Your Best Birth

We're Expanding!!

2008-11-04T17:24:00.000-08:00

As of 2009, we will have two locations for our childbirth classes!

We are teaming up with McGuire Chiropractic and will be holding classes in their Matawan office, which is conveniently located on Route 34 on the border of Old Bridge and Matawan, and is easy to get to from Middlesex and Northern Monmouth counties. We are very excited about working with McGuire Chiropractic and want to thank them for allowing us to use their space. It is a great location for holding classes.

We will also continue to hold classes at our Fair Haven location, at the Yoga Studio at Fair Haven, convenient to those clients in the Southern Monmouth county/Northern Ocean county area. We have been at this location since last spring and we are thankful to Darry Guli for allowing us to use her location.

You can check out the schedule for both locations at Your Best Birth Class Schedule.

So now we need to figure out which posters, props, etc. we need to have at each location, and which ones will be making frequent trips between Matawan and Fair Haven.....

Dorothy

Not On Call!

2008-08-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

Last night I was up until 2:30 AM reading...and it was a wonderful wonderful thing.

It's not something I can indulge in too often, because more often than not I am...

On. Call.

What does that mean? That means that one of my doula clients is within two weeks of her due date, and there is a possibility that I could be called to a birth. At anytime. So I need to be ready. All. The. Time.

First of all, I need to make sure my doula bag is packed and ready to go. Ipod and camera battery charged. Extra batteries. Everything cleaned and sanitized from the last birth I attended.

Then, for every day I'm on call I need to make sure that I have:

(a) last-minute childcare available
(b) someone to transport my children to activities
(c) something easy in the freezer that my teens or husband can cook for dinner

Then I think through my plans for the day. I need to make sure that I am not straying too far from home - if a client calls me, I need to be able to get there within a reasonable amount of time.

Any appointments, meetings, plans, etc. need to be made with the caveat that "I might get called to a birth and need to cancel."

If there is a birthday or holiday when I'm on call, there is always the possibility that I will miss it because I am at a birth.

My birth supplies and birthball live in the back of my van. If my husband wants to take my van, he needs to make sure my supplies are taken out.

I don't drink alcohol when I'm on call, because you never know when someone might go into labor.

I can't take sleeping pills of any kind either.

And the hardest part for me -

I need to make sure I get to bed at a decent hour - it is a Bad Bad Thing when you stay up until 2:00 AM, and then get a phone call at 2:30 AM that someone is in labor, and need to leave and possibly not be back for 24 hours.

This summer, I've had a lot of births. I've been on call constantly since early June. We even went away in the middle of June, making sure we didn't go very far and we took two cars, knowing I might have to come back for a birth....and I did.

But NOW....my last August mom had her baby last week. My mid-September mom has already had her baby, and my late September mom is a couple of weeks away from me being on call for her.

So in the meantime, I am staying up late and drinking wine and making plans that I know I probably won't have to change.

In two weeks, I'll be on call again, and that's ok. If I were not on call much longer than that, I would be itching to get back....but in the meantime, I am so much enjoying the Not On Call Life.

Be part of "The Birth Survey":share your experiences to create a better birthing world.

2008-08-23T05:52:00.000-07:00

It seems for every consumer decision there is a resource available to rate and review options. However, when it comes to choosing a healthcare provider and facility for our births we are left only with a list from our insurance provider and the limited experiences of family and friends who may or may not have similar birth priorities. Many of us forget that as pregnant women we are consumers; we are being provided a service. It is our right to shop around for a careprovider and facility that suits our wants and needs.

You wouldn’t request Chinese food at an Italian restuarant yet many women find themselves making incompatible requests when it comes to their births. For instance, a woman who feels strongly about avoiding episiotomy would do well in not choosing a doctor who performs them on 95% of first time moms. Similarly, a woman who wants freedom of movement through her labor will find herself frustrated and restricted at a facility that insists on continuous fetal monitoring.

