Helena Hamilton - Ten Moons Birthkeeper

23/08/2024

This is deeply concerning and absolutely the wrong decision by NHS Lothian.

31/07/2024

14/04/2024

Fantastic new group starting in Edinburgh!
Helena xx

New group starting for non-birth parents in Edinburgh! Use the QR to book and find out more 🌟

11/04/2024

We will be joining Outside the Box Q***r Families project to discuss starting a family as LGBTQ+ people in Scotland.

🗓 Wednesday 17th April
🕖19:00 – 20:45
💻Online on Zoom

To join, register your free on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/queer-stories-starting-a-lgbtq-family-peer-support-workshop-tickets-837342703567?aff=oddtdtcreator

This will be a space for LGBTQ+ people at any stage in their journey, to learn about services and support they can access. Whether you're accessing fertility support, adoption services, or just wanting to learn more about your options for the future, come along and join the conversation.

We’ll hear from members of the community about their own journeys to start a family, difficulties they’ve found, what helps, and the support and resources they’ve found.

There’ll also be space for open discussion – what are you experiencing as you plan or prepare to start a family? What kinds of community, support and information would you find helpful?

For any question, contact Leon at Leon@otbds.org.

21/03/2024

Proudly added a second badge to my jacket after receiving some happy mail from today \o/ If you haven’t already ordered AJ Silver’s new book, Supporting Fat Birth, what are you waiting for?!

ID: two badges on a navy fleece jacket. One says ‘Mass doesn’t equal worth’, the other is an LGBTQ+ ally badge saying ‘you are safe with me’

28/07/2023

A glimpse into my life and the lives of others with ME/CFS and Long Covid, this article is well-researched and well-written.

HealthFatigue Can Shatter a PersonEveryday tiredness is nothing like the depleting symptom that people with long COVID and ME/CFS experience.By Ed YongMaría MedemJuly 27, 2023, 7 AM ETSaved StoriesAlexis Misko’s health has improved enough that, once a month, she can leave her house for a few hour...

22/02/2023

One of the ways you can influence your birth is by choosing what kind of care you want, there are several options:
- consultant-led, this is the default option for VBAC;
- midwife-led;
- independent midwife;
- opting out of NHS care, also known as wild pregnancy and freebirth.

If you don't actively change the care you're assigned, then you will be consultant-led when planning a VBAC. This is because having had one or more previous caesarean births is deemed by the NHS to make you 'high-risk'. I'll talk about this in more detail in a future post, but suffice it to say that you don't need to accept this pathway of care if you don't want to.

Research studies show us that CoC (continuity of care with a named midwife) makes for better birth experience and higher VBAC rates. This isn't something that's available everywhere, despite government initiatives to try and make it so. An independent midwife is one way to have continuity, a doula is another. Researchers in China found that people with the CoC model had more VBAC, shorter labours and lower rates of PPH (postpartum haemorrhage).

More people are turning to freebirth to have the kind of birth they want and removing the NHS from the equation. However you choose to birth, knowing that you have choices is important to achieving what you want.
Helena xx

References & Resources
Keedle, H. et al. From coercion to respectful care: women’s interactions with health care providers when planning a VBAC. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 22, 70 (2022).
Keedle, H. et al. Women’s experiences of planning a vaginal birth after caesarean in different models of maternity care in Australia. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 20, 381 (2020).
Zhang T, Liu C. Comparison between continuing midwifery care and standard maternity care in vaginal birth after cesarean. Pak J Med Sci. 2016 May-Jun;32(3):711-4.
Visit www.imuk.org.uk to find an independent midwife near you; there are currently none in Scotland.

13/02/2023

Possibly the biggest choice to make when preparing for your VBAC is where to give birth. RCOG and NICE guidelines both recommend hospital, but this doesn't give you the best chance of vaginal birth. We'll explore the reasoning behind the guidelines in a future post.

All the current research points towards opting out of the hospital setting for maximising the chance of having a VBAC. A Canadian study covering a four year period and published in 2021 found that the VBAC rate increased by a huge 39% when choosing to birth at home compared to hospital.

The biggest piece of research comes from Germany and covers a six year period comparing VBAC in both home and midwife unit settings against hospitals. It found an overall VBAC rate of 77.8% when birthing outside of hospital. Researchers noted that amongst those with only a previous caesarean birth there was a high non-emergency transfer rate during labour of 38.3% and thought this 'might mean that midwives are more cautious when attending women with a prior cesarean in out-of-hospital settings.' Transfers were mostly for 'prolonged' labour, also known in the birth community as 'failure to wait'! The transfer rate for those with both previous caesarean and vaginal birth was much lower in comparison, at only 4.6%.

Analysis of the English Birthplace Study published in 2015 concluded that 'planning birth at home after previous CS [caesarean birth] significantly increased the chances of having a vaginal birth by around 12-15% compared with planning birth in an OU [obstetric unit, ie labour ward]'.

Knowing your chances of vaginal birth are increased at home or in a midwife unit doesn't mean home is necessarily the right choice for you. If you feel safer in a hospital setting with a surgical theatre just metres away then that may be the better option for you. Research doesn't give the full picture, but it's a useful decision-making tool to keep in your toolkit. Your intuition and feelings are just as, if not more, important.
Does reading the research inspire you to birth at home or your local birth centre? Let me know!
Helena xx

How can I help you? Link in profile.
a) Join the VBAC Support Group
b) Get in touch to chat about your options for online birth support.
c) Sign up to the newsletter to receive a free guide to getting your partner on board with your HBAC/VBAC plans.

