Tag: Owensboro

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!!

Birth Planning During COVID-19

Knowing what to expect can really help, especially right now.

Preparing for birth is important. Preparing to give birth during a pandemic can be even more important. Birth planning is something that I do with all my doula clients. Writing a birth plan is less about mapping out exactly how you want things to go, because birth isn’t about control. Birth planning is more about exploring all your options so that you can communicate them clearly to the people trying to help you.

Know Your Options

Learning what your options are is really important usually, but some of those options are more limited because of COVID-19. My friend Alice is a doula in Seattle, and she made this great video full of tips for giving birth during a pandemic and talking to your provider. One of my other favorite resources for information Evidence Based Birth made a FREE online birth class for this specific situation. I am writing a separate post about more general childbirth classes, but these are both really great situation specific resources for right now. It is really important that you talk to your provider about all your wishes and make sure you know what policies are in place wherever you are planning to give birth.

Supporting Your Partner

Birth planning during COVID-19 is important, and now more than ever it is important to learn how to help your partner cope with labor. Maybe you planned to have a doula present and now that isn’t an option. My friend Alice has a very inexpensive online class** designed just for partners, and I highly recommend it. She has even added a module on practicing labor! If you are looking for a book to learn more, I highly recommend The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin. She was one of the founders of my doula training organization and this book is an excellent resource. My doula friends in Quebec have also produced a FREE download on labor support that you might find helpful.

Helpful Experience

In the last 6 years I have attended over 140 births as a doula. Keeping abreast of all the local hospital policies is important to me, and am a certified childbirth educator. I have lots of experience, and I would love to sit down and talk to you about your birth plans. I am offering virtual birth planning sessions for $150 that include a 2 hour meeting to talk about your birth plans, a PDF copy of my 96 page childbirth education booklet full of information for you to learn about childbirth, example birth plans, email support to review your birth plan to get it just right, and bonus handouts including a birth themed coloring book. This doula would love to help you walk through your options and decide what is right for your family right now.

I have been able to attend one birth recently at a hospital, and it honestly was wonderful. The staff was honestly impressive and the entire experience wasn’t nearly as scary as I had imagined it would be. It was great to be able to support my client in person, but I don’t know how much longer that is going to last during this pandemic.

Birth planning during COVID-19 can help you feel more secure and ready. Knowing what to expect can take so much of the anxiety out of the process. I’ve been there, and I would love to help you.

P.S. If you haven’t heard, you can now stream all parts of the movie The Business of Being Born here if you are interested!

**This is an affiliate link and I will receive money if you click through and purchase the course. This is not a way I am planning to get rich, but a nice bonus for recommending products that I really do believe in to my clients. I’m happy to talk to you about it if you have any concerns.

Home Birth in Evansville, IN

Home birth is an option here in Evansville, and I love attending home births as a doula. This post will help you think through some of the considerations.

As a doula, I often get asked about home birth here in Evansville, IN. There are plenty of myths and misconceptions about home birth, midwives, and doulas, and plenty has been written on these. My purpose with this post is to give you Evansville area specific resources and a little bit of advice too. As always, I am happy to chat with anyone who has questions about home birth here, and about my experiences as a doula at home births as well.

Choosing Home Birth

There are plenty of reasons that people choose to birth at home. Currently, I am fielding concerned messages about the safety of the hospital and visitor policies. We haven’t seen a restriction of zero visitors here yet, but it could come in the future. One important fact: only low risk parents are able to choose home birth. That means if you have any risk factors such as insulin controlled diabetes or placenta previa, then you are not a candidate for home birth. The good news is that 85% of pregnant people are considered low risk!

Finding a Provider

There are currently 2 home birth midwives that serve the Evansville area: Michelle Sanders, CPM & Jennifer Williams, CPM. They are both Certified Professional Midwives who carry emergency supplies such as oxygen & medicine to stop bleeding. Both are newborn CPR trained, very experienced, and have local assistants in Evansville. They both hold prenatal meetings at their office spaces around 2 hours away. I believe they are both doing virtual visits currently because of the concerns about COVID-19.

Both midwives also require you to have a parallel care provider. That means if you hire a home birth midwife, you will still need to have another provider with hospital privileges such as an OB or family doctor. There are not many providers locally who are able to openly support home birth. That may be changing, but I am also happy to talk to you about which providers we have found to be supportive. It is important that you have an open and honest conversation with all of your healthcare providers about your wishes and plans for your birth.

Cost

Home birth is not cheap. It is also not covered by most insurance companies. You can ask your insurance about a “gap exception” for covering the cost of your midwife. The midwives are not able to bill your insurance, and you should expect to pay your midwife out of pocket and then to perhaps be reimbursed from your insurance company. Some people may be able to use their HSA or FSA for these costs, but again you should consult your individual company.

In addition to the cost of the midwife, you also need to factor in the cost of either renting or purchasing a birth tub and supplies for it if you want one. You will also need to purchase other supplies; your midwife will give you a list. I always recommend getting more towels than you think you would ever need and that you don’t mind throwing away if necessary.

Other Considerations

  • If you are thinking about a home birth, call early! Both of the midwives who travel here get busy very quickly, so don’t wait to contact them.
  • Study up on childbirth and coping techniques! You will want to know what to expect even more at a home birth. I will have a blog post up soon about online childbirth education options.
  • Unassisted Birth or Free Birth is not an option you should choose lightly. If this is something you are thinking about, please reach out to us so we can talk to you about some of the things you might want to consider. Home birth with a midwife and free/unassisted birth are NOT the same thing.

Home Birth Doula

I love being a doula at home births. I have worked with both of the above mentioned midwives. My job as a doula is very different than their job as a midwife. I have balanced on the end of a bed while holding my client in a supported squat position as she pushed her baby out. One client gave birth sitting on my lap. I’ve poured warm water over one clients back as a she labored in a birth pool for hours. As a doula at a home birth, my job remains to help my client ask good questions, move around, be more comfortable, & be emotionally supported. We doulas always try to fill in where we are needed, no matter the location. I often arrive before the midwife and their assistant. I am there to help you.

Reach Out

If you are thinking about home birth in the Evansville area and want to talk about your options, please reach out to us! I love talking about my home birth experiences. Birthing at home might not be the right choice for everyone, but it is an option here. I have spent the last 6 years gathering resources, making professional connections, and learning all I can to help support families in all kinds of birthing situations. I would be happy to talk to you about all of your options.