Tree of Life LLC

10/21/2021

Baby Myles. 8lb 22inches.⁣
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He joined us earthside at home surrounded by lots of love and the best birth support team! Blissfully enjoying all the newborn snuggles 🥰

08/23/2021

My little ones ❤️.

Photo by

07/01/2021

Conventional obstetrics defines postpartum as the 6 weeks after birth. That’s wrong on so many levels. It ignores the phenomenal transition that happens in becoming a mother, one that takes more than 6 weeks.⁠
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It also doesn’t take into account tissue may take longer to heal, whether perineal stitches or from a cesarean, or a yoni sore from a natural birth, fluctuating hormones, breastfeeding, the fact that many women don’t want to have s*x or go back to work yet. Because they’re still in a transitional state. Even if birth and breastfeeding go smoothly and ‘perfectly’ it’s still a major physical and psychic adjustment and a steep learning curve.⁠
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In Natural Health After Birth (2002), I talk about the fourth trimester, a sacred time lasting closer to 6 months. In fact, I believe there should be no time limit as every experience, healing, and transformation is different. The extended postpartum period lasts as long as it takes for mama to feel like herself. Not her old self, because woven into the bones of birth is transformation - just like we don’t ‘bounce back’ to our pre-birth bodies, we can’t bounce back to our pre-birth selves. Instead, we are tasked with the challenge and opportunity of reinventing ourselves. Of finding a new self to settle into that feels right - a marriage of all the parts of you into a new whole, like when you lay your towel down in the sand and you have to scooch around until you find the place where the curves of your body can settle naturally into the grooves of the earth. That task, that journey, is postpartum.⁠
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Physically, that may be a few months - but emotionally, mentally, spiritually, the metamorphosis of going from birth and motherhood - matrescence - is ongoing. My kids are grown and I continue to redefine and transform myself in relationship to my mom-self and my personal self roles!⁠
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The gift we give to ourselves, and as women to each other, is to support however long it takes. Culturally with appropriate work leave, personally with bountiful love, encouragement. and empathy.⁠
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Tell me, how long did you feel postpartum, or are you in the midst of it?⁠
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📸: ⁠

06/21/2021

04/22/2021

Nothing is better than that sound ❤️! ⁣⁣
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trimester

12/13/2020

PROM or premature rupture of membranes is when your water breaks as your first sign of labor, without active contractions. This can be a big gush, a slow trickle, or other variations of rupture.
Most providers will tell you to come into the hospital as soon as this happens, but this is largely based upon old, outdated evidence of risk of infection in waiting it out for labor to start on its own. During that time, GBS infection was not largely understood and treatment not readily available.

Some providers will only "allow" folks 12-18 hours of ruptured membranes before opting for, coercing into, or "recommending" a cesarean birth. This is largely based in fear of litigation, rather than current evidence. According to Evidence Based Birth review of the literature:

- In a recent large study, 76.5% of people with term PROM went into labor within 24 hours, and 90% were in labor within 48 hours (Pintucci et al., 2014). Although some of these people (16%) were induced, most (84%) went into labor on their own.

- In another large study, researchers assigned some women to wait for up to 72 hours for labor to begin after their water broke. Out of these women, 83% went into labor on their own and had a normal vaginal birth (Shalev et al., 1995).

- In 2017, an updated Cochrane meta-analysis replaced the prior version that was published in 2009. The new review contained 23 randomized trials with a total of 8,615 people giving birth. Ten studies compared expectant management (waiting for spontaneous labor) to induction with IV oxytocin, and 12 studies compared expectant management to induction with misoprostol or vaginal prostaglandin E2 (Middleton et al., 2017).
There were no differences between induction and expectant management groups in the risk of serious maternal infection (very-low quality evidence), definite newborn infection (very-low quality evidence), or perinatal mortality, a combined measure of stillbirth or newborn death (moderate-quality evidence).

Questions to ask: What would be your management plan in the event that I have PROM? What evidence do you have to support that that policy improves parental or neonatal outcomes?

www.imprintbirth.com

12/01/2020

“When should I start prenatal chiropractic care?”

Short answer – as soon as possible! Starting care before those two lines show up on a pregnancy test is going to have the biggest impact✨

Your nervous system controls neurodevelopment in utero just days after conception. In other words, your nervous system controls the development of your baby’s nervous system. When you’re under stress that will influence the pregnancy.

MOM STRESS = BABY STRESS

Pregnancy is a season of constantly changing and adapting. Addressing stress early on allows you to stay ahead of it, you don’t have to wait for problems or discomfort to show up!

It’s never too early to start but that doesn’t mean hope is lost if you’re already in your third trimester. We adapt our care plans so you can still experience positive changes and prepare for your birth in a shorter period of time.

