The Birth Lounge Blog

Consumer Complaints: Essential To New Wave Maternity Care What Is A Consumer Complaint? Certainly we’ve all received a long awaited package, torn it open out of excitement, and come face to face with disappointment. This product we purchased is not the product we were sold. When faced with this situation, a vast majority of us will go back onto the website we purchased the item from to leave a review explaining why the product does not live up to its advertised quality. We do this not only to let the company know we’re not happy with our service, but also to warn other consumers that this product isn’t worth their time, energy, and money. This is a normal part of life, right? An online consumer’s right of passage, if you will. What if I told you that you can do the same exact thing with Drs, Hospital Staff, and Nurses? What if I told you that doing so doesn’t just warn others that they shouldn’t waste their time and money? instead, it actually sends a clear warning that their body, bab...

Things that F*ck Up your Birth Plan LATE PREGNANCY ULTRASOUNDS Ultrasounds are a ‘normal’ part of pregnancy if you ask any American woman—BUT if we look at the science behind them, you might be surprised at what you find… While you may enjoy seeing your baby, it’s worth discussing the risks before saying ‘yes’ to any and all ultrasounds and scans. Pregnant people routinely go through a number of ultrasounds during pregnancy.  Most commonly: - 11-14 weeks to confirm pregnancy - 18-22 weeks to confirm anatomy is looking normal - 35-38 weeks which is known as the growth scan (we check the ‘size of baby’ and baby’s position) I put ’size of baby’ in quotations because the accuracy of ultrasounds is so laughable that it’s ridiculous to lead anyone to ever believe we could accurately predict the size of a baby that way. Ultrasounds also get less and less accurate as the baby grows. However, there are risks with late-pregnancy ultrasounds and some are severe like misdiagnosis, unnecessar...

An Inside look at Obstetrical Violence (Derived from a podcast conversation with Tranquility By HeHe team members HeHe Stewart and Caitlin LeBeau in Episode 136 of The Birth Lounge Podcast, find it here !) Have you ever heard the term “obstetrical violence” and wondered what it meant? Or maybe you envisioned this blatant act of disrespect or an assault of sorts. These are both examples of obstetrical violence, but there is another side to it, too. A sneaky side. We're going to share a few instances of medical manipulation in the birth room. Not always aggressive, not violent. And that is a tactic- they are trying to get you to do what they want. Which is so hard to say because we are conditioned to trust our doctors, we want to trust our doctors. This isn’t about batting heads- this is about questioning, looking into research/evidence, looking into policies so you know if they are being influenced/pressured. Have that open communication if you can. You can say, 'That's not...

Your Responsibility in Labor I am bringing you my takeaway from recent births today on the blog. All of them had a layer of nature that we could not control, which is something I talk about all the time. You can control 90% of labor and birth, but that other 10% is nature. That's life, right? Those are the pieces that no matter how hard we try as humans or even medical professionals, we'll never be able to control nature. Nature will always kind of reign above us, because it's nature. We are the smaller beings when we think about nature and humans, humans actually depend on nature. Nature does not depend on humans. Nature will always have this way of playing its hand in birth. So your responsibility with that 10% is not to give up on it. Your responsibility is to know what could happen within that 10% of birth. To understand what your options are at each of those places. When you find yourself in some of those situations, because remember it's inevitable, nature will a...

 Nubain: A Magic Pill? I think that a lot of times when people think about pain relief in labor, they think about unmedicated or they think about at the general use and it doesn't necessarily have to be one or the other. There's actually a spectrum of pain relief that you can choose from when it comes to your birth. So if you need to be induced for some reason- what the reason is may also play a role in what your options are for pain relief. These are all discussions that you'll have to have with your doctor, but you really need to be having those discussions if you don't know what your options are. You need to empower yourself going into your labor. So that is why I wanted to talk about Nubain and Staidol in labor. A lot of people, when they think about having a baby, the first thing they think about is the pain and what it is going to feel like to actually have a baby. While this is a valid thought and concern, it is not necessarily where you need to start. You nee...

When Nurses Perpetuate the Patriarchy All right. I had something planned for you, but then, after being in a birth I decided to bring something different to the table today.  It's just something that I walked away with a reminder of and I wanted to pass it along so if you are having your baby soon, hopefully you will remember this and you'll come back to this conversation and find that confidence to speak up.  So what I want to share today about is how nurses can perpetuate the patriarchy of birth. And when I'm talking about the patriarchy of birth, I truly am talking about the medical system taking the power away from birthing people.  I think that there is a place where our medical system can be second tier, right? And that birthing person is the top tier. They're literally the top of the totem pole. They are number one on the pyramid. They are the peak, right? And the medical system, the medical staff, the doctor are below them. I truly believe this.  So, so deepl...

