Guest posts...What topics would you like to see?

You may have noticed a few guest blog posts the last couple of weeks! I hope you have been enjoying them like I have.

What type of blog topics would you like to see things posted on?

There are so many topics relating to pregnancy, birth, childrearing, healthy eating etc. that could fall into these categories, but we would love to cater to our readers!

Guest Post from Janelle- Natural Birth after Medicated one- My Story!

We are excited to have Janelle Troyer here to share with us about her birth experiences as well as having a natural birth after a medicated one. Welcome to the blog, Janelle!

I’m the proud mommy to 6 wonderful blessings ranging in age from 11 to 8 months old. When I started having children, I never thought I’d have 3 children, let alone 6. We had the very typical mind-set of “We’ll have 2, 3 if the first 2 are the same gender…maybe”. My view toward child birth was also very typical. With my first, I watched A Baby Story and Birth Day on Discovery Health and learned all I could about this very “medical” process of child birth. I learned all about the interventions that are very common in a hospital birth (which, of course, I was having—who gives birth in any other way?). As my due date got closer, I wrote up my birth plan. I knew I wanted my baby to nurse as soon as possible. I didn’t want her to have any pacifiers, lest she get “nipple confusion”, and I had decided that an epidural sounded like a very good option. I’d tough it out as long as I could and when I couldn’t stand it any longer (but no sooner than 6cm!), I’d get an epidural. That’s what I learned on the shows and it sounded good to me.

I ended up going 10 days overdue (which was WAY more than enough for me) and was thrilled when they decided to admit me and induce my labor. I was so excited to meet my baby girl, and so tired of being pregnant that I just wanted to get the show on the road. I had no idea what to expect. It was painful! I knew it’d be painful, so that wasn’t surprising…but when they finally checked me and said that I was at a 6, I was THRILLED to see the anesthesiologist and get my epidural. Everything went as it was supposed, I progressed quickly and gave birth with no pain and no real sensation. So that is how it’s done. Not too shabby, eh?

When I gave birth to baby #2, I went for an induction again. This time it was for a different reason. With my first, my husband was deployed and was halfway across the world when our daughter was born. It was very difficult and I was not risking him missing the birth of our second baby…so I was induced 2 days before my due date. With this one, I had heard about something called an intrathecal. It’s similar to an epidural in that it goes in your back, but it’s a one time shot and lasts for a shorter period of time. I thought it sounded like a good option—my cousin had one and she raved about it. Well then, if it was good for her, it was good for me! I again toughed it out as long as I could, got the intrathecal at around 5-6cm and was shocked when it wore off in 45 minutes!! They came in to give me another shot, but before they could do it, I had to push. A couple of pushes later, my second beautiful daughter came into the world. This time I was able to experience the thrill of the urge to push. I felt her being born and honestly, it was a high like no other! I realized what I had missed in having an epidural with NO sensation with my first. “If” I ever had another baby, I thought that maybe I could be one of those crazy ladies who chooses to deliver without ANY meds. What a revolutionary idea!

Praise the Lord, we decided to try for a boy. The Lord blessed us with what we desired with a precious baby boy for baby #3. This was the first baby I really, really wanted to give birth to without medication. I thought I could do it, but when the Pitocin kicked in (yes, I was induced again), my uterus was hyper-stimulated and I could NOT endure the constant, long contractions. I have a fairly high pain threshold, but I could not open my eyes I was in so much pain. I was BEGGING for an epidural. They told me they needed to get a bolus going and once the fluids were in, I could have my epidural. I remember saying, “Give me the bag of fluid, I’ll DRINK it!” I needed that epidural. As soon as the epidural was inserted, my face started getting tingly. I told the anesthesiologist that and his response was, “Hmmm, interesting”. Not something you really want to hear. The nurses were all quiet and watching my monitors. My blood pressure dropped to 90/30. They turned me to my left side and I started praying. I was so upset. I kept thinking, “Because I wimped out and went for the epidural, now I’m going to die!!!’ I had to give myself a mental kick in the pants and remind myself that I was giving BIRTH here…LIFE was going on, not death. Within a short period of time, my blood pressure came back up and I was ready to push. Praise the Lord, from that point forward, everything went fine and my darling little boy was in my arms, as perfect as can be.

