Tag: 3rd trimester

Childbirth Education Promotes Partnership

A quality childbirth education class can help you have a more symbiotic relationship with your chosen birthing location.

In Finding Nemo, Marlin explains to his son Nemo that rubbing his body on the sea anemone that is their home helps make sure that the anemone won’t sting them when they go in and out of its tentacles. The anemone usually stings its prey before devouring it, but has a symbiotic (friendly) relationship with the clown fish that uses the anemone as their home. The clown fish get protected from other predators and the anemone gets some essential nutrients from the clown fish, all because they come together to change each others’ skin microbiome (read more science-y stuff here). What does this all have to do with learning about giving birth to human babies in childbirth education courses? I’ll tell you three ways!

1. Expectations

Knowing what to expect, especially from something that could sting you, really helps you be more satisfied with the process. Going into birth without knowing what to expect can set you up to get shocked by all the things that can and do happen. No matter where you are planning to give birth, setting your own expectations for how things could go is going to help you be better at going with the flow of birth. Taking a quality childbirth education course helps you and your partner work together better on the big day, and helps you partner with your provider because you anticipate what is coming next. Being knowledgeable about the process eases anxiety for some people too, and that’s a great thing.

2. Needs

The clown fish and anemone each give something needed to each other in their partnership; it benefits them both. Understanding the needs that you will have in labor and how the people around you can help meet them is part of any great childbirth education class. How do you like to be touched during stressful times if at all? How do you communicate your needs to your partner when you can’t speak? What are the needs of your hospital/birth center/birth team when you arrive as far as paperwork, blood work, exams, etc? Knowing before you go or before your team arrives to your house for your delivery, helps everyone be on the same page. The better the understanding of needs for everyone in the room, the better the partnership. An excellent childbirth education course can help everyone get their needs met when it comes to the big day, and even afterwards

3. Learn from Others’ Experience

How do clown fish learn to rub themselves on the anemone to not get stung? They learn from other fishes experience. (Though clearly someone had to be the first fish to figure this out and also first human to give birth, but I think you get what I’m trying to say here.) Certified childbirth educators are experienced not only in teaching childbirth education, but also in adult learning principles and techniques. Having taught both children and adults, I can say that without a doubt, they are NOT the same! Learning from an experienced and independent childbirth educator means that their content is not only evidence-based but they can also teach you about ALL the options, even those that aren’t as common (or even offered) in different birthing locations or with different providers.

When you are expecting a baby, taking a quality childbirth education course is a real must. Taking a childbirth education class promotes a lovely symbiotic relationship & helps you know who to navigate the twists and turns of labor and delivery together. In 2024, the Doula Group of Evansville will be offering in-person childbirth education courses again!! I’ll be announcing dates soon, so be on the lookout!!

Common Lies Told to Pregnant People

These are 5 of the most common lies told to pregnant people & the evidence that proves them to be false.

Lie (noun): a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.

Deceit (noun): the act of causing someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid

1. Ultrasound is always accurate for predicting baby’s weight.

2. Induction doesn’t increase your risk of needing cesarean surgery.

This one REALLY depends on your provider sooo much. Most are using the ARRIVE trial to justify recommending induction of labor for everyone at 39 weeks saying that it decreases the need for cesarean surgery, even though there are lots of other interventions (such as having a doula) that are even more effective and a better use of resources. Both ACOG & ACNM have come out saying that this is NOT how this study should be used (hello confirmation bias), and we have multiple studies saying that induction actually increases the risk of needing cesarean surgery, including this study published in 2021.

Please note, we know that waiting for labor to begin on its own has lots of benefits, but sometimes induction is absolutely the right choice. We just want you to have an open and HONEST conversation with your provider about it!

3. Oxytocin is the same as pitocin (syntocinon).

4. Pushing on your back is best.

5. Breastfeeding is always easy.

NO it really isn’t easy, just because “it’s natural.” We have to stop telling people it is.

If you are struggling with breastfeeding, we would be happy to help you find the local help you might need or want. We’ve been there from cranio-sacral therapists to tongue-tie evaluations to IBCLCs to SNS octopus feedings and beyond. We’d also love to talk to you about the proper preparation of infant formula if that is something your family has decided to use sometimes or even all the time.

In Conclusion

We like to follow the evidence. We come to our clients without agenda to give them the best information available. We don’t appreciate these all too common lies told to pregnant people. We want to help families make the best decisions for themselves based on their individual circumstances, desires, fears, and needs while taking all the science into consideration. We’re even happy to talk to you about which providers might be a good fit for you based on our experiences.

