Benefits of Natural Childbirth - Guest Post by Blogger Courtney Gordner

As you know, I've been accepting blog posts all summer long on various topics and from various people.  I hope you've enjoyed this series, getting to hear from different people and their opinions on a variety of topics.  There are still more to come, as we have decided to remodel instead of move.  My house, needless to say, is upside-down!  I appreciate those that have contributed this summer, including Courtney Gordner, who is featured this week.

"Women wanting to experience the joys of birthing a baby without anesthesia will tell you just how magical it is to give birth to a child naturally.  Despite all of the pain women are said to experience during labor, there are plenty of mothers who prefer delivering their children epidural-free.

Benefit 1: Natural Child Birth Gives Women Power

Nothing beats the feeling a woman has when she is in complete control over her own body.  For centuries, women have been giving birth without the use of drugs.  Natural child birth gives women power.  They generally heal faster and go about their daily lives in shorter time than mothers who remain hospitalized after birth.  They oftenconnect with their infants in a more intimate way when the child is born naturally.

Benefit 2: Natural Child Birth Recovery is Quicker

When a mother is required to feel the capacity of her own labor pains, she knows how hard to push to deliver her child.  An epidural numbs the pelvic area making it difficult to gauge how effective she is at pushing.  If that wasn’t enough to make you want to skip the anesthesia, knowing that you may need to remain in the hospital for a while after giving birth will.  You save both time and money by giving birth naturally.

Benefit 3: Natural Child Birth Helps Prevent Forceps Delivery

An epidural numbs a mother’s senses.  She may not know or remember how to push correctly and in the process her physician may help pull the child out of the birthing canal with forceps. Natural child birth allows a woman to feel her child leaving her body which will help her deliver better and prevent her doctor from using an instrument to extract the child from her. 

Benefit 3: Natural Child Birth Allows the Child to Feel and Be Aware of His or Her Surroundings

Natural birth allows infants to experience their surroundings without the haze that occurs from anesthesia.  If you want to give a loving gift to your child, choose to deliver them naturally.  You’ll heighten their awareness and allow them to connect to you and others in the room without fear.

There is nothing to describe the joy you feel holding your newborn baby for the first time.  Giving birth naturally allows you to experience this moment in its fullest capacity.  You and your child are able to bond without the haziness of anesthesia.  You also take pride in knowing that you’ve connected to your infant is an ancient and miraculous way.  Any mother considering natural child birth will gain peace of mind knowing that she is not putting her child in danger by delivering a baby under the effects of an epidural."

Courtney Gordner is a blogger with a passion for all things health, spirit and life related! Read more from her on her own blog, www.talkviral.com.

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A Letter to My Former OB

I have a great story. It's about a couple who educated themselves and broke free of their OB at over 39 weeks.  It was the difference between a vaginal birth and a c-section.  She was planning to give birth at the hospital where we did our rally last year - the worst in the area, as far as I'm concerned.  I wish I could tell you our rally made all these great changes in our community, but all it did was cause more animosity and bitterness - on both sides.  

I was so proud of this woman, not only for hiring a new care provider so late in her pregnancy, but also for writing this letter afterwards:

*This letter is shared with permission by the author.

As you may already be aware, I discontinued my prenatal care with your practice at 39 weeks on September 16, 2010. I am writing this letter to give brief explanation as to why, in the hopes that a better understanding of the situation will positively affect the care of current and future patients.

Until September 16th, I had been a patient with Dr. Udell for 10 years, I trusted her and respected her opinion. So when I found out that I was pregnant on January 10, 2010, it only made sense for me to continue my care with her. However, I was deeply interested in keeping my prenatal care as natural as possible. I am of the belief that my body was designed to create, carry, and deliver a baby with limited outsider involvement. This is not to say that I am completely against medical advancements and screenings, but I do not subscribe to inductions and cesarean sections when one or both lives are not potentially in jeopardy.  I do not agree that there is a sound medical reason for the cesarean rate in America being well over 30%. Being that I had done significant research on pregnancy and birth, I was well aware of possible complications that could happen and the implications carried with each of them. This being said, I made my wishes very clear to Dr. Udell early on in my pregnancy. Dr. Udell was agreeable and said she would do whatever I wanted as long as I kept in mind she was going to do whatever it took to keep both mother and baby safe.

When my husband and I took the tour of the hospital on June 13, 2010, we were unsettled by the policies surrounding labor and delivery at Medical Center of Arlington. The fact that the hospital did not seem to have any “pro-baby” policies, but instead had very rigid policies that were very counter intuitive made us very nervous about our impending delivery. The requirements for continuous fetal monitoring, and baby being taken from the room for 3 – 4 hours following birth, are the two that stand out in my mind at this time. However, the most unsettling issue was the statement, “Most of our births are scheduled inductions or cesareans.” The fact that Monica, our nurse tour guide, gave Dr. Udell a glowing review, was about the only saving grace for the entire tour. 

I felt secure in the fact that Dr. Udell was going to do exactly what she said. It wasn’t until my 30 week ultrasound on July 15, 2010, when my suspicions were confirmed that my son was going to be large, that my confidence began to waver.  I explained to Dr. Udell that both my sister and I had above average birth weights and my husband at the higher end of the average as well. She seemed to accept this response at the time, however getting a baby that was too big seemed to remain a recurring theme for the rest of my visits. It was not until my 37 week appointment, August 30, 2010, that I started to truly doubt Dr. Udell’s word.  I remember the comment that planted the seeds of doubt specifically, “I find that it’s best when somebody goes into labor naturally at 38 weeks, otherwise you run the risk of baby that can be too big.” At the time, I wrote it off and prepared for my 38 week exam.

At my 38 week exam, I expected a vaginal exam that was similar to the two I had already had on April 12, 2010 and August 24, 2010.  Instead, what I got was a very painful experience that resulted in spotting. I fully understand that vaginal exams are painful and can often result in spotting, the statement that Dr. Udell made, “You’re thinning, but not dilated. I tried to push through, but couldn’t,” was what worried me the most.  In hindsight, I should have asked her what she meant immediately. However, I was too shaken up by the whole experience to think about it at the time. When I called and spoke to Amy, her initial response was something along the lines of, “Dr. Udell was just trying to get things started.” Then when I mentioned that I did not want anything like that it became the standard of care.  Several times during the phone call I felt as though I was being made to feel like I wouldn’t know the difference because I was a first time mother. This, combined with my 39 week visit, where I was called out in the waiting room by Dr. Udell, told that she was feeling for the baby’s head, reassured that she woulddo whatever I wanted,  then told me whether I liked it or not to expect the next visit to be rough.  After that visit, I was very confused.  I got the answer that I ultimately wanted – I will do whatever you want- but it was followed by another comment that conflicted with the last.