#4 was another induction—are you seeing a theme here? I hadn’t yet caught onto the whole idea of waiting for the Lord’s timing. I’d get so impatient at the end of a pregnancy, there was always a good reason to “get the show on the road”. This was no exception. We were moving…we needed to have this baby and move, so when induction was mentioned, I jumped on the idea. I really didn’t want an epidural this time. I actually asked for an intrathecal due to what had happened with my previous epidural, but I was told that an epidural is a much better option, they could give me less medication, they’d monitor my blood pressure and so on and so forth. Unfortunately, I had another bad experience. The placement was all wrong. One leg was completely dead while I still felt the other as well as all of the contractions. At one point my leg was lifted and let go of and nearly fell off of my bed (that sure would have been very painful to my poor, overstretched hips) because I was so numb I could do NOTHING to stop it. Thankfully someone was there and caught it. It was horrible. It took at least 6 hours after delivery before I could walk again.

With #5 I was NOT going to have an epidural. But I was induced again at 10 days overdue. I was feeling extreme pressure and like I was sure I was in transition, but when the nurse came in and checked me and told me I was only at a 5, I gave up. “There is no way I can do this if I’m only at a 5”. The anesthesiologist was called. She was wonderful. She assured me everything was going to be just fine. She inserted the epidural with me lying in the fetal position—let me just say, any anesthesiologist who does it in any other way than this during labor is just mean. This was the ONLY time I’ve had it done in this manner, and it was so much better than the “bend over and arch your back and hold very still” method. While she was inserting it, I kept saying, “I need to push, I need to push”. As soon as she was done, the nurse called the doctor who was 20 minutes away to come in. That wasn’t going to work…when I said I needed to push, I NEEDED to push. They grabbed the nearest doctor out of the hallway and my baby girl was delivered!!! The epidural was removed immediately and I was so glad that I got to experience the intensity of the urge to push again and so happy that the epidural didn’t seem to have any ill effect. I knew that I should have trusted my instincts that although I was told I was only at a 5, delivery was imminent. Apparently I’m not one of those women who is in tune with my body…I had believed what the nurse had said and had caved to the thought that I was not strong enough to endure. I had been told, “Just when you think you can’t do it another minute, that’s when you know it’s almost over” and I ignored that wisdom.

Thankfully, God in His wonderful love and mercy decided to bless us with another child…and give me another chance to trust Him and the natural birth process He had created. This time I decided that no one was getting Pitocin anywhere near me. A friend of mine who had also been induced with all of her babies had recently given birth at home (on accident!) and assured me that it childbirth without Pitocin is a horse of a different color. Boy was she right! God was also merciful to me in that I only went 3 days overdue with this baby. I didn’t even know that I was in labor. I was having contractions whenever I’d stand or walk, but as long as I sat, nothing happened. I called my parents and told my husband that I thought we should go to the hospital, just to have them check me. He didn’t think it was anything, but decided to humor me. While I waited for my husband to put our son to bed and waited for my friend to arrive to watch my children, I went for a walk around the block with my son. I had to stop every 1-2 minutes. WHEW! I still didn’t think it was full blown labor though. It took us quite a while to get home and when I sat down, the contractions stopped. Just what I thought…just a false alarm. Oh well, we were going to the hospital regardless—can you believe I even told my parents that since they were coming down, I’d go ahead and be induced if it was nothing?!??! Hadn’t I learned my lesson?? Thankfully God is good—always! I had not a one contraction on the way to the hospital. As soon as I got out of the car, I had a big one. I had them every 1-2 minutes on the walk to labor and delivery. They hemmed and hawed about whether to put me in a room or to keep me in triage. Thankfully they decided on a room. They did not think I was in labor—at all. They checked me and said I was at 4cm. They told me to walk for 1 hour and they’d check me again. I walked and I stopped, walked and breathed. The contractions were coming steady and strong, but still very bearable. After the hour they checked me and told me I was at a 6—so definitely active labor!! I could not believe it. It was NOTHING like the induced labors I had experienced in the past. I had never made it to 6 without begging for mercy!! They had me get into bed so that they could start my IV and I had a quick bite to eat. I had one very strong contraction that kind of surprised me, but in general they were painful, but nothing like I’d experienced in the past. I labored for a short time while we waited for my doctor to arrive to break my water. The contractions continued, but were still bearable. Definitely nothing I’d want to have pain relief for. When my doctor arrived and checked me, he informed me that I was at an 8. WHAT?!?! 8cm with relatively little pain? Was this even possible? He broke my water and said, “Call me when you need me!” This is the same doctor who missed my previous delivery, so I joked with him not to go too far. The contractions came fast and strong. It was hurting. It was hurting pretty bad…it was hurting pretty bad, but OH THE PRESSURE. THE PRESSURE. Oh my, I needed to push….NOW. With no medication masking the natural process, it was so clear what my body was doing. I was so in tune to my body. Someone ran for the doctor and even though he was only at the nurses station, he barely made it in time to catch my beautiful baby boy in his arms. It was the most wonderful experience I had. My body knew exactly what to do…it sent all the signals I needed because I had not interfered with the process. It was perfect. This was also the only birth were I did not tear. I was up and out of bed within a very short period of time because I didn’t have any medication to recover from. I felt FANASTIC! I even realized that I was still wearing my street clothes because everything had happened so fast, I hadn’t even had a chance to change.

