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Bellies, Birth and Babies is Back
Birth Network of Santa Cruz County is excited to offer the first Bellies, Birth and Babies (BBB) event since 2019, on September 10, 2-4pm at the Circle Family Center in Aptos. This 2-hour community event offers expectant and new parents, as well as their support teams, education, skills and resources to enhance their childbirth and parenting journey. Birth Network will offer BBB events every two months with the next one planned for November 12, at the RC Fam/Raíces y Cariño in Watsonville. Next year’s schedule will see BBB events held in the Westside/Scotts Valley area, as well.Each Bellies, Birth & Babies will offer a panel of speakers and an activity…
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Time to Celebrate Breastfeeding
It’s clear that working parents are more successful with their breast/chestfeeding goals when they are given adequate support. Pressures to get back to earning a paycheck often compete with the ability to get breastfeeding firmly established Not enough parents qualify for paid maternity leave, with some back to work even before the typical six weeks given by state disability. While there are supportive employers out there, many workplaces ignore the needs of their breastfeeding employees, making pumping and storing milk at work difficult. While the California Breastfeeding Coalition works with parents who feel their employers are ignoring state and federal guidelines for lactation support at work, not every parent is…
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Sharing Our Stories
Giving birth is often considered a rite of passage. Feelings after giving birth can range from empowered, exhilarated, triumphant, in love with the baby, and “amazed at the power of my birthing body”; to violated, discouraged, shocked, traumatized, and “afraid of my baby.” Others fall somewhere in between. How is it that the same event can result in such a diversity of feelings? Surprisingly, it’s not the birth outcome alone that forms these feelings, but rather it’s often related to feelings of power and control, as well as access to accurate information, that can make the difference.Ideally, birth is attended by care providers who have an appreciation of the body’s…
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Nurse-Family Partnership Provides Support
By Laura Maxson Being pregnant with a first child comes with lots of changes. In the best of situations it can be a challenge for expectant families to find their way through the many decisions that need to be made. And when the situation isn’t optimal? It can feel like a wild ride, as new issues come up faster and faster. An expectant parent can quickly become overwhelmed with so much new information to absorb and situations to work out.Luckily, Santa Cruz County provides a wonderful program to help first-time mothers/pregnant people navigate the sometimes complicated new world a pregnancy can bring. The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is a free and…
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Where Do Babies Come From?
By Laura Maxson The stone goddess pictured here is open mouthed, likely emitting a full throated roar as she opens herself to give birth. This is the face of birth. It is uncommon now to see such instinctive and primal behavior. This archetypical birth goddess has at once been humbled and empowered. Her face, transformed by labor’s intensity, becomes the face of all birthing people. Features soften as they revert to a more primitive existence – based simply on survival. Breath by breath, and contraction by contraction, she goes so deep within her body’s power that she becomes one with it. Giving birth with all the power of the universe…
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Meet the Doulas
Meet and talk with birth and postpartum doulas while you learn how they work with families. Co-sponsored by Birth Network of Monterey County and Birth Network of Santa Cruz County, this free event is open to those planning to birth in Santa Cruz, and surrounding counties. Studies show doula care: results in a shorter, smoother labor, creates a more positive birth experience, reduces need for medical interventions such as pain medication and epidurals, reduces postpartum depression, results in greater success in breastfeeding.
