Moon Circle Midwifery and Wellness

08/11/2025

Great opportunity for some learning!

2-DAY BIRTH PREP CLASS

DAY 1
BIRTH ESSENTIALS WITH BECKY

▪️Learn all about the phases and stages of labor and birth
▪️Explore comfort measures, relaxation and partner support
▪️discuss common interventions and pain management
▪️what to expect after welcoming baby and your immediate postpartum ...and so much more

Learn more at www.marylandbirthservices.com


DAY 2
BODY READY BIRTH WITH CAROLINE

▪️Experience birthing positions before labor and how they can support your labor progress more smoothly and effectively
▪️Learn about the labor flow - what it is, how you get into it and stay in it
▪️Explore hands-on partner techniques to increase comfort and connection during labor
▪️Create mobility in all levels of your pelvis for birth....and much more

Learn more at www.junodoulamaryland.com

All classes are held on Saturdays from 11am to 3pm at the Rumina Center, 2 Hamill Rd Suite 344, Baltimore MD 21210 - $450

▪️September 13 & 20, 2025
▪️October 18 & 25, 2025
▪️November 15 & 22, 2025

To register send me an email to doula.carolineknisley@gmail.com

We can't wait to see you :)

08/10/2025

Coached pushing and spontaneous pushing refer to two different approaches to the pushing stage of labor. Here's some of the ways they differ:
Coached pushing, also known as directed pushing and purple pushing, typically involves holding your breath and pushing as hard as you can for 10 seconds during contractions. It's usually more common in the medicalized settings and is usually taking place while mom is on her back, while someone is doing the coaching. This type of pushing leads to more fatigue faster, higher chance of pelvic floor damage and tearing, and can reduce oxygen levels if prolonged. Sometimes it can be beneficial, such as if a mom has an epidural placed or if there is a need to get baby out quickly. Some moms like some amount of coaching during pushing, but it doesn't need to be done to the point of purple pushing in those situations.

Spontaneous pushing, also known as physiological pushing, is when the mom pushes in response to her natural urges to push. This is more common with home birth and birth center settings. Spontaneous pushing usually takes less time and is less forceful and damaging to the pelvic floor and perineum. In most situations, spontaneous pushing is also happening alongside of intuitively choosing which position to push in, usually upright positions. Moms report feeling more empowered with this type of pushing.

08/10/2025

Many times when a woman believes she's in labor she's been conditioned to believe she needs to start doing all the things to try to jumpstart the process of getting the baby out. This unfortunately can become both discouraging and exhausting for the mom to be. Instead new moms should be told to focus on H.E.R.: hydration, eating nourishing foods, and resting.

Hydration: keeps your body, muscles, and uterus functioning at its best. Dehydration can contribute to decreased oxygen flow and circulation and fatigue.

-Tips: take sips regularly through a straw, include electrolytes, eat water-rich foods or drink broth

Eat nourishing foods: this is your body's fuel/energy. Eating can also keep your blood sugar more stable.

-Tips: eat light, easy to digest foods, eat small portions more often

Rest: during early labor this is the primary thing you should focus on. Resting helps conserve energy for what's ahead. Rest also helps calm your nervous system.

-Tips: if you can't sleep, take a nice long bath or shower, listen to music, watch a movie, or meditate. Keep the lights dim and limit stimulation.

08/08/2025

Should I hire a doula if I'm having a homebirth?

A doula is a trained, non-medical professional who provides emotional, physical, and informational support to a mom before, during, and shortly after childbirth. Regardless of the birth setting, doulas are associated with shorter labors, less interventions, lower c-section rates, increased satisfaction, and higher breastfeeding rates.

How can a midwife and doula work together?

A doula and your midwife can become a powerful team for you, having different roles but sharing the same goals. Together they create care for you that meets your personal needs. A midwife focuses on the health and safety of you and your baby, while a doula can focus on your comfort, mindset, and experience. A doula can help keep a midwife more focused on the clinical aspects of birth without her tiring as easily from the support aspects. They can collaborate on your progress: a doula can help suggest position changes or movement based on what the midwife is seeing clinically (e.g., stalled labor or baby’s position). They can also help improve communication between you and your midwife, helping you understand what is happening and helping you communicate your preferences. During postpartum, your doula can assist in the first feeding, create a restful environment, and provide emotional support, which helps your midwife be able to focus on taking care of the more medical types of needs you have.