It took me 6 children to realize the innate strength and wisdom the Lord has put into our bodies. While I don’t think there is anything inherently “wrong” with pain relief in child birth, I realized that it had inhibited me from being fully aware and present in the process and I missed out on so much. The Lord has blessed us with another pregnancy and if I get the honor of giving birth yet another time, I now know the difference between a birth with medical intervention and one where my body does what it has been created to do naturally. And knowing what I know now, I’d never choose any other way.

Wow, those are quite the stories, Janelle! Thank you so much for sharing those with us! We really appreciate it!

Guest Post- Learning curve- 4 things to remember when breastfeeding after a c-section

Guest Blog post from Anne-Marie from the UK

Please welcome Anne-Marie, whom is visiting our blog today and sharing her story of having a c-section, after vaginal births. She has some good tips for us on recovery after a c-section as well as breastfeeding, which can sometimes be harder after a c-section than a vaginal birth. Thank you for sharing with us, Anne-Marie!

Anne Marie's story: To start, it's probably best to say that I'm British, living in the UK and I have had all five of our children in British hospitals or midwife-led units. Over here, if you are considered low risk in pregnancy, you usually have the choice to either deliver at home, in a midwife unit or in hospital. Pain relief is discussed during prenatal classes and included in your birth plan. At midwife units, you are only able to use entonox, a mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide that gives a mild analgesic effect at the height of contractions, or in some units pethidine injections. Epidurals are only available at consultant led units and then are fairly uncommon.

Sorry that was so long winded, but it sets the scene for how our deliveries took place. Our first and fourth babies we delivered at a midwife led unit, spontaneous onset of labour and I laboured using breathing techniques and during transition entonox to take the edge off of the pain of pushing, however to be honest, once I really concentrated I was able to deal with the pains and each baby was derived after about an hour and a half of pushing. Baby one delivered back to back and baby four with hands at the side of his face. So not your traditional presentation, but manageable with natural methods, it can be done :)

Babies two and three had fairly straight forward deliveries, however I went overdue by 15 days and 10 days respectively, so I was asked to consider induction. Thankfully each time, the midwives were able to break my waters in order to establish labour. Both babies were delivered after about 14 hours, without pain relief. Due to the term of my pregnancies, I had to deliver at a consultant led unit.

Baby five was a different matter, after my waters breaking, I laboured for about 48 hours with some progress, but everything then stopped. The consultant wanted me to have an epidural to accompany the syntocinon (The UK name for Pitocin) as they were concerned the contractions would be too strong to cope with. When the epidural was in place however, labour recommenced and I dilated to 8cm. The drip was then started after 8 hours, within 10 minutes baby's heartbeat become raised and the consultant decided that I would need an immediate c-section.

From the decision being made, it took just 20 minutes for baby to be delivered. She was perfectly healthy, her cord was approximately 20cm in length and was therefore unable to descend into the birth canal, my placenta had begun to abrupt so praise God for the consultant's quick decision to section me.

