Thoughts – Doula Group of Evansville

Your Feelings Matter for Birth & Postpartum

Your feelings during labor and delivery make a difference not only on the big day, but also in how you remember your birth experience.

Our thinking brains like to imagine that our hearts and feelings don’t influence the way our body or brain works, but it is so wrong. Your emotions affect so many things, and keeping that in mind when you are going through pregnancy, labor, delivery, & all throughout postpartum can be a little daunting. For me, protecting my emotional health during that time felt like one more thing that I didn’t have time to worry about really. First, let’s talk about why your emotions matter and a few things that may challenge you during this time. I promise, this blog post is going to end with some helpful ways to keep your peaceful mindset, because we all need some extra tools to handle this whole wildly human experience.

Because of Hormones

Your hormones are little messengers that run around your body telling it what to do. They are really important for pregnancy, labor & delivery, & postpartum for so many reasons, but I’m going to outline two big ones here. The first thing they do for you in labor and postpartum is they keep things going. Anxiety & stress produce hormones that make your labor slow or even stop, and does the same for your milk production. The giant flood of hormones you get during labor and early postpartum also means we remember MORE and in greater detail. Seriously, ask anyone who has given birth about their story, and they will share far more details than you can even imagine even MANY years later. There are all kinds of evolutionary reasons that our bodies have adapted to do this by the way, because we’re mammals. Anxiety & stress produce these hormones because if we were an animal giving birth in the wild and a predator started stalking us, then we would WANT our bodies to stop labor so we could get up and run away. (Also a reason for animals to eat their placentas–to hide the evidence.) The distinctly human part of this is that our anxiety & stress can be triggered by all kinds of things, including just thoughts inside our amazing brains or even just a sideways look from someone.

Challenges

There are all kinds of things that can increase our likelihood of our anxiety and stress being triggered in labor, delivery, and early postpartum. Things like a lack of privacy & interruptions in your flow can inhibit your ability to relax and for your body to make the hormones to keep your contractions going. People with a history of abuse, assault, or other trauma can really feel their stress hormones escalate in labor and delivery, which is another reason that trauma informed care is sooo very important. Bright lights, strange noises, & smells can all bring those stress hormones whooshing around our bodies. No matter what your specific challenges are to keeping calm and relaxed, developing the tools you need before you have to use them will help you meet any challenges that might arise!

Tools to Help

Don’t be shy about asking for what you need to feel better during labor and postpartum. Keeping the lights low in your room can be really helpful for decreasing anxiety & making a space more cozy. Some people bring twinkle lights to hang up or a tapestry to hang to make the space more their own too. You can even bring a sleep mask and earplugs if they help you. I always suggest packing your own pillow and blanket to make the space smell and feel more like home too, and keeping your partner close definitely helps some people relax more. You can make a sign for the door to remind people who enter to please use hushed voices and respect the energy in the room. Nothing ruins your flow more than someone walking in and talking loudly while you’re just trying to get through your contractions or trying to get your fussy baby to latch. Protect your space and communicate your needs, and if you need some help with that, a doula might be someone to consider adding to your birth or postpartum team.

You can’t live in a bubble, but you can hold space for yourself for this profoundly human experience of bringing a new baby into the world. Developing tools such as breathing techniques, body awareness, meditation, self-hypnosis, & grounding techniques can help you not only stay calm for labor and delivery, but also for postpartum. Psst, these techniques even work for parents to teenagers—ask me how I know. With 20 minutes a day of calming practice, you can learn to bring your nervous system back to calm and keep those good hormones flowing. Your feelings matter!

After a Cesarean Birth

CBAC, HBAC, or VBAC?

April is Cesarean & VBAC Awareness month, and we know exactly how important it is to recognize both of these ways of giving birth. We know that nationally, around 1 in 3 births happen via cesarean section, and locally that holds fairly true according to the latest available data. While we don’t know the full extent as to WHY the planned hospital birth cesarean rate is so high, “It seems increasingly clear that anxiety and easy access to many medical procedures at hospital may lead to increased levels of intervention, which in turn may lead to further interventions and finally to unnecessary complications (Olsen & Clausen 2023).” All of that is big picture stuff though, and this post is really seeking to speak to the patient side of things. We celebrate ALL births, no matter how they happen. Let’s talk about 3 big areas where doulas can help after a cesarean birth.

