New parents and expectant parents often ask me about the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). SIDS is still the leading cause of death for infants between the ages of 1 month and 1 year, but education and control of environmental factors have helped reduce SIDS deaths in the US steadily for decades (the risk is now approximately 1 in 2000 according to the National Institutes of Health). But we still want to do all we can to protect…
Lately there’s been buzz about options for family-centered cesarean or gentle cesarean births. But what does that mean for families pursuing this option? How do you know what your options will be? How is this different from a traditional cesarean birth? In many hospitals, a cesarean birth means that parents will not get to hold their baby right away. In some cases, they may not even get to see the baby immediately; instead, baby may be routinely whisked away for…
You had your last baby via cesarean birth. You’re pregnant again and wondering whether you can have a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) this time. Maybe you’ve heard stories of people getting pushed into cesareans they didn’t want or being told their hospital won’t support VBACs at all. So what can you do if you really want that VBAC? Here are five tips to increase your odds of VBAC success: Connect with your local ICAN Chapter. ICAN is the International…
I often hear from people who as questions like: Do doulas support births for people planning to use epidurals? Do doulas support cesarean births? Do doulas support people who are not planning on “natural” childbirth? Do doulas support people whether or not they are planning to breastfeed? Do doulas support people birthing at hospitals? Birth centers? Home births? The answer to all these questions is YES. Doulas do that! It’s a misconception that doulas only support people planning on unmedicated births (could…