Having only had natural deliveries, the recovery time after baby 5 , has been much longer. She took longer to take to nursing then my other babies and I needed to learn to hand express, feed her from my finger tips to encourage her to learn how to latch onto my breast, after a couple of days struggle, she began nursing like a pro and is still exclusively breastfed at 5 months old. It can be done :)

Some tips for breastfeeding after a c-section....

-Use a lanolin based cream to prepare your nipples from about 38 weeks, then after every feed when baby has been born, this helped avoid cracked nipples

- Tummy to Mummy, nose to nipple, helped to ensure better position

-Big mouth, fishy lips was mine and my husband's joke, to get baby to latch better, meaning baby had to open his/her mouth wide and his/her lips should look a bit like a fishes when attached to the breast!

- I asked a midwife to demonstrate how to hand express for baby 5, as I'd never had success with this before, actual showing me really helped and reassured me that I'd got colostrum there for her. Ask for help if you don't know how to do this! It can really boost your confidence.

For recovery after c-section, I would do things a lot differently if I had another! I came out of hospital after 24 hours, wanting to be home with my family, however if I'd have stayed in a little longer I may well have rested more. Again I was used to natural delivery, where I have a 3 hour discharge and 24 hours felt like forever! I got a scar infection, not sure but I think this was probably because I tried to do too much too quickly. I would definately rest more if I had another section and not try to be supermum!

I don't know what protocol is after sections in the US but here I had to get up, remove the dressing and take a shower after 12 hours, personally getting the scar wet seems to make it more uncomfortable, just my opinion though. I'd take my full dose of pain relief after delivery, as I again tried to cut them out asap, we didn't really get any advice about this, but I was concerned about becoming reliant on them! taking arnica tablets from 38 weeks and for 2 weeks postnatally has always helped my body recover, so I did that after my section too, not sure how much it helped but it certainly didn't hinder.- Anne Marie

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Anne-Marie! I hope that it gives mother's some encouragement that even when birth does not go quite the way you planned, it does not have to prevent you from breastfeeding with following a few tips that can help.

Be sure to ask for the support, even if you did not need it in previous births or pregnancies. Remember that everyone is different.

Parenting is not for the faint of heart...

I think sometimes we get through labor, delivery, beginning breastfeeding and suddenly we find we are the focus of many, many questions.

"What are you going to do for diapers? Everyone knows cloth is best!" "Are you crazy? You are using cloth diapers? That is so much work!"

"When are you going to feed your baby solids?" "I fed my baby solids at 3 months and he slept all night and he is fine."

"You mean you are never going to give your baby a bottle?" "You are using a bottle? Don't you know that will rot his teeth?"

The list goes on and on. You are faced from questions from anyone. It is not only well meaning family and friends, it is the man that delivers your water to the postmaster behind the counter. You have to defend your ideas to the pediatrician and explain why you want to do things a wee bit differently.

So, if you are not tired of hearing tips...here are a few that I have learned over the years.

1. You are probably not going to convince a doctor, that has gone to many, many years of schooling, that your way is the right way. When they ask you about something, if you don't really know why you don't want to do it, if you want to do or just don't feel like it at the moment...thank them. Ask for more info and tell them you will let them know. Always, always be polite. They went to much more school to be a doctor, and it can be insulting if you act like you, someone from the internet or the lady from your mom's group knows more than him.

2. Do your own research. If you have questions, ask professionals. Don't assume that grandma must know that rice cereal is best for babies, since she raised 12 of her own babies. Check out articles on why they are thinking it might be wise to avoid it now. Why ditch the Infant cereals?

3. Don't just ignore people across the board, but also, don't listen to what everyone says. Use wisdom. There are a lot of parenting techniques that are really bad. Just because someone raised their child a certain way and they turned out "okay" (Whatever that means anyhow..), does not make it a good parenting practice. Thank them for their advise and think about it for your own child. See if it works with your parenting style and your child.

4. If you do need to go against the curve, educate yourself so throughly that they will know that you really are not just haphazardly throwing out ideas. You are thinking, looking into all aspects of the issue and made a decision. This is especially important if it is one that is not readily accepted.