Postpartum

The first 6 weeks after cesarean surgery can be challenging. Your body really needs to rest, but you have a newborn to take care of too. Maybe you’re still dealing with pain when you get home and timing medications, or your other kids really want to cuddle but you’re worried they might bust your incision. Lifting restrictions make moving baby, other kids, laundry baskets, etc challenging after a cesarean birth too. Hiring a postpartum doula, even when you didn’t plan to, can be a huge help to your family and your health in those first 6 weeks. Whether you get a doula or not, delegating should definitely be in your wheelhouse, because your body needs TIME to recover properly in this postpartum period at home.

Recovery

Physical recovery is what most people think about after a cesarean birth, and yes that is really important. After that initial 6 weeks, you may want to talk to your provider about physical therapy to work on scar mobilization and pelvic floor therapy too. Yes, even after having cesarean surgery your pelvic floor might need some work. Honestly, I don’t know why pelvic floor PT isn’t a standard referral after having a baby, but that is a blog for another day.

Mental recovery after a cesarean birth is something that we need to talk about more. I often find myself processing with my clients who’ve had cesarean surgery to talk about how things went, even if I wasn’t there for that birth. People react very differently to having cesarean surgery, and we truly believe all feelings are 100% valid. Mental recovery can be very easy for some and others struggle with it for a long time. Processing with a birth professional like a doula or with a therapist trained in birth trauma can be really validating and helpful for some people. This is a service we offer for clients all the time!

Next time

The big question that many people have after a cesarean birth is often, what should they do next time. Should you try for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), maybe an HBAC (home birth after cesarean), or maybe a planned CBAC (cesarean birth after cesarean) is for you. There is no one right answer that will work for everyone in this situation, and there are many many factors that go into making that decision. As doulas, we tend to nudge people to think about 4 things when they’re discussing what to do for their next birth:

What were the factors that lead to your cesarean surgery?
How do you feel about giving birth again?
Is there information or other support that would be helpful for you to know when making this decision?
How will you feel about your choice in 10 years?

Everyone answers those questions differently, and honestly there is no one right answer that will work for everyone. One thing we can say with the utmost certainty is that no matter what your choices are, our doulas will be there to support you 100% of the way. We’re working to try to help hospitals understand the value of having your doula in the operating room to support you during your surgical birth too, and will keep pushing for this here locally!

We’re very grateful that cesarean surgery exists, as we’ve seen it save lives. At the same time, we know that it is often over used. We LOVE that VBAC is a truly viable option here locally with many providers, and have seen some amazing HBAC births too. Birth is honestly just amazing in all the different ways it happens. If you’ve had a cesarean birth and want support in any of the above ways, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

I <3 This Community

11 days ago my family, including our sweet dog Buzz was safely outside staring at our house burning down. We lost almost everyTHING in that fire, including our cars. Everyone is ok, and honestly as quickly as it happened, I’m so very grateful for that. That is a picture of my living room the next day. I’ve met with clients in that living room. There is an antique birth stool on the table in the center of the picture that was a gift to me from my mother in law. I do NOT recommend losing your home and everything in it, including your cars, in a house fire, but I want to share a few lessons with you about it here:

Our Community is Amazing!

There were 7 fire trucks at my house in less than 15 minutes. That was impressive. They were all so incredibly kind, and I even got to see a familiar face who took a selfie with me…yes, seriously. Our neighbors came out to put clothes and shoes and blankets on us immediately. We sat in one neighbors’ house when it started to rain. We have had an endless stream of kindness coming our way ever since, and honestly have never felt so surrounded in love.

My doula community both here and around the world has also come together to help us feel the love. My doula mentor Robin Elise Weiss, who many moons ago also had a house fire, has been indispensable! She seriously ran a board meeting for me y’all. I’ve gotten messages from Australia, Germany, California, Canada, Mexico, and sooo many other places, and my heart is so full right now because of them.

