Why we use our placenta, how to get labor going, and understanding when an intervention is medically necessary.

Description: We are thrilled to have the awesome Dawn Herring of Empowered Birth Series back as our guest today. Like myself, Dawn wants to change the conversation in labor to where it can unfold throughout the process and the woman finds it easier to trust her body through grounded knowledge and preparation. Every woman is different, every birth is different, and we are here to share our full-circle journeys to help empower and free us from an exact perception of what birth should look like. I talk with Dawn about the Bishop Score, placentas, and the importance of taking labels off any judgment of looking at any and all options during childbirth and conception. We hope our talk inspires you to allow what is and listen to your own body as a guide.

Takeaways

[7:16] Dawn shares how some of the complications of her own birth experience helped to heal her own judgment and expectations on how birth should be. Now she can provide information neutral and evidence-based.

[18:26] When discussing an intervention, it’s important to first check upon the health of mother and baby.

[19:10] Dawn discusses what a Bishop Score is, and how women can use it to their advantage as a powerful tool and dialogue to determine what type of intervention, if any, is appropriate.

[28:01] Dawn shares the tricks of encouraging labor to begin that she teaches in her Class 4. She is a huge fan of acupressure, herbs, a chiropractor trained in the Webster Technique, and nipple stimulation. It is very important to be in touch with your practitioner and/or midwife regarding these plans so everyone can be on board with the plan.

[35:44] Most women’s water breaks while they are in labor. If the water does break before labor, Dawn likes the use the COAT method to know what to look for: Color, Odor, Amount, and Time.

[46:53] Dawn and I both have seen a lot of information on the placenta, and discuss the possibility of eating your placenta. There have been thousands of years with research to back up that for the right situation it can be beneficial and healthy.

[57:30] Dawn’s last class talks about the 4th trimester which I think is so crucial. This is where every new mom really starts to doubt herself and I’ve seen education and grandmothers and friends make a huge difference at this stage in a woman’s life so I love that she broached this subject.

References:

Fertile Minds on LibSyn

Fertile Minds on iTunes

Continue Your Journey:

Bishop Score Research

Debra Betts — Acupuncture and Acupressure for Pregnancy and Childbirth

Placenta- buddha belly doula & placenta services

Acupressure App on google Play

More Placenta! Research

Labor Positions, Stages of Labor, and Breathing During Birth with Dawn Herring of the Empowered Birth Series Pt. 1

Description:

Today I welcome special guest Dawn Herring, wife and mama of two beautiful babies and Happy Birth Way (HBW) Certified Childbirth Educator. Dawn shares with us how she became a childbirth educator and what inspires her to educate couples on evidence to have the most empowered birth experience possible. We cover three very important lessons that Dawn teaches in her class recording breath and movement, the stages and phases of labor, support techniques, the role of mindfulness, intuition and movement, and some practical tips to be armed with information throughout their journey.

Takeaways

We welcome to the show our special guest, Dawn Herring.

[4:45] Dawn knew when she was pregnant with her first baby and sitting in her HBW (Happy Birth Way) birth education class — and marketing the training — that she wanted to teach. She herself had some healing to do — both of her births were beautiful water births but ended in transfers to the hospital due to complications from a retained placenta. It took her taking her own training to really begin to heal from the self-judgment, doubt, and disappointment that she was carrying with her because things didn’t go quite as planned.

[5:40] Giving women and their partners the education AND open space to have a conversation of compassion, empathy, and understanding is her catalyst and passion.

[10:20] Radical self-acceptance and love is the place to start in the process of an empowered birth. Accept and forgive knowing you did the best you could, and practice mindfulness with being present with your loved ones.

[12:08] Dawn shares what an empowered birth and labor experience looks like. Knowledge is power and the more meaningful dialogue a mom has prior to the labor the more set up they are and the easier to navigate through the process, should things change.

[17:04] The ability to connect with our babies early on in pregnancy helps to foster a sense of trust in the process and to surrender to the perfection in what’s happening.

[18:47] Her first class is “Breath and Movement.” We kick off our series by understanding how important breath and movement are during labor. Breath during labor is so important because how we breathe is directly correlate to how our nervous system and hormonal system respond in labor. Using the breath to cope during labor helps to keep our minds “right” and our body to do what it needs to do to keep labor progressing.

[25:43] The second class is “The Letting Go of Labor – Stages and Phases and Labor Support Techniques.”

This includes how knowing what’s happening in your body during labor, and what your baby is doing, is key to setting yourself up for an empowered experience. In this class, the focus is on what’s happening during Stage

1 labor — early, active and transition. In this class, Moms will learn how to use movement to bring awareness to what you and your baby need during labor. This also empowers labor partners to give practical tips on how to help the mom.

[35:02] Attending birth classes is a very important part of men being empowered, because this is new to them, too. Giving them as much info as possible can help set them up and make them feel comfortable with what lies ahead.

[40:22] “Learning Labor Positions.” The third class is practicing some labor positions in an environment that simulates the intensity of a contraction that can help moms and dads practice their breath along with movement and get some of the “awkwardness” out so that they can remember it when the time comes.

[49:40] For any of Dawn’s students where interventions became part of the equation, they have ALL said that they felt in charge of those choices, informed, empowered and less scared about them. We can also tell you that where you labor makes a huge difference vs. birth center, home, etc.

[56:57] We don’t want to be in fear or defensive, and the more we can dialogue — the earlier possible — the better. It’s a good idea to get everyone involved with the birth on board before the actual labor begins.

[66:30] We give information on Dawn’s classes and how you can take them if you are currently in the Tampa area.

Links to take you further

To Reach out to Dawn for private sessions

empoweredbirthseries@gmail.com

Link to register for Dec 7th Class - if you don't have a mindbody account, it will take a brief minute to create one.

http://bit.ly/2y384df

Links on induction - I will preface this with that these are for women who enjoy reading statistics and lots of detailed info. I find them fascinating but also get taken out sometimes with all the dates, etc. But for the most part, Evidence Based Birth does a great job of compiling data and getting to a bottom line:

https://evidencebasedbirth.com/friedmans-curve-and-failure-to-progress-a-leading-cause-of-unplanned-c-sections/

https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-on-inducing-labor-for-going-past-your-due-date/

Maternal Age:

https://evidencebasedbirth.com/advanced-maternal-age/