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It’s definitely a good idea! Think of a birth plan as a flexible communication tool – not as a list of demands. It’s so helpful for the Midwives as they’ve never met you before so it’s a great way to give them some idea of how to support you. Where are you having your baby?
Tracy
Congrats Pookie!!!
Glad to hear you’re still getting some mileage out of those affirmations!! 😀
Tracy
Sadly, Dads are often overlooked in all things pregnancy/birth – and they have such an important role. Some Dads are quite happy to stay in the background but there are lots of Dads who really wish they knew what to do to support their partner more.
This is a new video from the organisation I train Doulas for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u792CxDT7cE
Tracy
Hi Sabbi,
My next workshop is at the City North hotel on Jan 15 & 16 but we’re having a meet up in the lobby at 7pm on Wed Dec 29th. It’s a great opportunity to meet up with other GentleBirth Mums/Dads and kids 🙂
The Irish Times did an interview with one of my GentleBirth clients last week so hopefully it’ll be in the health supplement tomorrow.
Tracy
Hi Mary,
Doulas are relatively new to Ireland and there’s only a handful of us attending births at the moment. We come from a wide variety of backgrounds from student Midwives to pilots! The doula essentially helps the couple have the best experience possible – especially if they are planning a natural birth. We usually meet up with Mum and Dad a couple of times before the birth to talk about the kind of birth you want and come up with a plan to achieve as much as possible. When labour starts we come to your home and help you stay comfortable at home and then make the transition to the hospital a lot more relaxed. We’re a friendly face with you throughout the entire labour from home to hospital and back again (chances are you won’t have met your Midwife before).
Our focus is 100% on you and your partner having the most positive experience possible – although the Midwives would like to be able to provide all the support a Mum needs often the clinical care and paperwork/documentation comes first. We have none of those responsibilities. We stay with you throughout (no shift changes for us). We then visit you at home to help you with breastfeeding or just helping you to find your feet as a new Mum.
We don’t replace the partner but help him stay as involved as he is comfortable with. My own husband is the biggest Doula fan – I had a Doula myself when Jack was born in hospital and when I had a Doula when Cooper was born in May (at home). It really took the pressure off my husband so he was able to relax and enjoy the experience a lot more.
We compliment the care you’re receiving from your Midwives (the Midwives are always delighted with the extra help too).
If a Mum is planning a natural birth then to have someone with her who has had a natural birth themselves encouraging her and supporting her is such an advantage. Depending on the Doula most of us are very familiar with various complimentary techniques for helping with labour such as acupressure points, hypnosis (GentleBirth), position recommendations etc and we can help you navigate the Irish maternity system so you avoid routine unnecessary interventions.
HTH
Tracy
Some Mums had asked if there was any reimbursement from VHI etc for Doula cover. At the moment Aviva are the only company who promote the use of Doulas (less caesareans means less expenses for them) From January you’ll be able to have the support of a Doula for only 300 Euro after reimbursement – this also covers my GentleBirth workshop.
The Lourdes in Drogheda is very supportive of Doula’s but in the Dublin hospitals Mums would need to get permission ahead of time to have 2 birth partners.
Hope everyone is staying warm!!
Tracy
All this fear of birth stuff….
Do we forget as a (modern, 1st world, western) culture that this has been going on since time and memoriam without any medical intervention at all and just the assisted expertise of a midwife?
God, I ma not going to bore anyone with what i am learning on my course, but one thing I have discovered which is REALLY making me think, is that we actually, as a species, have very few innate or inbuilt responses to things (and therefore few things we are "naturally" afraid of). Most of what we do or think off as "natural" reactions are actually as a result of "learnt" experiences, ie, as above, loadsa exposure to (fanciful, exaggereated) notions of giving birth, thus we become CONDITIONED into believeing the depth of trauma/pain/anxirty it will necessarily involve.
The good news is that we can also CONDITION ourselves into positive responses by pairing the notion of something horrible with a POSITIVE occuring sensation repeatedly, and then eventually the thought that used to produce the notion that something was horrible, becomes to produce that positive sensation.
Or something like that…
Apparently!
All a lot more technical trhan that and beyond my thorough comprehension ATM, but pm me in a few weeks for more details!LOL!!!!! 😀 😀 😀
That’s it exactly ! It’s a learned behaviour and we can replace the conditioning by changing the belief (that’s where hypnosis comes in).
What are you studying hjs?So many Mums think that the fear of labour is something that’s normal and you just have to suffer through it (or stay in complete denial until the sensations start) but it doesn’t have to be that way. Even from early pregnancy you can change your perception about birth and get to enjoy every minute of your pregnancy with no dread of the big day.
Working with Mums like Barbara and seeing how their lives have changed when they no longer believe the thought that birth MUST be a horrible experience is absolutely wonderful.
Tracy
I’m so excited to be getting back to Doula work in January now that Cooper is getting a bit bigger.
I do most of my work in the Lourdes but also cover the Dublin area when needed. In a nutshell the Doula ‘effect’ is similar to what GentleBirth/hypnobirthing does – less fear = reduction in the stress response and an increase in the hormones that facilitate a faster birth (but its ‘live’ rather than a CD) 😀
The benefits of Doula care speak for themselves.
26% reductionin cesarean rates
18% caesarean births with no Doula compared to 8% with a Doula25% shorter labours
In the ‘no Doula’ group oxytocin drip use was 16% compared to 2% in the Doula group (Guatemala study)
In the Houston study 44% of Mothers were augmented with oxytocin compared with 17% in the Doula group.28% reductions in epidural requests
30% reduction in analgesia use
In the Houston study only 12% gave birth naturally (no Doula). Mothers with a Doula gave birth naturally 55% of the time.41% reduction in forceps deliveries
26% forceps deliveries in the non Doula group – 8% in the Doula group
Mums who have a doula are less likely to suffer from PND and are more likely to breastfeed successfully.
Although the Dublin hospitals still prefer Mums to have one birth partner there’s usually no problem with us swapping in and out with Dad if you get it ok’d ahead of time. The Lourdes is very supportive. Generally Mum feels happy to stay home much longer and arrives in to the hospital in good active labour and Dad can be involved to his comfort level.
Would love to answer any questions any Mumstown Mum’s to be have!
Roll on January!!
Tracy
Author of The Better Birth Book and The Irish Caesarean and VBAC Guide
Hi Pookie,
I teach GentleBirth hypnobirthing weekend workshops in the City North Hotel every month except December. My next workshop is coming up on Nov 27 & 28. It’s a wonderful way to prepare for your baby’s birth and really enjoy your pregnancy without any anxiety around the birth.
Have a look at http://www.GentleBirth.ie for more details or give me a ring and we can chat live.
Daisy – thank you for the recommendations 😀
Tracy
Hi Anne-Marie,
I would give the hospital a call and see what they say as they’ll be familiar with your medical history. I started to have tightenings this time around from about 25 weeks – on and off and much more so if I was overdoing things or dehydrated. Be sure to drink lots as the weather gets warmer 🙂
Tracy
Thanks!
It was quite a dissapointing show – very much focused on the minority of things that can go wrong and making them sound very common. I’d imagine it was probably a fairly scary show for afirst timer.
I hope they’ll do another show about amazing births to balance out the negativity of this one.
Tracy 😀
