Can we say MIND BLOWN???? How can it be that as owner of Childbirth Concierge I am still a #birth junkie at heart all these years later?
It was her fault
On March 26 in 1989 I gave birth to my first daughter Kara Ann after 26 hours of a Pitocin induction for pre-eclampsia at 37 weeks gestation. Even though I did it without an epidural and had a forceps delivery, I could not have imagined that her delivery would be responsible for catapulting me into a career of helping women have a positive birth experience. Months after her delivery I kept processing my experience. I was educated, had gone to childbirth classes, had midwives and Obstetricians and yet I was left feeling like what happened to me?
And her fault too
The same year my bestie Beth was pregnant, and her bag of waters ruptured prematurely at 34 weeks. Having only been to one childbirth class, she called me to come help her breath since I had given birth a few months earlier. It was a pretty fast labor, as I stood across from her husband at Cape Canaveral Hospital in Florida encouraging them both. When their daughter, who now has her master’s degree, was born I experienced something I will never forget. I remembered thinking I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. I now know that “feeling” is referred to as the “birth high”!
He thought I was crazy
Doula was not a popular word then and only found in the Greek dictionary. For that fact (don’t tell anyone) the internet wasn’t even a thing. But I had to figure out how to keep doing what I had just experience. When I came home from that birth, I certainly was a chatty Kathy. My now ex-husband said “What is that you want to do? Become a nurse? Midwife? Doctor?” I replied “No, I just want to be beside with the momma and do what I did”!
My first training
A year later I wanted some kind of training for what I wanted to do. I called all over and went to the library to look a micro phish. Some of you will need to google to even become familiar with that word. Go ahead, go Google I will wait for you. Needless to say I found an article that mentioned the word doula but it referred only to the postpartum period. I eventually called the Dept. of Professional Regulation and the lady said she would mail me a copy of a brochure she had just received for a training in Tampa Florida for $150. I remember borrowing the money from my mom and mowing her lawn to work it off. That Childbirth Assistant training took weeks for me to process with so much new information and concepts for my mind.
I will pay you to be at your birth
As I set out to gain my experience needed for certification, it was very foreign for someone extra to be at a birth. I practically had to beg mommas to allow me to be there. In time Beth had a son Asher. I was able to support her and Greg again but this time as a “trained” doula. Over time I gained more and more experience and became the first certified Childbirth Assistant in Florida with the former National Associated of Childbirth Assistants out of California. Over time I became an instructor for them and served on their Board of Directors.
Starting new things
In 1992 I borrowed 4 grand from my brother (my first business loan) and hired a top attorney to create the former Childbirth Enhancement Foundation (CEF) a non-profit organization. I developed a training and certification program and set up 14 hospital-based Doula and Internship Programs. In Santa Fe, NM I was contracted to help the hospital foundation write a $350,000 grant and then run the Doula Program. CEF trained hundreds of women and provided services to many communities. I am awe struck when I count how many doulas CEF trained that went on to become midwives. Three own local birth centers in the Greater Central Florida Area. I think last count was 14 midwives that began at a CEF training.
Times Change
During these growing years I went on to have 4 more children, 2 of which Jennie Joseph, LM, CPM delivered. I was working part time at a hospital in Orlando teaching childbirth education and had become an IBCLC. As with all things life happens and I went through an unexpected divorce, house fire and found myself questioning how to go on. I had come to a place where I was willing to walk away from it all and find a full-time job in corporate America. I took a year off from “birth work” and recharged and refocused. About that time Jennie and I decided to merge the training and certification work together in to her non-profit Commonsense Childbirth, Inc,and so CEF was put to rest. It was a hard but needed action. And in due time Childbirth Concierge was born.
No Time to Slow Down
So here I find myself pinching myself after all these years I still get to support families and now on a larger scale, than just myself. I have been blessed with an incredible team who upholds integrity and the spirit of service that are so important to me. Thank you Kara Ann for your birth that left me feeling empowered that I did it naturally, but yet wondering how I could have been more educated and empowered. Thank you Beth, Greg, and Laura for calling me in to my first experience of being beside with a family. Blessings to all the women who have allowed me to impart knowledge and wisdom and to the families who have trusted Childbirth Concierge to deliver their peace of mind!
“Postpartum services are so under-utilized and they don’t have to be!” Those are the exact words of second-time mommy, Meghan Manella of Orlando Florida, who used a Postpartum Doula for the first time after the birth of her second son. So, what exactly are Postpartum services and how could a new family benefit from them?
What Postpartum Doulas Offer
Postpartum Doulas offer non-medical care and support to help transition the new family. In our mobile society, new parents are often away from helpful family members. A Postpartum Doula is the perfect way to help you become comfortable with all the care your new little one requires. Some of the services Postpartum Doulas offer are mother care, newborn care, breastfeeding support, light house keeping, light meal preparation, and running errands or grocery shopping.
A Postpartum Doula can be with you night, day, or both, to be a second set of hands. They provide families with the ability to get some much needed sleep or time for oneself to regroup. Meghan found herself plagued with sleepless nights and difficulty breastfeeding. When her baby turned 4 months old, she and her husband hired a Postpartum Doula.