In the end, the combination of the poor policies at Medical Center of Arlington and thecontradicting statements I got late in my prenatal care with Dr. Udell led me to believe thatthe likelihood that my birth would turn into a Cesarean section very quickly and easily. After my 39 week visit on September 13, 2010, an opportunity presented itself to switch to the Certified Nurse Midwives at Harris Methodist Fort Worth.  After several days of conversations with my husband and the midwives office, I made the decision that their philosophy of limited medical interventions, limited vaginal exams, intermittent monitoring,  clear fluids, and the option of hydrotherapy during labor were exactly what I was wanting. That combined with the fact that Harris Methodist Hospital was a “pro-baby” hospital, and had a wide array of policies that supported the birth that I wanted, including the fact that all testing immediately following birth are performed in room with the parents present.

I am happy to report, that on September 27, 2010 at 0130, I spontaneously went into labor, during which I was allowed to and instructed to freely walk the halls after my water broke,  I was able to have clear liquids, and use the tub for pain management. After being allowed to labor down for an hour and pushing for almost 3.5 hours, at 1552 on September 28, 2010 I vaginally delivered a 10lb 3.9oz baby boy.  While he was posterior until the last hour of second stage labor; we did not experience shoulder dystocia despite his above average birth weight.

While the prenatal care I received at your office was great, medically, I believe that it was the lack of confidence in the natural process and in my intuition in my body’s abilities that finally ended my care with your practice. I do continue to believe that if I had stayed with your practice this delivery would have definitely turned into a c-section and I would be fighting for my VBAC on the next one.

Thank you ,

Tiffany C.

If you were dissatisfied - or satisfied! - with your care provider, I encourage you also to write a note explaining why. Take it a step further and take a few minutes to fill out The Birth Survey.  In my humble opinion, this is how change takes place.  

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"Have it Your Way" - Choosing an Appropriate Care Provider for Your Birth by Rachel Zimmer, CNM

Rachel Zimmer, DNP, CNM

If you want a hamburger, do not go to a vegan restaurant.  If you do choose to go to a vegan restaurant, arguing with the chef about making you a hamburger will do no good. Therefore, do not be surprised if you choose to stay at the vegan restaurant if you do not get a hamburger. You just set yourself up to be disappointed. Sounds silly right? 

If you are an expectant mom who wants an un-medicated birth, or a birth without interventions, this is exactly what you are doing by staying with your current provider (assuming your current provider is not supportive of your birth preferences).  Let me tell you how it goes. Mom says to her OB: I would really like to have freedom of movement during my labor and deliver in a position other than my back.  OB says: “OK, we’ll see how it goes. We want to have a safe delivery.”   So what is the reality here? The reality is mom has done some reading and knows that changing positions during labor and birth can help promote a good position for baby as well as decrease her discomfort…  This OB does not care one way or another what mom does during labor and believes she will be just like 90 percent of the moms in the practice and end up with an epidural and on her back anyways.  Want to hear a response from a provider supportive of your low intervention birth plan? How about: “That sounds like a great plan, intermittent monitoring is part of my routine practice. Let’s talk about ways to help keep this pregnancy low-risk so that you can avoid an induction and meet your birth goals.” So moms I am here to tell you, if you don’t get the answer that you are looking for……FIND ANOTHER PROVIDER!  So why do women stay? These are some answers I hear…

“I’ve seen my OB since my very first pap smear…” ie loyalty. I guarantee that this means nothing to your provider. They will still check out at the end of the day and let one of their partners catch your baby.  I am not saying there is anything wrong with that, no one can work 24/7. The point is, so what? Your provider does not remember any of the pap smears that they have done for you and will not miss doing them in the future. That is assuming they will even notice you are gone, which they probably will not. Most OBs see 150-200 women every week and you are not special to them.

“I need to deliver my baby at such and such hospital because it is closest to my house….or because they have a special postpartum suite that I want to have”. Most first time moms are in labor an average of 18-24 hours. Unless you are planning to deliver in El Paso, you will have time to get there.   Your baby will benefit from the decisions you make surrounding your birth and none of this has anything to do with the size of your postpartum room, color of the walls, or if they serve you lobster after your birth.

“My OB delivered my last baby…..or all the babies in my whole family”… This is great, you know what to expect! If you were happy with your previous birth experience then by all means stay right where you are! If you are looking for something different, go elsewhere! Your OB has not changed their practices recently.

“It will be fine, I have a doula this time who will make sure my birth plan is followed”… I LOVE doulas and I think all 1st time moms, if not all moms should have one! BUT most OBs don’t understand the role of the doula and don’t like them let alone respect them. Nor will they pay any attention to them as they advocate for your birth plan.  It’s like arguing with the vegan chef to make you a burger… pointless. And, why do you want to fight to get what you want???? Birth should be a time where your birth team is supporting you and working with you, not against you. Doulas are truly amazing BUT your birth experience will be a million times better if you also have an OB or midwife who is ALSO on board with your plan!

“My family is not supportive of me seeing a midwife”… No one said you have to switch to a midwife. There are some great OBs out there who will support your plans for birth. It is absolutely true that midwives are generally less interventional than OBs and more supportive of practices that promote un-medicated birth. But, there is something different for everyone! Ask about interviews, many midwives will offer “meet and greet” visits or interviews that are free and are an opportunity for you and your partner to meet them, see that they’re not crazy witch doctors, and find out if they are right for you. If not, keep moving on!

As OB providers, we attend anywhere from 50-300 births per year…sometimes more! You as an expectant mom, will experience childbirth once, twice, or sometimes more in your whole lifetime. This is YOUR experience. Don’t let any of the above reasons stop you! Choose people to be part of your birth team that want to help support your goals. C’mon moms! YOUR BIRTH MATTERS! Your OB provider MIGHT remember if the baby they put onto your chest (hopefully) was a boy or a girl. You will remember your birth experience for the rest of your life…

Rachel grew up in the Dallas area and is a graduate of The University of Texas at Arlington majoring in nursing. Rachel has a special interest in music, sports, and Spanish. Rachel attended Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing beginning 2008 and graduated in 2011 with her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree in Nurse-Midwifery. Baylor University was the first school in the United States to offer the DNP/Nurse-Midwifery program. She then received certification through the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB) and is an active member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM). During her graduate studies she performed clinical rotations at Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas and completed her residency here at MacArthur OB/GYN and Baylor Medical Center at Irving. The focus of her graduate project was utilizing social media to provide childbirth education to women.