Did you hire a doula for your homebirth? Would you?

08/07/2025

Labor is a dynamic and multi-stage process which the body goes through to prepare for and complete childbirth. There are 4 main stages: dilation, birth of the baby, birth of the placenta, and recovery and bonding.

Stage 1: The dilation stage. This stage is divided into 3 phases:

-Latent or early labor phase: The cervix is beginning to gradually open and continues until approximately 6cm. Contractions start to progress into a pattern.

-Active labor phase: Contractions are becoming stronger and closer together. The cervix dilates to approximately 6-8cm. Mom will go into her primal brain.

-Transition: The most intense, but usually shortest part of this stage. The cervix reaches full dilation of 10cm.

Stage 2: Birth of the baby. This includes pushing and crowning. This stage can last for a few minutes or several hours. The baby is descending and rotating as mom and her body work to push baby out.

Stage 3. Birth of the placenta. This involves both the separation and expulsion of the placenta. On average this lasts a maximum of 30 minutes, though lasting longer isn't always abnormal.

Stage 4: Recovery and bonding. This lasts from 1-4 hours after birth. The process of involution begins to occur. This is also a crucial time for bonding with skin-to-skin and breastfeeding.

08/06/2025

A baby's transition from life inside to the womb to outside the womb is one of the most complex physiological processes that a human goes through.

When a baby is in utero, they don't use their lungs to obtain oxygen. Their lungs are filled with fluid and are essentially bypassed in circulation. Instead, oxygen-rich blood is delivered from the placenta through the umbilical cord.

During labor and birth, as the baby moves through the birth canal, pressure on the chest helps expel some of the fluid from the lungs. Hormonal signals promote absorption of the remaining fluid into the lymphatic system shortly after birth.

The baby’s exposure to cooler air, touch, and light stimulates the first breaths and crying. These initial respirations help inflate the lungs, clear residual fluid, and dramatically increase the oxygen level in the blood. The lungs will begin producing surfactant, a substance that reduces surface tension in the alveoli, allowing them to stay open during exhalation.

As the baby breathes and oxygen levels rise, pulmonary blood vessels dilate, decreasing resistance in the lungs and encouraging blood flow through them. This causes the foramen ovale (a hole between the heart chambers) to close functionally within the first few breaths, redirecting blood flow from the right side of the heart to the lungs. Simultaneously, the ductus arteriosus begins to constrict and typically closes within the first day or two after birth.

Within minutes of birth, a newborn shifts from relying on maternal oxygen via the placenta to breathing independently, marking the beginning of how they will breathe for the rest of their life.

08/03/2025

What is a nuchal cord and is it dangerous?

A nuchal cord is when the baby's umbilical cord is wrapped around their neck. This can be scary sounding and cause concern for a parent, but most of the time nuchal cords aren't dangerous and don't affect the outcome of birth. They are more common than people realize, occurring in about 20–30% of all births. They can form at any point in pregnancy and may unwrap and rewrap several times before birth. A baby’s movement and the length of the umbilical cord contribute to whether a nuchal cord develops.

What helps a nuchal cord not be dangerous in most cases? The cord is designed to be strong and stretchy, with a protective coating of Wharton's jelly that helps prevent compression. Most of the time they are also loosely wrapped and won't restrict oxygen. More times than not, nuchal cords are discovered during delivery. When this happens, your midwife will gently slip the cord over the baby's head to free them.

There are rare occurrences when the cord doesn't have an adequate amount of Wharton's jelly or becomes wrapped too tightly. A skilled provider can bring you knowledgeable and skilled care to help assess this situation if it occurs.

Was your baby born with a nuchal cord?

08/02/2025

Upright positions during labor and birth can bring more benefits than trying to labor and birth on your back. These benefits include:

-Having gravity assistance to help bring your baby down and through the pelvis.

-Better pelvic alignment, which allows your pelvis to be more mobile and open up by up to 30%.

-Improved fetal positioning. Movement and position changes can encourage the baby to rotate and descend into the optimal position for birth.

