It is with great joy that we announce the arrival of a fabulous new doula to our team: Tamika Wilson!! I have talked for years with Tamika about becoming a doula, and 2021 was the year that she was finally able to attend a DONA birth doula training. Tamika has personal and professional knowledge that she is sure to wow her birth doula clients with at every turn, and we are honestly honored that she has chosen to be part of Doula Group of Evansville.
In Her Own Words:
“I was born and raised in Birmingham, Al. but currently reside in Newburgh, In. with my husband of 15 years and 4 beautiful kids. I am a military spouse and also have a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s of Science in Management. I am a DONA trained birth doula currently working towards my certification but I come with tons of personal experience in the birthing world. Since moving to Southern Indiana I noticed a huge gap in representation for low income women and women of color, this drove my passion to pursue birth work. Being a birth doula has given me the opportunity to better serve my community, become an advocate for all women but particularly women of color, and help educate mothers on all of their birthing options. Few Things About Me: My favorite color is blue, I’ve always found blue to be a very calming color. My favorite food is basically any type of southern cuisine, Although we have made roots in the Midwest I will forever be a southern girl at heart. In my free time you can usually find me Uber-ing my 4 kids around town going from [insert sport of the season] to cheer competitions, or just hanging out with my family.”
Special Offer for New Clients
Tamika is fresh out of training & looking forward to serving clients! For her first 3 birth doula clients, she is offering a 50% discount off of her services. These clients will pay only $450 for 2 prenatal visits with Tamika, unlimited contact during their pregnancy, in-person support for labor & delivery, and one postpartum visit. Don’t delay, because honestly once the word gets out about how amazing Tamika is, she’s sure to be booked solid!
An induction is discussed with every pregnant person at some point, & these are 5 truths you may not hear anywhere else.
1. Sometimes Induction is Necessary.
High blood pressure, blood sugar control issues, protein in your urine, health concerns for the baby, and more can make it healthier for your baby to be better on the outside than on the inside. These are very valid medical reasons to be induced. Some providers prefer inductions to take place because of suspected big babies, low fluid, getting close or passing your due date, and other reasons. As we know from the evidence, these are NOT medical indications for induction.
2. You CAN Say No.
If everything is fine with you and the baby, then it is perfectly ok to say no to an induction. Even if you are in the hospital for an induction, you are STILL allowed to say no to anything that they offer, and you should be having a true informed consent and refusal discussion for each and every procedure. This includes breaking your water, starting medications, cervical exams, internal monitoring, the type of cervical ripening medication, and ANY TIME someone wants to touch you! Signing up for an induction does not mean you leave your autonomy at the front door. You’re still the boss applesauce!
3. Induction Increases Your Risk of Needing Cesarean Surgery.
Yes, there was ONE study that found that inducing everyone at 39 weeks reduces the cesarean rate, which actually was really problematic. I have discussed this previously along with a BUNCH of other scholars, however there is far more research that says the opposite. I really appreciate Dr. Sara Wickham’s resources on induction for help making informed decisions. This is something that needs to be discussed before you agree to any induction, no matter why it is being advised.
4. Induction Affects More Than Just When the Baby is Born.
Induction is forcing your baby and body to do something before they are ready to do it on their own. Most due dates are an estimate, and none are expiration dates, as babies keep developing even after they are born. Induction interrupts the hormonal physiology of birth, as Dr. Sarah Buckley has published on extensively. Interventions also affect breastfeeding, which can make feeding your baby more challenging after an induction. This needs to be part of the discussion when you are weighing the risks and benefits of whether to choose an induction.
5. Induction Can Take a LONG Time.
Especially for first time parents, induction can take a really long time. Locally most inductions start overnight with a cervical ripening medication and then proceed the next day. Will you be allowed to eat and/or drink during that time? Will you be allowed to take a shower? Will you be on the monitors the entire time? When are you allowed to get an epidural if you want one? Will your provider be there the whole time? What kind of time limits will they put on your progress? Will there be breaks? Can you bring your Fire Stick to keep watching your current favorite binge-worthy show? Ask questions to help yourself make the most informed decisions regarding your care!
The bottom line is this: If your provider is recommending induction, have an open and honest conversation with them using the BRAIN acronym:
Benefits–what are the benefits to this?
Risks–are there any?
Alternatives–what else could we try?
Intuition–what does your gut say?
Nothing–what happens if we wait?
Only YOU get to decide what is the right choice, and we want to make sure everyone goes into birth and parenting with their eyes wide open from the beginning. Want to do some more digging before making a decision about an induction? Asking for TIME can be the most empowering way to step away from what can be a high pressure feeling power imbalanced situation when you are sitting there with your pants off talking to your provider. We talk to clients about this all the time, so feel free to give us a call for a consult if you want a little help!
That numbers are out for 2020, and they might surprise you.