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Nurture Your Parenting Skills
By Laura Maxson Most parents are laser focused on birth, and the first few months postpartum, then they hit the ground running and things rarely slow down. The needs of a new baby are clear and insistent, but fast forward to toddler time. Suddenly the newborn is crawling about, dumping over the cat’s food, and chewing on the tv remote. This behavior might be seen as normal inquisitiveness by one parent, and defiance by another. Each parent brings their own history and family upbringing into a parenting partnership. Their own life experience can feel like the norm, especially if they have never really explored parenting issues. Two different parenting perspectives…
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Breastfeeding Coalitions Offer Support
By Laura Maxson Families and healthcare providers know that lactation support takes many forms. More than just an appointment with a lactation consultant, it’s also a call from a lactation peer-counselor, a helpful Facebook group, or supportive lactation legislation. How does all this come together? Breastfeeding coalitions are providing this strong foundation of support both locally, and statewide. The California Breastfeeding Coalition’s mission is: “To improve the health and well-being of Californians by working collaboratively to protect, promote, and support lactation. We do this by cultivating collaborative relationships among state and local organizations, government agencies, hospitals and health care providers, employers and community-based chest/breastfeeding support organizations throughout California. Our vision…
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Medi-Cal Coverage – Doulas & Donor Milk
Doula care in California is a covered Medi-Cal service as of January 1, 2023Details are still being worked out, so it is unclear exactly when local doulas will be authorized to accept Medi-Cal payments. There is paperwork to be filed and hoops to be jumped through before the program is fully off and running, but the gears are turning. The Medi-Cal Doula care will include emotional and physical support, provided during pregnancy, labor, birth, and the postpartum period. These preventive services simply need to be recommended by a doctor, midwife or other licensed member of the healing arts. Once recommended, the doula would be authorized to provide:• one initial visit•…
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After the Cesarean
The first days and weeks after childbirth can be physically and emotionally exhausting, especially when also recovering from major abdominal surgery. Most people don’t plan on a cesarean birth, but the reality is that about one in every three births nowadays is a c-section. How a person feels after surgery depends on many things. The type of anesthesia used and any reactions it might have caused (drugs to relieve nausea or itching often result in drowsiness). Was the cesarean performed before labor started or after many hours of hard labor? Are there other existing or developing illnesses impacting recovery? Does the baby need special care? All these factors contribute to…
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Labor Pain, What’s Your Best Strategy?
Imagine entering a Thai restaurant for the first time. Menu items in a foreign language may hint at ingredients, but guidance from an experienced diner could make all the difference. Someone to describe the dishes and make recommendations may save the day. This scenario comes to mind when reviewing Henci Goer’s newest book, Labor Pain – What’s Your Best Strategy? Many people skip the pain relief menu and jump straight to the epidural because, doesn’t everyone get the epidural? Parents may be led to believe that an epidural as plan A is always the best choice. Glossed over details, confusing statistics, or feeling rushed at prenatal visits can make it…
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Roots and Love
Roots and Love The RC Family Collective By Laura Maxson, LM Families in south Santa Cruz County are getting excited about a new center opening this month. Raíces y Cariño (Roots and Love), also called the RC Family Collective or RC Fam for short, will be providing services to families based on diversity, inclusivity and equity. This endeavor, headed by Nora Yerena and Juliana Reyes, is a labor of love. Both have deep ties to Watsonville. As a teen, Juliana immigrated to Watsonville from Mexico with her family. She worked for years in education and social service agencies in this community, which is dear to her heart. Her husband, a…
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Birth Photos
Picture Perfect By Laura Maxson, LM Birth photos can be very powerful and bring back intense memories. Some new parents will want to let their birth experience sink in for a few days before viewing their birth photos. The moment of birth can be intense. When the final push comes, mom’s face may be buried into her partner’s chest or perhaps her head thrown back in wild abandon, the baby is finally here. While the birth of a child is a once-in-a-lifetime event, is it also a photo op? For some, the answer is a resounding “no.” But, in increasing numbers, the answer is an enthusiastic “yes.” While anyone can…
