Midwife, Doulas, OB's, Oh My!!

Ah.. The questions that sometimes don't even require a thought.. When I was pregnant with my first I was a young mommy.. (18) I went to an OB, only once, when I was like 7 or 8 weeks pregnant... And I knew it wasn't for me.. Everything about the place screamed cold and impersonal to me.. For those who really know me, I'm a social butterfly:) I like to chat, I like to really get to know you. And, uh.. If someone is gonna see my Vulva then we better be good friends..

I believe everyone has to decide for themselves which is best for you. And you should list the pros and cons to each..
Here is a mild breakdown of the two, and what you could expect from each:
OB:
-Long waits in the office and short appointments.
-Labor & delivery performed in a hospital.
-Little interaction with OB till you begin to push.
-Quicker to perform medical procedures to speed up labor, ie: episiotomy, forceps, vacuum extraction, cesarean, etc..
-More focused on technology and medical intervention for pain management, such as the use of epidurals.
-Relationship is based on a professional, medical basis.
-No personal calls, you contact the office during office hours. Sometimes never speaking with your OB. Or waiting till your next appt.

Midwife:
-Zero waits and Long/personal appointments.
-Labor & delivery performed at home, birthing center or hospital.
-Relationship is professional, but also much more personal and nurturing.
-Use natural methods for pain management, ie: visualization, birth ball, water births, massage, pressure points, the use of techniques on the body to release muscles, heat/cold, etc..
-Will use more natural methods to aid in delivery, such as squatting, rocking, perineal massage, dancing with spouse, help in positions..
-You always have 24/7 access to your midwife. Even calling at 2am with a question. They are literally ALWAYS there for you.

So which is right for you? The choice you will make depends on your philosophy on childbirth. What is your philosophy, you are probably wondering. That is up to you. :) Do your research, I find more an more women spend more time researching what phone or purse to buy vs. their options for Birth. I have a wonderful library and will type of a list of books and links that will be wonderful for you all to help you decide what your ideas are, what is important to you. :)

As for Doulas/Monitrice:
A Doula provides various forms of non-medical support (physical, emotional and informed choices) in the childbirth process. Based on particular Doula's training and background the doula may offer support during prenatal care, during childbirth and/or during the postpartum period. A birth doula is a care provider for labor. The doula may(personal preference) attend any form of home birth or attend the mom during labor at home and continue while in transport and then support the birth at either the hospital or birth center. Where ever the mom so chooses to birth a doula may be present, from unassisted homebirths to planned c-sections. 


A monitrice is similar to a doula, but there are some added benefits. A monitrice does clinical skills for you at home before going to the hospital. She is able to listen to fetal heart tones, check your dilation, and take your blood pressure. This enables you, the mom -to-be, to stay home as long as you would like without going to the hospital only to have them send you home telling you to come back at a later time.

Pregnant, Prenatals and Confused

Pregnancy can be the most wonderful and trying time of a Woman's life. There are so many paths to choose, decisions to make, which is right for you? What is best for your baby? Foods? Your health and fitness?

These are just a few questions you will ask yourself. And over the rest of your life you will think about parenting, and what is best for your baby.. It will be an emotional time. Know that showing your baby unconditional love is your greatest gift to your precious one.. (And obviously stay healthy for you both!)

But a few things to think about during your pregnancy, prenatal's? Which ones are really the best? Recent studies done over the generic brands an several so called "big name" brands, actually do not hold the best nutritional value as once believed.. They found almost half don't break down and you are not getting everything you need! Pretty comforting, huh??














So? Which ones?? After lots of research (on my part an the help of other providers I spoke with, RAW is always best:) And one of the top brands for pregnant women is by Garden of Life. http://www.gardenoflife.com/ProductsforLife/THEVITAMINCODEsupsup/MultivitaminFormulas/RAWPrenatal/tabid/1823/Default.aspx


RAW Vitamin Code Prenatal holds all the awesome blend of raw organic fruits and vegetables along with digestive enzymes that will help your body nourish and support your growing baby while helping you out as well:) It meets ALL the requirements.

(I was not paid to do this review:)

Any further questions or thoughts on prenatal's or perhaps you found something equal to this brand please share it! :)

Happy June!

~The Crunchified Mommy~

Fertility 101

When you were new to the whole TTC (trying to conceive) thing, you probably thought that it went something like this: Sex=baby, right? :) Don't we all... Well here is a spicy tid-bit.. It doesn't.. (duh!)