2 Small Things

We had a small fire-proof box with all our important documents inside it like our marriage certificate, passports, etc. Get one if you don’t already have one and go make sure all your important documents are actually in it if you do. Change the batteries in your smoke detectors. Seriously, go check them! They can save you. If you don’t have one in your garage already, do that too!

Choose Kindness

There have been incredibly kind people that we’ve interacted with, and then there have been the outlier jerks. When in doubt, choose kindness every single time. I have learned so much about trauma and recognized much of it in myself and my family these past 11 days. We will continue to focus on the goodness and laugh about the ridiculous people, but seriously, choose to be kind to everyone you meet. You never truly know what someone else is dealing with in their life.

Pieces are starting to fall into place for what our life is going to look like for now. We’ve rented a house already where we can stay for the next year if we need to. Life goes on, and we are so thankful for all the kindnesses and for each other more than ever before really. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to us. Doula life continues, and I’m so grateful for the awesome team here that has provided seamless services as I’ve worked to get back to my managerial role. They have continually amazed me as I asked them to step into some roles that I typically have filled. I seriously LOVE this community more now than I even probably could have before this fire. Thank you.

Black Birth Matters

This Black History Month I want to celebrate the 3 amazing black doulas on our team who are making history every single day! Tamika, Jessica, & Norma are 3 of the kindest humans you will ever meet. All 3 are birth doulas who love serving all kinds of families, but definitely have a very special heart to be able to serve families from the Black Community especially. We know how important culturally congruent care can be to all families, but especially here in the US where maternal mortality is 3-4 times higher for black birthing families than everyone else, and where racism is a daily fact of life.

These 3 doulas are all so very different, but the one thing they have in common is a personal understanding of the black experience here in Evansville. Their experiences help shape the type of doulas they are with all of their clients of course. Their compassion for the struggle of navigating the healthcare system all while worrying that whoever is in charge of your care might be judging you based on your skin color is impeccable. We LOVE the questions that they ask and their approach to helping families, and I learn from every single conversation that I get the chance to have with each of them.

I celebrate these doulas because of their bravery and knowing that this work is about so much more than representation. The human connection is what doula work is all about, and these 3 get it on a cellular level. They are proud black doulas here serving our community and raising beautiful children in a sometimes very challenging place.

I asked one of them what was hard about living here, and her reply was, “I think its because the racism is hidden, so its harder to decide who is trustworthy.” That was a gut punch of a statement, but of course a sentiment shared by many families of color. These doulas get it, because they live it. The best part though, “that we have such a great group of doulas supporting each other who all get it.”

We see you Tamika, Jessica, & Norma out here being the change you want to see in the world. Thank you for trusting this group to be part of your doula community. We appreciate your perspective and work so very much, and are here to support you in every way we can.

Our Non-Negotiables

Since 2014, I’ve been working here in Evansville, Indiana as a birth doula. That was the year that I formed the Doula Group of Evansville with a few other doulas. Though we’ve been through several different forms since then, the core values that we started with have always remained the same. I recently realized that we’ve never really publicly declared them, though they definitely come up in every conversation I have with potential doulas who want to join the team. We want you to know our values, because they are very important to us as a group. We come from a place of learning and acceptance, and aren’t trying to force anyone to think or do anything with these. The thought behind making these public is so you can know us better as a group. We want you to know where we stand and how we approach things, including how we do business and how we put our values into action in our services.

(Side note: Documentaries are one of my favorite things to watch. I recently watched a documentary on a cult, and the leader made all her insiders sign some document that detailed her non-negotiables. Let me tell you, that list scared me, especially as I’ve been using the term “non-negotiables” for a few years with regards to our values. I promise, this short 3 item list is nothing like that.)

1. Science is Real

I LOVE science! One of the reasons that I wanted to become a doula was because I was so upset about the gap between what we know and how maternity care is practiced. I read Henci Goer’s The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth during my pregnancy and my mind was blown. One of my favorite things about science is that it changes; with new information comes new ideas and eventually, new practices too. We learn all the time that new doesn’t equal better either, and that can be hard, especially as techno-loving Americans, but I digress.