Help Arrived
“Kathy set us up with a night nurse who not only immediately provided me with the sleep I so desperately craved. Her experience and expertise helped guide us through dealing with a very headstrong baby. While at first I felt that having a night nurse 4 nights a week felt a bit indulgent, it turns out that it was exactly what my entire family needed! I was able to rest and recharge. The service allowed me to be more present with my 4 year old during the day, perform at work, and not be a shell of a person when my husband arrived home from work at the end of the week.”
Emotional Support
Postpartum Doula Services also provide the emotional support that may help lighten the effects of postpartum blues and the stresses of transitioning into a new family. Two major contributors to postpartum depression are fatigue and lack of support. A 2009 study in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing found that postpartum doulas effectively promote maternal responsiveness and competence in new moms.
Getting much needed help and rest is priceless. Costs for services range from $20 -$45 per hour, depending on where you are located in the US. Most postpartum doulas provide care from a 4 hour minimum to 12 hour shifts. Kathy Bradley, owner of Childbirth Concierge says, “We have had families need as little care as a few days to get over the hump. Some have had grandparents gift them $10,000 worth of care. Our families come with different needs and time frames of care. But all look forward to getting that extra help and/or rest when the postpartum doula arrives.” Many women spend months and months planning for a wedding. Few realize the importance of planning for their birth and postpartum experience.
Author Michelle Peterson of Seven Sisters for Seven Days: The Mothers’ Manual for Community Based Postpartum Care, encourages expectant mothers to choose seven friends who are willing to commit to check in on her. These friends should be available for a meal, or to sit and rock a baby while mom showers on their assigned day of the week for 6 weeks. This is a great option for those who may not have the advantage of being able to hire a professional postpartum doula.
Happy New Mom
Meghan is just one of many mothers that have benefited from the services offered by a Postpartum Doula. “I now share my experience with so many friends as they transition from one to two children. Some just simply find themselves feeling overwhelmed after the arrival of a new baby.” Whether it is your first baby, or your fourth, consider utilizing the services of a Postpartum Doula to ease the transition of such an exciting new time!
Kara Bradley has a degree in Early Childhood Development and is a Certified Perinatal Educator. She teaches at a private school, loves to write when she is not wrangling her two young boys.
It is a question I often ask myself, but I guess if I were to answer my own question I would have to say it is because we like the familiar. The things we are used to, things that we have become comfortable with. To make a change requires use to enter into the uncomfortable ZONE. It requires us to step out and do something different then what we have done before.
I entered the birth arena as a Certified Childbirth Assistant, the year before DONA became an entity. After a year or two of working with laboring patients I decided to become a Certified Childbirth Educator. I embarked on teaching basic female anatomy, stages and phases of labor, showing the “birth” video that made some partners cringe, and much more over a 12 week period. I was the pregnant couple’s lighthouse into understanding and learning about birth. The internet didn’t even exist.
Most educators that have been teaching 10 or more years can say they have seen a decline in attendance to childbirth classes. Today’s pregnant mamas are years ahead in technology then where I was when I was pregnant (1989) and a good number spend a lot of time educating themselves during their ten month growing period .
Some professionals feel that the decline in traditional class attendance is due to the vast amount of information that can be found by other modes. I taught for 14 years at a major hospital and I can still hear my manager’s voice. “What can we teach them that they can’t read in a book or get off the internet?” My answer always was “We may not be able to teach anything new, but as the experts we can make sure they have accurate information and that their personal questions are answered.”
I believe we always will have some form of classes but feel we are moving into a time that demands a more personalized form of childbirth education. Ponder the thought of merging the profession of childbirth educator with the doula. Many of us have been doing this for some time. It really goes hand in hand. I call this “merge” the Childbirth Consultant. Our world is always changing, but the process of giving birth never changes. How we educated and impart information may change, but what they need to know never changes.
Kathy Bradley has been involved with perinatal education and health care since 1989. Her focus over the years has been providing education and support to women of all income levels. As the founder and executive director of the former Childbirth Enhancement Foundation, she developed partnerships and training programs for community based doula programs with 14 hospitals. She managed a $350,000 grant to provide low-income women childbirth education, doula and lactation support services in Santa Fe, NM. She is owner of Childbirth Concierge and holds a degree in Communication and Public Relations.
We all have heard that breastfeeding your baby is best! But did you know that breastmilk offers 100% of what your baby needs, and that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life?
The benefits for babies that get their mom’s milk include, higher IQs, reduction in childhood cancers, obesity, diabetes, ear infections, and access to the mother immunities to mention a few. The benefits don’t stop for the baby but are extended to their moms as well including reduction in weight loss gained during pregnancy, female cancers, heart disease, osteoporosis and many more.
Do you know what the number one reason women give up breast feeding?
A) Lack of support
B) Too painful
C) They don’t believe they have enough milk
Most people think that the answer is “B-Too much pain” but the actual answer is “C- They don’t believe they have enough milk for baby”.
