Asher and Boston: A Birth Story
I have twin sons!! Asher Charles and Boston Robert arrived on Monday night, 2/28 and this is the story of their birth. As you know, I have been on hospital bed rest since February 11. I had been on magnesium sulfate to stop preterm labor and had received 2 shots of steroids for helping mature the babies’ lungs. At that point making it to 32 weeks was the goal after which time we would not stop labor if it progressed. I was on continuous contraction monitoring (intermittent fetal monitoring) and had anywhere from 4 to 10 contractions per hour. They were a...
Read MoreEmbodied Presence and Breathing During Delivery
If you’ve read about my birth affirmations and the meditation I did to prepare for labor then you know that breathing was a big part of my birth preparation. It seemed counterintuitive to me then to let someone else tell me how to breathe during the penultimate moment of delivery. While I was pregnant with my first I was part of a year-long leadership development program with NASA. One of the speakers we had was Wendy Palmer (and her Leadership Embodiment on FB). She is an amazing and dynamic person and her practical workshop was the type where you wonder “how is this...
Read MoreThe Amazing Placenta Part 1: What’s So Amazing About It Anyway?
I think that the placenta is a truly amazing thing that deserves a moment (or two) of your attention. Will you open your mind for a moment and let me sing the praises of this amazing organ? Western culture tends to treat the placenta like a bodily excrement. Like a booger, ear wax, menstrual blood, a turd, a clipped fingernail, shaved hair, etc.. It isn’t like that at all though. It is a fully functional and complex organ. And, it is a very unique and interesting organ at that: The Placenta Is Cool Aellyn at 3 days old The placenta is a common feature with most of...
Read MorePreparing for Birth with Affirmations
This post is part of the 2010 API Principles of Parenting blog carnival, a series of monthly parenting blog carnivals, hosted by API Speaks. Learn more about attachment parenting by visiting the API website I’ve written before about my birth affirmations and how they helped me prepare for and participate in labor. If you’ve never created affirmations before it might seem daunting at first. I honestly believe they are powerful and more so when they are created by you. I think this process will benefit your birth experience even if you never get to say a single affirmation...
Read MoreThe “Rule of 10″ Versus Women’s Primal Wisdom – by Lydi Owen
Doctors, nurses, midwives, doulas and childbirth educators all warn that a swollen cervix will impede labor and increase the chances of tearing the cervix, thus causing hemorrhage. They have been taught that a swollen cervix is easily broken or pulverized. If this is indeed the truth, then why do most women during labor have an irresistible urge to begin bearing down before dilation is complete? Could it be that the instinctual wisdom of our bodies has become our enemy? Is Spirit trying to destroy us instead of guiding us? Why would we feel the need to begin bearing down at 5–6 cm (or...
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