Takes A Village

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United States
Bradenton, FL
Takes A Village

Currently serving Manatee, Sarasota and Hillsborough counties.

Because it Takes a Village…

Be empowered into parenthood with parent- led birthing services that put your choices and informed consent at the center of your care!

11/23/2021

As the holiday season is upon us this reminder is definitely needed.

Thanksgiving is NOT a reason for induction!

It might sound obvious but this happens more than you think.

Labor is unpredictable. Inductions are not.

A considerable body of research confirms that giving a baby those last few weeks or days inside the uterus can be crucial to the baby's health.

Just because your OB considers you full term at 37 weeks doesn’t mean your baby or your is ready for delivery. Scheduling birth without a compelling medical reason can put your baby at risk.

Few doctors want to be pacing the halls on Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's, so it's not uncommon to see a surge of people with healthy pregnancies being told that there might be an issue and that they should consider scheduling an induction, coincidentally, right before a holiday.

Red flags that might signal being pressured into an unnecessarily early birth include:

🚩The care provider suggests that the baby is too big and will be easier to deliver a little early
🚩The suggestion is made that the care provider won't be available for a holiday delivery or will be booked up
🚩The timing of the delivery is centered on travel and celebration schedules
🚩Holiday stress is driving feelings of wanting to get the pregnancy over with

Here are some things you can do if you feel you are being pressured to schedule your birth:

⭐️Ask your provider if you need to make a decision right now. If not, ask why not?
⭐️Few decisions need to be made on the spot unless mother or baby are clearly doing poorly.
⭐️Research your options. Use credible sources of information to see what the research says and learn from other parents' experiences.
⭐️Make a pro/con list. Label your pros and cons with medical vs. personal and weigh the medical pros and cons more heavily.
⭐️Trust your gut. Your instincts are geared to protect you and your baby from risk.
⭐️Find support. It's hard to disagree with your health care provider, so be sure that you go into your appointments with someone who can help you have an informed, evidence-based conversation about your best options.

11/21/2021

What an awesome event!

11/16/2021

In fact there are *big* differences!

Especially when you consider that in the United States an estimated 1 in 3 women experience a traumatic birth.

The cesarean rate is more than 31% of all hospitals births.

We rank last in maternal mortality of all industrialized countries.

And we report a 20- 40% rate of births are induced using Pitocin.

This is not the kind of birth I want my clients to think of as normal! To think of intervention as normal and to-be-expected. To think of birth as a medical emergency.

Normal is instinctual.
Normal is uninterrupted.
Normal is natural.

But normalized birth is not the same as normal birth!

11/11/2021

I don’t need to be parented by the government!

“What’s right for you may not be right for me.

What’s right for me may not be right for you.

But what is NOT right for either of us is being stripped of the freedom to choose what is right for ourselves.” -Anna Gala

There’s so many social justice issues in the spotlight right now that this conversation is being had more than ever.

But what I still don’t hear being talked about is the lack of freedom in the industrial birthing system!

Laboring people have been confined to beds, not allowed to eat and assaulted in many different ways for decades by this system.

As a doula I attend hospital birth because I believe it’s the space that an advocate and witness is needed the most. Not because I believe it’s the safest place to birth.

It’s the same reason I don’t believe I’ll be seeking midwifery licensure because as soon as I obtain it I’m restricted from serving certain populations of birthing families. Ie: Home VBACS and twin births

To me these policies and procedures are like trying to mix oil and water, something the inherently doesn’t go together.

Teaching birthing people that they have to be continuously monitored and checked while laboring in order to have a “safe delivery” goes against the nature of how all our generations got here.

Some food for thought!

What do you think of our current societal norm for birth?

11/09/2021

Born at home.

11/02/2021

Our bodies change, whether that’s through pregnancy and postpartum or chronic illness and recovery or just simply living.

Before my weight gain I’d been about the same size since 7th grade- aka when I was 14! I thought that was something to celebrate. I loved being known for being “small” and seeing my collar bones jut out.

I’m twenty freaking nine now and I don’t want the body of a 14 year old! I want to love the body I’m in now and the fact that I’m the healthiest I’ve been as an adult!

Let’s celebrate our ever-changing bodies! They’re a physical representation of the lives we live!

They ebb and flow just like our lives do.

How can we do better about loving our bodies just as they are?

10/27/2021

Home birth is not risky*
Going past your due date is not risky*

Disrupting the physiological process is risky

And that’s because interruptions during labor causes the birthing person to go into fight-or-flight.

Leading to things like-

Higher maternal and fetal heart rate
Holding tension leading to more pain
Anxiety which is a definite oxytocin killer
Trauma due to the inability to speak up
Being deemed “failing to progress”

This can happen like an avalanche, one intervention leading to another. The medical system ironically relies on methods that cause fetal distress to counteract fetal distress.

By using interventions like;

Pitocin to speed your labor up
Rupturing your membranes (breaking water)
Internal fetal monitoring

Birth is never without risk. Birthing in a hospital doesn’t negate complications. Statistically speaking there’s a whole host of higher risks in certain areas with hospital births versus home birthing.

Make decisions based on information not fear! Remember that NOBODY is a better expert on yourself than you!

Pregnancy and laboring is a time to step into your full power, seeking into a deeper relationship with yourself and intuition than ever before.

If something doesn’t sit right with your gut, don’t settle for it. Do your own research, reach out to a doula, learn your rights and stand your ground.

10/22/2021

The statistics back this up!

Doula-assisted mothers were four times less likely to have a low birth weight (LBW) baby, two times less likely to experience a birth complication involving themselves or their baby, and significantly more likely to initiate breastfeeding.

25% decrease in the risk of Cesarean; the largest effect was seen with a doula (39% decrease)*

8% increase in the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth; the largest effect was seen with a doula (15% increase)*

10% decrease in the use of any medications for pain relief; the type of person providing continuous support did not make a difference

Shorter labors by 41 minutes on average; there is no data on if the type of person providing continuous support makes a difference

38% decrease in the baby’s risk of a low five minute Apgar score; there is no data on if the type of person providing continuous support makes a difference

31% decrease in the risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience; mothers’ risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience was reduced with continuous support provided by a doula or someone in their social network (family or friend), but not hospital staff

What would make you consider birthing with a doula?

10/20/2021

Is there anything more powerful than a woman in labor?!

*Repost*

10/19/2021

Did you know doula services can be covered by Medicaid?

I know many families write off home birth or birthing with a doula present because they don’t think they can afford it.

I want to be accessible to all economical status because your ability to birth has nothing to do with what you can afford!

The early child health consequences of poverty and pregnancy are multiple, and often set a newborn child on a life-long course of disparities in health outcomes. Included are greatly increased risks for preterm birth, intrauterine growth restriction, and neonatal or infant death.

In my local community there’s an entire town without any OB health services. Causing families to have to travel to the next town over for prenatal/ postnatal care and to have a hospital birth.

Not only do doulas aid in better birth outcomes but we also help our clients understand ALL their options!

Not all doulas take Medicaid, I am proud to say that I am in the application process to be able to do so! I will most definitely keep you posted on the status.

If you knew doula services would be covered would you choose to have a doula as part of your birth team?

10/18/2021

Double tap if you support your local doula, birth worker, or midwife. 💜

Address

SR-64
Bradenton, FL
34208

Website

http://Meetthevillage.com/

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