Own Your Birth Doula Services

06/24/2020

Rebecca Dekker PhD, RN Evidence on: Pitocin® During the Third Stage of Labor Written by Rebecca Dekker, PhD, RN and Anna Bertone, MPH on June 4, 2020. Get our two-page handout on Pitocin® During the Third Stage to use in your informed decision making! Table of Contents How Has Care During the Thir...

03/14/2020

Here's the tea. Doulas are essential. Make sure that your hospital is supporting your *entire* care team amid COVID19 visitor restriction policies! Doulas are evidence based professional care providers, NOT visitors! SIGN THE PETITION TO PROTECT DOULAS http://chng.it/r6q4QJtJ

"AWHONN supports doulas as partners in care and acknowledges their ability to provide physical, emotional, and partner support to women. AWHONN opposes hospital policies that restrict the presence of a doula in the inpatient setting during an infectious disease outbreak."

Read more here:
https://awhonn.org/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/

"If restriction of all visitors is implemented, facilities can consider exceptions based on end-of-life situations or when a visitor is essential for the patient’s emotional well-being and care." - CDC

Read more here:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/infection-control/control-recommendations.html

ACOG: "Currently, there is no evidence that pregnant women are more susceptible to COVID‐19 infection and that those with COVID‐19 infection are more prone to developing severe pneumonia. There is also no evidence of vertical mother‐to‐baby transmission of COVID‐19 infection when the maternal infection manifests in the third trimester. Our opinions are in line with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID‐19 infection should not be the sole indication for delivery; rather, the patient should be duly assessed, and management, timing and mode of delivery should be individualized, dependent mainly on the clinical status of the patient, gestational age and fetal condition."

https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/uog.22006?fbclid=IwAR1Che4iaD8lFtXCpXPV-OWemPwV_Br2XBWgGw_MhYfpL6zDTciKAp1fvqE #.XmEcaTo3lCQ.linkedin #.XmEcaTo3lCQ.linkedin

https://evidencebasedbirth.com/the-evidence-for-doulas/

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) joint statement: Obstetric Care Consensus: Safe Prevention of the Primary Cesarean Delivery says this about the effect of labor support:

“Increasing women’s access to nonmedical interventions during labor, such as continuous labor and delivery support, also has been shown to reduce cesarean birth rates.”

“Published data indicate that one of the most effective tools to improve labor and delivery outcomes is the continuous presence of support personnel, such as a doula.”

“…the presence of continuous one-on-one support during labor and delivery was associated with improved patient satisfaction and a statistically significant reduction in the rate of cesarean delivery.”

“Given that there are no associated measurable harms, this resource is probably underutilized.”

Read more here: https://www.acog.org/~/media/Obstetric%20Care%20Consensus%20Series/oc001.pdf?dmc=1&ts=20140220T0709497934

03/14/2020

Read AWHONN’s statement about doulas with patient during COVID-19. Read more on our website http://bit.ly/2GrzCvi.

Thanks to AWHONN member Shirley Picard, BSN, RN for bringing this important issue to our attention!

08/26/2019

Welcome to the world, Sweet Baby R! 🤱🏼

5 lb 11 ozs of cuteness ♥️

07/22/2019

Citrus County finally has a licensed homebirth midwife that lives in the area and I couldn’t be more excited!
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Welcome back, Melissa! ♥️

Serving Citrus and Sumter Counties, including Inverness, Crystal River, Brooksville, Lake Panasoffkee, Bushnell, & Wildwood, etc.

07/13/2019

1) If your baby was breech, were you given any other option besides a cesarean birth with them?

2) If your provider did not “do” vaginal breech, did they refer you to another provider trained in vaginal breech birth (VBB)?

3) Did your provider tell you about Spinning Babies, Webster Technique, Moxibustion, Acupuncture, ECV to encourage optimal positioning?

4) If in the end, you decided (or were forced) to have a cesarean for breech positioning, did your provider offer to wait until you started to go into labor on your own before having the cesarean since a) some babies flip head down in labor, b) this insures baby is ready to be born, and c) babies that experience some labor tend to do better than babies that don’t - with less breathing issues, less nicu time, etc?

5) If the answer to any or all of these questions is “No”, why do you think that is?

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada will launch program to teach physicians breech vaginal delivery

10/31/2018

10/08/2018

1. STANDING SUPPORTED SQUAT
Pros: Realigns your pelvis to increase the opening by up to 15 percent.

2. SEMI-SITTING
Pros: Comfortable.
Good use of gravity.
Good resting position.

3. SITTING
Pros: Good for resting.
Uses gravity.
Can be used with continuous electronic fetal monitoring.

4. SITTING ON TOILET

Pros: Helps relax perineum.
You get used to an open-leg position and pelvic pressure.
Uses gravity.

5. SQUATTING
Pros: Encourages rapid descent.
Uses gravity.

6. SIDE-LYING
Pros: Helps get oxygen to the baby.
Good resting position.
Helpful if you have elevated blood pressure.
Fine with epidural.

7. WALKING
Pros: Uses gravity.
Contractions are often less painful.
Baby is well aligned in your pelvis.

8. STANDING
Pros: Uses gravity.
Helps get oxygen to the baby.

9. LEANING OR KNEELING FORWARD WITH SUPPORT
Pros: Can help shift the baby if needed.
Uses gravity.
Birth ball can be used.

10. KNEE-CHEST
Pros: Good for back labor.
Assists with rotation of baby, if needed.

11. ON BACK WITH LEGS RAISED

(908)627-4455

10/02/2018

08/03/2017

There are so many ways to utilize a hospital bed while in labor! Here are just a few...

The hospital bed is the most under-used piece of equipment in a labor room. Check out this video to see some next level birth bed sh*t! Cool, right?!?! Now you’re thinking, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” But that’s not all… Check out how you and your partner can rest, in that same position wh

05/23/2017

Greg Ludlam has a message for the 600,000 American women struggling with postpartum depression — and the family that love them.