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Breastfeeding Month
Lactation: Educate & Support by Laura Maxson, LM If it’s August, we must be talking about breastfeeding/chestfeeding/providing babies with human milk. National Breastfeeding Awareness Month includes:Week 1: World Breastfeeding WeekEducate & SupportWeek 2: Indigenous Milk Medicine WeekStrengthening Our Traditions from Birth and BeyondWeek 3: Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander WeekEducate & SupportWeek 4: Black Breastfeeding WeekBBW 2022: 10 Years, A New FoundationOn Thursday, August 4, from 10 am-1 pm, families in Santa Cruz County can swing by the Watsonville Hospital parking lot for a drive-through World Breastfeeding Week event. People will learn about breastfeeding and the local support provided by event co-sponsors: Salud Para La Gente, Community Bridges…
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Healthy Lamaze
Six Healthy Birth Practices by Laura Maxson LM Parents looking to develop a birth plan can often feel a little bit lost, wondering where to start, and what do I want? Lamaze International’s Six Healthy Birth Practices is a great place to start. Lamaze has a rich history of supporting parents in childbirth since the 1960’s. The Lamaze website provides parents with vital information including the Giving Birth with Confidence blog, videos, and many articles about pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. Lamaze Healthy Birth Practices Let labor begin on its own. Walk, move around, and change positions throughout labor. Bring a loved one, friend, or doula for continuous support. Avoid interventions…
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Postpartum
Postpartum OCD? by Laura Maxson, LM The first months after birth are filled with many new and important baby-related tasks and broken sleep patterns – a stressful combination for most. Parenting can be overwhelming, and teary moments are common, but most parents and care providers are on the lookout for moods that swing too low or hang on for too long. Postpartum depression is on just about everyone’s radar nowadays.Santa Cruz County’s Perinatal Mental Health Coalition (PMHC) provides information and support to parents, and those who work with parents, around mental health and wellness in the childbearing years. Their website SpeakUpSantaCruz.org provides families and professionals with local information for referrals,…
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Heads Up?
Pandemic Parenting By Laura Maxson Babies, overwhelmingly, go head-down by their due date. Close to 75% are head-down (vertex) by 28 weeks. While some babies linger for a few more anxiety-filled weeks, only 3-4% refuse to turn head-down by 37 weeks. No one plans to have a breech (head-up) baby at term, but everyone should consider the possibility – just in case. There are several reasons a baby might not go head-down on schedule. The uterus might have an unusual shape, a large fibroid or scar tissue, or there might be a very short umbilical cord, unusual placental position, or an abnormal amount of amniotic fluid. Occasionally, a baby might…
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Watch Your Blood Pressure
Watch Your Blood Pressure Watch Your Blood Pressure 13% of California’s maternal deaths are attributed to these hypertensive disorders, with symptoms that are sometimes missed, misdiagnosed, or masked by other illnesses Preeclampsia, once called toxemia, is a high blood pressure related illness in pregnancy. As more is learned about preeclampsia, it is recognized as one part of a complex series of symptoms in a spectrum of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. While high blood pressure is often the key to diagnosis, the addition of other symptoms can help indicate the severity of the disease. Unfortunately, 13% of California’s maternal deaths are attributed to these hypertensive disorders, with symptoms that are sometimes…
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Pillows more than fluff
Pillows: More Than Fluff By Laura Maxson LM Pillows and relaxation go hand in hand; in fact, a pregnant couple arriving at their first childbirth class with pillows in hand is a classic image of pregnancy. Pillows can make the difference between a few hours of sleep, or tossing and turning all night. So, let’s see… turn on the left side, one pillow under the head, a small flat one under the belly, a nice fat one between the knees, and a firm one for the back – with any luck there’s even one left over for your bed partner. Many swear by a long snake-like body pillow instead of…
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Love Birth Matters
Love, the Best Drug of All By Laura Maxson LM Love – it’s something you want in big doses during labor. Feeling loved and being loving, both help release the hormone oxytocin – the fuel that runs the engine of labor. Pulsing into the bloodstream from the posterior pituitary gland, oxytocin goes directly into the brain, triggering the release of endorphins (nature’s opiates) as it also finds oxytocin receptors in the uterus, causing contractions. Oxytocin and endorphins go hand in hand in labor, resulting in a cycle of oxytocin release, answered by heightened endorphin levels. As labor progresses, the laboring person sinks further and further into their body, deepening their…
