB, but using a model of care that emphasizes wellness, the normalcy of birth, and the importance of individualized care.

A doula is a professional support person who specializes in providing you with emotional, physical, and informational support during your pregnancy, labor, birth, and the postpartum period. Doulas generally follow the midwifery model of care, in that they see childbirth as a normal life event, rather than an illness or emergency.

While midwives are excellent at providing this type of support to their clients, and often do, having a doula available complements the support your midwife provides and allows her to focus more on the wellness aspect of your care.

During your pregnancy, your doula can point you in the right direction for finding information about various topics, and can bring up topics you may not have thought of. She is also available to answer questions and listen to concerns that you may not want to bother your midwife with (although most midwives would not be bothered by them!)

When labor starts, your doula can help you decide whether it is “the real thing,” and when to contact your midwife. Often, laboring moms need support long before it is time to head to the birth center. If that is the case for you, your doula can labor with you at home and help you decide when it’s time to go. This takes a lot of pressure off of your midwife, and allows her to rest well knowing you are in good hands. Your doula can also help keep your midwife updated on your labor progress, one less thing for you to worry about!

Once you arrive at the birth center, your midwife and her assistants will be focused on getting things ready, reviewing your medical records, and monitoring your and your baby’s well-being. While all of this is going on, your doula will be there to focus only on you and your comfort. Supporting a laboring woman is a very demanding job, and having a doula there allows your midwife to be well rested and mentally sharp for her very important job of ensuring the safety of you and your little one.

Midwives are very good at providing excellent postpartum care and support, but, since your doula was with you throughout your labor, at home and at the birth center, it often helps to be able to go over the whole experience with her. Also, who ever heard of a new mom having “too much support”? Having one more person checking in on you, one more person to ask advice of, one more shoulder to cry on, can help make for a very peaceful transition to parenting.

There are other situations in which having a doula in addition to your midwife can be uniquely beneficial.

What if your midwife has another client in labor at the same time as you? In this case, your doula can be especially helpful in taking pressure off of the midwife and allowing her to focus on caring for two moms and two babies. She may need to eat, rest, and shower between deliveries, and having your doula there ensures that you are never without the support you need.

What if you need to be transferred to a physician either before or during labor? In this case, your midwife will still be very closely involved in your care, but will likely not be able to be with you throughout your labor. In this situation, a doula can help ease the transition from midwifery care to physician care, and can help you navigate what could possibly be a very stressful situation. She will accompany you at the hospital and stay with you until after your baby is born and you are settled in and resting comfortably.

Midwifery care is an excellent option for healthy women with low-risk pregnancies, and doulas are a great complement to the care provided by a midwife. Since your doula is directly employed by YOU, she is with you throughout your childbirth journey, regardless of the twists and turns it may take!

Tap Away; A Technique for Releasing Birth-Related Fear

written by Emily Bergeron CD(DONA)

“What will labor be like?”

“Will I be able to handle the pain?”

“What if something goes wrong?”

“What will my body be like after?”

These are just some examples of the fears most expectant moms experience. In spite of the amount of information available to us, childbirth is still relatively unknown and mysterious to most people. Add to that the sensationalized, fear-based portrayal of birth in the media, and it’s no wonder moms are so afraid to give birth.

Fear is a very basic instinct that allows us to protect ourselves in threatening situations. In preparing to give birth, it can help us figure out where we need more information or preparation. But when we can only focus on the fears, instead of looking at solutions to those issues, it can be crippling rather than helpful. As science is now showing, fear is physiologically counterproductive to childbirth. The hormones released by our brains when we feel fearful, nervous, or uncomfortable actively inhibit the hormones needed for birth to go smoothly. As a result, labor is often longer and more painful, which then increases the amount of fear the mom is feeling.

So, how can you break this Fear-Tension-Pain cycle to allow yourself to have an easier birth? One way is by using the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).

{OK, so I’ll admit, this technique can seem a little weird at first. I was doubtful of it too, until I tried it myself and experienced its amazing results!}

EFT is a form of acupressure used to heal a wide range of physical and emotional issues. It is based on the same energy meridians used in acupuncture. Instead of needles, EFT uses tapping with the fingertips to input kinetic energy onto these meridians while thinking or speaking a positive affirmation about the specific problem. This combination of stimulation and affirmation works to clear the emotional block from the body’s bioenergy system, thus restoring balance. It is a simple yet powerful technique that anyone can learn to do.

EFT doesn’t take away the thing you are afraid of, (You still have to give birth!) but it can help you reframe the issues to reduce the intensity and allow you to focus on solutions to your fears.

To use EFT, think about your problem and notice how intensely you feel it, both emotionally and physically. Then, you simply tap firmly with your fingertips on the points shown in the diagram. 

Start with the Karate Chop point, then move from the top of your head, to the eyebrow, side of eye, under eye, under nose, chin, collarbone, under arm, and finish by tapping the insides of your wrists together. 

You can tap on either side of your body, or both at the same time. While tapping on each point, think about the problem you are having, and say or think an affirmation about it following this structure:

Even though I __________________, I completely love and accept myself.

The “blank” can be any issue you want to work on. Here are some birth-related examples:

Even though I have this fear of childbirth, I completely love and accept myself.

Even though I am afraid of the pain of labor, I completely love and accept myself.

Even though I doubt my ability to give birth, I completely love and accept myself.

Even though I am afraid my body will be damaged by childbirth, I completely love and accept myself.

Even though I doubt my ability to care for a newborn, I completely love and accept myself.

Say or think your phrase while tapping about seven times on each point. After you are done, think about your problem again, and see if the intensity of the fear is reduced at all. It may only take one round of tapping to release your fear, or it may take several. Also, tapping on one issue may bring up other issues, or clarify your fear. So, you may start out with something general, like “I am afraid to give birth”, then progress to something like, “I am afraid I will tear” or “I am worried about being exposed during birth”. If any other fears come up while you are tapping, create a new affirmation and do another round of tapping.

Do a few rounds of tapping several times a day until you feel like your problem is resolved. Right before bed is a great time to do tapping.

Be gentle with yourself, and pay attention to how your feelings change, both emotionally and physically, after tapping.

Knowledge and preparation are the key to counteracting fear of the unknown, and tapping can clarify your issues to help you know what areas you need to focus on. Find good reliable resources to help you prepare, and build a support team to help you. It is possible to enjoy your labor and birth, and preparing for birth in this way can help you move from the Fear-Tension-Pain cycle to the Relax-Accept-Enjoy cycle.