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Come to the Dark Side, We Have Breast Milk AND Cookies

So excited about this guest post from Karen Orchard.  In addition to being a great writer, she is a home-birthing, breastfeeding, cloth diapering PHARMACIST!  She also does some cool things with yarn (links can be found at the bottom of her cleverly written post).

Honestly, I was never much of a Star Wars fan.  Star Trek was where it's at for me.  The entire pursuing knowledge for the sake of discovery is more my style.  Ideas and learning motivate me.

I want to share with you how someone as unlikely as myself would turn into a home-birthing, extended breast feeding, and cloth diapering mama.

Berry Patch Mama - The Pharmacist 

Actually, I think me becoming a pharmacist is stranger than me becoming everything else I am.  Yes, you read that right, I am a pharmacist.  Honestly, I know perhaps one other pharmacist who gave birth without an epidural and insisted on taking breaks at work for an entire year to pump.  I am a strange bird in my habitat.  Most other pharmacists I know gave up on pumping after a week.  Not me!  I viewed it as my right, my baby's right.  Don't mess with Mama Bear!  I didn't back down, even when ten years ago my district manager wouldn't arrange a private place for me to pump.  My solution?  I sat in the corner out of view of customers, facing the wall.  It was a terrifying thought at first, but it became a routine and my coworkers got used to it.  Luckily they were all female.

Honestly, I'd never really wanted children.  I'd never thought much about it, which might have been a good thing.  My head wasn't filled with all sorts of cliched and romantic notions or dramatic portrayals from movies and TV.  Our families shape many of our ideas about things, especially child rearing.  Perhaps it was something of a blessing I was an only child for 7 years.  I had not a single cousin until I was 6!  I was never around other babies or children.  I hadn't all that much to 'go off of'.  As far as medications,  I came from a family where aspirin was the strongest analgesic in the house.  You didn't go to the doctor unless it was serious.  My father routinely believed he could think himself out of a cold.  The man never missed a day of work.  I didn't know any pharmacists and my parents weren't in the medical professions.

My mother was a woman ahead of her time.  She claims it was all the Phil Donahue she watched.  She was determined to have a natural birth and breastfeed in the early 70s, when people weren't doing any of those things, including having children.  You know, the whole Population Bomb thing and all had just come out.  Mom remembers there were no maternity clothes to be found in the department stores.  Modern women were liberated, you didn't need to breastfeed.  Be a modern woman, use formula! Working 9 to 5 and all that.

So, why the heck would I even become a pharmacist?  Poor guidance counseling for one.  I didn't know any pharmacists and my parents weren't in the medical professions.  It was ultimately my love of science and my practicality of wanting a steady, secure pay check.  Originally, I intended to go into pharmaceutical research and development, but I sure am glad I don't work for a pharmaceutical company now.  Maybe that's what makes me different.  I entered into pharmacy under the naive notion that science and concrete facts were what lies behind the pharmaceutical industry.  I think we all know what drives the pharmaceutical industry and health care these days, but 25 years ago in high school I wasn't so enlightened.  As you can imagine I am a tiny bit disillusioned now by it.

When I became pregnant 11 years ago I embarked on my usual strategy to deal with everything.  Research!  I love investigation, research,the thrill of the hunt.  I visited message boards (we were pre-blog and Facebook back in those days).  I found one for Attachment Parenting.  A term I had never, ever heard in my life.  I found it very fascinating and very reasonable.  It made sense!  That's what I like.  You see, I question everything.  I'll never accept anything without knowing the "why".  Then I found the Mother of all Attachment Parenting communities, Mothering.com (pun intended).  I was hooked!  I studied.  I read books.  Not cream puff books, like "What to Expect When You're Expecting".  I read Sheila Kitzinger, Laura Shanley, and Ina May Gaskin.  Unassisted Childbirth really made an impression on me.  I never did have an unassisted birth, but the book is just amazing!

The world would be a much better place if truth and fact were the highest of our pursuits.  If exploring strange new worlds and boldly going where no one has gone befo-....  oh I did mention I am a little bit of a Star Trek TNG fan.  That's the sort of scientific pursuits and world I'd have liked to live in.  I thought someday I'd be Dr. Beverly Crusher.  However, this isn't the 23rd century.

Really, we aren't that far removed from bleeding people, drilling holes in people's skulls, and the invention of antiseptic.  200 years ago doctors warned not to bathe too often, or else you may let the 'bad airs' in through your pores!  Ridiculous, isn't it?  Yet today, we aren't that much more sophisticated.  There is a plethora of standard protocols in hospitals based on little to no scientific evidence or good reason.  Most hospital procedures are based on mitigating liability, not science or medicine.  True story.  In light of that, I think you, as a lay person, should keep in mind that the medical profession doesn't have the best track record on sound, reasonable advice based on scientific fact.  If it doesn't make sense to you, ask "why?".  If you don't get a answer that makes sense, do some investigative work and find out the truth.

Above all things, I think the truth about things is the most important thing for me.  I won't hide behind ideology, or political correctness, or popular opinion, or "because that's the way we've always done it.  That's why I believe in natural birthing and all the other things I believe in.  Because they are  reasonable, rational, and logical.  Live long and prosper and have a great birth!

Oh hey, PS, I just discovered a woman pharmacist I work with is due this weekend and it's her second birth at the local Midwife Birthing Center!  When she told me I believe I did a fist pump and exclaimed "Oh yeah!"

Karen Orchard  

BerryPatchMama on Facebook

BerryPatchMama blog

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Letter to a Baby Not Yet Conceived - Anonymous Post

The following piece was submitted anonymously as my family and friends do not know that my husband and I would like to try for another child. More controversially, they do not know that we intend to deliver said baby in our home with a midwife. I’m not sure how this will go over with my family and do not want to find out just yet. 

Dear Baby #4:

Last night, Daddy and I watched “The Business of Being Born” and our minds were blown away. We had heard of people having homebirths or water births or using midwives instead of OBs but honestly, it all seemed like hippy stuff to us.

I’m almost ashamed to admit it but I often looked at women who did these things as crazy for risking their baby’s life. For all I could tell it was just for a power trip. But last night it clicked. The realization of just how broken our maternity system is was shocking to me. I sat nearly in tears as I thought over my births in a new light. Our experiences would have been exponentially different if we would have been one of these freaks.

#4, I never thought we’d have you. With three big sisters, (and really only planning on two of them) you’d think we were done. And we thought we were. We really did. But you are in our hearts so deeply right now, no matter how crazy it would be. You are the hope we still hang on to. We have to make sure life works out to fit you into it. Finances and space are two big factors. Your sisters are still too young for us to even think of expanding yet. But this gives us time; important time to research everything we want for you.