-Less need for interventions such as fewer assisted deliveries, reduced need for episiotomies, and lower c-section rates.

-Better comfort and coping due to increased movement and feeling more in control.

-Improved blood flow to both mom and baby.

What are some favorite positions to try?

-Standing or walking

-Sitting upright on a birth ball or stool

-Squatting

-Hands-and-knees

-Kneeling, especially over a bed, ball, or a support person

Did you try any of these? What was your experience?

08/02/2025

According to the Gate Control Theory, pain signals from the body do not pass directly to the brain. Instead, they are filtered through a "gate" in the spinal cord, particularly in the dorsal horn. This gate can either amplify or diminish the pain signals depending on other types of sensory input the brain receives at the same time. There are two primary types of nerve fibers involved in this theory.

1. Large nerve fibers (A-beta fibers), which carry non-painful sensations like touch, pressure, and vibration.

2. Small nerve fibers (A-delta and C fibers), which carry pain sensations.

When non-painful stimuli, such as massage or pressure, activate the large fibers, they "close the gate" to pain signals being transmitted by the small fibers. This results in a reduced perception of pain.

How can this be applied during labor? During labor, the cervix and uterus send pain signals through the small nerve fibers. There are many comfort techniques that can stimulate the large nerve fibers and help close the gate. These include:

1. Touch, massage, counterpressure, or squeezing a comb. These sensations compete with the pain signals, helping to reduce the intensity of pain.

2. Position changes and movement such as rocking and swaying. Shifting positions can decrease pressure on pain-sensitive areas and stimulate other nerve pathways.

3. Hydrotherapy from a shower or tub soothes the skin and muscles.

4. TENS Units uses mild electrical pulses applied to the back or painful areas.

5. Mental focus and distraction such as visualizations, music, breathing, and affirmations. While these do not directly stimulate nerve fibers, they can reduce how much attention the brain gives to pain signals. This is another way to "close the gate."

Which of these worked best for you?

07/30/2025

As your body is preparing for birth, your uterus undergoes several changes that will help bring your baby earthside.

The uterus is primarily made up of smooth muscle tissue. By the time you give birth your uterus will have grown drastically, with the upper portion (the fundus) becoming thick and powerful and the lower segment becoming thinner and more elastic. This helps the body prepare to open and bring your baby earthside with the strength in contractions.

As labor approaches, the uterus also becomes more sensitive to oxytocin, a hormone that triggers contractions. Levels of prostaglandins also rise, softening the cervix and enhancing uterine contractility. Many women also experience braxton hicks, which are irregular, practice contractions. While these aren't active labor contractions, these will help tone the uterine muscles and may aid in the initial cervical changes.

During labor and birth the uterus contracts and tightens. These contractions push the baby downward and help dilate the cervix. As labor progresses, contractions become stronger, longer, and closer together. As this continues, the uterus works with the abdominal muscles to expel the baby. Once the baby is born, the uterus continues contracting to help expel the placenta and compress blood vessels to reduce postpartum bleeding. Then begins the process of involution of the uterus, or shrinking back to pre-pregnancy size, over the next several weeks.

Aren't women's bodies amazing?

07/30/2025

🌕 Fall & Winter Homebirth Openings — Booking Fast! 🌕
Moon Circle Midwifery & Wellness | Bel Air, MD

Dreaming of a peaceful, empowering birth at home?

Hospital births aren’t for everyone and they don’t have to be your only option!

There’s still time, but limited openings remain for Fall and Winter 2025/2026 births!

At Moon Circle Midwifery, we offer safe, personalized homebirth care with a certified nurse-midwife who listens, supports, and trusts your body.

*No rushed appointments.

*No unnecessary interventions.

*Just calm, confident care in the comfort of your own home!

Serving families within 60 minutes of our office in Bel Air, MD

📅 Book your free 30-minute consultation (in person or by video):
👉 www.mooncirclemidwifery.com/schedule-a-consultation

📍 Address: 9 W Courtland St, Suite 201, Bel Air, MD 21014
📲 Text or Call: 443-601-9266
📧 Email: info@mooncirclemidwifery.com

We’re filling up fast — now’s the time to reach out!