When I say that we love science, what I don’t mean is that we believe there is one right way that works for everyone. I’m a social scientist with a PhD and I’m pretty sure they’ll come take my degree away if I say something so absurd as that. I’m also not saying that science has all the answers. What I am saying when I state that one of our core values is that science is real, is that we believe the scientific method is the best framework for understanding what is going on in reality. When we “do research” we’re looking for scholarly articles and trying to understand what the scientific consensus is, and we’re being picky about our sources. We know that anecdotal evidence is one source, but we want you to show us the numbers behind the assumptions. We ask questions like, “what is the absolute risk” instead of being persuaded by “the risk doubles” type of relative numbers arguments. We know that a scientific understanding can help us make more rational decisions based on actual evidence and not coercive language. Feelings are important, and knowledge can be powerful.

2. Anti-Racism

We work to actively proceed from a place of anti-racism. That means understanding that some of us have privilege in this world because of our presumed race, and racism is a massive problem. This holds especially true in healthcare, and everyone on this team has committed to learning about the effects of racism and how to affect change by working in and through an anti-racism framework. If you’re unfamiliar with anti-racism, this community curated bibliography is a great starting point for learning. We know that being “not racist” is not enough, and we are attempting to do better.

We also know that people deserve to have a doula on their team that understands their perspective from the inside and not from any sort of savior perspective. We have very intentionally built a team of doulas who reflect our community and the communities/families that we want to serve. We take that service very seriously, especially for BIPOC families who are at risk of experiencing medical racism that increases their morbidity and mortality as they welcome new babies into the world. We see you and are here if you want support and resources.

3. LOVE the Rainbow

We are cognizant of the ways that some businesses seem to want to capitalize on their lip-service to the LGBTQIA2S+ community, and that is not us. Some of us identify as part of the “rainbow community.” Several of us have children who identify with the LGBTQIA2S+ community. Everyone on this team is an ally/accomplice, and will ask you your pronouns. We approach our doula work with LOVE and know that LOVE is what makes a family. We will always do our best to make sure all our client families feel seen and heard by us. All the doulas on this team LOVE our LGBTQIA2S+ community, family, & friends, and that goes so much deeper than tolerance. We also specifically seek out learning opportunities to better understand how to be/do better at using inclusive language, Supporting Queer Birth, & how to be better allies/accomplices.

Who We Are

We are a group of doulas working to help make our community a better place for all families. We do that by helping families go from expecting through beginning. These 3 non-negotiable values are the starting points to everything that we do as a group, and how we choose to focus our working energy. You don’t have to believe the exact same things as we do, and we promise we have served all types of families who don’t believe these things at all. These are not a dogma that we are attempting to force on anyone; we just want to be transparent about our values. Most of all we approach this work with curiosity, love, and hearts for service. We seek to understand our clients so that we can better serve their specific needs. These non-negotiables are unapologetically part of who we are.

Becoming a Doula

Way back in 2014, a mere month after walking the stage to receive my PhD in Medical Anthropology, I traveled to Louisville, KY to attend a birth doula training with the brilliant Robin Elise Weiss. Since then I’ve attended more than 200 doula client births and learned so much along the way. This is the story of how I became a doula.

When I got pregnant during graduate school (not something I recommend btw), I voraciously read everything I could about pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. I could not get enough, and I even had professors sending me articles about how babies learn language before they are born. Naturally I scheduled my German conversation course for the spring semester while I was pregnant. By the time I neared the end graduate school I’d had 2 children and wasn’t sure I wanted to be an academic. That was when the idea to become a doula really started to take hold.

I started in 2013 by networking with other doulas in Evansville, and oh my goodness they were all soo nice to me. They invited me to a “doula night” at one of their houses where they talked business, trainings, & all things doula. One of them even had a placenta in their freezer, and I knew these were my people. I was hooked. I went to the training in June 2014, and have been taking clients ever since then. None of those doulas I met that night are still taking clients, which speaks so much to how challenging this job can be, especially the unexpected bits of it.

The Unexpected Bits

I didn’t expect to need to run my own business. I know that sounds naïve, even to me now, but it is the truth. I wanted to help birthing families sure, but finding clients, building & maintaining a website, setting up the proper legal paperwork, social media, paying taxes, networking, and all that jazz were not part of the thought process of getting started. I may have had a PhD, but I had much to learn about business. I’m happy to say that I feel much more confident now, though the imposter syndrome does sneak in occasionally.