I’m sorry I didn’t know more when I was pregnant with #1. I took a few basic classes. I wanted to try delivering naturally but it wasn't an overwhelming passion. I had no idea what the body was capable of and I didn't give mine a chance. I made it to 7 cm (which was further than I really thought I’d make on my own but I progressed quickly and reached this point after only a couple hours of labor.) For whatever reason, I gave up; thinking I still had hours to go. The epidural was placed but within minutes your sister was ready to come out. The nurse insisted I hold her in as the doctor wasn’t near. I hadn’t even seen a doctor yet. Heck, I was just getting settled. A few minutes later, an on-call doctor rushed into the room and out came your sister. She was delivered by the hands of a stranger. I tore even though there was no real reason for it. Looking back, I see it was resisting pushing that caused the extra strain.

I had an epiphany this morning as I dreamed of you becoming a real part of our lives. The doctors treated #1 as preterm. I had an early ultrasound with your sister that dated her as being younger than we thought. I had regular cycles and knew when the exact date of conception. The due date shouldn’t have really been negotiable by that much. But for whatever reason, the ultrasound tech moved the due date back by five days. It was no surprise that I measured ahead the entire pregnancy. And when your sister arrived late in the 36th week, she was treated as a preemie even though she very much came on her own time.

She was healthy but the doctors were scared. I should have stuck up for her but I didn't know I could. I didn't know that as a mom, her rights were up to me before she was even born. I wasn't given the chance to nurse her right away nor do kangaroo care. Her apgars were in healthy range. She had good color though and was breathing just fine. But that’s not how they treated us. With no nourishment, they stripped her down and took her from me for several hours. It was no wonder that she then showed low glucose levels and colder than average temps. Without even giving me a chance to help her, she was whisked away to the NICU.

The experience wasn't what we planned but we got home a few days later and settled into a very comfortable routine. I was lucky that after the separation, she still learned to nurse like a champ. I wore her often. The natural side of me came through and I soon forgot about the emotional pain and what if’s from her delivery. The time came a few years later that we decided to try again. The second time around, I knew I wanted things differently. I had it all planned out. 

And then the egg split.

I know now that this shouldn't have ruined my plans. I had more options but I didn't take them. I didn't know then that I even could take them. Instead I laid in a hospital bed for months on bedrest, was cut open without so much as a try for a vaginal birth. I was ripped away from my family and faced with a threat of endangering my babies at my weakest moment. I was limited in my interactions with my tiny newborns born too early.

In those moments I failed your sisters. Yes, they were born early and I am grateful to the NICU for giving them the extra assistance they needed. Yes, I needed to be off my feet and resting to keep my uterus calm but the constant monitoring just lead to more scares, more internal checks, more irritability, more contractions; it was a vicious and stressful cycle. The c-section was possibly preventable. I know this now. Sister #2 was head down and ready to go. My body could have done it. My doctor didn't trust my body. Since Sister #3 was breech, there’s no way to know what would have happened. I’d like to think she would have happily changed positions and come out head first like nature intended but I know maybe that wouldn't have been the case. 

I wish I would have thought ahead and consulted a doctor who was willing to do a breech extraction. Mine was not. I think I have a good doctor but she likes to play it safe. And while I always leaned towards safe equaling better now I realize there’s a wide variety of “safe.” I was afraid of the idea of having a split delivery with my twins but I never considered the emotional aspect of what would happen after the c-section and after not getting a chance to try.

So baby #4, if there is a you at all, I’m going to do it right this time. I want to know all my options and face all my fears. It won’t be easy. Daddy supports me as well as a wide community of online supporters but the ones closest to us don’t seem to understand. They see you as a risk they don’t think I should take. They think the things I want are kooky. I wish they could read my mind, feel my pain and my emotions, and understand the excitement that you bring to Daddy and I even as just a plan or a thought and not even as a conceived baby yet. 

I often think of you as a rainbow baby. Rainbow babies are created after a loss and most often referred to as a baby after an infant is loss, a stillborn or a late miscarriage of a little one. I didn't lose your sisters. I don’t intend for my pain to take away from that type of pain because I do not know it but I lost part of me during their births, part of me that I’ll physically heal from but emotionally will always be with me. So even though we never thought of having another baby, you were put in our minds and hearts as our rainbow baby.
Midwives like to say that homebirths are 90% excitement and 10% fear. So this is me facing that 10%, going outside of the normal.

Love,

Mommy 

Mommy is an upper twenty something freelance writer and parenting blogger that stays home with her girls in their Midwest home. Her passions are breastfeeding, babywearing, cloth diapering and holistic medicine. She has three beautiful daughters age 4 years and 18 months x 2.

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Extended Breastfeeding - Guest Post by Clarissa Leigh

When I was asking for guest blog posts, I was excited to share this one on extended breastfeeding.  I've nursed my own babies anywhere from 15 months to 28 months.  I have to say, the most rewarding relationships have been the ones that were breastfed the longest.  Maybe that's a coincidence, but I like to think that breastfeeding was good for us both.  Thank you, Clarissa, for being willing to share your story.

My son has just turned one, (sob, how did it go by so fast??) and I knew from the moment I found out I was pregnant that I was going to nurse him. It wasn't even a question. I knew many in my family and many friends who had nursed. The one thing I didn't think about was how long I would nurse for. I don't think I had a goal in mind.

Our nursing relationship got off to a great start, we had no problems, and he quickly grew attached to his milkies, as did I. My favorite times in life are nursing him to sleep. As he got older, I was asked how long I would nurse for, and I started asking myself that as well. I did research, I prayed about it, and I thought about it often.

The more research I did, the more I realized that nursing past a year, or extended breastfeeding, has so many benefits. Once I determined the benefits, I knew I would be nursing longer than the norm, and average so often seen nowadays. However I found other reasons, besides the health and nutritional benefits that I would continue to nurse.

1.) It is comforting. As Wilbur gets older and starts walking, and getting more teeth, he needs comfort. The easiest way to comfort him is to nurse him. It calms him down and makes the pain less. I do not want to take away his lovey, his comforting technique, it would be unfair to him, and I like having the power to quickly calm him down.

2.) It gets him to sleep so quickly and easily. Wilbur has never been a good sleeper, even as a newborn, he just does not like sleep. When he gets really tired, it is so easy to get him to sleep by nursing him, also when he wakes up in middle of the night, we don't have to be up for an hour or more.

3.) It helps him maintain his since of normalcy. He is learning and growing so much every day, why would I want to change something else in his life? He needs something that he can come back to when he is overwhelmed by how much he is learning and changing.

