Third trimester blues

9 months and 1 day pregnant!
| Deidre M. Medina, LMT
        Here I am with baby three one year ago.  I am 9 months +1 and will be meeting my little guy 2 days later.  If you’re approaching the end of your pregnancy you might find this familiar.
9 months and 1 day pregnant!
9 months and 1 day pregnant!
      So, is the baby here yet?  Ugh! Here we go again.  Lets face it, when you get close to the end of your pregnancy, things are getting, lets say difficult.  You may feel tired all the time.  You dread dropping something for fear of having to actually maneuver to retrieve it.  You are always in the bathroom to pee, but forget about going poo.  You eat, you get heartburn.  You eat a little and get full, starving thirty minutes later.  Walking is good for you but man does your feet, and/or back hurt.  Then you hear those, lets call it what it is, obnoxious questions.
      Oh, the baby isn’t here yet?  (Insert sarcastic reply)
      How big is the baby now, he/she looks big?  {Insert rude comeback question, in your head of course or better yet out loud)
      Are you carrying twins?  {Use the “are you serious” facial expression of choice here}
      Hang in there girl!
      Sleep.
      Eat well and as best you can.
      Move your body how you want as often as you can.
      Did I mention sleep!
      Last, but not least, those annoying comments, don’t even dignify them.  You are beautiful, you are not too big or too small, your baby is going to come when she is ready.  Keep you head and feet up and enjoy your beautiful pregnant you!!

 

    What do Buffalo mom’s feel is their ideal birth experience?

    cropped-ebb-flow1.png
    | Deidre M. Medina, LMT

     

    Deidre M. Medina, LMT 140 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14201 (716)292-6113 dee@ebbandflowbirth.com

    Pregnancy Massage Rocks!

    | Deidre M. Medina, LMT

    Achy back, sore feet, restless leg syndrome, inability to sleep well, nausea.  These are some of the symptoms many women have reported that massage therapy as helped them.  Massage therapy is one of those things that has been a part of a birthing woman’s experience worldwide since times of old.  Why have we stopped doing this in western culture?

    I’m too busy.  It’s not a necessity.  I’ll just deal with it.  These are the things that you might have said to yourself.  In our society, it is not a normal thing to take time for self-care.  We work, we play, but do not take time to slow down and just be.  This is doubly so for women, working mom’s and stay-at-home mom’s alike.  There have been numerous studies that stress has an adverse affect on the unborn baby.  http://www.webmd.com/baby/features/stress-marks

    Massage has been proven to lessen stress.  https://www.amtamassage.org/statement2.html You have the stress of maintaining your pre-pregnancy workload or activities.  There is the stress of having things just right for baby, taking time off from work, worries about the birth, etc.  The list goes on and on.

    Pregnancy and birth is a time that should be enjoyed and treasured.  Take the time to stop and experience a pregnancy massage.  Schedule a massage to assist during labor.  Therapists that are trained and work with pregnancy clients will come to the hospital or your home to assist you with pain relief during labor.  I am a birth doula and use massage to help with back labor, help labor to start up or progress and have seen the massive benefits of nurturing touch in labor.  Once baby has arrived, your body needs tender loving care to recover from the “marathon” of birth.  You have just worked harder than you have ever in your life to bring baby earthside.  Baby can come too!  We can have baby snuggled up with you on the table while you receive treatment.

    If you still have hesitation, call your local therapist and ask questions.  Enjoy your pregnancy and your body’s wonder as it grows and nurtures your baby.  Wishing you well and happy birthing! #buffalove #ebbandflowbaby

     

    Birth Tip Tuesday

    | Deidre M. Medina, LMT

    IMG_1054

    The Hoku is my favorite point to teach my clients. It can help induce labor when your due date has arrived or during labor to help it progress. This point also is useful for headache, stress, neck and shoulder tension. It will be tender on most people so that will help you find the correct point.  As a doula, I love helping mom through labor with massage therapy and acupressure points like this.  It really helps.  If interested in more information, shoot me an email.  Happy birthing! #doula #birthingtips #birthwithoutfear #getthatbabyout #buffalonybaby

    HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT PROVIDER FOR YOUR PREGNANCY?

    | Deidre M. Medina, LMT

    Congratulations!  You’re pregnant.  There are so many things to plan and look forward to.  Besides the name of baby, the room colors, etc., the one thing that may be tough to decide on is who should be your care provider.  Depending on where you live, your options may include, a family doctor, an OB/GYN, or a midwife.  How do you choose?  What are some things you can ask your potential candidates?   I hope by the end of the article you’ll know what to ask and start thinking about what is important to you for your birth experience.

    • Where were you trained? What school did you attend for your training?
    • How long ago were you trained?
    • Please tell me a little bit about your practice?
    • How many births have you attended?
    • What are the kinds of births you have attended?
    • How many of those births were you there from start to finish?
    • Will you be available for my birth and is there any chance that someone else will attend?
    • If someone else will be attending my birth, who are they and can I meet with them?
    • When is it decided that a Cesarean is necessary?
    • What are your conditions that a Cesarean will be necessary?
    • Will you allow a VBAC (Vaginal Birth after Cesarean)?
    • Can I work with a doula?
    • Can I move around in labor?
    • If you’re speaking with an MD ask if they work with a nurse-midwife?

    Questions specific to a midwife

    •  Is there a backup midwife and if so, can I meet them?
    • What are the conditions that would require a physician’s referral of my care?
    • Will you allow an HBAC (Home Birth after Cesarean)?

    You want to know the stats of the provider you are choosing.  This can tell you what kind of care you will likely receive.  If it is an OB/GYN or family doctor, they are most likely associated with a hospital and those statistics are a matter of public record.  Here in NYS, you can go to http://profiles.health.ny.gov/

    Things you will be looking for is what are the percentage of Cesarean sections, what are the percentage of vaginal birth Cesarean, What is the percentage of drug use in labor, the percentage of Epidurals, the percentage of vaginal births, and more.  It is nice to be able to compare and contrast the hospitals you are looking at in comparison to each other and the national average.

    Though it’s a big decision to decide on a care provider for you and your baby, just know that if you feel you are not getting the care you need with the provider you have chosen, no matter how far into the pregnancy you are, you can switch your care to another provider.  Whoever your final candidates may be, ask family and friends for their recommendations or if they have had experiences with those particular care providers.  The first thing we do in making a choice a  household service or before hiring a mechanic, is ask friends who they recommend.  How much more so care should be given in choosing a provider to attend on us as we bring our child into this?  I wish you the best in choosing your provider as you build your birth team.  Happy birthing!

    Holding Space – The First Hour

    Image | | Deidre M. Medina, LMT

    Birth workers have long known the importance of holding the space during a IMG_1091woman’s labor.  The goal has always been to make sure she feels safe and able to be vulnerable, to give in to the waves of birth without judgement, and as little interference as possible.  The benefits of letting her body guide her are numerous.  Holding the space, however, does not end with the birth.  It should continue on after the birth.  This is the moment the family has been waiting for.

    Allowing the mother, partner, and baby to adjust and become one is so important.  There are physiological and emotional needs being met in that first hour.  It is sometimes a struggle for the birth worker not to swoop in busily doing this and that.  Really, what mom needs is a moment to allow her body and mind to adjust and take in what just happened.  She is coming out of birthing mode.  For some this may mean holding her baby and looking into baby’s eyes and others they may need time before connecting to baby both are fine.  Ina May Gaskin wrote in her book Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, of the first hour – “We have no routine that interfere with the euphoria that is present in the birth room…They are falling in love.  We enjoy witnessing this process while being conscious not to interrupt it.”

    Stepping into the background and letting the family’s natural rhythm unfold.  Respecting and honoring that first hour is the best thing that those in the birth room can do for the family.  As long as mom and baby are in good health, less interference is only for the best and can affect that family circle’s rhythm for the best for the long run.