Failed Inductions: What You Need to Know When we talk about inductions, we often speak of them like they are 100% guaranteeing us a baby at the end. While this is true most of the time, you’d probably be surprised to learn that indcutins can fail and you may be sent home to wait it out a bit longer. Or, if the option isn’t presented to you, you can ask or take yourself home. It is important to ensure that you and your baby are safe to go home.There are thousands of women each year that experience a failed induction and it can be very hard emotionally.  What is a failed induction? A failed induction is the inability to reach active labor while being induced . There is a certain process we want to take when it comes to induction. I call this your ‘individual induction equation.’ It’s truly individual to you and you get to introduce various induction methods as you see fit which makes your equation unique to you. First we want to ripen the cervix--it needs to be soft. You have options...

What Does Low Amniotic Fluid Really Mean? Recently a client brought up low amniotic fluid concerns after a prenatal appointment. After a deep dive into this with them, we thought we'd circle back to our community here and chat low amniotic fluid (Otherwise known as: Oligohydramnios) and inductions. The standard practice in the U.S is to jump to induction if a full term mother experiencing an otherwise normal pregnancy is reported to have low amniotic fluid. You know we are all about the facts here, so let's dig in. Is low amniotic fluid a valid reason for induction? 'A recent review of the literature (Rossi & Prefumo 2013) found that in term or post-term pregnancies oligohydramnios (with an otherwise healthy pregnancy/baby) was not associated with poor outcomes . However, it was associated with increased risk of obstetric interventions… probably because the diagnosis leads to intervention.' Check out the evidence on Low Amniotic Fluid and why inducing for this reas...

Preparing to Give Birth During the Coronavirus Pandemic (This was an article Hehe wrote originally for Family Education, you can view the full article  HERE . When a woman gets pregnant, so many questions run through her mind: Will it hurt? How much weight will I gain? Will I poop during labor? One question that likely never crossed any woman's mind when they got the news about being pregnant is whether she will be forced to birth alone, with limited pain relief, and possibly be separated from her baby at birth due to a global pandemic. Though this is nothing any of us have ever prepared for, this is the internal monologue happening for millions of women across the globe today. For HeHe's advice and support for those feeling anxious about their pregnancy and upcoming birth, please see the full article here . Don’t forget to check out our newest adventure  The Birth Lounge,  listen in to The Birth Lounge Podcast, and follow us on Instagram at @t...

What to Expect: 20 Weeks Look at you! You've made it half way through this journey! This is an exciting time because your belly has most likely popped out by now making you look visibly pregnant (i.e.: people can stop wondering if you're just a little pudgy). It also means that the risk of complications goes down as you've been able to sustain a healthy pregnancy for 5 months. The second trimester is filled with a series of tests so buckle up! The 20th week, specifically, has tons of tests that you need to be aware of and prepare for. I also want you to know the what and why of the tests/screenings. At this point in your pregnancy, your medical provider will want to see your baby which is exciting for you, too! You get to see your baby, hear their heartbeat, and learn about their anatomy! Yes, this means find out whether you're expecting a little bit or a little girl. If you're wanting to keep the gender of your baby a secret, you will want to share this wi...

5 Tips To Help You Relax During Labor (This article was originally written by HeHe for Mama Goose, see the FULL article  here .) Everyone’s birth story is a little different. This means the way people prep for labor is different and everyone’s goal is different. However, there are 5 tips that can help in any labor, no matter your goal or your story.  1 | Use your senses to your advantage Heat helps muscles relax and this will be the sweet antidote to the contractions. It will not take away the contractions, far from it actually, but it will help relieve the sharpness. 2 | Water inside, water outside Hydration is key! Eating is important, but water is crucial. 3 | Control the environment Consider the people in your room and the energy they bring, consider sounds that may set or break the tone you are looking to set, and consider the lighting for you birth - which can have a HUGE effect on atmosphere and tone.  4 | Find your voice and use i...

(HeHe's article is published for Family Education HERE in its entirety.) Earlier this week, Carly Clark, a mother, posted a very violent and aggressive attack on breastfeeding mothers everywhere. In her post, she threatens to punch breastfeeding mothers and their babies if she sees anymore.  “I’m not sorry – the next female that tries to whip her boob out to breastfeed in front of my kids will get a black eye, move that baby [because] I’ll punch it too #zerocare #why #inpublicletsjustshowkidsboobs #notmine.”  As soon as I read it, my heart sank... yours did, too, didn’t it? It’s no wonder it’s going viral. Her reaction tells me that we have a bunch of adults who have zero emotional intelligence. It lets me know that as a society we struggle to understand that everyone gets to make their own choices and you don’t get a say in that. I encourage this mom to look deep inside herself, identify why she is feeling unworthy and unhappy with herself, and then deal with her...