You’re probably familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. I learned about it in teacher education, the idea being that we couldn’t expect a kid who hadn’t eaten or didn’t feel safe at home to care much about learning times tables. Your physiological needs are the most important. Left unmet, it’s difficult or impossible to attend to your need for friendship, self-esteem, or ambition. I saw the famous hierarchy pyramid done with a birth lens on Brooke Radloff’s Center for Integral Pregnancy and Childbirth website and had an a-ha moment. It’s the reason so many people don’t have a birt ..read more

Natural birth without drugs doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do to make the experience more manageable! Here is a graphic handout for birth class or doulas to share the ways we mitigate pain in labor without pharmaceuticals. These are things anyone can do, anywhere. Increase comfort in labor through 1. optimizing body mechanics, 2. sending safety signals to the brain, 3. blocking or confusing the pain, and 4. promoting relaxation Discussion of Fear-Tension-Pain cycle DOUBLE-SIDED. Includes lists of ways to use and incorporate the following: doula/continuous support, mobility, minimizin ..read more

It’s Lauren’s Favorite [Birth] Things! My absolute favorite birth things are a loving, confident partner and a loving, respectful, and skilled provider. My hope is that you have or manage to find both. Lauren’s Favorite Birth Things necessarily focuses on birth things anyone can get–at least in some form. In the spirit of Oprah’s favorite things, these are the best uses of your hard-earned cash money to make birth easier and more pleasurable. A Doula You Connect With cost: $600-$1200 A good birth class is all but essential for your mindset, your partner’s confidence, and your own fe ..read more

  It’s Lauren’s Favorite [Birth] Things! My absolute favorite birth things are a loving, confident partner and a loving, respectful, and skilled provider. My hope is that you have or manage to find both. Lauren’s Favorite Birth Things necessarily focuses on birth things anyone can get–at least in some form. In the spirit of Oprah’s favorite things, these are the best uses of your hard-earned cash money to make birth easier and more pleasurable. A Good Birth Class cost $200-$600 Of course, my absolute favorite birth thing has to be a good, independent prenatal education class. B ..read more

Hello everyone, The team behind Eating for Pregnancy sent me a copy to review. Catherine Jones, Rose Ann Hudson, RD, LD, and Dr. Teresa Knight have put together a handy month-by-month guide. Here’s what I think! More cookbook than nutrition guide, I like this for the quick and simple nutrition sound bytes they offer to those who are expecting. Especially during pregnancy, I tend to overanalyze, worry, and get all hopped up on control concerning food. Frankly, this kind of stress has done my pregnancies more harm than good. I see similar concerns in the couples at the birth center and in prena ..read more

Medical Tools/Birth Interventions Research Handout Here is the research on the most common medical tools used in birth. A practical, quick-reference that gives you an understanding of interventions at-a-glance. A full text of the double-sided resource is included below. Pros & Cons of IV With an IV placed, you will be attached to a pole that delivers fluids directly to your bloodstream. Some birth places require an IV or require that you have the port placed for an IV ‘just in case.’ You may not need an IV because… You will keep yourself hydrated with lots of high-calorie drinks. Labo ..read more

Breastfeeding a Newborn Handout This graphic demonstrates the size of a baby’s stomach at one day, three days, one week, and one month. A baby needs to eat often to feel full. Try printing these as business cards with your own information on the other side, or as magnets for your clients. Or, you can easily print and cut these to put them on business card-sized magnet stickers. These make good giveaways or swag bag items for doulas, lactation consultants, and childbirth educators. The post Breastfeeding a Newborn: Tiny Stomach Graphic appeared first on Better Birth Blog ..read more

Printable Birth Preparation Checklist Get a simple, ready-to-use guide for those prenatal meetings, your natural birth classes, or talking to a partner about pregnancy needs. Baby in the best place focuses on fetal positioning, connection with the baby, and letting labor start on its own. Body in the best place is about choosing the most suitable birth place for your safety and the kind of birth you hope to have. Physical preparation is also important. Good nutrition, exercises, and posture, whole body relaxation, and staying home until active labor are all elements of solid natural birth ..read more

Printable cervix information poster shows dilation Need a visual aid to explain about the physical and emotional process of opening up in labor? This guide (printed at 11×17, above–or two to a page, below) shows the actual size of 2 cms compared to 6 and 10 centimetres, etc. Bits for each stage of labor concerning what you might be feeling as well as what you can do to help your labor along. Includes a discussion of sphincter law–your cervix will not open in the presence of adrenaline or stress. Birth where you feel safest! Cervix ripeness and openness is subjective and here we cover t ..read more

 Everyone needs a doula. Show ’em why. This printable is perfect for the doula interview packet.  Some people laminate it to show at the table or pass around a childbirth class. What do doulas provide? encouragement listening suggestions to ease or speed labor narration of events reassurance positive atmosphere a calming presence physical comforts a sounding board for decisions Doulas help partners… be more involved remember things use comfort measures feel reassured understand normal labor navigate interventions manage physical support get a break emotionally adjust With a do ..read more