Why Choose a Certified Nurse Midwife?

This piece was featured in Newswise and it highlight some great birthing statistics while celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Birthing Center at the University of San Diego.

I was so blessed to be able to deliver little diva and dude with the assistance of an CNM at UCLA (click here to read more).  After hearing the birth stories of so many peers I know the personal attention you receive from a CNM is unparalleled.

A certified nurse-midwife (CNM) is an advanced nurse practitioner who provides primary care to women throughout their lifetime. Specializing in pregnancy, birth and postpartum care, all CNMs are registered nurses who have graduated from a master’s-level, specialized nurse-midwifery program. Accredited by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), midwives must pass a national certification exam and meet strict requirements set by state health agencies. According to the ACNM, the number of CNM/CM attended births has increased by 33 percent, reaching 317,168 in 2006.

UCSD Medical Center has the only dedicated in-hospital birth center in California—one of a few in the United States. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, UCSD midwives have attended close to 9,000 births. One third of these births have occurred in the Birth Center. The midwife team reports a primary Cesarean section rate of 13 percent compared to the national average of 31 percent. In addition to a low C-section rate, the midwives have a 74 percent success rate for vaginal births after C-section. Their episiotomy rate is less than one percent.

“In the majority of circumstances, women can birth independently without intervention,” said Frederick’s midwife Karen Ruby Brown, CNM, MSN.

via Hospital Catches 3,000 Babies Via Natural Childbirth.

Why Choose a Certified Nurse Midwife?

Cloth diapering 101: What you need to know – Part One

By Molly Tomlinson

You’ve seen them before. Probably even wore them. But in the case of what’s on the market today, it’s not your mother’s cloth diaper. Gone are the flat white prefolds, pins and plastic pants of the baby boomer generation. In are creations that are easy to use, come in a variety of styles, colors and prints, which appeal on a whole new level. Who knew you could dress your baby’s bottom in pink and purple leopard print diaper?

I grew up around cloth diapers. I have a distinct memory from when I was about 11 years old, of dunking my baby sisters soiled diaper in the toilet and chanting “I will never cloth diaper my baby!” Over ten years later, I rediscovered cloth diapers when I was pregnant with my daughter and was so impressed with the new direction they had taken that I decided it was something I should at least consider for my baby. When I found out that I could buy diapers in fun animals prints and funky colors, I was sold on the idea.

The benefits of using cloth far outnumber the perceived inconvenience. If the visual appeal isn’t enough to have you switching from disposables to cloth, here are some more serious things to consider:

Health: Disposable diapers contain numerous dangerous chemicals. The three main offenders are Dioxin, Tributyl-tin and sodium polyacrylate. Dioxin, one of the more dangerous chemicals, is a toxin that has been labeled by the EPA as the most toxic of all the cancer-linked chemicals. In fact, it’s so dangerous, it’s been banned in most other countries – but not in the U.S. Tribuyl-tin is a chemical that is also present in disposable diapers. It can be absorbed through the skin and has been linked to hormonal problems in humans and animals. Sodium polyacrylate is the chemical that is added to the diapers inner layer to make them absorbent. Ever notice little crystal-like beads sticking to your baby’s bottom? That’s sodium polyacrylate. It’s now illegal for use in tampons because it can cause toxic shock syndrome, a deadly condition, but it’s still legal to use in diapers. There is also research that links disposable diapers with the sharp rise in male infertility over the last 25 years. For more information on the health risks associated with disposable diapers, please visit The Real Diaper Association.

Cost: Unless you plan on creating a stash of hundreds of premium cloth diapers, using cloth will certainly be cheaper than using disposables. The initial investment is a little painful to your purse, but the long term savings are significant, especially if you plan to cloth diaper future children. You could easily diaper your child through the age of two for less than $500. For detailed cost comparisons of cloth vs. disposables, check out Diaper Pin and Diaper Decisions.

