Sweet Peas, Pods & Papas
Sweet Pea Births - ...celebrating every sweet pea and their birth
RSS Follow Become a Fan

Delivered by FeedBurner


Recent Posts

Time To Rally Around Our Midwives
Rights For Homebirth - May 2013 Update
Natural Oxytocin Boosters
10 Wishes For Your Birth and Beyond
Postpartum: Unplugged

Most Popular Posts

Planning for Baby - Part 1
Hyperemesis Gravidarum In The News
An Inside Look: Placenta Encapsulation
An Inside Look: Modern Mommy Boutique
Stay Safe and Cool Through Your Summer Pregnancy - Part 2

Categories

Acupuncture
Allergies
Amniotomy
AROM
Artifical Rupture of Membranes
Avoiding harmful substances
Baby blues
Baby Concierge
Baby games
Baby-led weaning
Babywearing
Back Labor
Bag of Waters
Bedtime Routine
Belly Cast
Berman's Law
Birth center
Birth Centers Phoenix AZ area
Birth Circle
Birth place options
Birth plans
Birth Story
BLW
Bradley Day Family Picnic
Bradley Method®
Bradley Method® birth story
Bradley Method® for next baby
Bradley Method® for second pregnancy
Bradley Method® outcome
Bradley® Coaches
Bradley™ classes and the next baby
Bradley™ classes for next pregnancy
Bradley™ classes for second pregnancy
Breast Pumps
Breast Pumps and Workplace
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding 101
Breastfeeding Challenges
Breastfeeding in Public
Breastfeeding support
Breech presentation
Breech turning techniques
Cassandra Okamoto
Cephalo-Pelvic Disproportion
Cesarean Birth
Cesarean Support Group
Cesarean Surgery
Child Spacing
Childcare
Children's Books
Chiropractic Care
CIO
Circumcision
Co Sleeping
Coaches
Coaching
Coach's Corner
Comfort Measures
Communication
CPD
Cry It Out
Crying
Dairy Allergy
Debbie Gillespie, IBCLC, RLC
Dehydration and Pregnancy
Depression
Doulas
Drinking during labor
Due Date
Eating during labor
Eclampsia
ECV
Engorgement
Epidural
Exercise
External Cephalic Version
Failure to Progress
Family Bed
Fetal Distress
First Birthday
First Foods for baby
First stage labor
Flower Essences
Fluid Retention
FTP
Full term
Fussy baby
Galactogogues
Going to your birthplace
Grief Counseling and Support Services
Healing
Healthy, Low-Risk
Hearing Screen
Heat Comfort Measures
Herbalist
Homebirth
Hospital Birth
Hyperemesis Gravidarum
Hyperthermia and Pregnancy
In Their Own Words
Increase Breastmilk
Infant Classes
Infections and Pregnancy
Information Center
Informed Consent
Jaundice
La Leche League
Labor Marathon
Labor Sprint
Labor Support
Lactivist
Managing or coping with natural labor
Maternity Keepsake
Meet the Doula
Midwife
Midwifery Care
Midwifery Scope of Practice Committee
Milk Supply
Miscarriage or Stillbirth
Modern Mommy Boutique
Mommy-Con
Monitrice
Morning Sickness
NAP
Natural Alignment Plateau
Natural birth
natural labor coping mechanisms
Natural labor coping techniques
Nausea
Newborn Care
Newborn jaundice
Next baby
Next pregnancy
NIP
NPO
Nursing
Nursing and Maternity Bras
Nursing In Public
Nursing Strike
Nutrition
Obstetrical Care
Oxytocin
Pain
Pain management
Pain management natural labor
Parenting
Past due date
Patient Bill of Rights
Perineum
Phoenix Mommy-Con Mini
Photographer
Placenta Encapsulation
Planning for Baby
Playing with baby
Postdate
Postmature baby
Postpartum
Postpartum Depression
Postpartum Doula
Postpartum Plan
Pre-eclampsia
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Loss
Premature Ruptture of Membranes
Pre-term Labor
Prolonged Labor
PROM
Relaxation
Relaxation practice
Repeat Bradley™ classes
Rights for Homebirth
ROM
RSV
Rupture of Membranes
Scavenger Hunt
Second Stage Labor
Sensory games
Sibling Preparation for Newborn Arrival
Sling
Soft-structured carrier
Starting Solids
Support Groups
Sweet Pea Births
Swelling in Pregnancy
Tandem Nursing
Teething
The Bradley Method®
The Bradley Method® classes
The Bradley Method® pain management
Tongue Tie
Tongue Tie Procedure
Toxins, pesticides, chemicals and pregnancy
Traditions
Transition
Use of vacuum extraction
Uterine Rupture
Vaginal Birth After Cesarean
Vaginal Birth After Multiple Cesareans
Variations and Complications
VBAC
Weaning
Webster Protocol
Why we chose the Bradley Method® childbirth classes
Wrap
powered by

Sweet Peas, Pods & Papas

Labor Marathon

Labor Is More Than Dilation


As we close out Cesarean Awareness Month, I want to share this link to a post that I wrote about "Failing To Progress".  So often, these are the words of doom to a couple that is working towards a natural labor.  

