We are so lucky to have access to so many amazing complementary care providers for pregnancy and birth here in East Vancouver, and I am lucky to know them! If you are looking for additional support for your physical or mental wellness please get in touch with me for the best recommendations from acupuncture to counselling to massage and more. Today we have a guest post from my friend Dr Pavin Rakhra of The Chiro Culture in case you are curious about what chiropractic support can do for you during pregnancy and postpartum. - Jessica Welcoming a new baby into this world is nothing short of amazi ..read more

This is a question I get a lot from clients and prenatal students. I get it - this was one of my biggest fears of childbirth when I was pregnant and it makes sense that it is for a lot of people. We are talking about a very sensitive part of our bodies! First off, I want to normalize that some amount of tearing is physiological. Our bodies are able to open up a bit more to let our babies out and then heal afterwards. Minor tears (1st and 2nd degree, which are either just skin, or skin and a small amount of muscle) are quite common and usually resolve well. More serious 3rd and 4th degree tears ..read more

When preparing to welcome your first baby there is a lot to do and get ready. The last few months of pregnancy are so busy with shopping for strollers and cribs, building a gift registry, planning a baby shower, taking a prenatal class and creating a birth plan. Still, I have noticed that there are a few important planning pieces we tend to forget or avoid, so that's what we're talking about today. Here are three very important things to consider before your first baby arrives, that you may not have thought about yet. Planning for the postpartum stage Once your baby is born, life immediately l ..read more

Often women are told in pregnancy or during birth that their baby is in the OP position and that this will cause problems for their birth. OP position is also often used as an explanation for the necessity of an instrumental or caesarean birth. There's a whole mountain of content out there encouraging women to focus in pregnancy on getting their baby to turn the "right way".⁠ What does this even mean? To summarize it briefly: OP stands for Occiput Posterior. A baby that is "OP", "back-to-back" or "sunnyside up" is a baby that is facing the mothers belly button in the womb, their back lined up ..read more

Or: Why feeling super tired in active labour is completely normal and actually a good thing. We’ve got this concept in the birth world that is spreading into the wider culture of women frequently just being too tired to continue the birth process. She’s just so exhausted, she can’t go on, let’s give her an epidural so she can get some rest. I have heard this said when birth has been going on for 36 hours but also when it’s only been going on for 6 hours. I think this is a total misunderstanding of the normal physiology of birth that actually supports and protects us to make it through to the f ..read more

I want to inspire my clients to think about all different types of birth. ⁠And to remember to trust themselves to handle whatever may arise while being gentle with themselves about how things turn out. We all know that unexpected things can come up during birth and plans change, and if we find ourselves in a scenario we hadn't considered before that can be really scary!⁠ While it's important to make plans and choices to aim for the type of birth you want, it's also necessary to spend a little time learning about other paths birth can take.⁠ What if we are planning a hospital birth with an ep ..read more

There’s a familiar line I hear delivered often by kind midwives and doctors at some point during a birth: “I think we should break your waters to try and get things moving along.” Or something similar. The procedure they are referring to is known clinically as Artificial Rupture of Membranes (AROM) or Amniotomy. It is done by inserting fingers into the vagina and a stick with a tiny hook at the end (like this one) through the cervix to make a small tear in the amniotic sac and cause the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby to flow out through the vagina. The intention is to cause stronger and/o ..read more

I decided to interview my husband about our home birth to get some insights from another perspective to share with you. Here’s our conversation. What were your first thoughts when your partner (that’s me!) mentioned possibly birthing at home? I had concerns about the safety of giving birth at home. I think that's pretty common for everyone. I also didn’t think we were actually going to do it. You didn’t think we were going to do it all the way up until it happened? Well, it became more apparent that it was possible as time went on and we got closer to the due date. You started talking about ..read more

Every birth is unique because every birthing person’s body and every baby is unique. Some labours progress quickly but many don’t. Even though the global medical guidance says that unnecessary medical interventions should be avoided as long as both mother and baby are healthy, I am still seeing so much harm done by failing to wait and just support people in birth. Babies do come out at the end of a slow progressing labour when it’s appropriately supported. I see it with my own eyes. A long birth does not mean anything – it doesn’t mean the baby is in a bad position, it doesn’t mean the baby is ..read more

You've probably heard about how hiring a doula can benefit the person giving birth, but you may not realize yet all the ways we can help that person's partner as well. Here's my top 5. Education Your doula will meet with you both before the big day to talk about what you need to know before giving birth. Every doula's prenatal meeting structure is a little bit different, but I'll tell you about mine. We have 3 meetings of about 2 hours each. During my meetings I walk my clients through late pregnancy, the stages of labour and birth, pain relief options, common medical interventions, their ..read more