Now thanks to CIMS (Coalition for Improving Maternity Services), you will be able to find reviews on all your local options. Have you given birth in the past 3 years? If so, please be part of building this amazing resource by taking the survey. By sharing your experience, you can help fellow mothers have their *best births* and also help providers and facilities improve their quality of care.

http://www.thebirthsurvey.com/

Book Recommendation: Journey Into Motherhood by Sheri L Menelli

2008-08-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

Description: A collection of 48 positive, natural and varied birth stories including: first births, subsequent births, hospital births, home births, unassisted births, water births and VBACs as told by the mothers themselves. After each story, there is section titled: A Mother's Guidance where the woman relays what helped her most in achieving her positive birth as well as occasional notes from the author.

Why all pregnant women should read this book...
The biggest obstacle the average woman must overcome in having a positive birth is not pain or unforseen complications but rather fear.Thanks to unsolicited horror stories, overly dramatic documentary shows and inaccurate birth portrayals in movies, women have lost confidence in their bodies' innate ability to give birth. This book is an antidote for fear as it casts birth in a different light-birth as a transforming, an exhilirating, and even a healing life event.

In reading these stories women can build confidence and begin to prepare and look forward to one of the most memorable days of their lives.

New Jersey's High Cesarean Rate

2008-08-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

NJ has the dubious honor of having the highest cesarean rate in the country, at 39%.

The following is a list of Central NJ hospitals. I have listed the 1997 cesarean rate for each of these hospitals, followed by the 2007 rate, as compiled by Somerset County ICAN. What a difference 10 years can make.....

CentraState 25% 48%

Riverview 23% 43%

JerseyShore 27% 42%

St. Peter's 25% 39%

Somerset 22% 39%

Robert Wood Johnson 23% 37%

JFK Medical Center 23% 37%

Princeton Med Center 19% 33%

Monmouth Med Center 24% 27%

Now what strikes me as interesting is that all of these hospitals have a similar socio-economic demographic for their patients. So what is so different about the moms at, for example, Centrastate, where they have almost twice the risk of delivering their babies surgically than the moms who deliver at Monmouth?? And with cesarean rates almost doubled from 10 years ago, what is the world is so different about women having babies now as opposed to 10 years ago? And the rise in the cesarean rate has not made birth any safer; it has not decreased infant or maternal mortality rates. Instead, it has increased the risks both to mother and baby.

If you look online, you can find lists like this one:
19 Ways to Avoid an Unnecessary Cesarean

(which actually has some good suggestions and tips)

However, if your doctor has a high cesarean rate, don't think that s/he is going to be all that comfortable with allowing your labor to continue if it deviates the slightest bit from what s/he feels is a "normal" labor.

What can a mom looking to avoid an unnecessary cesarean do then? One very important thing to do, as Peggy O'Mara at Mothering magazine puts it, is to "ask your practitioner what his or her individual cesarean rate is. Ask what the rate is for the practice. Ask about other interventions and how they compare to evidence or federal guidelines. If the question is balked at or not taken seriously, be cautious. Don't become a statistic. Individuals or practices proud of their statistics will be familiar with them and tell them to you in an instant. "

If a cesarean is suggested, a mom can ask any questions that she has, get any information that she needs, and take the time to make the decision (barring a medical emergency of course) so that if she decides to have a cesarean birth, she is comfortable with that decision.

However, if a mom is NOT comfortable with that decision, and if mom and baby are not having any medical issues, and the mom wants to have a trial of labor or else give her labor more time (again, barring any medical emergencies of course) - why not give her the chance to either try to have a successful vaginal birth, or else come to the conclusion for herself that a cesarean is inevitable.

Confessions of a Doll-napper...

2008-08-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

It was never my intention to become a doll-napper just part of the job. It began quite innocently the day I brought home 3 20in dolls to use in our classes. I didn't expect my 4yo son, Tyler, to become attached. He promptly named them: Grace, Perry, and Harry. Grace and Perry were identical and the typical Gerber-baby fare but Harry stood out, with his mischievous squinty eyes and subtle smile. It was love at first sight.

From that day on Harry was Tyler's baby. He came with us to the supermarket, birthday parties, Babies R Us (where I was persuaded to buy him a pair of sandals)...Tyler took excellent care of him-washing his face and hands, feeding him, always securing him with a seatbelt while in the car and changing him into pjs before tucking him in each night.