4.) It is quick and easy. We have been giving Wilbur a cup since he was 5 months old, sometimes with some expressed breast milk, sometimes water, most often coconut water. He refuses to hold a sippy cup himself, he wants to drink out of a regular cup. If I stopped nursing at a year, he would still need to drink some milk, and in order for him to drink that, I would have to pour the milk in a cup, and sit and hold him for the hour or so it takes him to drink anything out of a cup. With continuing to nurse him, when he tells me he wants milk, it is very easy to let him have it.

5.) I know it is good for him. Everywhere you look, everyone has a different idea or opinion on what kind of milk is best, is it raw cow’s milk, is it whole milk, is it goats milk, is it coconut milk, is it almond milk, is it rice milk? I do not want to be having mommy guilt or second-guessing myself about another topic, and by now, I know he isn't allergic to anything in my diet, and that my milk is perfect for him.

6.) I have already mentioned this, but the health and nutritional benefits. According an article published by Fitzgerald Health Education Associates, Inc., extended breastfeeding into the second year of life provides 29% of energy requirements,  43% of protein requirements, 36% of calcium requirements, 75% of vitamin A requirements, 76% of folate requirements , 94% of vitamin B12 requirements, 60% of vitamin C requirements - Dewey 2001 (source). That is amazing, there is nothing else I could give him that is that nutritious, that wonderful for him. Breastmilk also contains numerous antibodies. No parent wants to see their child sick, and thankfully, Wilbur has only been sick once, and if I can prevent him being sick, I will, to the utmost of my abilities.

7.) The last reason is a selfish one on my part, and that is I love the snuggles, I love giving him what he needs, I love being the one he wants when he wants milkies, I love seeing him so happy and content while I am nursing him. He is such a big boy, and walking around everywhere, and playing by himself so much, that I don’t get many, so if I am able to do something to insure I get more and more snuggles, I will.

Have you practiced extended breastfeeding? What were the reasons that led you to that decision?  

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A Birth Boot Camp® Birth Story - by Karolyn Dicken

It was just about a year ago when we found out that we were pregnant.  I’d been a little too anxious with the first pregnancy test and despite assuring results up to 5 days sooner; the test still came back negative. A week later when Mother Nature still had not run her course, I tried again.  POSITIVE!

For reasons I don’t even completely know, I’ve always desired to have an unmedicated childbirth.  Granted, that wasn’t a conversation that really came up in our dating days, so when I told my husband this after we received the pregnancy news, he was a little unsupportive.  Okay, he might have even scoffed and said, ‘yeah, we’ll see how you feel when the time comes.’  Thankfully, I was with my mother-in-law at the time and she does a wonderful job trying to help me understand my husband.  She explained that his only up-front experience with childbirth had not been a very positive experience.  My husband has an adorable 6 year-old son (whom I love with my whole heart) from a previous relationship.  They were young and unprepared.  The mom is tiny and my (step) son’s head is rather large.  All of that resulted in a lot of pain and eventually a c-section.  This is what my husband had in his mind.

After explaining my desires a little bit more and reading a book that got us both on the same page, my husband jumped on the un-medicated band wagon with me!  We enrolled in a local Birth Boot Camp class (instructed by none other than Donna herself!) so that we could both be educated.  Friday evenings were one of our favorite times.  It was great having time to be so intentional about understanding the birthing process.  What we both found most useful was the emphasis on the husband’s active role throughout the pregnancy, labor, delivery, and beyond.

What my husband found most uncomfortable was the birthing videos.  Seriously, he’d turn away, cover his face, catch glimpses of the video and be totally disgusted.  Uh….he was supposed to be my #1 support during the delivery; how were we going to make sure this happened?!  As classes went on, the whole birthing process became a little less…disgusting…to him.  However, to this day, he still will say he found the videos revolting.  Bless his heart.  However, having been exposed to un-medicated births via those videos let him know a little bit more about what to expect on D-Day (Delivery day).

When the day arrived (I would say finally but she came a few days early despite me being convinced she would come late – so perhaps unexpectedly arrived would be more accurate), we were as ready as we were going to be.  My husband had his affirmations written down for me, lots of lyrics and scripture saved, and an entire playlist put together for during labor.  I think we got through a few songs before she came much quicker than anticipated!  My husband was my #1 support that day as I had hoped he would be.  He was calm, encouraging, supportive and calm.  Did I mention calm?  When meeting my husband, calm probably wouldn’t be one of the words used to describe him.  Yet, thanks to a lot of prayer, the classes and conversation (and, yes, even the videos), he knew what I needed that day to have a positive birthing experience.  It was an incredible day all together.

I had a friend there with us taking pictures of the whole experience.  When talking to her a few days later, she told me the first thing she told her husband after watching our daughter’s birth was that she was super impressed (and even a little shocked) with how well my husband responded throughout the process.  Even my midwife commended him for his support.  While he might not have been the one to catch our daughter, he did manage to peak and even caught a glimpse of Kadence coming into the world – with her arm raised high by her head.  Really, Kadence?!  But to think he might have missed that if not for everything we had learned ahead of time.  I’m so incredibly thankful for our experience and how prepared we felt going into all of it.  My husband was so enthralled with how alert our daughter was immediately upon entering the world.  Really, he’s just enthralled with her in general.  I’m so thankful for Donna, Birth Boot Camp, our fellow Birth Boot Campers and the healthy arrival of our tiny newest addition.  We couldn’t have asked for anything more; we are incredibly blessed.

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Guest Post by Elizabeth McKeown - Author of "In Search of the Perfect Birth"

So many women end up reeling from their births, with something empty inside or a “why me” attitude. It’s not always easy to explain or define. Some cover it up and go along with life anyway, convinced that the problem is themselves. They chastise themselves and don’t question the way things are. Afraid to be ungrateful, some are ashamed to confide their feelings and they keep it inside. And then for those, like me, for whom that is not good enough… we go searching for more.

What was I “in search of”? Answers. Answers why my body didn't work like I thought it would. Why wasn't I a pain warrior in the hospital? Why didn't my baby latch well or take to breastfeeding? Why did I feel so void of raw emotion the instant I became a mother? Why wasn't that the happiest moment in my life? Logically I knew it should be. In my heart, I was like a conductor with no orchestra. Cue the teardrops, I urged. All I felt was hungry (not eating for almost 24 hours) and tired. Some natural birth goddess I turned out to be.