Statistics tell us part of the story of how a hospital cares for their patients and about the culture of a place. They do not tell us the entire story in any way shape or form, but they are a way to measure change and track goals. Leapfrog is a group that tracks statistics about hospitals around the country using a survey that 75% of hospitals participate in each year. Today was the day that they published this data for 2020.
You can find the 2018 Statistics in this post we wrote. I did not write a post for 2019’s statistics, but I think we all remember April 2020 right? You can look these statistics up for yourself here, because you really don’t have to just take my word for it.
Definitions & notes for you:
This Cesarean Section data is for NSTV (research speak for 1st time parents, 38+ weeks pregnant, with a single head-down baby) cesarean rates and does not include repeat cesarean deliveries or 1st time cesarean deliveries in people who have had previous vaginal deliveries. This is an important distinction. Leapfrog Group uses the Healthy People 2020 goal of 23.9% for primary cesarean deliveries in this category. I want to note here that the WHO stated target NSTV cesarean rate is 10-15%, so that is something to also think about when looking at this data.
Early Elective Deliveries are defined as elective induction or cesarean sections before 39 weeks. This does not include medically indicated early deliveries, therefore the goal is for these to be less than 5%.
Episiotomies are a cut made to the perineum during the birth process. While sometimes necessary, routine episiotomies are not evidence-based practice, and Leapfrog sets their goal as less than 5%.
The numbers in (parentheses) are the previous numbers reported in 2018. I did not include numbers for Good Samaritan Hospital previously, so apologies to our friends in Vincennes for the lack of change comparison possible in this table.
New numbers that reach or exceed the Leapfrog goals are in blue.
Hospital
NSTV Cesarean Sections
Early Elective Deliveries
Episiotomies
The Women’s Hospital Newburgh, IN
26.2% (22.9%)
6.8% (1.7%)
11.5% (14.8%)
Ascension St. Vincent Evansville*
25.3% (27.2%)
0.0% (.8%)
5.9% (6.8%)
Owensboro Health
29.5% (29.7%)
.7% (1.4%)
5.7% (12.7% )
Deaconess Henderson Hospital**
25.5% (26.1%)
0.0% (2.4%)
2.8% (2.4%)
Memorial Hospital & Healthcare Center Jasper, IN
11.1% (12.8%)
5.9% (0.0%)
7.9% (9.8%)
Daviess Community Hospital Washington, IN
17.9% (15.2%)
0.0% 1.9%)
8.2% (13.1%)
Good Samaritan Hospital Vincennes, IN
20.7%
4.0%
14.2%
*Previously St. Vincent’s Medical Center of Evansville **Previously Methodist Hospital of Henderson
What the Numbers Don’t Say
What these numbers don’t say is what an incredible strain 2o20 was on all hospitals, including in maternity care. While there were clearly jumps in early elective deliveries at Memorial in Jasper and The Women’s Hospital in Newburgh, we don’t know when those happened. Were those elective deliveries in March and April last year when everything was locking down due to the growing pandemic and people were truly scared for their lives? Conversely, maybe the pandemic was an easy excuse to push for early elective induction too. We can’t know that from the numbers. These statistics represent thousands of birth stories that we can’t know just by reading them.
These statistics are also not the only ones worth looking at when making decisions regarding your care. Other important factors such as VBAC success rates, availability of lactation help, availability of anesthesia, proximity to your home, provider access, insurance coverage etc. Sometimes that last one ends up being the deciding factor no matter what your preferences are on location.
How to Use These Numbers
First use them to think about where you want to deliver. You do have options and choices on where to go, and we would be happy to talk to you about our experiences at these places as well. Know that these are overall statistics that paint a generalized picture, and start there. Even if you don’t have a choice on where to go to birth, because we know that happens, these statistics can help you look at the norm where you will be delivering. They can help you know what to expect and watch for during your delivery.
Next use the numbers to start a conversation with your provider. Where do they deliver? What are their personal statistics compared to the facility? How do they feel about episiotomies?
We ALWAYS encourage everyone to have open, honest, and frank conversations with their providers. Don’t be intimidated by the white coats, they are people too. Keep it positive and be inquisitive, and go with your gut when it comes to making decisions regarding your provider and location for delivery.
We look forward to comparing 2020 with 2021 when those numbers come out!
What is the first question that comes to mind looking at this table?
Do any of these numbers surprise you?
Which of these statistics most line up with what you previously thought about these facilities?
We’re excited to grow our team to serve more birthing families in Evansville & the surrounding areas.
We are so very excited to announce a new birth doula on our team!! I knew I wanted Jennifer on my team of Evansville doulas as soon as we met. We spoke about her experiences and philosophy regarding birth, and I felt the fantastic positive energy that she has about her. Jennifer’s positivity and gentle nature will leave you feeling refreshed from every encounter, and she will be an amazing asset to any birth team. She’s already approved to attend births at all local hospitals.