Then came Class 6-the Parenting class..
There were 4 couples in the class-we needed all the dolls we could get, there was just no way around it. I had to "borrow" Harry-what choice did I have? Unfortunately Tyler didn't agree. Running late and expecting some resistance (I learned this back when I asked to borrow his lunchbox for our breastfeeding class), I thought I could perhaps borrow Harry without Tyler knowing. It was noon and Harry was still in bed, I'd bring him back in a few hours and Tyler would be none the wiser, right? Wrong.

I scooped Harry out of bed, stripped him (in prep for class) and placed him with the others in my trunk. I was so close...but I had forgotten a poster and while I ran back into the house to get it Tyler (who had been playing with his sister infront of the house) walked by the open trunk and spotted Harry. There was his beloved Harry, naked in a huge ziplock bag with those other dolls...the horror! He promptly rescued him just as I came outside. A chase ensued. A chase through a sprinkler, in which Harry was dropped. Now naked Harry was also wet and streaked with mud.

I begged, I bribed, but it was no use-Tyler would not let me have him. I am not proud of what happened next, but what choice did I have? I was running late, I had 4 couples, I *needed* that doll! So I hurried into the house, put on Flushed Away, handed him an ice cream cone, lifted the now-forgotten-Harry off the lawn and ran like he!! Into the car and away we went.

I got quite the "talking to" when we arrived home and I have since purchased enough dolls that this shouldn't happen again. My doll-napping days are over.

So is this blog active? Or what?

2008-08-01T08:11:00.001-07:00

Jessica and I started this blog to talk about the "behind the scenes" of starting a new childbirth education/doula business.

And business has been booming! Which is good! But our busyness has us putting this blog on the back burner, with both of us thinking, "Soon, I'll write a blog post" And then we blink and another month is gone.

So what have we been up to since the last blog post, three months ago??

WELL...since April we have, among other things....

Attended ten births between the two of us
Taught 3 complete childbirth education series
Bought so much foam posterboard and 3M adhesive squares at Staples that they go and grab it for us when they see us coming (not really....but they should!)
Updated the website approximately 6 times
Scheduled out our childbirth classes for the rest of 2008
Had 10 brainstorming meetings
Talked on the phone to each other approximately 157 times

All this, plus raising our kids (did I mention we each have 5 kids??)

SO...this is the Official Announcement that The Blog is Back! You can look forward to hearing more about the interesting stuff that happens here at Your Best Birth!

We've Got a Face on Facebook!

2008-04-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

Are you on Facebook? We are!! Check out our page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Your-Best-Birth-Childbirth-Services/15067440836?ref=ts

This is a great way for us to keep up with former clients and a great way for our present clients to get to know us a little bit.

I am excited about the possibilities!

Notes From the Underbelly

2008-02-13T06:40:00.000-08:00

The ABC comedy Notes From the Underbelly disappointed me the other night.

I had previously read the book that the comedy is based on, and thought that the book was well-written and very funny, However, I did not like how the book handled her birth. I liked it even less in the tv version.

Now I know that tv is not reality, and that a comedy is going to exaggerate things, and not get things right. I get that. I can watch birth episodes of other comedies and yes I roll my eyes at the inaccuracies....but they're funny.

This episode was neither accurate nor funny.

In the episode Lauren is 37 weeks pregnant, seeing an OB, nearing the end of a normal healthy pregnancy. She is about 2 hours away from home with her husband and has some abdominal cramping. Her husband insists that they have it checked out at the nearest hospital. The OB tells her that her blood pressure is high, which is a sign of pre-eclampsia, and that she must have an emergency c-section.

WHAT????

When Lauren expresses the desire to go and see her regular doctor, she is told that that is not an option. She is told she has no choice but to have a cesarean in a hospital 100 miles away from home, with a doctor she just met, with a baby who is on the edge of prematurity.

They took ONE blood pressure reading, and called an emergency cesarean based on that.

Other inaccuracies:

In the surgery, Dad is seated by mom's stomach and there is no curtain. Riiiight.

After the birth, the baby goes to the warmer, where the OB goes over and counts fingers and toes and wraps baby in a blanket. Somehow finishing up the surgery is done by someone else while the OB takes care of the baby, and by the time he has baby in a blanket, mom is all closed up, sitting up in bed, and ready to hold her baby.