The challenge of life on call was not something I was wholly prepared for in the beginning. As a birth doula, I have to be ready to leave my life for a couple days with sometimes not much warning. I have to be willing to miss holidays and plays and family events to go be with my clients. When my kids were little, the biggest challenge was having childcare ready at any moment of the day for possibly an entire month of 24/7 on-call time. This is the part that I always talk to people thinking about becoming a doula about, because not everyone has the resources to be able to do that. The reality of how much energy being a doula takes also almost always has new doulas re-thinking how much they charge for their services, though that is a topic for another time.

The best unexpected bits have been the amazing connections that I’ve been able to make with clients and their families. I’m forever grateful to be a part of some of the most memorable moments of their lives. There are so many families that I’ve had the chance to meet and be part of that I would never have met otherwise. That is something so beautiful about this job and I’ll never take it for granted. Though it does sometimes make it challenging to walk through a crowd without someone yelling my name and getting random hugs. (BONUS!!)

Learning

I’ve continued learning from some of the best doulas around the world, and I’m going to keep learning probably forever, because that’s just my style. I’ve gotten amazing doula agency business advice from Jessica English. I took a brilliant postpartum doula training from Jen Chandlee. I continue to learn from Ann Grauer, who also trained the 2 other postpartum doulas on my team. I am learning about leadership in the doula world from Melissa Harley & Nikia Lawson all the time too. I’m sure this year will be a huge one of learning, as I step into the role of President at DONA International.

I’m asked all the time about how to become a doula. This is my story. I started with DONA International, and have worked hard to keep learning and growing as a doula. I have an abundance mindset, and I honestly feel like that has helped bridge so much learning and connection for me. It is also why I’m passionate that more people in Evansville should learn to be doulas too! I love talking to new doulas and am HAPPY when more doulas are trained here. I started Doula Group of Evansville so that more families could be supported by doulas and more doulas could feel supported by each other.

Ever thought of becoming a doula?

Becoming a doula has been one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made. It hasn’t been easy, but it has honestly been more rewarding that I ever could have imagined. If you’re thinking about becoming a doula, please feel free to reach out to talk to me. I will continue to pass on the kindness shown to me by the doulas here back in 2014 by always being willing to share my experience with others who might be interested in traveling this path too.

The 2nd Time

As a doula, I am always in awe of my clients the second time around, but don’t get it twisted. First time parents are awesome, but there are a few things about second time parents that make doula work exciting. Every time I meet with parents who are having their second baby, I always come away smiling and excited to follow-up with more information for them. But really, what’s so different about the second time around?

A Note About First Timers

First time parents are awesome. They are so very full of ideas about how they want things to go with their pregnancy, birth, and baby. They’re sometimes really excited about learning all the things and almost always soo optimistic about what is coming up soon in their lives. Everything is theoretical for them, so all the options are still open too. First time parents ask great questions and we LOVE doula-ing them. Don’t worry, we love you first timers too!

Understanding

Parents expecting their second baby come with a built in understanding of how things work in a way that I can’t always teach in a classroom. They have been through birth and postpartum before, and that experience informs how they approach it a second time. (It also informs IF they approach it a second time!) Experience is sometimes the best teacher, and no matter how many times we role the cascade of interventions in a classroom, sometimes you have to experience it for yourself to know how you want to navigate it.

Knowing Your Needs

Second time parents know their needs better, because they’ve been there. Maybe last time they thought feeding their baby would be easy peasy and then they ended up needing to go to ALL the appointments to get it on track. Maybe they thought they wanted a natural unmedicated birth, but they ended up having an unplanned cesarean, and they want to know how to make a planned one better. Second time parents not only know their needs better, but are less shy about asking for what they need. That’s a true blessing in my book! I talk to at least one family a week who did not enjoy their first time around, and are looking to make things better based on that experience. Those calls are some of my favorite.