Did any of these lies surprise you? Hop on our Instagram & tell us about it!

3 Evansville Dates to Go on While You Are Still Pregnant

Fun ways to connect with your partner in the EVV before baby arrives!

The end of pregnancy can be really challenging. You might be uncomfortable with a baby kicking your bladder and sending you to the bathroom 5x an hour. You might be anxious wondering when labor is going to start. Maybe you are counting down the days until your induction and hoping things get going before then. You might be hot and hormonal and ready to not be pregnant anymore, and staring at the full moon wishing the old wives tales were right. (The next full moon will be Friday September 13th, in case you were wondering.) Instead of wishing the end of your pregnancy away, I want to give you three fun dates to go on in Evansville while you are still pregnant.

  1. First Fridays at Haynie’s Corner are so much fun and filled with art, music, all kinds of local businesses, food trucks, and sometimes even some shenanigans! I always make sure to stop by Sixth Street Soapery even if only for the amazing smells and to see Mary Allen’s smile! Walk down and grab some lemonade next to the fountain and listen to some live music. Peruse some local art and if you get hungry there are food trucks and all kinds of great spots to sit like Sauced and Walton’s International Comfort Food. If your feet are feeling swollen and you are sick of waddling around, you can even hitch a ride on an Evansville Pedicab to rest and still feel the wind in your hair. The First Friday of every warm month, this is where it is at, so check out the Haynie’s Corner Arts District page if you want to find more cool stuff going on in this little slice of fun in Evansville.
  2. If you’d like to still get out of the house and do something fun with your partner, but maybe not with such a crowd, perhaps you would consider a cooking class at Thyme in the Kitchen. You could sit a while at White Swan Coffee Lab, get a sweet treat at Milk and Sugar Scoop Shoppe, then stroll around window shopping along Franklin St. This date gives you and your partner time to connect doing things together, learning, and talking about whatever comes to mind. Connecting to your partner is such a great thing to do before a baby gets thrown in the mix and things get more complicated.
  3. Maybe events aren’t your thing at all, and you’d prefer a quieter evening out with your partner. If you love movies and being waited on like the Royalty that you are, my husband and I LOVE treating ourselves to a movie at Royal Suite. No, they won’t pause the movie for you, so definitely don’t pick a long one, BUT they will bring you food when you push a button and that is pretty great. Bonus: their seats recline and you can elevate your feet! When we’re feeling really wild, afterwards we pick up some snacks at Aihua International Market and head down for a stroll on the Evansville Riverfront Park. There might even be some kids playing at Mickey’s Kingdom Playground and you can join them in a swing just for fun! Having a bit of fun together before your baby comes is a great way to connect as a couple.

Connection is an important thing in any partnership, and marking the passage of major milestones, or even in anticipation of them, is a great thing to do. You don’t have to spend a ton of money on a giant vacation to connect with your honey before you give birth. After the baby arrives, life shifts, and making sure your relationship foundation is solid before you start rocking it is a great thing! Dates are one of my favorite ways to connect with my partner, and making time for them isn’t always easy, but is always important.

What are your favorite things to do around Evansville at the end of pregnancy? What special plans are you making with your partner for before baby arrives?

My Goals as Your Doula

As a doula, I listen and follow your lead.

  1. Support you and your family how you want to be supported.

End of list.

Yes, seriously.

As a doula, I listen and follow your lead. If you want information about anything pregnancy or birth related, I am happy to help you find great and unbiased information about all your options. I love answering pregnancy and birth questions, but make a big effort not to inject my opinion into any of it. That is because my opinion about what you should do is pretty much irrelevant. I do not tell people what to do, and completely understand that there is no one right way that works for every birthing family and every situation.

Most people only think of the physical support a doula can offer, and that is certainly part of the job description, but it definitely is not all of it. I hold space for my clients to give them room to think things through and listen to their gut without an audience. I talk through tough decisions and help you get to the root of your desires for your birth. I am an empathetic ear when you are frustrated, excited, anxious, worried, elated, exhausted, etc. I also don’t have ALL the answers, but I am really great at helping people wade through the sea of information out there to find excellent sources and resources too.

In my 5+ years as a doula, my practice has certainly changed, but my #1 goal has always been steadfast, and I don’t ever imagine it will change! I have no agenda for your birth; I only want your family to feel fully supported as you would like to be. I truly strive to check any bias I might carry and leave it outside of the space of your blossoming family.

Would you like to have an extremely knowledgeable, experienced, and compassionate person in your contact list and at your birth? If you said yes, then I would love to talk to you about birth doula services!