I wasn't expecting accuracy, but portraying a cesarean as a very minor surgical procedure, with mom able to sit up and hold her baby 10 minutes after the baby is born is so far from reality it isn't funny.

And I'm sure that there are some pregnant women who watched this episode who are now wondering if one elevated blood pressure reading is all that stands between them and a cesarean birth.

If ABC wanted to get some ideas on how to do a comedy birth, they should have watched Friends. Or Mad About You. Or even The Cosby Show. Their birth episodes had their inaccuracies as well, but at least they were funny.

Jackson's Birth

2008-02-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

I'm known for writing very detailed and incidentally long birth stories. Here's my attempt to describe my last child's birth in a much more condensed way....

The Birth of Jackson Bryce (born 11/30/07)

Warm, wet, gush.
Tick tock, tick tock
Contraction, expansion
Tick tock, tick tock
Husband, friends, midwives, mom
Tick tock, tick tock
Laughter, television, CD
Exam, disappointment
Lavender. Darkness.
Tick tock, tick tock
Rocking chair, Gatorade, hot pack
Standing. Swaying.
Closer, stronger, longer
Inward. Intense.
Giddy. Excited. Close…
Pressure? Apprehension.
Kneel, push. Squat, push.
Fear. Doubt. Tears.
Stand. Pressure. Exertion.
Back-POP
PUUUUSH
Gush. Drip. Splash.
Scent: Copper, bleach.
Shaking, trembling.
Downward.
Burn, pressure.
Open. Open. Open.
Head out.
RELIEF…..ahhhh
Shoulders, belly, legs.
Reach, grab, hold.
Warm, slippery, wet.
Baby. Here. Now.
Love. Joy. Exhilaration.

A Doula's Week Before Christmas

2007-12-21T07:49:00.000-08:00

Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house..
Not a creature was stirring, unless she was in labor in her house.

I had three mamas due in the month of December
When Sunday night came, one of them was in labor

Monday morning brought a baby as cute as can be
And a phone call - another laboring mom needed me!

So after a shower, to the hospital I flew
With a bag of massage tools, music, and a hotpack too

This labor was hard, but this mom she did fine
And pushed out her baby a bit after nine.

Another message on my phone - now who could it be?
It was mom # 3 - and now she needed me!

But lucky for me, it wasn't quite time
I was able to sleep in till a quarter to nine.

The next day her labor continued all day
Then time for the midwives and doula to stay

This birth was a homebirth and this mom she did great
Her labor progressed, she ate pizza at eight

At midnight it was time to meet this new little one
A boy or a girl? Finding out would be fun
As dad helped catch the baby, mom said, "It's a son!"

So three births in two days, three sweet little boys.
Three families that have some extra special Christmas joy.

Three moms that worked hard; each had a beautiful birth
A Merry Christmas to all, and to all Peace on Earth.

The "other half" speaks....

2007-12-20T12:29:00.000-08:00

My name is Jessica Koester, as the other half of Your Best Birth, I just wanted to thank Dorothy for all her enthusiasm, motivation and initiative-as new motherhood (ok this is my 5th baby and I have been a mom for 12yrs so I guess "new" doesn't really apply) or rather caring for a newborn and recovering from an eventful birth hasn't left me with much spare: time, energy or brain cells to devote to creating our new business. I am very excited to be launching this new venture in this new year with such a good friend. I consider myself lucky and blessed to have found my passion in life and such a great outlet for it. So bring on the mounds of paperwork, slew of office supplies, glossy brochures, crisp business cards, complicated schedules, lengthy course outlines-I'll be ready.

(FYI to any lurking family members-a gift card to Staples would make an excellent gift this year)

Welcome to Our Blog

2007-12-15T05:47:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Your Best Birth blog!

My name is Dorothy Haines, and I am one of the founders of Your Best Birth.

Your Best Birth is a brand new business, but Jessica and I are not brand-new to the birthing world. We have both been working in the Central NJ area as birth doulas and childbirth educators for many years.

We are excited to be starting group childbirth education classes in the spring in the Monmouth County area and many thanks to Darri Guli of FairHaven Yoga for allowing us to use her facility for our classes.

This blog will detail the ups and downs of starting a new business and juggling that with the demands that we both have with our family lives. It will hopefully be interesting, amusing, and keep you coming back for more.