Environment: More than 27.4 billion disposable diapers end up in a landfill every year in the U.S. alone. As if that’s not bad enough, consider that disposables take an estimated 250-500 years to decompose. We’re talking about 6,000 diapers you will personally be responsible for dumping in a landfill by the time your child is two. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that the sheer volume of the waste disposable diapers create is reason enough to use cloth. For more information on the environmental concerns created by disposable diapers, please visit The Real Diaper Association.

Many people consider using cloth to be an inconvenient, unnecessary option. Quite to the contrary, using cloth is simply as easy as fastening the diaper on your baby, storing the soiled diapers in a pail and then doing and extra load of laundry every few days. After reviewing the facts, I think that anyone would be forced to agree that it’s not only a healthier choice for our children, but a kinder choice for our planet and our pocketbook. A win-win for everyone!

And really, what baby doesn’t need a leopard print diaper in their wardrobe?

Stay Tuned – Part Two is coming soon!

Shopping for Quality Cloth Diapers and Accessories, Money Saving Package Deals check out www.clothdiaper.com.

Molly is a wife, mother and natural living enthusiast who enjoys writing about her adventures in parenting an active toddler. You can follow these adventures and find other tips and ideas for raising healthier, happier families over on her blog, Momma Molly.

Cloth diapering 101: What you need to know – Part One

HypnoBirthing Statistics

A few statistics on HypnoBirthing.

If you choose HypnoBirthing you may still require a C-section, you may still need an epidural, you may still need medical intervention, but the statistics show it will be less likely!

In 2007 15.5% of US HypnoBirthing® mothers birthed via C-Section, compared the the national average of 32%

12% of HypnoBirthing® mothers chose to birth in the comfort of their homes. The national average is less than 1%.

6% of HypnoBirthing® mothers chose to birth in freestanding birth centers. The national average is less than 1%.

Over 70% of HypnoBirthing® mothers birthing vaginally had unmedicated births.

To view the full report.
To learn more about HypnoBirthing.
To read the story of my own births.

HypnoBirthing Statistics

Hypnobirthing – The Story of Two Births

By Tania Reuben

I’m not one of those mother’s that knew they wanted children their whole lives.

I grew up in an alternative environment – I knew if I ever did have children I was not having a home birth and about the drugs – sign me up. So, how did I go from there to having two drug free births? Good question.

For the rest of the story and more than you ever wanted to know about the birth of my two children check out www.momma-molly.com

To learn more about HypnoBirthing.
The HypnoBirthing Website.
For information on my HypnoBirthing Inststructor Alisha Tamburri.

Hypnobirthing – The Story of Two Births

HypnoBirthing

By Alisha Tamburri

HypnoBirthing is a childbirth education course that – with the right curriculum – prepares the mother and her birth companion for pregnancy, birth and parenthood. It is a rewarding, stress-free method of birthing that is based on the belief that when a mother is properly prepared for birthing physically, mentally and spiritually, she can experience the joy of birthing her baby in an easier, more comfortable, and often pain free manner.

Key Advantages of HypnoBirthing:
• Helps to eliminates the Fear-Tension-Pain Syndrome before, during and after birth.
• Reduces the need for chemical anesthesia.
• Helps to eliminates fatigue during labor
• Shortens the first stage of labor
• Brings together mother, baby, and birthing companion in a wonderful prenatal and perinatal bonding experience.
• The birthing companion is an integral part of the birthing.
• Postnatal recovery is rapid and easier.
• Babies are better adjusted and happier.
• Birthing is returned to the beautiful, peaceful experience that nature intended.

Look for a course that has a minimum of 4 meetings and covers the following:
• How fear affects pain in labor and how to release it
• The stages of labor
• Why women in other cultures often birth free of discomfort

• How to use hypnosis to:
1. Take you into a relaxed state
2. Release fear and pain
3. Create the body’s natural anesthesia
• Breathing and visualization techniques
• The importance of the birth companion
• How to prepare the birth plan
• How to prevent tearing and episiotomy
• How to talk to your doctor/midwife and how to deal with hospital staff

With over 20 years experience I believe the most effective HypnoBirthing program available is; HypnoBirthing®The Mongan Method. This is the curriculum that I follow in my teaching. In my opinion this course is the most complete available and other methods are not as effective. If you happen to live in an area that does not have The Mongan Method – my advice would be to find the most complete course offered and supplement that teaching with the HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method
and CD.

