just one midwife's opinion
Photography: Daniela Rey Awareness around tongue/lip ties and breastfeeding problems has increased recently, but there’s still confusion. In 2015 I shadowed Bobby Ghaheri, ENT on a day of revisions. I learned I’m not qualified to diagnose and treat ties. Many aren’t. I’ve heard midwives, peds, and even some LCs state that baby has no tie… Continue reading Testing Tuesdays: Tongue and Lip Ties
You know what’s super fun as a midwife? Watching both parents work as a team to meet their baby. The laboring person tells us what they need. The partner shows up creatively and intentionally, despite being nervous or feeling a little lost. Laboring Together is a specialized intensive for couples who desire an unmedicated birth… Continue reading November 2nd, 2019: LABORING TOGETHER
My mom got her MA in speech pathology when I was little and she took me to school with her to save on childcare. Having seen so many kids and adults struggle with speech disorders, I feel extra passionate about referring my clients for hearing screens. Baby begins to use sound as soon as they… Continue reading Testing Tuesdays: Newborn Hearing Screening
With Lauren Archer from Love of a Little One For parents of a healthy, term newborn, the Vitamin K shot tends to give parents a lot of worry. Here’s some info: The placenta won’t provide much K to your baby, breast milk is low in K, and baby doesn’t have the gut bacteria to make… Continue reading Testing Tuesdays: The Vitamin K Shot
(The phrase "gender reveal" has become a popular way of saying, "to find out whether your baby is a boy or a girl." However, a baby's genitalia at birth is actually its assigned "sex," with "gender" being a social construct that the baby may or may not identify with later in life. It is also… Continue reading Finding out the Fetal Sex, Or Not, and Why I Hope We Can All Just Relax
Baby’s First Test: The APGAR APGAR scoring was developed in 1952 by Dr. Virginia Apgar who noticed that providers didn’t have a standardized way of evaluating a baby after birth. She created the APGAR score (a handy acronym that is also her name) to get everybody on the same page. Since then, the APGAR score… Continue reading Testing Tuesday: APGARS!
"OHMYGODIWANTTOPUUUUUUUSH!!!!" This was Zoey's second baby and second planned home birth. She was 37 years old, had an uncomplicated pregnancy, and had been in fairly meandering labor - contractions maybe 4-5 minutes apart, at their most frequent, since 2 AM. Her last cervical check, at 4 AM, had her at 4 cm. Her sudden announcement… Continue reading The Beautiful and Mysterious Resting Phase
Fear of pelvic floor damage during birth is reasonable, especially given the existence of Mother's Day cards like this: http://www.omgcards.co.uk Prevention of pelvic floor damage is a worthwhile topic out of the scope of this post. Most care providers have their bag of tricks they use (evidence-based or not) that they believe will reduce tearing… Continue reading All The Things That Can Happen to Your Pelvic Floor After Baby (And What to Do!)
On April 16th, 2019, Washington Senator Maureen Walsh (R) stated she didn't support a bill that would give nurses mandatory, uninterrupted rest breaks. Her hesitation was rooted in her belief that in districts like hers, where hospitals are small (fewer than 25 beds), nurses have plenty of down time, and thus are not in need… Continue reading Gambling with Safety: Hours Worked and Quality of Care
Gestational Rage 