There are other things that are going on when a woman is in labor.  The more birth stories I hear, the more convinced I am that labor is about surrender.  That concept is not measurable, nor is it graphed anywhere.

Please take a minute to revisit the post about

Natural Labor Coping Techniques

Here are some of the ways we recommend our students manage their labor without analgesics or anesthetics.  Even when they are used in labor, we are so happy that our couples use them as tools to manage a long labor and their children are born nursing vigorously and with high APGAR scores.

Bradley Method® natural childbirth classes offered in Arizona: Chandler, Tempe, Ahwatukee, Gilbert, Mesa, Scottsdale, Payson  Mom and Coach are informed. 
Through the course of The Bradley Method® class series, parents are taught about what to expect as “normal” in labor, what the variations on normal might be, the different options and interventions in labor, and how to recognize a complication that warrants a change in the plan for a Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby outcome.

Failing to Progress or Naturally Aligning

Bradley Method® natural childbirth classes offered in Arizona: Chandler, Tempe, Ahwatukee, Gilbert, Mesa, Scottsdale, Payson  We have had a couple of students have had textbook “NAPS” in the last two classes…and since we still have several couples waiting for their babies, I thought this might be a reminder and an inspiration to them for their labors.  NAP – no, they didn’t take epic naps in labor (although I am a big advocate for sleeping in labor)…what it means is that they were very patient in their labors.   

One of the cornerstones of The Bradley Method® is a Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby outcome.  All of the discussion below only applies if Mom and Baby are not showing any signs of distress through labor.

Common Factors That Influence Labor

Bradley Method® natural childbirth classes offered in Arizona: Chandler, Tempe, Ahwatukee, Gilbert, Mesa, ScottsdaleWe have now had 28 students complete our Bradley Method® classes and birth their babies through seven class series – pretty awesome to know that 28 youngsters are blessed with parents who took the time to give them healthy pregnancies and Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby births.
 
Each birth has been unique, and they have varied fromintervention free to cesareans to everything in between.  What they all share is that the families made the choices they had to make for a Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby outcome.

More Homebirth Secrets

Here are two more herbal therapies we used in preparation for our homebirth.  As I commented in myfirst postabout the things we did differently as a result of our choice to have a homebirth, I have no idea why these are not more widely used in pregnancy.  The only idea that has occured to me since then is that since these are not pharmaceuticals, there is no money to be made from promoting them.
 
Herbs have been used as “medicine” for countless years.  As such, I must put on my Bradley® instructor hat here and say that these worked for our family; each family must do their own research and decide if any of these herbal therapies are suitable for them.

One More Thing

The night arrived again – when we say farewell to our students and wish them the best for their birth and the journey of family upon which they are about to embark.  Bruss always tells the first-time parents that he is jealous of them because there is nothing else like the experience of welcoming your first child and discovering parenthood for the first time.
 
I reflect and wonder if we have told them everything, showed them everything, practiced everything – which is of course, realistically, impossible.

Positive Communication

Communicating with your Care Provider  

Tonight’s class was about Variations & Complications of Labor.  The Bradley Method® believes in teaching this topic so that parents are prepared for the outside possibility of a variation of labor.  We strive to introduce these in an informative way while leaving out the flashing sirens of fear and doubt.  

In previous posts, I have written aboutchoosing your care providerand yourrights as a patient consumerof health care in a hospital setting; both will affect your outcome when faced with critical decisions during the birth process.

Energy for Pregnancy and Labor


Energy in pregnancy and energy for laborI made the mistake of serving sweet gooey treats for snack in class tonight.  It got really quiet after we did our labor rehearsal – oops.

So what are ways of increasing your energy during pregnancy, or additionally, your labor, if you are feeling low energy?   

Abdominal Breathing 
 We talk about it often in class – deep abdominal breathing is one of the best ways to increase oxygen in your body while still maintaining a deep level of relaxation.   

 Chest breathing wastes a tremendous amount of energy.

Long Labors

Happy New Year!  Thank you to all of you, especially our regular readers – we are now embarking on our second year of musings about pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and parenting.  I welcome any comments you may have and suggestions on topics you are interested in exploring with me.
 
To close out last year, students from our fall series welcomed their child on December 31st.  They had what might be a record for longest labor from one of our students…51 hours!  This family labored for 2 days and 3 hours…our hats are off to them for making the decisions they needed to make in order to have a Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby outcome.

What Type Of Labor Are You Having?

We had the privilege of completing our sixth series as Bradley Method® instructors last night.  It is humbling to have couples trust us to help them prepare for the birth of their child – we always wonder if we did the best we could and break down every class on the way home.  We feel honored to have these wonderful people choose us as their childbirth educators given the variety of classes available to birthing couples today.
 
For labor rehearsal last night, we did an exercise in which we read out two scenarios: the “sprint” birth and the “marathon” birth.
Website Builder provided by  Vistaprint