5. Reserve the right to change your mind. Remember what worked for one child, may not be what is needed for another.

6. If all else fails, look up a good friend and commiserate about your parenting failures and triumphs over chocolate. Everything looks better tomorrow, no matter how bad the day is today!

Nurses intend to support women- 97 nurses polled

in labor continuously. Support for women In this study 97 nurses were used in this study.

I found the study interesting as I truly believe nurses intend to provide constant labor support for women, but often are unable to for many reasons!

The Christian Mama's guide to having a baby by Erin MacPherson

The Christian Mama's Guide to having a baby

By Erin MacPherson

Reviewed by Martha Artyomenko

Book Description: Everything you need to know about pregnancy—from weight gain to stretch marks to figuring out how to rely on Christ through the ups and downs of the next nine months. This comprehensive guide is packed with information that every newly pregnant Christian mama needs—including: help for pregnancy insomnia, morning sickness, weight gain and more advice on how to maintain a godly attitude and outlook during pregnancy—even when you're feeling anything but godly what to expect from doctor check-ups, your encounters with the scale and labor and delivery tips on how to survive food cravings, aversions, and even dreaded pregnancy exercise healthy eating advice for pregnancy that doesn't outright ban ice cream sundaes ideas on how to keep your marriage a priority when you're pregnant, including a guide for Christian dads-to-be and even pregnancy sex tips This detailed guide takes you through each trimester with helpful tips, humorous accounts, and supportive spiritual advice--all with a girlfriend-to-girlfriend approach that will help moms feel comfortable as they navigate this life-changing time.

My Review: Do you ever read pregnancy books and wish that they were more down to earth or on your level? When I picked up this book, I found myself laughing through it. This is not a medical birth book, but more a guide from people who have been there.....there is sections for your husband, by the husbands as well as covering all sorts of other topics. I loved the fact that she covered midwives and birth centers along with hospitals and gave you several different options for birth. I was vaguely disappointed she did not mention anything about doulas...I know the education is lacking on doulas and would love to see more pregnancy books talking about them. Over all, this book was a fun, happy way of looking at pregnancy and the discomforts of it. In it's fun happy way of writing, it has a down to earth feeling though as well. It is not terribly deep, but it is one I highly recommend for a pregnant mom to read and enjoy. You will find yourself as I did, curled up and giggling through it. I received this book for review from BookSneeze. The opinions given are my own.

The Risk of Unassisted or Unattended birth

The Risk of Unassisted Birth By Martha Artyomenko

Peace. Intimacy. Family Togetherness. This sounds like the ideal picture of what your dream birth could be. When you are researching and choosing this way to give birth, you may know someone that had a beautiful birth story they share with you on how peaceful and lovely it was, having an unattended birth. There was no medical interference and they raved about it. You think back on previous births and think perhaps that the midwife/doctor didn’t actually do that much. Maybe you barely made it to the hospital before the baby was born or the baby came so fast, the midwife or doctor missed the birth altogether.

The stories you do not hear as frequently are the stories with the poor outcomes. They really are often seen as scare tactics or simply something that happens to other people and not you. Imagine that peaceful scene, laboring quietly with your husband, suddenly becoming as busy as an accident scene, complete with ambulances, EMT’s, and police. That is not what anyone wants for her birthing scene, but while birth is a normal and natural process, it is also one that carries risk. Women, without the medical inventions that even home birth midwives utilize, often have a higher risk of waiting until they are beyond minimal intervention and instead run the risk of serious medical intervention. These stories below are fictitious, but could be true based on true stories that I know.