References
Bayrampour, H, Lisonkova, S, Tamana, S, Wines, J, Vedam, S, Janssen, P. Perinatal outcomes of planned home birth after cesarean and planned hospital vaginal birth after cesarean at term gestation in British Columbia, Canada: A retrospective population-based cohort study. Birth. 2021; 48: 301– 308.
Lea Beckmann MSc, BSc, Mary Barger PhD, MPH, BSN, Lena Dorin MPH, BSc, Sabine Metzing Dr. rer. medic., MScN, BScN, Claudia Hellmers Dr. Phil., Diploma ScN. Vaginal birth after cesarean in German out-of-hospital settings: maternal and neonatal outcomes of women with their second child. Birth. 41:4
Rowe, R, Li, Y, Knight, M, Brocklehurst, P, Hollowell, J. Maternal and perinatal outcomes in women planning vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) at home in England: secondary analysis of the Birthplace national prospective cohort study. BJOG 2016; 123: 1123– 1132.

11/02/2023

Working on your mindset underpins everything you do when planning a VBAC and it impacts your labour. There's a plethora of things you can do, this list just scratches the surface.

1. Read VBAC stories wherever you can find them. This includes positive stories and also stories where people tried and it didn't work out, also known as CBAC (caesarean birth after caesarean). No room for toxic positivity here!
2. Join Facebook groups and other online forums. Not all groups are supportive environments, try out a few till you find your tribe. I recommend both of Gadsen Doula's groups on homebirth and freebirth, as well as my own Scottish VBAC Support Group. You can join if you're outside of Scotland, just be aware that we won't have local knowledge of your health board/NHS Trust.
3. Take a hypnobirthing course. This will boost your knowledge of physiological birth and give you excellent coping strategies for labour. There are many excellent ones available.
4. Pregnancy yoga. Joining a class has the added benefit over a dvd of finding friends, as well as facilitating gentle movement and relaxation during pregnancy.
5. Mapping out your birth. Route A is your dream birth, plan for and focus on this, but don't forget routes B and C too. Making informed choices calmly during pregnancy removes the potential for being caught off guard and making a panicked decision during labour. Make your contingency plans then go back to focusing on route A.
6. Create a birth vision board.
7. Use positive affirmations, start as early as possible.
8. Supporting yourself with flower remedies. I'm trained in Bach flower essences and have started training in Findhorn Flower Essences, both ranges are beautiful and gentle enough to use during pregnancy and breastfeeding/chestfeeding.

I hope you find this useful, let me know how you get on!
Helena xx

How can I help you? Link in profile.
a) Join the VBAC Support Group. Group members have the opportunity to book a free 30 minute zoom personal consultation with me.
b) Get in touch to chat about your options for online birth support.
c) Sign up to the newsletter to receive a free guide to getting your partner on board with your HBAC/VBAC plans.

ID: first slide reads 'Tips for VBAC' and has a graphic of a head with a plant stem growing inside. Second slide reads 'How to prepare for a VBAC. Take steps to work on your mindset for this birth. This could look like...' Third slide has a list of bullet points reading 'reading VBAC stories; joining Facebook groups; taking a hypnobirthing course; pregnancy yoga'. Fourth slide continues the list, with text reading 'mapping out your birth; creating a birth vision board; using positive affirmations; supporting yourself with flower remedies'. Final slide has the Instagram icons for liking, commenting, sharing and saving a post. Text reads 'double tap if this resonates. Have you used these techniques? Share with a pregnant friend. Save this for when you need it.

10/02/2023

One of the most important things you can do when planning a VBAC is process your previous birth experience, which in some cases may have been traumatic. Most of my clients reach out to me after experiencing trauma from an unplanned caesarean birth, often caused by induction of labour, and are determined to do things differently this time around. I get it. You don't want to take 'baggage' from your previous birth into your future one(s), it's not helpful.

So what can you do to process your previous experience and reach some level of acceptance with it? There are lots of strategies and techniques, here are some possible ones to explore.

Get a copy of your notes. Have a read through and try to make sense of them. Birthrights have a useful factsheet on how to access your notes.
Have a debrief, either through the NHS, or with a doula or birth trauma therapist.
See a therapist trained in birth trauma.
Journal your way through it.
Express your feelings through art. Clay, pastels, paint, threads, there are so many options for creativity.
Consider having a birth reclamation ceremony. There's a great article on this here: https://www.bellybelly.com.au/birth/birth-reclaiming-ceremony/
I hope you find this useful, let me know how you get on!
Helena xx

How can I help you? Link in profile.
a) Group members have the opportunity to book a free 30 minute zoom personal consultation with me.
b) Get in touch to chat about your options for online birth support. c) Sign up to the newsletter to receive a free guide to getting your partner on board with your HBAC/VBAC plans.

ID: first slide reads 'Tips for VBAC' and has a graphic of one seated figure talking with another figure listening. Second slide reads 'How to prepare for a VBAC. Take steps to process your previous birth experience, this can take many forms, such as...' Third slide has a list of bullet points reading 'getting a copy of your birth notes; having a birth debrief; therapy; journaling; birth reclamation ceremony'. Final slide has the instagram icons for liking, commenting, sharing and saving a post. Text reads 'double tap if this resonates. Have you used these techniques? Share with a pregnant friend. Save this for when you need it.