Alisha Tamburri is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, Birth Doula, Childbirth Educator specializing in HypnoBirthing®, HypnoFertility®, turning breech babies, lactation, pregnancy, anxiety and Domestic Violence Counseling.

Alisha teaches classes throughout Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley.
You can contact Alisha at www.hypnobirthingca.com.

To find a Mongan Method Certified HypnoBirthing Instructor in your area.
To find information on becoming a certified Hypnobirthing Instructor.

Learn more at www.hypnobirthing.com

HypnoBirthing

You’re Having a Baby – plans for delivery

So, you’re having a baby. Congratulations! Welcome to the biggest challenge and biggest joy of your life.

You want to have a natural childbirth. People are laughing at you. You’re not sure where to go for support.

Before getting pregnant – if you had asked me – I would have told you that if I ever had a baby I would be the first in line for the epidural. Sign me up, lets go. I knew I didn’t want a c-section – I didn’t want any scars, but give me the drugs… please!

Something changed for me once I had that life inside of me. I had carefully chosen my OBGYN prior to getting pregnant, knowing that we would be trying to start our family soon. I talked to friends, researched online and made my selection.

A few months into my pregnancy – I started to have questions… I realized I was in a group practice and unless I went into labour during office hours, the chances of my doctor delivering our baby was pretty small. This was not the experience I wanted.

My mother, a Registered Massage Therapist in Canada, had delivered me and my sister’s naturally, so somewhere along the way I became open to the idea of attempting a natural childbirth. I had also heard her talk many times over the years about patients developing chronic lower back pain following their epidurals… too many to be coincidental. This sounded like it was worth avoiding to me. I thought I would be open to trying it on my own, and I was going to be in the hospital, so it wasn’t like they would refuse drugs if it wasn’t going well.

One of my closest friends is a birthing doula, we had many conversations about the birthing process, the high incidence of induction, scheduled c-sections and general intervention in the natural process of bringing a baby into this world.

So, I decided I wasn’t going for the auto epidural. I was going to attempt a natural childbirth.

Then came the big question – how on earth is my baby’s head going to make it out of that opening without the help of drugs. I started my research and picked my birthing class.

I decided on Hypnobirthing. Through the hypnobirthing website I met Alisha Tamburri who became my hypnobirthing instructor. I decided that if I had a shot at doing this without drugs, this was going to be the way it would happen. Alisha’s class was invaluable and helped me realize I was with a nice doctor in the wrong practice.

With her help I found a practice with two OBGYN’s, Dr. Crane & Dr. Chin and a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) Debbie Franks – they even had receptionists who knew your name when you called their office – this is in Los Angeles.

When I met with the Debbie, there was no way I was having a midwife and there was no way my husband would go for it even if it was what I wanted. Yet, after a meeting with Debbie, I knew I wanted her to deliver our baby. With a little help from my Mother In Law – Debbie was in.

My experience with Debbie and her whole team was fantastic, not to mention night and day from what I’d experienced at my prior doctor’s team. And different from most other mom’s I’ve spoken with since.

So I went from being the first in line for an epidural, to taking hypnobirthing classes and delivering my baby with a midwife. I ended up having a natural childbirth in a hospital and I’m so happy that I gave it a try.

Below are some resources that were useful to me. I also recently watched The Business of Being Born – a documentary that I wished I had seen sooner and suggest it for all expectant mothers.

http:http://www.mymidwife.org/midwife.cfm

http://www.hypnobirthing.com
http://www.clearmindhypnotherapy.com/about.htm
http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/trailer.php

You’re Having a Baby – plans for delivery