Tag: spinningbabies

Posture…Who would’ve thought?

Anonymous BirtherLeave a comment

Jan. 17, 2020.

I’m now almost 29 weeks pregnant with baby number two and I’ve been writing about the differences in care I’ve received this time around (because of my choices) and how I’m prepping for my vbac home birth. Today I’ve been thinking about how my previous experiences with OB’s and CNM’s in a hospital group (at great hospitals in major cities) compare with my care under a midwife now. I am not blaming previous providers as I konw to take responsibility myself to gain information now in regards to birth within our healthcare system BUT in all honestly, they were not great at teaching how to take “preventative” measures for concerns such as breech positioning or nutrition or exercise stipulations in general. Which probably doesn’t come as a shock as these are things they don’t really emphasize in their studies. This pregnancy, besides just taking responsibility myself to gather all the information I can, and I have, I have also been with a provider, a licensed midwife (LM) who practices in out of hospital births (home births or birth centers) who has put emphasis on measures to be taken EARLY to prevent the whole, “oh fuck, it’s now 37/38 weeks and baby is… or mommy is…what can we do to change it?”

Here’s a quick list of things I am now grateful to be more aware of because of both my own research being stepped up about 100 notches and my midwife’s thorough care. (She provided me with a thick binder with info to read before each appointment that carries me through to the end). Right away, first section of the binder there was an emphasis on how to achieve optimal fetal positioning for a smooth birth. FETAL POSITION DOES MATTER if you are trying to have a smooth, natural birth. It’s important even if you aren’t trying to have a natural birth but are trying to avoid an unnecessary cesarean or just a labor that might qualify as a “tough one.”

  1. POSTURE

I was never aware how much my posture and slouching in a chair or a couch could contribute to less than ideal positioning of the baby for birth. I think I was more aware of it at the very end of the pregnancy the first time but now I know it is something to consider from the beginning and one in which I believe has helped position my little guy in the optimal fetal positioning (LOA) since at least 27 weeks. I am going to keep paying attention to posture and although it feels like a pain in the butt sometimes to not just slouch into the couch, I understand and believe the importance of it now. I feel a bit awkward sometimes sitting with such good posture as everyone around me rests into the back of a chair…but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. I do want to slouch sometimes and sometimes I do briefly, but I’ve now developed a good amount of muscle memory with good posture or choosing to stand (as I am now) so when I do slouch, I can feel it my lower back and how my hips aren’t tilting forward anymore. The Spinning Babies website labels this as “Maternal Positioning.” Which leads me to the number 2 thing I’m most grateful for being more aware of now…

2. SPINNING BABIES

The main homepage of this website says “Easier birth with fetal positioning. Use this site and videos to improve fetal position (breech, transverse, posterior) and birth. Reduce the chance of cesarean.” I won’t copy and paste their knowledge here but go to the site and read read read! In my first pregnancy, I was made aware of this website from my prenatal yoga teacher and my doula at the time. My OB’s and CNM’s never directed me to this information except at the very end the CNM’s mentioned it with trying some exercises for how to flip a breech baby. It is much more effective to just be knowledgeable and practicing some of these exercises/suggestions EARLY on in the pregnancy and throughout, and not just at the end when it’s like…”oh shit…” 🙂 Before I also didn’t take it as seriously as I do now. I thought it could be used more as a measure taken if something went wrong as opposed to just optimal health for the pregnancy.

3. Acupuncture

I have seen an acupuncturist 3 or 4 times so far and I swear it is the best stress reliever I’ve ever experienced. You’re basically forced to rest and meditate for an hour without moving much so it is super super helpful to me to get some self care rest time as I have an almost 1.5 year old AND I believe the practice really works to prepare the body for birth. My body needs to be in balance and without tight muscles and ligaments obstructing or hindering baby’s positioning for birth. It was highly suggested to seek acupuncture from numerous Licensed Midwives I’ve met on this journey. Again, it was not suggested in my experience with OB’s or CNM’s until again at the very end last time when my CNM suggested I do that to try to solve the issue. I’ve found it to be helpful as a preventative measure so far.

