Support from Afar BY LAURA MAXSON, LM Parents are facing a postpartum experience quite different from what they may have planned. Family and friends aren’t dropping by. Nobody is getting on a plane to visit anyone in the near future. Families still need support, and friends and family can still help in new and different ways. Safety Dealing with COVID 19 means adding extra safety steps. Wash hands and wear a mask during meal preparations, while shopping or making drop offs. Keep your distance with porch drops, disinfect, and keep up with safety recommendations. Helpers Some families prefer just one person to come into the home to help. This may…
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Planning for the Unimaginable
Planning for the Unimaginable BY LAURA MAXSON, LM The COVID19 pandemic is in its initial rise as this article is being written. Life is changing with shutdowns, shortages, social distancing and more. It is hard to know exactly where we will be in a few weeks when this article is published. However, it seems likely that normal life will be quite altered, as everything is put on hold. Childbirth, however, is one thing that is not going to be put off, pandemic or not. Planning for birth and postpartum can feel pretty unsettling with the current state of affairs. Here are some considerations for this challenging time: A labor tool…
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Take a Breath
There is nothing more basic than breathing. While most people have been breathing all their lives without giving it much thought, pregnancy can bring a real awareness to breath.
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Share the Love: Birth Matters February 2020
Share the Love Birth Matters: February 2020 By Laura Maxson, LM Share the Love seems an appropriate theme for a Valentine’s Day milk drive! Life-saving human milk is truly a gift of love from one family to another. The County’s Breastfeeding Coalition is sponsoring this event for The Mothers’ Milk Bank of San Jose so the community can learn more about donor milk and its recipients. The Mother’s Milk Bank supplies donor milk to hospitals and Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU), and to some babies on an outpatient basis. Our local breastfeeding rates are some of the highest in California, meaning we should have an abundance of potential milk donors. …
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Arrive: Birth Matters January 2020
Arrive Birth Matters: January 2020 By Laura Maxson LM When parents think about the words baby and arrive they are generally thinking about when labor is going to start. But for more and more families, labor is not going to start on its own – it’s going to begin with an induction of labor. All thanks to the recent ARRIVE study, Labor Induction versus Expectant Management in Low-Risk Nulliparous Women, which looks at inducing otherwise healthy pregnancies at 39 weeks. Midwifery care decreases caesarian deliveries, which are 18 percent of California births, up from 5.5 percent in the 1970s. Some are interpreting the results as a reason for routine induction…
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Use your B.R.A.I.N.: Birth Matters December 2019
Use your B.R.A.I.N. Birth Matters: December 2019 by Laura Maxson, LM While classes, books, and a written birth plan make a great foundation, it is not always possible to control what is happening in labor. Having a plan in mind for decision-making can be a big help in exploring options and feeling empowered by decisions instead of feeling thrown off course. Used for decades by parents, doulas and care providers, the acronym B.R.A.I.N. is an excellent tool to discuss and explore situations and options that can come up in pregnancy and labor. The components of B.R.A.I.N. are simple – consider the Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Intuition and doing Nothing when making…
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Working On It: Birth Matters November 2019
Working On It Birth Matters: November 2019 By Laura Maxson LM Parents work hard – there is no question about it. It is a constant juggle to keep schedules running smoothly. Different ages and stages of family life have differing needs, as do the wide variety of family units – single parent, blended families big or small, teens to newborns. Families are all unique. What is not so unique, however, is how overbooked and overwhelmed many parents feel. While the first weeks as a new family can be exhausting – at least it is expected. If parents-to-be have been paying any attention in childbirth class, to their midwives, doulas and…
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Getting Your Ducks in a Row. Pregnancy Homework Pays Off: Birth Matters October 2019
Getting Your Ducks in a Row. Pregnancy Homework Pays Off Birth Matters: October 2019 By Laura Maxson, LM There is so much to learn about, plan for and decide on when expecting. Parents-to-be and new parents can easily feel confused or overwhelmed. Although it can seem like an eternity at times, pregnancy does go quickly when it comes to getting all your ducks in a row before baby arrives. And who knew there were so many ducks. There is support for the biggest adventure, having a baby, at Bellies, Birth and Babies, where you join other mothers and learn about everything from compostable diapers to home birth and breast pumps.…
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Finding Broken Hearts: Birth Matters September 2019
Finding Broken Hearts Birth Matters: September 2019 By Laura Maxson, LM It’s easy to observe a newborn’s first amazing breaths and not fully appreciate all that is going on deep inside that little body. The switch from “breathing” through the umbilical cord to breathing air generally begins rather seamlessly in the first minutes after birth and by the end of the first 24 hours of life, most babies have made the necessary shift from fetal circulation to adult circulation. However, an otherwise healthy looking baby could be hiding a serious heart defect requiring lifesaving hospitalizations, surgeries and procedures. By the time signs of the heart problem appear, a baby can…
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What Could Be More Natural? Birth Matters August 2019
What Could Be More Natural? Birth Matters August 2019 By Laura Maxson, LM People have a wide variety of expectations and experiences when it comes to breastfeeding. Many can be surprised when breastfeeding turns out to be harder than they expected. Although most go on to have an enjoyable breastfeeding experience for months or years, they will often remark that they thought breastfeeding would have been more natural. The terms natural, second nature and physiological are often used interchangeably, but they can mean very different things. Lactation is a physiological process – babies have a sucking reflex and breasts produce milk. In that respect, breastfeeding meets one definition of…
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Celebrating Fathers and all Partners