Years later I had still not given up on myself. I believed in myself so much that I decided that if only I weren't strapped down to that hospital bed I could have handled everything well. I was older and wiser, and maybe even tougher than that 21 year old girl I used to be. Homebirth midwives were going to help me have the birth I needed. Only it didn't work out that way. I was overdue. Pressure was on. I experienced a non-consensual membrane sweep. The following day I would give birth. Intense, increased pain in their presence, meconium, and an ambulance ride to the hospital created for me what was my most horrifying life experience yet. My baby and I were alive, but I was shaken. I knew I was not made for this. 

My disappointment and disillusionment surfaced. Bitterness in “natural birth” took the place where confidence in myself once was. I knew I could never give birth again. I wanted no one to give birth again, ever. When I thought of birth, I thought of tsunamis wiping out populations, and tigers tearing animals apart in the jungle. Nature was harsh and cruel and did not care about any of us. I felt like some lonely star wandering the cold, desolate universe. I was on God’s torture table subject only to his whims, suffering comedy and tragedy at random and completely out of my control. 

I was not content to let it end there. Not like that.

My epiphany came and hit me during my third pregnancy. Something was always getting in my way in the other births. What would happen if nothing was standing in my way? There were things I had no say in, people who didn't honor my requests or needs, with the feeling of being vulnerable magnifying every pain. Yes, I do like to be in control of everything. Yes, I do like the idea of going with the flow. There is some balance, or harmony to be stricken, between the randomness of nature and the power in my own hand. I was going to find that balance. My epiphany was that I needed to birth unassisted.

I began researching my needs and found, shockingly, that everything I felt was so specific to me was supported in science. Scientific observation of mammals, the primal birth space, the nature of birth physiology… these were all in tune with what I suspected were my own “preferences“. I flung myself deeper and deeper into research and gave birth undisturbed and unassisted in 2011. Shortly thereafter my book In Search of the Perfect Birth was published. It describes all my birth experiences in detail, the “errors” in each, and the triumph of learning how to trust yourself again after life’s hard lessons. 

I am so glad I never gave up on myself, never subscribed permanently to my own bitterness, and never stopped asking questions. The obsessive pursuit of truth will lead you to scientific and spiritual revelations about yourself of proportions you could never imagine. It is “perfect”. I tell my story so others can find their way out of the suffering, too. 

The Facebook page In Search of the Perfect Birth is dedicated to discussing these topics. The book of the same name is available (among other places) at Amazon and for Kindle.

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Hospital Nurses and Natural Birth

A few weeks ago, I was in the emergency room with my son, thinking he had a staph infection.  Long story short, he didn't.  But it was an eventful night, to say the least.  I heard a nurse on the phone with a doctor, panicked, as a baby boy was bleeding profusely from a circumcision-gone-wrong (I don't know what happened - he was still bleeding when we left) and was quite traumatized.  I also heard a room full of nurses talking about labor and birth.  I posted a few of the things on my BFBS Facebook page I heard (which were quite crazy if you asked me), and one of my former students-turning-Birth-Boot-Camp-Instructor, who happens to be a nurse, asked if she could write a blog post for Banned From Baby Showers about why nurses know so little about birth.  How could I refuse?  Thank you, Shazia, for helping us understand, not only the situation, but how we can improve the current state of affairs.

 
I have heard many stories from moms about a nurse being unsupportive and discouraging of natural birth. Perhaps you may have had one of these nurses attend your labor. I am a registered nurse and even I encountered a less than helpful nurse during the birth of my son at a local hospital. Nurses are often very knowledgeable and supportive of evidence-based practices in other specialties. If natural birth is evidenced to be the best option for achieving optimal outcomes for both mom and baby, why are some nurses unsupportive and even discouraging of natural birth? I hope to answer that question from a nurse’s perspective in this post.

A nurse’s knowledge base comes from their education and their experiences. To help me write this post, I polled several other nurses who work in various specialties and attended different nursing schools. I have my BSN from the University of Texas at Arlington. I went through a wonderful nursing program that consisted of 120 course hours. Birth was discussed in one 4 hour course. The course was a general women’s health course that covered pregnancy, birth, and the neonatal period. I was blessed to be taught by a Clinical Nurse Specialist who had homebirthed her own children and a Certified Nurse Midwife.

Not every nurse was so lucky during their nursing education. Some nurses that I polled stated that birth was such a small part of their nursing curriculum that they learned very little about birth. Some nurses said that birth was discussed more in depth, but comparing common maternity practices in the United States and evidence-based maternity practices were not part of the discussion. Not teaching evidence-based practices seems ridiculous to someone outside of nursing, but nursing schools in the United States are preparing nurses to work in healthcare settings in the United States. Labor and delivery nurses attend hospital births. Our hospitals do not routinely practice evidence-based maternity care. Nurses in the United States are expected to assist with planned cesarean sections, elective inductions, epidural anesthesia, and other medical interventions in birth. Unfortunately, that is what hospital birth looks like in our country. Natural birth that is intervention and medication free is rare, and most happen out of the hospital. Many labor and delivery nurses, much like obstetricians, have never observed a natural birth. In order to prepare a nurse for the patients and procedures she would encounter on a labor and delivery unit, the natural birth process is not always a priority for educational institutions.

I also polled a few nurses who work in labor and delivery. Their input was insightful. They verified that natural, intervention free birth was a rare occurrence on their labor and delivery units. They stated many moms came in to the hospital with a birth plan to have no pain medication and limit medical interventions. However, the majority had done NO preparation for their birth, other than typing out a birth plan. They said most of their coworkers view the birth plan as a joke, because most of the moms who write them end up asking for everything they wrote they did not want. One of my professors in nursing school said that you can plan all pregnancy long, but it means nothing if you don’t prepare. If you don’t take the time to prepare, you might as well forget the planning too. It’s like writing down that you are going to make an A on the test, but never actually studying for it.

When a mother is not prepared for birth, but seeks a natural birth, the demands of their nurse are drastically increased. Nursing units are often understaffed and nurses are overworked. There is a tremendous demand on a nurse when a mother is not prepared for birth, a father is not prepared to be a birth coach, and a doula isn’t present to assist mom throughout the birth process. This can create animosity towards the patients that seek a natural birth, but due to lack of preparation rely on their nurse for all of their needs during labor. Even though more women are asking for a natural birth in the hospital, many still end up with unnecessary medical intervention due to their lack of being informed and prepared. Unfortunately, this means that even labor and delivery nurses lack experience in the natural birth process, because the majority of patients are not giving birth naturally. They also doubt the ability for women to birth naturally, because they see many unsuccessful attempts. When a well-prepared and well-informed mom comes in to the hospital, they are often faced with judgment and animosity because they are categorized with the moms who aren’t prepared and informed. They assume that they will be unsuccessful also.

