Kick counts is a great way for moms to assess the babies overall well-being. Babies typically have a pattern of wake and sleep. As you get towards your third trimester, it’s a good idea to start recognizing your babies active hour and sleepy time. Kick counts is a way for you to track and make sure that if you notice a change in your babies patterns you can Track it with the app and make sure that you’re getting the correct amount of movements in the correct amount of time. When there’s a change in the babies pattern, it can be normal, but it can also be a time where you may need to reach out to your provider. 

Click the YouTube link below for a video on Kick Counts:

https://youtu.be/tqNozcB65V4

It’s great to boost your our immune system with a little extra Vitamin C at the end of pregnancy. Let’s try to keep waters intact for as long as we can, let’s try to keep healthy vaginal flora for delivery time, all in all a good choice!! Check out my video with info on Vitamin C at the end of pregnancy. I always recommend 1000-2000mg a day for my mama's at the end. 

 #midwifery #midwiferycare #lamaze #childbirthclasses #naturalchildbirth #naturalchildbirthclasses #onlinechildbirthclasses #onlinelamaze #onlinebradleymethod #bradleymethod #pregnancy #pregnancycare #pregnancyclasses

https://youtu.be/-aD0lNgM-oc

Labor is intense. Although it's as natural as breathing, it's still intense as hell. No need to fret though, because you were built for this. What does that mean? That means if you can sit back and let your body do what it needs to do, you actually don't have to do much.

The real problem or difficulty is the "sit back and let your body do what it needs to do" part. It's hard. REALLY hard. We have something called a conscious mind that really messes with that sit back portion. The conscious mind wants to control, wants to fight it, wants to flee away, and wants to think it's too much to handle.

If you just breathe....if you just remember you were built to do this job, though not easy but DO-ABLE, then you will overcome. You will birth new life; a baby and a new person within yourself. A stronger woman who is now a mother and a new life that looks to you, still, for full support to survive and thrive.

Check out my post from my homebirth website. I thought you all would enjoy some tips on getting that birth you want and deserve!

https://www.p3birth.com/post/tips-from-a-midwife

How do I get the birth I want?

Most families find Peaceful Pregnancy Pathways because they have a good understanding of why pregnancy is natural to the women's body and finding a provider who is trained in nurturing that is essential! Here are some of my favorite picks that I has found to compliment Midwifery Care and encourage families to achieve the bliss of birth:

-Find a Midwife! Low-risk women have better birth outcomes when cared for by a Licensed, Certified Professional Midwife

  

-Get a Doula! If you do not know what a doula is, learn it, love it, and GET ONE!

-Educate yourself! Learn from a Midwife how very different each birth is and why the patience and autonomy of a Midwife allows for each body to do it's labor flow in a...

No matter your location you CAN birth a baby. Sure our birth paths can change and sometimes issues can present but remember our bodies, anatomically speaking, are built to birth. How can we foster and restore that primitive skill? Tap into it!

This society we live in does not even begin to honor or cherish that AMAZINGNESS of birth. A woman's body creates, grows, nourishes, births and then feeds another HUMAN BEING! I mean it's 9am and I still have my robe on, just saying.

This alone is the most amazing thing but it's so crazy it's hard to wrap your mind around it and really absorb it. I truly believe this is why we do not get more respect for this feat.

What can we do to remind ourselves that yes, yes we can birth our babies?

1. Revel in it! Do all the things that go along with that. Celebrate your pregnancy, pamper yourself during those 10 months, connect with the body you're making and the soul that will come into that.

2. Prepare for it! It's very natural to us to birth and...

Ideally you've been preparing for your big day. Classes, birth plans, meditating, releasing fears, trusting the body, maybe even a Blessingway from a dear friend or family member have been checked off the list. Some form or another you've done what you feel was needed to help prep you for labor day. In the end, things go as baby wishes but preparation is key to success (queue in Midwife101 series here :) )

The day came and went, it was powerful and intense and somehow very different then what you thought. You're not alone. This is because we've never done it before. I mean even if you've had other children you've never given birth to THIS baby before. 

3 things I remember with my 5th baby (4th delivery) that are etched fondly in my memory 

1. The fact that I actually went into labor by myself. This was the FIRST time I wasn't induced (also the first time I had a Midwife). I was in SUCH disbelief that I think it took almost 2 days for me to accept it. This is likely why...

Birth is normal and birth is natural. REPEAT. Birth is normal and birth is natural. We have to start reminded ourselves of this because lately, it seems we've forgotten. The increase in c/sections, epidurals, NICU visits, and early inductions would make us think somehow we don't know how to do this without someone stepping in and intervening. 

Why is there a decrease in Traditional Midwives? Not because a professional in low-risk maternity care isn't needed or shows better birth outcomes. It's because women are being told it isn't safe and what if something happens. Well what if something happens? Are you to be shunned for believing in the very natural process we were built for? NO! 

Few things: #1 THINGS HAPPEN! It's also a natural process. Luckily for skills handed down to Midwives AND modern technology and knowledge we get to step in only when necessary and address the issue.

#2 THATS WHY YOU HIRE A PROFESSIONAL! Midwives are professionals at their trade, as are OB's in...

The more you know, the better. Most of us know or have heard this. When it comes to one of the most important events in your life, I can't stress it enough. Why? Many reasons. Let's start with a few:

#1- Be empowered by your birth. The best way to have an empowered birth is by taking ownership of it. Knowing all the many options on how to labor, techniques to use, delayed cord clamping, placenta pills, breastfeeding and so much more is essential to walking the path that is empowering and right for YOU.

#2- Birth has many forks in the labor road. You can plan for one thing and then your little one decides on a different path. If you haven't educated yourself on the many paths of labor than how can you know which is right for YOU?

#3- When your knowledgeable about birth, YOU have the power. When you've prepared for all the different things that can happen on birth day then YOU have the power of an educated decision. When people discuss your health or your baby's health and you're not...