If you’re expecting, comment your estimated due date below then click the link in bio to get on my schedule!

11/30/2020

Repost. This is extremely important, fetal ultrasound does NOT improve outcomes and DOES affect the fetus including as a factor in spontaneous abortion, aka miscarriage. Who, in your view, benefits from the fetal ultrasound industry?

11/18/2020

✨Cervical Exams✨

This is your kind reminder that vaginal exams are not crystal balls. They can give you invaluable information to make a decision in REAL TIME, but have no implication on when your labor will start, how quickly you will progress, or the like. Some folks will have a firm, tight cervix and give birth the next day, while others will sit at 4 cm dilated the entire 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

"This unpredictability can sometimes mess with your head. For example, you could be disappointed if you’re not as far along as you thought when you’re working hard or you could assume its almost done if your cervix is more open but there might be more work to move baby into a good position and then down. The best way to gauge how far along you are is in your birth process is to pay attention to your body language, the sounds you make, how focused you need to be, bloody show and mucous, etc. Every person dilates differently within a broad, beautiful range of “normal.” Many laboring people hang out at a particular dilation and then go more rapidly. Some are more slow and steady. Checking the cervix doesn’t make dilation happen any faster, in fact it’s usually the opposite. Getting checked frequently can be uncomfortable and does not allow you to relax and open to birth."

If I request a vaginal exam, what can this information tell me or my provider?

Baby’s "station" - How deep within the birth canal the baby is, in relation to your ischial spines or "butt bones" Measured in -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, etc

Dilation

Effacement - Your cervix is thick and firm throughout pregnancy. As your body gets closer to birth, your cervix becomes thinner and is measured in a percentage. "50% effaced" = 50% thinned.

Consistency - The cervix goes from hard like the cartilage in your nose to soft like your earlobe.

Position of cervix - Your cervix starts far back towards your tailbone (posterior) and swings forward (anterior) as labor progresses.

Position of baby - Which orientation is the baby in, relative to your body.

Fetal presentation - What part of the baby is entering the pelvis first. Head, rump, face, feet, brow, compound - two parts
Hand embroidery by Carla Demp 🧵

11/10/2020

Good morning!
Just your local traditional midwife reminding families in their childbearing years... estimated fetal weight by ultrasound can be off by a pound or even 2 pounds. I will post links if you need studies.

Estimated fetal weight with hands who are experienced in the art of palpation...I’m almost always spot on.
Machines will never be as brilliant as we are.
And if you have a provider who cannot guess your baby’s weight through palpating skills, that provider isn’t privy to the art of birth and very far removed from the design and nature of our body.
Find someone who truly knows birth and cares to be connected and respects its mystery and your baby belly. It’s safer for you and your baby. Estimated fetal weight is a piece of the puzzle in decision making. It tells us so much about the health of a pregnancy and helps us predict birth outcomes. Plus, Obstetricians use this as a key to “manage” your birth. Consider that for a moment.

09/28/2020

⚡️A F T E R ⚡️P A I N S⚡️

What the duck! Why doesn’t anyone talk about these a little bit more?! Worsening with each subsequent child, you may just want to stock your postpartum stash with this little DIY tincture...and maybe some drugs. You can make this easily in 10 minutes, forget about it in your pantry, shake it every few days and let it marinade until you’re pretty close to D-Day. Then strain, store in a glass amber bottle with a dropper top, and plan to take a dose about 15 minutes before a feeding session. I get mostly all of my herbs from or

✨Disclosure: I am not a medical provider and this does not substitute medical advice from your health care professional✨

🌿 ¼ c dried chamomile flowers
🌿 ¼ c fresh minced ginger root
🌿 2 Tbsp cramp bark herb
🌿 1 Tbsp yarrow flowers
🌿 1 tsp dried motherwort
🌿 2 c vodka or rum (at least 80 proof). Can use apple cider vinegar if palatable

1. Place the herbs in bottom of a glass quart sized jar.

2. Pour a smidge of boiling water just dampen all of the herbs. (optional but helps to draw out the beneficial properties of the herbs.)

3. Pour the rum or vodka (or other food grade alcohol at least 80 proof) into the jar.

4. Tightly place the lid on the jar. Store the jar in a cool/dry place, shaking daily, for at least three weeks and up to six months.

5. Strain through cheesecloth and compost the herbs. Store the tincture in dark colored dropper bottles or clean glass jars.

6. Like with all herbs, start low and go slow. 5-15 drops about 15 mins before a feeding session.

Thank you to for this recipe ☺️

09/26/2020

Here’s one great birth tip!