What can we do about this and how can we ensure that women having a hospital birth have supportive nursing staff? We can demand evidence-based practices. We can choose doctors and hospitals that have practices in place to support the natural birth process. If we demand better care during our birth and evidence-based practices, we can work towards a society where medical staff at hospitals have seen natural birth and are experienced assisting moms who wish to avoid medical interventions and are well-prepared to do so. If we continue to blindly follow bad medical advice and fail to advocate for ourselves, hospitals will continue to utilize their policies that inhibit mothers from achieving the type of birth they want. The more we demand for better births, the more experience nurses and other hospital staff will have with natural birth.

If we can change the way women choose to birth and prepare them well, we can change the way our hospitals handle birthing women. If more moms educate themselves and prepare for an intervention free birth, we can ensure that our labor and delivery nurses gain experience with the natural birth process. If we change the norm of birth in our society, the nursing schools in our area will also have to change their way of teaching to prepare nurses who want to go into labor and delivery to effectively provide care to a birthing mom.  

~Shazia from Above & Beyond Birth blog can also be found on Facebook.

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Combating Gestational Diabetes

Jenni Rongey, a co-Chapter Leader for the Tarrant County Birth Network, wrote this post for the Banned From Baby Showers readers.  I've known Jenni for a few years - she was Jillian in the BOLD Fort Worth production of  "Birth" two years in a row.  She had a VBA2C almost 2 years ago and you can read her birth stories here. She also works as a birth assistant at a local birth center.  She is a wealth of knowledge and I hope you walk away with a new perspective on dealing with gestational diabetes after reading Jenni's comments.  Thank you, Jenni, for sharing your expertise and story with us here.

"Diabetes has affected every part of my life but none quite so deeply as pregnancy. I have personally experienced many of the complications and risks associated with Type II diabetes in pregnant mothers. Multiple miscarriages, strict diets full of counting carbohydrate to protein ratio, insulin injections, pre-eclampsia , c-section, induction leading to an emergency c-section, babies with under-developed lungs that were separated from me for hours or days after birth.

Funny thing is I’ve also seen a diabetic pregnancy where none of those complications reared their ugly head. That was my pregnancy too. So what changed you might ask? I stopped listening to my doctors list off all the reasons why I was high risk and I couldn’t have a normal, uncomplicated birth. I realized that the only thing that separated me from my friends that had normal, low risk, out of hospital births was that I had blood sugar
levels that fluctuated from high to low and they did not. I just needed to figure out how to control my blood sugar levels without medication. Figure it out I did and like so many of our modern day diseases it was all about diet and lifestyle.

What I want to discuss are the measures a woman that has been diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM for short) can take to help boost her chances of having the birth she wants. Merely getting a birth without all the interventions is an uphill battle for someone with gestational diabetes. It’s even harder if you desire a natural birth or one out of the hospital. The best thing you can do is to educate yourself and keep your blood sugar tightly controlled and educate yourself. Did I mention that you need to educate yourself?

First you should know that gestational diabetes can be readily controlled without medication. It takes some planning and determination to stick with your plan but aren’t the things that are most important in life worth a little work? Let’s get to work.

10 Things You Need to Know to Keep GDM under Control

1. Understand Gestational Diabetes – 
Gestational diabetes is a condition where a woman that has never been diagnosed with diabetes suddenly has high glucose levels in the third trimester of pregnancy. Insulin is an important hormone in the body. Its two main jobs are storing fat for future use and escorting glucose (sugar) into the body’s cells where it can be used for energy. When a woman becomes pregnant her body naturally becomes insulin resistant to a degree. This means that some of her cells start refusing to let insulin do its job. Extra glucose is left circulating in her bloodstream where it ends up being metabolized by the fetus. This is the body’s way to secure a steady stream of energy for the fetus as it grows. By the third trimester the mother’s insulin resistance is higher so that extra glucose can be secured for baby’s fat stores before birth. In most women, the insulin resistance isn’t noticed because their pancreas puts out ever increasing amounts of insulin to keep blood sugar levels normal. However in some women, the pancreas just can’t keep up and despite high levels of insulin in the blood stream, blood sugar levels remain elevated. Being diagnosed with GDM does not mean you are diabetic. It can mean however, that you have a greater chance of developing type II diabetes in the future. Learn to take care of it now and you greatly reduce that risk.

2. Understand the Actual Risks of GDM
• Big Baby Syndrome - Insulin works in the body by taking glucose out of the blood and putting it in cells for energy. It drives glucose first to muscles, then to the liver, and finally to store in fat. If your blood sugar
remains elevated the baby’s pancreas is left to deal with the excess. It will produce extra insulin which will help store glucose as excess body fat. That is how an uncontrolled diabetic mother can have a baby that is
too large. If your blood sugar is tightly controlled this is not an issue. By the way, if you do have a large baby there are several squatting style birth positions that open the pelvis by an extra 30%. This is a lot of wiggle
room. A large baby alone is not a reason for an automatic c-section.

• Low blood sugar in the newborn – If your blood sugar has been chronically high or is high during labor then your baby may be born with low blood sugar. Remember that your baby’s pancreas puts out extra insulin to help get rid of the excess glucose in its blood. When the supply of excess glucose is shut off by birth, the pancreas still takes a while to slow down production of insulin. This can result in low blood sugars. Symptoms of low blood sugar in the newborn can be hard to see but they include irritability, lethargy, excessive hunger, and rapid pulse. For a baby exhibiting signs of low blood sugar the best cure is to put the baby to the breast early and often. Usually no other treatment is needed to help stabilize blood sugar as long as it is not dangerously low.

• Significant increase in interventions – The most dangerous risk of being diagnosed with GDM is merely being labeled as a gestational diabetic.  A woman diagnosed with GDM has up to a 50% increased chance
of induction or c-section just by being diagnosed. She may also be subjected to frequent sonograms, non-stress tests, and other invasive and unnecessary procedures. Many doctors want to induce around 38 weeks to “make sure the baby isn’t too big.” If you keep your blood sugars tightly controlled and within normal range your risk of having an overly large baby is no greater than a woman without GDM. Educate yourself so you can defend your choices if it comes to that. If a natural or low intervention birth is what you are wanting, you will need to be ready to fight for it. The best thing you can do is keep your blood sugar in the normal range. Ready for the how-to?

3. Eat a Diet That Does Not Raise Your Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels.
If a food raises your blood sugar it will also raise your insulin. The pancreas will fight hard to put out extra insulin to take care of any extra glucose in the bloodstream. The damage inflicted by excess insulin circulating in the body is enormous but for the purpose of GDM I will distill it down to one important complication, pregnancy induced hypertension. Insulin raises blood pressure and this is part of the reason that women with uncontrolled blood sugar in pregnancy are at a higher risk of developing pre-eclampsia. So exactly what foods will raise your blood sugar and insulin levels? Glad you asked!