Penny was planning a hospital birth. She has received prenatal care from a local OB, but the OB is not satisfying her need for hands off care. She makes the decision to just gather a few supplies and wait at home until the last minute before heading to the hospital, hoping to actually have the baby before heading to the hospital or be on the cusp when she arrived. “Women have been doing this for generations! I have had 3 healthy babies that I had no issues with, why would this one be different?” Penny goes into labor and when she starts to notice a lot of pressure below, decides to head to the hospital. Arriving, she gives birth to a healthy baby boy 5 minutes later. She starts to question the need for any kind of care during labor. It had been so peaceful at home; she could easily just buy some supplies and have her husband help her next time. Pregnant for the 5th time, a year later, she decides to plan infrequent prenatal visits to a local midwife, and lets her know that she is not planning on using her for the delivery. While the midwife warns her of the risks, she shrugs her shoulders. “How risky can it actually be?” she asks her husband. “ I almost did it before without anyone, why would this be different?” She enjoys the hands off approach and when the time comes to give birth, she gives birth in her bedroom, kneeling next to her bed. Everything was beautiful. She notices when she goes to the bathroom that there is a lot of blood. She couldn’t remember if that was normal or not, but sits down and rests with her baby. She feels a little shaky and asks for some food. She wonders if she should call the midwife and finally does, but is not even able to recall why she was worried. Her tongue feels thick and hard to speak. Her husband speaks to the midwife, whom encourages him to call an ambulance. When the ambulance arrives, she has already lost a lot of blood. They did have the correct medications to stop a hemorrhage on board the ambulance and rush her to the hospital, while hydrating her with an I.V. She comes back home, weakened from her severe blood loss, highly anemic and works for months to regain her strength. She struggles with breastfeeding because of the traumatic start and wonders why her body failed her. She would have been more of a woman if she could have done it without anyone, right?

Alice has had her previous babies at home with a midwife. She has had no complications, but resents the amount of payment she has to pay to the midwife. She is well informed, researches everything widely and feels that she is almost as educated as her midwife. She prepares her house for birth, and while, she knows that there can be emergencies, she has not experienced one. She decides that her husband and her will deliver this one and they commence on reading up more on the topic. She asks her husband to read Emergency childbirth and when she goes into labor, all is peaceful and well. The labor is longer than normal, she listens to the heartbeat sometimes with the Doppler she bought off of eBay and thinks everything is fine. “Isn’t this nice?” she comments to her husband. “Just the way God created it to be, with just you and I.” When the pushing stage comes, something feels weird and as the baby is born, they realize that the baby is not in a good position. They try multiple things, attempting to get the baby to come down and out, but she is so tired, she cannot remember what her midwife used to do in that situation. Her husband is starting to worry and talking about the hospital. There is green fluid appearing now, and she remembers that was not a good sign. She talks herself into pushing the baby out and with some mighty pushes; the baby is born. She is limp and unresponsive, and finally with much stimulation, gives some weak cries. Her color is bad, and her husband calls the ambulance. The baby is whisked away, leaving the mother alone at home. She follows shortly in a car, to find out upon examination, she has torn quite badly. “I had no idea! I thought it was supposed to hurt awhile after having a baby.” She exclaims to the doctors. The baby is struggling to breathe and has to spend 2 weeks in the hospital for meconium aspiration and an infection. She is thankful when she gets to take her home, but has to wonder to herself if she had the midwife there, letting her know, maybe they could have prevented this.

As I said previously, these stories are fictitious. They are based on many, many true stories of things that happen in birth, labor and delivery. Home birth is a wonderful thing for a low risk mother. Statistics have not proven it unsafe under the right criteria, but without a trained professional to recognize the signs that something is going downhill and the need for the transfer for care, things can go badly in a matter of minutes. You may choose to have an unassisted birth and it may go swimmingly for you. You may also choose to have a birth assisted by a doctor or midwife and have complications. There are things that happen with both, but while there are not many studies done on the difference between unassisted birth and midwife-assisted homebirth, the informal studies prove that there are more complications with unassisted birth because of not recognizing simple things before they turn into major issues.

When you are deciding your birth strategy, please consider the risks you are taking as well as the overall risk you are taking in endangering the legality of homebirth as well. Licensed midwives fight for your right to give birth where you choose, but that does mean they have protocols to follow to make it as safe as possible. When you operate outside those perimeters, you are adding a risk to your home birth to begin with, adding the lack of a care giver with proper equipment, can lead to an experience that both of you can regret. The statistics are not readily available to us because of the nature of this, often unassisted births are not reported as such, but in informal survey’s the risks of having an attended home birth with trained professionals versus an unattended home birth without extra hands of any kind or even with a person that believes they have knowledge of birth attending are so vastly different they should be in a whole separate category.

Please consider before choosing to have an unassisted birth the repercussions if something does go wrong, and ask yourself if the risk is worth it. Ask yourself why you truly desire this for yourself and if there are other options available, why you shouldn’t use them.