Unmitigated Pragmatism

When you have been put through the ringer of parenthood already, you tend to become much more pragmatic about what you want. Maybe you thought your family was going to be more helpful than they ended up being after your baby was born. Did you provider turn out to be less than supportive of your wants for birth and you’re looking to make a change? It isn’t cynical to want something different and to go after what you need; it’s pragmatic! It is recognizing that your needs are also important, and maybe your pie in the sky ideas didn’t turn out the way you wanted. Moving past those ideals doesn’t mean that you are abandoning them, rather you are shaping what you want based on what you actually experienced the need for the first time.

Let me illustrate with a story:

During Sonya’s first pregnancy I had she and her husband in a childbirth education class. This couple was so very excited about having a natural unmedicated hospital birth & spent extra time to learn ALL the different coping techniques and tools available to them to try to achieve that. Their plans got derailed when their provider told them their baby was looking small, so they thought they should schedule an induction at 39 weeks. The induction turned into a 3 day labor in which Sonya had every intervention she had tried to avoid. It also resulted in a beautiful baby boy being born vaginally, and I never want to overshadow that. Here’s the thing, many people would be totally fine with everything that they experienced in the hospital, but they weren’t. They didn’t feel listened to at all by their provider or the staff at the hospital, and grew angrier every time anyone mentioned to them that “at least they have a healthy mom and healthy baby!”* When they got pregnant with their second baby, we were their first phone call. They wanted to know about providers who would be more supportive of their wishes, options for different locations to birth, and who of the doulas on our team might be available to help them this time.

Second time parents know more about what they want and need, because experience is sometimes the best teacher. There is no one right way to do any of this pregnancy, birth, and parenting stuff, but sometimes a negative experience teaches you what you don’t want in a way that you may not have been open to receiving before it happened to you. So here’s my shout out to all you parents expecting your second babies! You’ve been there, got the poop-stained onesies to prove it, and know better what you’ll need this time around because of it.

3 secrets my 2nd baby taught me:

All pregnancies are different, no matter the sex of your babies.
Don’t worry, you really will love this one just as much as the first one. Your heart is going to grow the moment you see that new face!
You are an expert about your firstborn, but what worked for them might not work for this one.

*Do NOT say this phrase in front of me EVER again!

Doula Group of Evansville: 2021 All Wrapped Up

2021 brought a few surprising numbers for Doula Group of Evansville.

2021 has been a wild ride for our group! We grew from a group of 3 doulas to our current size of 6 doulas. This growth is especially exciting because it has meant that we can serve more families in our community. We’ve all continued to learn and grow in our professional skills this year too, which has been so amazing to do together. We continue to be in awe of the families that invite us into their space to help, and are so grateful to be able to keep doing our jobs during this pandemic. We’ve seen some incredible things this year including one of the most patient providers ever during the pushing stage and healthy beautiful babies born at home without even a cervical exam. The most surprising statistic we found was that 42% of our birth doula clients were induced, but honestly, it shouldn’t have been surprising at all considering that a 40% induction rate is average in the USA currently.

Our Numbers

5: the number of hospitals where we attended births. Our birth doulas went to births at Ascension St. Vincent Evansville, Deaconess Women’s Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital Vincennes, Jasper Memorial Hospital, & Owensboro Health Regional Hospital. We didn’t have any clients deliver at Henderson Hospital or Daviess Community Hospital in Washington this year, but we definitely do go to births there too. We kept tabs on all 7 of these hospitals’ visitor policies this year as well, because COVID has kept them shifting throughout the year. Keeping up with those shifts has become much more a part of our jobs than we ever expected, but that’s doula life for you.

19: the number of providers we saw catch babies. That number includes 1 nurse midwife, 2 certified professional midwives, and 16 different OB/GYNs! This is one reason we spend so much time talking about the importance of providers. We SEE the difference provider preference and approach make when it comes to your experience of pregnancy and birth!! We know which providers are patient and kind, and which ones will tell you whatever you want to hear in the office and then change their tune completely when you are in labor. We know which providers ALWAYS cut an episiotomy and which are going to push you to induce at 39 weeks for any possible reason they can find. Are you looking for a provider who will sit and answer your questions at your appointments without their hand on the doorknob? We know some!!

