Recent photo of one of my doula babies and his momma :) Zion and Sarah ;)

Help in labor

When we face a non conforming labor where it stalls for a great amount of time . We look at position of the baby . We have so many options to get the baby to turn in a more optimum position . Check out spinning babies in the link below .
Laura
816-778-1696 Lifesongbirths@gmail.com


http://spinningbabies.com/

From my book ( A Midwife's Legacy ) I have included things to do for nausea

See the bottom of the blog :

See the bottom of the blog :

Client information

Today I went with a doula client to tour the labor and delivery department that she will use to give birth to her baby. It was about a two hour tour and there were 11 couples in the group. She was given a packet of information and was more at ease after touring the hospital.

The more you know the easier the labor and birth of your baby will be  (I believe).
Many Dr's. are groups and you will see a series of them . You won't know what Dr. will be on call when you have your baby. So make sure to write up your birth plan and have it signed . 

Tampa Doula "A Peaceful Birth Experience"

Welcome to my doula and birth page. I hope you find the information that you need. I have been a birth doula for the past 38 years. I am  a retired midwife and I have a passion for helping women and families get the birth that they so desire.
I am the mother to 7 grown children ages ranging 41 to 24 years and I have 10 grand children 2 of them being great grand sons.
I begin as a doula in 1975 teaching classes to and couching young single moms and working in a child placement agency . I was a foster parent and developed a love for teaching and coaching women who wanted a better  birth experience.
I am a Christan doula and a chaplain and do faith based counseling when it is needed,
My doula package is well rounded to meet you needs during this rewarding and special time in you and you partners life.
I offer a free on hour consultation.
Please contact me early to set  up a time and a date. I try to only take 3 clients per month. I take clients with in one hour of my location in Tampa 33626.
Baby blessings,

Laura O'Dell             


     I offer a series of of child birth classes for you to be more prepared for your birth experience. You can take a refresher course of two weeks long or if you are new to birth a series of 6 .

What can a doula do for you ? Here is my package below......

Life Song Doula

lifesongbirths@gmail.com

Birth Doula package

~Initial consultation-We meet to get acquainted, this is a time that you can ask as many questions as you have and to learn more about what I have to offer you as a birth doula. It is a time to see if we are a good fit. This is a free consultation. (Please see the workshop services page on the other resources that I have to offer)

~Two Prenatal visits~ these visits usually last about 1 to 3 hours each time depending on how many questions you have. At these prenatal we talk about and identify your physical, emotional and educational support that you need.

~Birth plan. At one of these meeting we go over and make up your birth plan. How you want your birth to go. What things you do and don’t want in labor. Talking about coping measures and how to help you from your journey of pregnancy into parenthood.

~Meeting your care provider is (optional). I am happy to go with you to meet your care provider during your pregnancy.

~Unlimited phone and email support during your pregnancy and after your baby’s birth.

~Access to my lending library

~I am on call 24/7 for you beginning 2 weeks prior to your due date. You can call me *any time for questions or just to have some reassurance and to lend an ear….

~Continuous labor support.  I want you to call me when you ‘think’ you may be in labor as a heads up. Even if you do not need me yet I like to be alerted.  I will come as soon as you say that you need me to come. Either to your home or hospital and stay. I need at least one to one a half hours notice depending on your location to arrive.  Although I have been known to run out of the house within 3 minutes. My theory is I would rather be there before the baby comes than after the baby arrives.

~Postpartum visits – I stay with you for 1 one to 2 hours after the birth of your baby. This is to help establish bonding and breastfeeding. If you choose to breast feed. The day after the birth I will call you and see how you and the family are doing. Then day 4 to 5 I will offer further assistance in breast feeding or postpartum care. New born care or support. (I do offer some postpartum doula services) if needed in the home. Finally our last visit will be between 4 and 6 weeks. This will conclude my role as your birth doula.

Happy Birthday!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over the years the births that I have attended have been home, birth center and hospital births. C-Section, breech and water births . The venue is up to the mother.  I also offer belly cast services if you chose to do a belly cast. It is not only a memorable idea that lasts forever but it is fun! you capture the moments that could other wise be forgotten!   This belly cast is Lynn with her first set of twins! These are the "girls". She is the mother of 10.

This is Natasha she wanted her belly cast made sitting down. It turned out quite nice.

Ask about the belly cast / bowl session.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

What are the benefits with a doula at your side .

research shows that women that h ave continues labor support have reductions by ~
* the overall reduction of Cesarean rate bu 50 %
* the length of labor by 25 %
* oxytocin use by 40 %

*Mothers request for pain meds by 30 %
*Need for forceps by 40 %
Requests for epidural by 60%


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Snow ball effect ~We use so many things for comfort in labor.
Relaxation technique's
Breathing techniques
Birthing ball
Water......Either tub or shower. I like to call water "natures pain killer".
Affirmations. Prayer and reading if you so choose
Comfort measures
Rebozo
Addressing possible fear,loneliness,worry,panic,loss of control.
Moaning with tension release
Movement and positioning
Walking and swaying, squatting
Heat and cold
Double hip squeeze
Touch and massage
More>

Just  a few labor positions to help labor .......Freedom of movement in labor is so important . Not only to help you feel relief but to reposition the baby if need be!