Here she is in her own words:
“For me, personal experience has often turned into opportunities for service. The minute I learned what a doula was, my heart lit up. I was lovingly supported by a doula and midwife through two birth experiences and through one pregnancy loss. I ignored the calling for years until after the birth of my second child.
After my daughter was born I was immersed in a dark postpartum time and my path to healing was to learn more about supporting mothers and families through their own pregnancy and birth journeys. I took a DONA-certified course, advanced my yoga teacher training studies to include prenatal yoga, and continued to explore energetic healing modalities that had become part of my own healing journey. After I experienced a miscarriage of my own, I dove into courses with the Institute for Birth, Breath, and Death to learn ways to hold space for mothers through pregnancy and infant loss.
My intention as a birth doula is to guide intuitive and empowering journeys through pregnancy and into early motherhood. Reconnecting with our intuition builds a beautiful foundation to guiding and nurturing ourselves, and our children. As a reiki practitioner, I support each experience in a loving and gentle way, helping to hold space for the various energy shifts that occur as labor progresses.
I recently relocated to Southern Indiana from Reno, Nevada to be near my family and to watch my kids and husband run free on 4 acres. I am passionate about finding joy, following my intuition, and maintaining a healthy balance between laughter and tears. I also recently started wearing socks with my Birkenstocks, which makes me question everything I thought I knew about myself.”
Now Booking Birth Doula Clients
Jennifer is planning to offer all birth doula clients one reiki session as part of her birth doula package. She is now booking birth doula clients with due dates of May 2021 or later, and would love to talk to you about how she can help you on your birth journey. Having her experience and knowledge in your corner will enhance your birth experience, no matter where you choose to give birth.
We are so proud to have Jennifer as part of our team of amazing doulas here at Doula Group of Evansville!
Mandy Rodenberg now has her prenatal yoga classes online in a FREE YouTube channel.
So many in-person events have been cancelled during this pandemic, and prenatal yoga has unfortunately been one of them for safety concerns. Mandy Rodenberg turned that lemon into some great lemonade by recording her yoga classes for students to watch and move along with her for FREE on YouTube! The first time I met Mandy, I felt and instant connection with her, and I am certainly not alone. I have had so many clients tell me that her soothing calm voice helped them during their pregnancy, and her prenatal yoga classes are an amazing chance for them to connect with their bodies and their babies. Mandy is a gifted yoga instructor, and all around fantastic human. Mandy let me ask her a few questions, and I think you can see from her answers why so many people love her.
Q & A:
Doula Group of Evansville: Why are you passionate about the restorative and healing properties of yoga practice, especially for the perinatal period?
Mandy: During my 200 hour yoga teacher training in 2009, we were asked to write a paper on ways yoga benefits and heals the body from injury. My teacher at the time allowed me to instead write about how yoga movements ease a mother throughout pregnancy and childbirth. My research solidified my passion for helping bring yoga together with the most life changing and amazing experience a woman will go through. Prenatal yoga will help moms start to understand the connection of mind and body and how and what movements make her body feel safe and nurtured and comfortable. She can use these tools to breath through a tough labor or even preparation for caesarian. She will learn to mother herself.
Doula Group of Evansville: What special training have you taken for prenatal yoga instruction & why is that important?
Mandy: I completed my 200 hour teaching certification in 2010 here in Evansville with Chris Crews as my teacher. Before I was even pregnant, I participated in a prenatal yoga class with another local teacher, Leslie Ward. I began teaching prenatal yoga in 2011, 6 months after giving birth to my daughter. In 2015, when I traveled to visit friends in Denver, Colorado I completed my Prenatal Yoga Certification at Belly Bliss Yoga. The training empowered me to focus on what pregnant mothers CAN do, instead of focusing on what they can’t. The teachers covered more that just the basics of yoga. One taught us about birth trauma and how to listen without taking on the emotions, but witnessing them for her. One afternoon class was all about the benefits of doulas and they put us through a simulation to help us to better understand the empowerment a doula gives the mom. The training was so much more than I expected. Truly though, my best teachers are my pregnant moms. By them reaching out to me, letting me know their own struggles and discomforts, I am able to be a better teacher. I usually teach live classes in 6 week sessions, and no two have been the same in all 5 years. I did also have the pleasure of teaching while I was pregnant with my second child, that was the best.
Mandy Rodenberg, prenatal yoga expert
Doula Group of Evansville: What sparked your interest in creating a YouTube channel to house such awesome resources?