43: the number of FREE weekly virtual office hours we had in 2021! This one hour a week is one of my favorite times to answer all kinds of questions. I’ve talked to people about becoming a doula, and made provider recommendations. Birth options & feeding issues have been the other main topics I’ve discussed with people who’ve stopped by to chat. I look forward to continuing this weekly chat, though I’m honestly thinking I will change the timing of it so that more people can come if they’d like. Perhaps an evening time?? I’ll decide soon and keep you all posted!

Gratitude

Beyond the numbers, we are 100% grateful for the families that have invited us into their space. We are so thankful to be able to talk to people as they prepare for the arrival of a new baby, and to walk with them through the journey from expecting to beginnings with their expanded family. As a group, we all honestly feel so very lucky to be able to doula in this community, and strive to be the best possible doulas we can be for each and every family we serve. The changes I have seen since 2014 have been remarkable, and I’m so proud of this team of rock star doulas that I’ve been able to gather around me in this group. My gratitude for their trust in me as their leader is enormous, and I strive to be worthy of that on a daily basis. Thank you!

Coming Soon…

We are looking forward to 2022 in a BIG way!! We’ve got some exciting things planned, and some changes are coming for our group too. Keep your eyes peeled on our social media and here for announcements about:

new doulas on our team
a free downloadable E-Book
new resources for our doula clients
online classes from us
outdoor classes (during warm months)
and more!!

We can’t wait to keep growing in 2022!

Psst, are you a birth worker who might want to come to a Spinning Babies training in Evansville March 12, 2022?? Come learn along with us!!

Our 2021 Local Statistics

Every year hospitals submit specific measurements to Leapfrog Group to see how the they are doing, and this year’s aren’t looking great. We like to check in on our local statistics to see how we are doing, and you can read last year’s local statistics if you’d like. In this table, the numbers in bold are from 2021 & those in parenthesis are from 2018.

Hospital	NSTV Cesarean Rate	Early Elective Deliveries	Episiotomies
The Women’s Hospital Newburgh, IN	27% (22.9%)	5.2% (1.7%)	11.9% (14.8%)
Ascension St. Vincent Evansville	23.5% (27.2%)	0% (.8%)	5.6%(6.8%)
Owensboro Health	declined to respond (29.7%)	declined to respond (1.4%)	declined to respond (12.7% )
Memorial Hospital & Healthcare Center Jasper, IN	17.5% (12.8%)	4.5% (0.0%)	7.4% (9.8%)
Daviess Community Hospital Washington, IN	15.7% (15.2%)	2.9% (1.9%)	6.9% (13.1%)
Good Samaritan Hospital Vincennes, IN	24.2% [20.7%]*	3.8% [4.0%]*	5.2% [14.2%]*
Deaconess Henderson Hospital	27.6% (26.1%)	2.5% (2.4%)	2.6% (2.4%)

*numbers are from 2020, as we did not record the data for Good Samaritan Hospital in 2o18

Let’s take a moment to congratulate Ascension St. Vincent’s in Evansville for their success in reducing their overall NSTV cesarean section rate. Yes, there is room for improvement, but they are also the only local hospital that reported data and reduced their cesarean rate, as well as early elective deliveries AND episiotomies. Way to go StV!

Why does it matter?

The NSTV rate tells us the likelihood of a 1st time parent walking into a hospital with one head-down baby at 38+weeks gestation and walking out after having had major abdominal surgery to deliver that baby. This statistic doesn’t count surgical births for breech delivery or repeat cesareans or even first cesarean surgeries for your 3rd baby. From a population standpoint, we should be aiming to get that rate to between 10-15%, and huzzah Davies Community hospital is hovering right on top of that target. These reported NSTV local statistics have all gone in the wrong direction, and that matters for birthing families.

It matters because having one cesarean section increases the risks to you with each subsequent pregnancy. Is VBAC an option for you? Maybe, but only around 20% of people who have had a previous cesarean section will even attempt a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean, and then only if they can find a provider who is actually supportive. After a cesarean, your risk of things like placental accreta, increta, and percreta increase too. Surgical birth carries risk, and according to the evidence, we are doing surgery too often.