One of the most beneficial things you can do is go to a class and learn HOW to tell baby is getting. For the new parents it is pretty easy and doesn’t require a medical degree. You simply need to count the number of wet and dirty (urine and stool) diapers in a 24 hour period, and make sure it is the minimum number accepted for the age of your new baby. For example a 7 day old baby should have 6-8 wet diapers and 3-6 poop/dirty diapers. The basic concept is if breast milk is going in then there will be output in the diapers. kellymom.com is an excellent evidence based website for breastfeeding information.
Just as your body is designed to grow your baby and give birth, your body is designed to make and provide for your baby. Breastfeeding is the natural and most healthy way to feed your baby. The more milk that is removed from the breast the more milk the breast will produce. Getting support for family members is shown to help the breastfeeding relationship last longer. Also consider who you get information from (is it trusted and evidence based) and surround yourself with friends who have successfully breastfed their babies.
Many women accept that breastfeeding will be painful, but this is a misconception. Breastfeeding should not be painful to the point where you are crying, or dreading the next feeding. It is not normal for your nipples to be cracked and bleeding. If you experience pain or have concerns, getting the correct help from a lactation professional is crucial in helping you turn the situation around. Your hospital will provide breastfeeding help while you are there, and most offer outpatient services once you’re discharged. Also check with your pediatric office to see who they recommend. Some Board Certified Lactation Consults offer home visits, which are nice as they can help you in the comfort of your home where you are nursing all the time.
In January 2013 our current governmental administration mandated that insurance companies provide for lactation consults and pumping supplies. You are encouraged to call your insurance provider while pregnant to see what they exactly provide. If you are planning to return to work and will be pumping it is important to invest in a good pump. Poorly performing equipment can result in poor milk removal. So this is one area where better equipment is worth it.
Price ranges to expect in the Orlando are:
Office Consults range from $75-$120
Home Visits $120-$175
Double Pump Equipment (recommended for those returning to work) $180-$395
Key points to know:
Breastfeeding is normal and the perfect food for baby, water supplementation is not needed
Breastfeeding should NOT be painful
Milk removal (either by baby or pump) equals milk production “DEMAND & SUPPLY”
Know your baby’s diaper output to make sure it is enough
Know where to call or go for help
Know YOU ARE NOT ALONE~
Often times I hear pregnant moms say “I don’t need to go to childbirth class I am going to use an epidural” and it is probably one of the biggest misconceptions about childbirth class that exist. Before the electronic era and wide spread use of pain medication for pain control, the common way expectant parents could learn about what was going to happen to them during birth was to attend a childbirth class. Over the years the childbirth education classes have seen a decline in attendance, yet a lot of people spend more time and resources researching how to remodel a bathroom or kitchen than learning about bringing a baby into the world.
Today offers a lot more options. With YouTube and the internet, one doesn’t even need to leave their home or put down their hand held device to get advice and information on giving birth. And it is true that babies will come into this world without their parents taking a class on “childbirth”, after all childbirth classes didn’t exist 100 plus years ago as we know them and babies still arrived. Fast forward to a very busy society where 80% to 90% of laboring patients use epidural and c-section rates are the highest they have ever been across the United States.
Learning from a childbirth expert what you can do to increase your chances of a positive birth experience is worth your time and money. Most hospitals offer some type of class, but it is also very popular to see other classes offered in the community. For those with busy schedules, private classes are the perfect option and are not as expensive as you might think. Most classes whether group or private should cover basic items like when to go to the hospital or birth center, stages and phases of labor, basic terminology, comfort measures, partner tips, interventions. Some classes include newborn care and breastfeeding. The hot topics usually are pain medications. In my 24 years of experience there are generally three types of thinking when approaching pain control;
1. I definitely want an epidural.
2. I will wait and see if I need one.
3. No thank you, I do not want one.
There is no right or wrong answer, only you can decide, but I also encourage you to stay open about options. For example if you are planning on an epidural learning about when the ideal time is to get an epidural can help you to decrease your chances of a C-section. Most moms don’t realize that the number one way to decrease their chances of a C-section is to wait until active labor to come to the hospital. We call this the 511 rule – contractions at least 5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute long, for at least 1 hour. Also using a peanut ball decreases chances of surgery as well.
If you are planning on not having an epidural, have you thought about what it takes? Do you have good labor support? Have you thought about hiring a doula? Key to laboring without an epidural is movement, use of hydro therapy, access to many comfort measures, and understanding all the ins and outs of labor. Do you understand when an epidural can be beneficial? Yes, even for those “natural” mamas, sometimes interventions can be helpful in unique situations. Being prepared and not afraid makes a world of difference. Birth planning and birth itself is not 100% black and white. The more you are educated and understand the value in good communication with your nurses, midwives and doctors the more satisfied you will be even if the need arises for a C-section.
Your childbirth educator is the expert that you can ask all kinds of questions to and bounce things off that you have read or heard.
It’s is your birth, and education is key!
Kathy Bradley, CD, ICCE, IBCLC has been in the Maternal Health field for 29 years and has taught countess families. She taught for 14 years as the 2nd largest volume hospital in the US, located in Orlando.
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