Doula Surround

09/09/2024

My first son was born in 1992…
I insisted on breastfeeding when it wasn’t in its ‘cool’ era😁 (hope it stays mainstream for obvious reasons)
I didn’t know why I felt so strongly about it when there was minimal to no support where I was located, even at the local Health Department. They were supportive, per se, but didn’t really help. My mom supported it but also couldn’t offer support because she didn’t know anything about it.
I made it 15 months and was proud of that as a young mom.
(Age 19)

05/05/2024

Int’l Day of the Midwife is today!

03/01/2024

Certified in 2004 as a Birth Doula by
Certified as a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor in 2005
Have been a mother for over 30 years and birthed and breastfed three of my own children.
I acknowledge that every mother’s experience is different, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
I have found through experience that not everyone is ready to receive the truth about birth, but will always educate & advocate when asked.

05/31/2019

Researchers have identified two proteins in a fetus' lungs responsible for initiating the labor process, providing potential new targets for preventing preterm birth. They discovered that the proteins SRC-1 and SRC-2 activate genes inside the fetus' lungs near full term, leading to an inflammatory r...

04/19/2019

I've seen it...

How’s this shot of a mumma using gravity and allow her body to open? The rhombus of Michaelis (sometimes called the quadrilateral of Michaelis) is a kite-shaped area that includes the three lower lumber vertebrae, the sacrum and that long ligament which reaches down from the base of the scull to the sacrum.

This wedge-shaped area of bone moves backwards during the second stage of labour and as it moves back it pushes the wings of the ilea out, increasing the diameters of the pelvis. We know it’s happening when the woman’s hands reach upwards (to find something to hold onto, her head goes back and her back arches.) It’s what Sheila Kitzinger was talking about when she recorded Jamaican midwives saying the baby will not be born ‘till the woman opens her back’. I’m sure that is what they mean by the ‘opening of the back’.

—

"The reason that the woman’s arms go up is to find something to hold onto as her pelvis is going to become destabilised. This happens as part of physiological second stage; it’s an integral part of an active normal birth. If you’re going to have a normal birth you need to allow the rhombus of Michaelis to move backwards to give the baby the maximum amount of space to turn his shoulders in. Although the rhombus appears high in the pelvis and the lower lumbar spine when it moves backwards, it has the effect of opening the outlet as well.

When women are leaning forward, upright, or on their hands and knees, you will see a lump appear on their back, at and below waist level. It’s much higher up than you might think; you don’t look for it near her buttocks, you look for it near her waist."

Text by .com

—

Image shared from Blissful Herbs - nurturing body & soul
Original photo from

01/16/2019

http://www.homebirthnyc.com/single-post/2016/1/30/My-Home-Birth-A-Graphic-Graphic-Memoir

This one is an oldie, but so good!  JJB mama Christen Clifford and collaborator David Heatley created this graphic novel-style birth story about the arrival of ...

01/14/2019

😍😍😍🙌🙌🙌
Credit Heavy Eyes Happy Hearts Sleep Consulting

12/19/2018

Credit My Pure Delivery

11/27/2018

Makes so much sense to allow the blood to finish going back into baby when you understand the design of the umbilical cord.

“Did you know that a normal umbilical cord contains 3 vessels? There are two arteries and one vein (see the vein on top and the arteries on the bottom of the photo, taken from a placenta this evening). A lot of people think it’s basically just a “tube” of sorts transporting nutrients to their baby. But...it’s so much more intricately designed than that! The vein carries oxygenated and nutrient-rich blood to your baby, and the arteries carry the deoxygenated blood, waste products (such as carbon dioxide), and nutrient-depleted blood through the placenta and into your bloodstream to dispose of. After delivery, these vessels close by themselves. The arteries close first due to their muscular walls. The umbilical vein follows closely behind, allowing oxygenated blood to return to your baby from the placenta. At birth, the placenta contains 1/3 of your baby’s blood volume. By delaying cord clamping for several minutes, you are allowing that blood to be transferred to your baby where it belongs via the umbilical vein. “
—-Intricately Woven Birth Services

10/22/2018

Awaiting a new baby? Here’s a tip!

Make sure you ask your health-care team for a baby weigh at the 24-hour mark if you had an IV in labour for more than a few hours. Your baby will have an inflated weight at birth due to your IV fluids, and after 24-hrs has urinated a majority of these out.

Compare their weights to their 24-hr weight for a more accurate idea of how well they’re doing!! A normal percent weight loss (most common reason for supplementation) may look like too much, when the wrong numbers are used.

Need help? Get in touch!
www.ashleypickett.com


(Credit: Marsha Walker, LLL conference 2018)

07/06/2018

Awesome shot.

Two of my babies were born in the water. Did you have a waterbirth?

with
・・・
Bringing new life into the world is amazing and being able to capture it in a photo is just incredible. These spectacular photos were taken by Alyssa with Hilton Studios. These are some of the most amazing water birth photos taken here at the birth center. We are so thankful that our momma shared the beauty of her baby’s birth with us. This is also one of the last water births our midwife Brennan attended before getting married and starting a new life. . . .

06/07/2018

https://www.cnet.com/news/google-doodle-honors-dr-virginia-apgar-savior-of-countless-babies/

Her test helps identify newborns who may be having health issues.