Valiant Childbirth

10/29/2021

Hi! I'm the owner of Valiant Childbirth. I've been a certified Labor Doula and Childbirth Educator of 8+ years and recently became a student midwife. I absolutely love being a part of the childbearing journey with my clients.

In my down time you'll find me doing a fair bit of window car shopping cause I'm also a car girl. 🙌 Swipe to see the car I had when I first became a Doula. My fiery orange baby. And when I upgraded to midwifery student I upgraded to my highlighter yellow baby you see here. And just had to get a matching stethoscope!
I always want to make sure I can get to births quick 😂

Keep your eyes open for opportunities to team up with Valiant Childbirth, we will be looking for some help with our ongoing projects soon!

08/27/2020

Let's talk about getting checked.
Leading up to your estimated due date your care provider may provide the opportunity to be checked. Exciting, right?! Makes it feel like things are happening, like it's important information.

So your care provider checks you and you receive the information that you are
>A fingertip dilated and 20% effaced.
>Or you're still tight, firm and closed up.
>Or you're cervix is getting ripe and soft.

My question to you now is, which one of these is good? If you were 37 weeks along, and your care provider offered you one of the three statements above, which would you hope for it to be? I couldn't tell you.

While the analogy I'm about to provide isn't perfect, stick with me for a second. With hurricanes on the mind, it got me thinking, but let me first say that our thoughts and prayers are with all of those dealing with the current storms.

Let's imagine a hurricane is building. The news reports are relentless about the power of the storm that is developing. We are overrun with details on wind speed as it varies over the course of the day. And then they begin reporting the width of the eye of the storm.
You get anxious, you even get excitable. You find yourself checking the reports every hour hoping to learn something new, but it is the same reports of wind speed and size of the eye.

Do you see what's missing?

Where is the storm?? Is it in the middle of the ocean? Is it off a coast somewhere? Is it making landfall? Which way is it going to turn?

I offer you these same questions in regards to getting checked. The missing question is, Where is baby? Is baby still high and ballotable? Are they engaged in the pelvis? Is their back on the left or right side? Is their chin tucked or extended?

The cervix and all of it's movement (dilation, effacement, etc), will follow the baby's proper positioning and proper contraction growth. There is very very little you can do to affect cervical change. EXCEPT to first assess baby's position. And that is where there is a lot that can be done.

Like a hurricane, the most important first question is: where is it? The wind speeds and size of the eye, will automatically grow and develop, but we have to know first where is the storm.

So maybe as things get closer and your care provider offers to check your cervix, you can instead ask them more about where exactly is baby.

05/20/2020

If your hospital has cancelled their birth classes due to the covid19 crisis we want to help you out. During this time Valiant Childbirth is offering a free live session with all clients enrolled in our six part childbirth education series. Just reach out for more information.
valiant.childbirth@gmail.com

05/19/2020

Every Tuesday. Virtually meet other moms, share your story, build a community with us.

We have 2 sessions set up!

Register here: https://www.postpartum.net/get-help/psi-online-support-meetings/

04/27/2020

I've been trying to reduce/rid our house of plastics for years! Man it can be hard when that's what you grew up with and that's what most kids stuff is made of these days.
What are some alternatives you've come to love?

04/05/2020

Close contact and early, exclusive breastfeeding helps a baby to thrive.

A woman with COVID-19 should be supported to
• breastfeed safely
• hold her newborn skin-to-skin
• share a room with her baby

03/29/2020

Producing extra? Maybe consider donating if you're able 💗 But regardless keep nursing those babies! 🤱

If you are a parent who has some stored human milk or make extra milk, one thing you might be able to do now from home is donate your human milk for babies in need.The milk banks are in need of milk! You can find your nearest milk bank and learn about the screening process by visiting this link! https://buff.ly/2UHjjQZ

03/18/2020

A lot of hospitals are having to limit visitors right now to cope with the current epidemic. For labor and delivery units this can mean your planned support person(s) may not be able to be at the hospital with you.
Lucky for you we have years of experience in online video chat support. This has been in our Valiant Childbirth family since the beginning and we would love to help you out during this unexpected changeup in your plans.
So please reach out and let's talk about how we can best support you and your family during this time.
If nothing else, keep in mind that if your partner isn't welcome at the hospital when you go into labor, start a FaceTime or Google Hangouts or whatever your preferred video chat method is and remember your charger so they can be there with you through the whole thing.
Valiant Mama, you've got this!! 💗

03/18/2020

For the time being, we at Valiant Childbirth have switched all clients into the online format that we luckily already had in place. If we have in-person classes scheduled with you we will be doing them via video chat. Otherwise, you will be set up with our classes in Moodle.

If your place of birth decides to minimize additional support allowed in the room during your birth, then your birth support will also be switched to our already established online format.
If you have any further questions about the protocols we are putting in place during this time, do not hesitate to reach out. We are still here to continue to support you during this time.

11/17/2019

Labor is a bit like running a marathon where no one has been told the distance.
While your body is actually quite capable of the process, it takes an incredible mental toll.
Mama's who "give in" to a management method they didn't intend are often found saying "I can't keep doing this."
Keyword "keep". They are changing approaches because they did not mentally prepare for the thoughts that would be going through their mind as they approached transition.
That is why Valiant Childbirth spends so much time discussing not only the physical challenges of labor but the mental and emotional ones as well. So that you are equipped to be the resilient mama I know you are 💗

Mama! Look me in the eyes.
You've got this!! You are strong, capable, and able! Just one foot in front of the other and you will get there!
I fully believe in you!

05/13/2019

Happy mother's day to all the mothers. At heart. In part. Wherever you're at in this season of life. We cry with you and laugh with you. Through the hard and the wonderful. Thankful to have the job that I have, which gives me the community that I have, that is full of mother's of every kind. ❤️