A woman's fertile window varies woman to woman. For one woman they are fertile myrtle and have a baby every 10 months! For another, it can take years... It doesn't necessarily mean one is "infertile" but perhaps suffers from other issues. Timing, Sperm, temp, hormones issues, even the food and drinks you eat!

As I'm not going to go into detail of how Ovulation works, (its tedious and I suggest you do the research on exactly how it goes about:) But the crash course of it, about a week out of every month you release an egg, you have a very short window (it varies like I said, but in general its about 24hours. Give or take two days) And sperm, oh yes, even they need to be timed.. Now, PLEASE don't become one of those women try to plan and pick apart every little thing.. It will only bring you stress and stress keeps you from getting pregnant. It really is amazing how every little thing has to be exact in order to get pregnant. But somehow it happens.

Some symptoms can tell you if you are suffering from any issues with fertility, (PCOS, Progesterone issues, Thyroid, Blocked Tubes, Endometriosis, etc...) Go look up each one and look up your symptoms, which can be anywhere from irregular cycles, odd hair growth, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/polycystic-ovary-syndrome/DS00423/DSECTION=symptoms

If you are having a hard time conceiving, there are many methods to help! (yay!) I myself have used several of them in my own planned conception process.


Simple things like lifestyle changes or convincing your partner to switch from briefs to boxers for a while can make quite a difference. Even if you’ve not had any trouble getting pregnant in the past, there’s no reason you can’t try to maximize your efforts today.

One great way to do that is with herbal and nutritional supplements. Sure, you can get all of the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients you need by eating a balanced diet made up of fresh, organic food, but there are some things that these supplements can give you that you won’t get in your daily diet.

Here are some of the best natural fertility helpers available today:

• Vitamin C. In many ways, this is a miracle vitamin. It helps to make blood vessel walls stronger, fight infections, and to speed the healing of wounds.  In addition, Vitamin C is thought to increase the amount of water in your cervical mucus, which will help cervical mucus to be more plentiful. This, in turn, will help you to be able to conceive.

• Nitric Oxide. Known as NO, this supplement can help your blood vessels to dilate. This allows blood to flow more freely to your reproductive organs. IN addition, there is some evidence to suggest that Nitric Oxide can also help to increase your cervical mucus.

• Lactobacilli. This is a kind of bacteria that’s an important part of your overall health. They help to keep the vaginal environment less acidic and more hospitable to sperm.

• Grapeseed Extract. The most nutritious part of a grape is the seed. In this case, grapeseed works especially well with Vitamin C to increase its effectiveness. This is also a wonderful antioxidant that can help your overall health.

• Evening Primrose Oil. This herb is used for the purpose of helping to make your cervical mucus more plentiful. It is an essential fatty acid, and it also has some anti-inflammatory properties.

If you’re having trouble conceiving, of course, you should talk to your doctor. In addition to these sorts of natural fertility helpers, there may be some relatively simple medical helps as well, such as the addition of a fertility medication like Clomid. (Clomid comes with its own set of concerns, please do the research before trying it) 

Acupuncture, http://www.americanpregnancy.org/infertility/acupuncture.htm

Herbs, http://thefertilityshop.com/fertility_herbs_vitamins.htm
(I myself have used these, and love Chastetree berry:) Its wonderful!)
Also look into the book; "Taking Charge of my Fertility" http://www.tcoyf.com/

Massage, Yoga, meditation, there are countless methods, and I would love to help you if you have any questions or need guidance. I myself suffered from secondary infertility. Don't walk this path alone. It can get lonely..
http://www.epigee.org/guide/infert.html

This post can go on and on, so I am going to break it up..

Good night,
The Crunchified Mommy *yawn*

The Kick-Off

So I have been thinking about posts for weeks, as I run a business blog for my Midwifery and activism work, and they all drift to posts that would be less activism and more just parenting, everyday things.. So here it goes.. 

I was thinking of going in order from fertility to kids, and everything in between. If you have something in particular in mind you want to know about, just let me know:) I have done personal consults with many people, and have no problem helping you out! There is no such thing as a dumb question, and I'm always willing to listen. 

Up-coming blogs: Fertility 101.. :) Stay tuned for more! 

Welcome All!

At the request of friends, I decided to start a separate blog for all things:) Not just birth related. So here it goes, remember everything I share is based on MY research and MY opinions, it doesn't mean you have to follow in suit, I want you all to do the research on things you want for yourselves. I just open the door:)

Enjoy!
~The Crunchified Mommy