How can we change?

Hold OBs to their own standards. Yes, I mean us as consumers, but also hospitals and insurance companies too. ACOG gave some great ideas here, California has some ideas we could bring to the Midwest here & Dr. Neel Shah has been a leader in the call to figure out how to reduce cesareans. I have also read about hospitals publishing their own data publicly and privately nudging physicians to change by keeping them informed of their own professional statistics. I promise you that physicians have access to their personal statistics, whether they access them or choose to share them publicly (or even with patients) is another story all together. There has to be that push and pull if we are going to create true lasting change.

How can you reduce your own risk?

Choose a place to give birth with a lower NSTV cesarean section rate. I know that insurance plays a huge factor in this, so that isn’t always an option for everyone. We do know that your greatest risk of needing cesarean surgery is the location of your delivery.
Inform yourself! Know your options & be ready for what is to come for labor and delivery. You can’t prepare for all of it, but you can at least know what to expect and how the system can sometimes set you up to fail. Know what to watch for!
Hire a doula! Having a doula on your team reduces the likelihood of needing cesarean surgery to birth your child. No, we can’t prevent all cesareans, especially because some of them are very necessary and honestly can be beautiful and healing too. We can promise that having a doula on your team will help you ask great questions of your care team and hopefully feel like the most important person in the room with all the decision-making power. (Because really, you are!)

Postpartum Support

We want to support you without judgement. We want to help you find solutions that work for your family.

4th trimester support: literal and virtual

**This post contains affiliate links, and we may get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Virtual Support

Do you know who to call when you are having trouble getting baby to calm down? Would you love to have a person who knows lots of different tricks and methods and who will listen to you without judgement? What if you had someone calling to check on you as often as you need to answer your questions and reassure you that you’re doing a great job? Postpartum support is something we love to do to help families, especially right now in this isolating pandemic.

Our Virtual Postpartum Package is set up to provide extra postpartum support to families during the time of COVID-19. Postpartum is already a time of introspection and withdrawal while families integrate their new baby into their lives. Currently, parents are faced with increased isolation or fewer social contacts. This package allows families to have access to a supportive, trained doula to process birth stories, explore “what’s normal” with infant care and postpartum recovery. We are happy to provide breastfeeding/bottle feeding/pumping support too! We also have lots of ideas for partners on how to best help and support their birthing partner and baby. We want to help answer your questions regarding sleep, infant development, bonding, baby wearing, soothing, sibling transitions, and navigating relationships. It’s like having a postpartum BFF in your pocket!

This virtual postpartum support package includes

2 one-hour long planning sessions before the baby arrives
6 postpartum support calls (30-60 minutes each)
6 weeks of unlimited email/text postpartum support
Additional time can be purchased for $20/hour if needed

We would love to talk to you about how we can help support your postpartum transition!

Literal Support

Belly Bandit** is all about making products to support your growing family, and I especially love what they have for during the 4th trimester. When you are pregnant your growing baby pushes all of your organs out of the way to make room for your baby. Once that baby isn’t inside there anymore, all of your organs move back into their regular places, though of course not exactly the way they were before you got pregnant. That’s why sometimes even if you weigh the same as before, your clothes might not fit the same way. Your body has still been rearranged. A little extra literal postpartum support can be helpful in your 4th trimester to support your midsection as it retracts. We promise you won’t need it forever, but a little extra literal postpartum support can make a huge difference in the 4th trimester.

This is especially true if you had cesarean surgery to bring your child earth-side. Often after surgery your abdomen can feel very unstable postpartum, and even like you are scared to cough in case your guts are going to spill out. Sorry to be graphic, but if you have had cesarean surgery, then you know! One thing we like to recommend after surgery is a belly band that supports your abdomen, and Belly Bandit** has some very affordable and helpful ones. These can make you feel like your body is going to hold together better and can make a huge difference in recovery.

Support

“I want to be around people that do things. I don’t want to be around people anymore that judge or talk about what people do. I want to be around people that dream and support and do things.”― Amy Poehler

We want to support you without judgement. We want to help you find solutions that work for your family. Contact us today to talk about how we can help support your growing family.