Celebrating Fathers and all Partners: Birth Matters June 2019 By Laura Maxson, LM The birth experience can create uncertainty for birth partners exploring a role of impending parenthood, often perceived of that as protector/provider. With pressure to be a labor coach, some can forget that above all the partner’s most important role is to love their partner with all their heart. A partner’s most valuable expertise as a labor coach isn’t memorizing the stages of labor, it’s knowing how to love the laboring person. Be the protector, not from the pain and work of labor, but from all things that interfere with labor and distract from being able to cope.…
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Softening Postpartum with a Doula
Softening Postpartum with a Doula By Laura Maxson, LM CPM In an ideal world, every new mother would have her own mother or mother-in-law come stay for several weeks after the birth of a baby, helping with cooking and laundry while dispensing rare but sage advice on breastfeeding and childcare. However, in our real world many families are miles apart, if not in distance, then in temperament. Whether having a family member come to help is logistically impossible or just plain undesirable, the postpartum doula is ready to step in. Postpartum doulas have skills, time and – most importantly – an air of calm confidence when it comes to…
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Birth History – Know It!: Birth Matters April 2019
Birth History – Know It! By Laura Maxson, LM Celeste Philips died on March 7. I am rerunning this article highlighting the contributions she made to our collective birth history in honor of her impactful life. Rest in Peace. Celeste Phillips might look like a soft-spoken 80 year-old woman, but she has a powerful voice. She recently spoke before a gathering of midwives, nurses, doulas and others at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, making a living connection between yesterday and today. Families in our community have certain expectations when they go to the hospital to give birth. They expect to labor and give birth in the same…
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Ask a Simple Question, Get a Simple Answer? Birth Matters March 2019
Ask a Simple Question, Get a Simple Answer? Birth Matters March 2019 By Laura Maxson, LM “I’d like to have a natural birth. Is that ok?” While, “Sure, that sounds great,” might seem like the right answer from a care provider, it’s not necessarily a helpful answer. Instead of this one question, a pregnant woman needs to ask many questions while seriously considering the answers. Wanting a natural birth is not the same as having one. Of course there are no guarantees as to how a birth will go, but there are ways to tip the balance toward natural birth. Be specific. Ask, “What can you do to help me…
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Take a Breath: Birth Matters February 2019
Take a Breath: Birth Matters February 2019 By Laura Maxson, LM There is nothing more basic than breathing. We’ve been breathing all our lives mostly without giving it a second thought. That can change as pregnancy progresses. Even in the early weeks, the body demands more oxygen and begins to make room with some changes in the lungs. The diaphragm moves up a bit right away and some women can experience shortness of breath at this early stage. As the weeks progresses, the rib cage widens and almost like wings, the rib cage spreads itself up and out from the sternum. This gives the lungs more room as the baby grows…
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Holding the Light: Birth Matters January 2019
Holding the Light: Birth Matters January 2019 By Laura Maxson, LM We don’t expect labor to be easy, but some labors are just plain hard for a variety of reasons that may include labors that are too fast or too slow, have too many surprises or some unexpected drama. In these especially difficult situations, a woman may have a moment where she throws in the towel. She will say a version of: “I can’t do this anymore.” And in this moment it seems completely reasonable. This is not an “easy” labor; this is the kind of labor in which even the most committed natural-birther could change her mind without remorse.…
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Birth Matters: December 2018
Birth Matters: December 2018 By Laura Maxson, LM Any parent blindsided by a toddler’s unexpected need for extensive dental work knows how shocking this news can be. But it happens more often than most parents know. It’s good to start learning about those baby teeth before they appear. Get to the dentist before there is a problem This provides an opportunity to discuss good dental health habits and troubleshoot issues specific to your child. The American Dental Association recommends a first visit six months after the first tooth appears or by age one. According to the study, Age at and reasons for the first dental visit (link below), parents…
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Third Trimester Tasks: Birth Matters November 2018
Third Trimester Tasks: Birth Matter November 2018 By Laura Maxson LM Everything about having a newborn is, well, new. Although it doesn’t take long for a parent to become an expert on their own baby, those first few weeks can go a little smoother with some preplanning. Nothing can change the reality of the 24/7-ness of the early days, but here are a few things to check off your list. Attend a Santa Cruz Baby Wearing meeting before baby comes. They meet monthly, so be sure to get it on your calendar before your last month of pregnancy. Experienced baby wearers are on hand to help answer questions and other…
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Birth Matters October 2018
Birth Matters October 2018 By Laura Maxson, LM A Bellies, Birth and Babies event is the perfect place for new and expectant parents to come together with birth and parenting related professionals to explore options. Putting on this kind of free event is what Birth Network of Santa Cruz County was born to do. In fact, Birth Network was born twenty years ago this fall, becoming the first nonprofit organization in the nation founded to promote Mother-Friendly Childbirth. Mother Friendly in this case refers to the Mother- Friendly Childbirth Initiative (MFCI) created in 1996 by the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services. The MFCI has withstood the test of time to…
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Eat Your Spinach: Birth Matters September 2018
Eat Your Spinach: Birth Matters September 2018 By Laura Maxon, LM Popeye popularized spinach for instant strength, but when it comes to iron-rich foods, there are others that pack a bigger punch. Foods rich in iron are necessary to build red blood cells, which are key to delivering oxygen to every part of the body. Iron helps us feel energized and be better able to fend off infection. During pregnancy iron is vital for both mother and the developing baby. Women are screened for true anemia (very low iron) in early pregnancy so iron supplementation can be started right away. True anemia shouldn’t be con- fused with the expected dip…