Rebozo (pushing picture)

The rebozo is a scarf like technique that works so well. this a you tube that I like for the double hip squeeze that takes so much pressure about from the mothers hips.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QyQGBwFWMM

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Morning Sickness and what you can do that will help. A chapter from my book "A midwife's Legacy".

I decided to write about morning sickness because it is close to my heart (no pun intended). When I was pregnant with my first child at age sixteen, I was so nauseous on my wedding day that I carried a plastic bag while I walked down the aisle. Fortunately, I made it through my wedding day without vomiting, and I was even given the drug bendectin (this was forty years ago).  Any odor or scent would induce vomiting; I would try to vomit in the bathroom but that often didn’t work! I also experienced gagging and dry heaves. Although this is not a pleasant subject to discuss, my hope is to provide information and advice for making this experience easier and less awful for you.

Morning sickness can actually last all day and night; extreme morning sickness is referred to as hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). This type of sickness generally begins around the fourth to sixth week of pregnancy and ends before the first trimester. I have spoken to some women in my practice who were so sick and queasy that they considered terminating their pregnancy. What a disaster that could have been! The sickness soon passes and you’ll be blessed with a beautiful, warm and soft baby. Stay positive and keep in mind that the sickness is merely a temporary affliction.

What causes morning sickness? This question has been asked by pregnant women for centuries. Several things facilitate morning sickness. HCG or Human Chronic Gonadotropin (the "pregnancy hormone" used to conceive) can cause nausea. Estrogen in the pregnant body can be increased over 100 times. And progesterone causes almost everything in your body to relax; this relaxation applies to your stomach as well, and can cause the release of stomach acids. Combined, these phenomena can cause a woman to feel as though she has the stomach flu.

Based on my midwifery experience, I have observed that women who experience some level of morning sickness generally have healthy pregnancies. Alternatively, many healthy babies are born by women who experienced no morning sickness. I believe that the nausea simply indicates that the pregnancy hormones have manifested themselves.  

I can easily recall attending to births while I myself was pregnant with my fifth child, and I was experiencing morning sickness myself! I remember laying on the floor of a client’s living room and trying to pull myself together as my client was nearly in labor in the other room. She understood my feeling of sickened nausea and I would run to the bathroom, hoping that she wasn’t near the pushing stage! Morning sickness is all encompassing, brought on by a new life inside you.  There is a saying about the three trimesters of pregnancy: the first is dreary, second cheery and third weary.  In my thirty years of practice as a midwife, I have treated three women who were so sick that they had to be hospitalized with HG. Nowadays there are even online forums for support. Fortunately, the morning sickness usually does not progress to this escalated level, although it is reported that 50-85% of women experience morning sickness at some point.

It should be noted that morning sickness does not harm the baby or the mother. In the cases of HG mothers can become dehydrated and lose vitamins and minerals as well as weight. Women who lose more than 10% of their body weight or are unable to gain weight for two or more trimesters are most likely to have complications in pregnancy. There are antiemetic drugs if this becomes severe. See your health care professional if you have questions about morning sickness or HG. 

For common morning sickness, the following suggestions have been found to provide relief for women:  

1. Before you even raise your head off of the pillow in the morning, eat something. A dry cracker or a dry piece of toast will work.

2. Try not to ever have an empty stomach. Eat something ninety minutes, but do not eat greasy, fatty or spicy foods. A dry baked potato often helps.

3. Eliminate all possible odors in your home. This can provide significant relief.  

4. You can try "sea bands" on your wrist; many women I know have used these and they seem to help. Go to http://www.sea-band.com/. They cost between $10 and $15 and are sold at drugstore pharmacies.

5. Ginger works in many forms; 250 mg per capsule up to 3 times per day is often helpful. You can also chew ginger gum. Walgreens should sell this.

6. Vitamin B-6 is often a good source of relief, especially when 10-25 ml is taken 3 times a day. This can also be ingested via hard candy, papaya and or tablets.

7. Pure essential oils are effective, and I’ve observed that peppermint works the best. You might also try lemon and tangerine.

8. Try to stay hydrated and drink lots of water. If drinking water makes you feel sick, squeeze a drop of lemon into your glass.  

9. Napping during sickness can make you feel fatigued and even somewhat depressed. At a certain point, I instruct my clients to use whatever works best for them. It has been reported that McDonald French fries and pizza are effective. Use whatever method responds well with your body, and keep in mind that morning sickness will pass. If you are vomiting more than twice a day, see your health care provider. If you have been diagnosed with HG you must take it very seriously. Please remember that there is an important difference between morning sickness and Hyperemesis Gravidarum

Do not copy this in any way with out permission of Laura E. O'Dell 

 

You can purchase my book at Lauraeodell.com

or visit my face book page for more information every day @  http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Midwifes-Legacy/274410575977888?ref=hl

*************************************************************************

Postpartum care *

I make a nice herbal bath for you to soak in postpartum to help heal your perineum area. It is also good for the baby's cord stump.  The herbs are so healing and soothing to your bottom and your perineum as you heal .