Mandy: My husband, Andrew, and I both teach yoga at several locations here in Evansville. We were both home during the shut down in March and were wondering how we could continue to stay connected to our clients. We decided to try making videos that we could make available to everyone. We have resumed some in-person classes this past summer, but we have some clients that don’t feel safe returning to class. With our videos we hope to stay connected to our clients in hopes they do return to class when they feel safe. My prenatal yoga classes at Deaconess Women’s Hospital have not yet resumed since the shut down. The need to limit the number of people coming into the hospital is paramount to the safety of moms and babies, so all classes have been canceled for the time being. This year has been so stressful for everyone, I knew pregnant moms would need yoga and relaxation now more than ever.
Doula Group of Evansville: How did your own pregnancies, births, and postpartum experience influence your yoga practice?
Mandy: I am an anxious person, and had no idea until my first yoga class. I sat on my mat with my legs crossed and the instructor said to quiet your mind and focus on my breath. I had no idea that I was thinking all of the time. I still struggle with it. That was my biggest challenge with the birth of my first child, just trying to fully relax, to give in. I was fortunate to have great birth experiences with the support of my husband though. My pregnancies were both pretty blissful. I walked 3 miles nearly everyday and practiced my yoga, more so with my first pregnancy for obvious reasons. My second pregnancy I had the wonderful opportunity to teach prenatal yoga to a lovely group of mommas. I loved how we all mothered and supported each other. They would call me afterward to talk about their birth and give me support for my big day, which by the way I was still nervous about even though it was my second birth. My experiences guided me to form a style of yoga that simply focused on learning how to make your own body feel better through movement and relaxation. Sure my practice builds strength and flexibility too, but listening to your own body’s cues is what will help you through your toughest moments in labor, birth, and even motherhood. Yoga has helped me in every aspect of my life, but especially for motherhood. The postpartum period, or fourth trimester was really challenging for me. I realized that I just couldn’t do everything I could before. I think of my yoga practice the same way. I do what I can and when I can’t always roll out my mat, I try to be kind to myself about it. It’s hard. We moms have so much on our plate. I try to live my yoga, by breathing at traffic lights, watching my children play, enjoying nature, and trying to be in this moment.
Doula Group of Evansville: What is your favorite way to connect with clients in a virtual space?
Mandy: I have so far had most of my connections with clients through facebook messenger and posts. It warms my heart to have someone describe to me how they benefited from one of my classes. Comments help me to understand my audience’s needs. You can always click on the like button at the bottom of the screen and subscribe to my channel. Likes show me the most popular videos, and I can make more like them. You can leave me more personalized feedback in the comment section below on each video. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for this opportunity, Hillary to connect with moms. Ladies, you are in good hands with The Doula Group!
Prenatal Yoga Benefits
According to the Mayo Clinic, Prenatal Yoga has the following benefits to practitioners:
improved sleep
reduced stresss and anxiety
increased strength, flexibility, & endurance of muscles needed for childbirth
decreased lower back pain, nausea, headaches, and shortness of breath
Online learning is so quickly becoming the norm, even for childbirth classes. We are looking forward to a time when we can meet in person, but for now, online learning is where it is. We know that you will find Mandy’s YouTube channel a great stand-in until she can resume teaching in-person prenatal yoga classes. Have you tried prenatal yoga?
Just because pregnancy loss is common, does not make it easy.
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and a time for remembering the smallest footprints on our hearts. Pregnancy loss isn’t something that we regularly talk about in our culture, so the regularity of it is often hidden. Everyone should know that one in four pregnancies ends in a loss.
Grief is a nebulous complex journey, and you don’t have to go it alone. Locally we have Emalyn’s Angels which is an outstanding organization dedicated to making sure parents don’t have to travel the path of grief alone. Speaking the names of their names and remembering them can be especially helpful for parents too.
I have also been so thankful for Chrissy Teigen & John Legend speaking out about their pregnancy loss. What a blessing they are to share their raw and real emotions. They are surely helping end the stigma of talking about pregnancy loss. We have been following their story and sending our love there way. They are so great at using their platform and images to push for change and acceptance. Speaking of photography: Did you know that there is a company that will send a free specially trained photographer for your baby born sleeping?
The complicated feelings that follow loss can be so challenging to navigate. That’s why one of the complimentary services we offer is Miscarriage & Stillbirth Support for both prenatal and postpartum. If you are facing a delivery knowing that you won’t take your baby home with you, we would be happy to meet with you to talk about your expectations and walk you through your options. Want to know what it could be like and what you can ask for? We will walk through it. We also offer postpartum support to help you find resources, talk about your experiences, and explore comfort techniques that might help during your grief especially. Please reach out to us if this is something you are interested in for your family.
I will never forget the brief lives of Ruby Grace and Desmond Truman. They were gone too soon, but most definitely left impressions on my doula heart. For all the beautiful births of babies that I get to attend, there are always those phone calls that break my heart too. When I know that a client is experiencing a pregnancy loss, I know that there is truly nothing that will bring them comfort in that moment. But doulas hold the space for pregnancy loss too, because that is what we do.
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.