4. Go Grain Free
Grains are the number one culprit in high blood sugar with sugar close behind. Are you surprised that sugar isn’t in first place? Unless you are drinking gallons of corn syrup laden soda and eating Snickers for snack
everyday (and if you are, quit that!) most people consume more wheat, corn, rice, and oats than sweets in any given day. This makes them the number one food to control. Do you really need to cut out all grains, even whole grains?  The answer I’m afraid is yes, at least until you have had a week or two of absolutely normal blood sugar readings. Then add in whole grains, if you must, one serving at a time. Pay careful attention to how you respond to any particular grain. I personally can’t even look at rice without my blood sugar hitting the ceiling but small amounts of corn or corn tortillas can usually be tolerated. If you monitor your blood sugar carefully you will know when you have reached the upper limit of your grain intake whether that is one serving a day or four. Along with grains you have to watch your intake of starchy vegetables, mainly potatoes and peas. White potatoes are the vegetable world equivalent of white bread. Sweet potatoes offer great nutrition with a much lower impact on blood sugar. What about sugar? Obviously sugar needs to be severely limited in your diet (even if you aren’t dealing with GDM.) Have you noticed that most of our favorite desserts and treats pair grains with sugar? Talk about a double whammy. So what’s a pregnant girl to do? Eat fruit…..just kidding! Check out recipes for grain free treats that are sweetened with honey, maple syrup, or other unrefined sugars. There are thousands of tasty recipes on the web waiting for you. If you are the experimental type in the kitchen you can start trying out wheat flour alternatives like almond or coconut flour.

5. Eat Whole, Real Food from Good Sources
Grass-fed meats, wild caught fish and seafood, and pastured chickens and eggs should make up the bulk of your protein. Local, seasonal, and hopefully organic vegetables will give you your best source of vitamins and minerals.  Organic fruit should be eaten in small quantities. I can hear the rumble of, “Sheesh! I’m not made of money,” out there. I know. I’m not either. Figure out your priorities. If you eat a lot of eggs but rarely touch red meat then spend your money on pastured eggs, and go ahead and buy standard grocery store meat. That small amount won’t be your undoing. You get the idea.  Dairy is questionable for some people struggling with blood sugar issues.  Usually cheese has very little impact on blood sugar but milk is actually quite high in sugar (lactose.) It will just take a little experimentation to decide whether or not milk will be an option for you. For those of you that are Weston A. Price devotees, and you know who you are, raw milk generally has less of an impact on blood sugar than pasteurized. Always eat dairy in the full fat form. It will slow the impact on your blood sugar plus the vitamins and calcium in dairy foods require fat for your body to absorb them.

6. Don’t Worry About Fat in Your Diet
If it’s good fat that is. Fats are necessary to human health. Fats feed our brain,  give our cells structure, and keep our skin glowing and wrinkle free. Fats help us metabolize vitamins A, K, and D. Good quality fats are necessary to  properly nourish mom and baby. The problem is figuring out which fats are  good and which are not.  Saturated animal fats from pastured and grass fed  animals are great! Grass fed beef is high in omega 3 fatty acids. Pastured lard  is full of heart healthy monounsaturated fats. If you eat pastured bacon save the grease and cook your eggs in it just like Grandma used to. Butter, cold pressed coconut and olive oil are all good choices that are easy to find as well.  Steer clear of processed vegetable oils, even canola oil. These oils become oxidized and rancid during processing. To hide the awful smell they are chemically bleached and deodorized. Sounds yummy right?

7. Check Your Blood Sugar Often
How can you know if you are successfully keeping your blood sugars level if you don’t check? Get a glucometer and check your blood sugar several times a day. Yes I know it’s tedious but trust me, it’s better than having to inject insulin twice a day. Your care provider should go over the values that you are looking for but just in case, your fasting blood sugar should be below 100mg/dl and under 140mg/dl two hours after a meal. Consider your glucometer your most important tool to helping you stay on track.

8. Exercise! For Real, Do It!
Consistent exercise is a major key to blood sugar control. When you do any exercise you move large muscle groups. To fuel those large muscle groups your body will direct glucose out of your bloodstream and into the cells of the muscles. Exercise can have a large and immediate blood sugar lowering effect.  If you exercise consistently it will boost your metabolism and make you more sensitive to insulin. Over time regular exercise will help to keep your blood sugars lower. I’m not talking about hours every week at the gym. Moderate walking several times a week for as little as 30 minutes has a huge impact on your insulin sensitivity.  Consistency is what’s important here. The more consistent you are the more benefit you will see. If you find that following all of these recommendations isn’t quite getting the job done there are a few more tricks up my sleeve.

9. Great Supplements
Choose quality whole food supplements that support metabolism and lower blood sugar levels. A whole food prenatal may be in your best interest. It is generally believed that people with metabolic disorders, and GDM is one, have a harder time absorbing nutrients. A whole food prenatal vitamin is more readily available to your body. A whole food chromium supplement is a must.  Chromium is a necessary mineral that helps regulate blood sugar. With depleted soils it is impossible to get all you need from food. Cinnamon is another valuable supplement for lowering blood sugar. While you can buy cinnamon capsules, just sprinkling some on your food everyday is a tastier way to get it. Certain brands carry Chromium blends specifically for blood sugar control that contain cinnamon as well.

10. Coconut Oil 
I know I went over fats earlier but coconut oil is a special one. Coconut oil when taken as a supplement supports your adrenal system, boosts metabolism, and lowers blood sugar. You can take up to 3 tablespoons a day if needed. If you have been on a low fat diet then start small. Begin with 1 teaspoon before each meal and work your way up. You may find benefits at a low dosage or you may need to go all the way up to 1 tablespoon before each meal. You can stir the oil into herbal tea or take it straight from the spoon.

As with anything regarding your birth, the better educated you are the better chances you have of getting the birth you desire. Gestational diabetes is not a one-way ticket to a c-section or induction. With some planning and dedication you can have the birth you envision. Happy healthy birthing to you!

*I am not a doctor or licensed medical professional. I have done my research and these are the steps I took to control my blood sugar during pregnancy. If you have been diagnosed with GDM and are currently controlling it with medication you need to start this diet under supervision of your care provider. You will need to very carefully monitor your blood sugars as you wean off of medication."


For more information, I wrote a post about testing for gestational  diabetes earlier this year, including the criteria set by the American Diabetes Association.

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