4. Webster Certified Chiroporactic Care

This time around I’ve been seeing a chiropractor since the beginning… before, I tried to go 2-3 times around 38 weeks…which… when your body is out of balance, super tight, etc. a few times aren’t going to help. (First pregnancy I was probably the fittest I’ve ever been leading into it and had very tight ligaments around my pelvis and abdomen (and everywhere).) I love getting these adjustments and yes, I do think they have been helping enormously.

There you have it… The top 4 things I am grateful to be aware of during this pregnancy and doing things differently.

Please follow my blog to stay tuned and please reach out if you have any questions, are in the same boat, etc etc. I’d love to hear from you!

Finding the Balance. When is it too much info?

Anonymous BirtherLeave a comment

January 3, 2020. I am now 27 weeks pregnant with baby number two.

Around six weeks ago I filled out a questionnaire for my midwife which we will review this upcoming Tuesday. The first question was “What are your top fears about this pregnancy/birth?” I knew right away. 1. That this baby will also be breech and I will not have any choices (like my first) except to have a c section.

My first ended up in a cesarean section due to late finding of frank breech positioning and “low fluid” (I put this is parentheses because this is kinda in line with the whole “big baby” fiasco going on in maternal care, typically being an unnecessary (lack of evidence) cause for intervention. (see earlier posts about my first pregnancy and look up the ACOG’s new position on the big baby thing: stating that ultrasounds can’t accurately depict size. Yes. thank you for all the unnecessary surgeries due to your earlier position on it. lordie.). Sidetracked there… I now know SOOO much more about optimal fetal positioning and the need to look at pelvic alignment and balance and relaxing the ligaments surrounding the uterus to give baby optimal space to turn and the various ways to do that. (A topic that isn’t fully addressed in 10 min prenatal OB appointments or CNM hospital groups in my experience. They very lightly touch on things AFTER the less than optimal positioning presents itself. Teaching optimal fetal positioning and ways to prevent variations that aren’t medically supported usually isn’t a part of basic prenatal care in the first and second trimester especially. (Over my two pregnancies so far: I have experience seeing a top OB at a major “good hospital,” a CNM group with a smaller but good hospital, a private practice OB known to be “natural” and vbac friendly, and a regular midwife. By far, the midwife has been the most holistic and knowledgeable and presenting me with all my choices and giving me preventative care as opposed to “let’s fix this” afterwards.)

I’ve been seeing a regular chiro and then a Webster certified chiropractor since 7 weeks. We just started doing twice a week actually around 26 weeks. I have gone to acupuncture with a guy who specializes in pregnant women around three times so far and plan to continue every few weeks. I’m doing a handful of Spinning Babies exercises/stretches daily at home, such as the forward leaning inversion, and focus on just walking and caring for my toddler as my exercise. I’m seeing a supportive provider, a midwife. I joined ICAN and my local chapter. The more I learn, the more passionate I become about the need for changes to women’s rights and choices with maternal healthcare in the US.

Now… at what point is too much? or too much focus on this breech prevention? or wanting to become an activist as I am prepping for this birth?

Well… As I near third trimester, I think I’ve hit my self imposed limit of research for now. I just deleted the Facebook App from my phone so I don’t read posts so often from my support groups because I find it just makes me think about it more. In the last 6 weeks since I’ve answered that question about my fears, I’ve concluded that if I end up with the circumstance of baby presenting head up towards the end (like 35 weeks), that I would first try more things to turn (but not an ECV bc of prior experience) and seek out a vaginal breech provider who does attend home births if not and if he thought I qualified for a vaginal breech birth. (If an OB would attend my birth at a hospital near me I’d do that instead but they don’t exist where I live unfortunately. I’ve looked into it.). After all my fact finding, I now believe having a csection just because baby is breech is not usually a necessary csection. (sometimes it does necessitate one… but it’s not a black and white, always needing one.) My first baby never showed any signs of distress while in breech position at the end. I have felt that truth. It’s more a lack of skilled providers being “allowed” to attend the vaginal breech birth which is a recent phenomenon in our history. I think I would have a hard time consenting to something that some providers will do and others won’t. That lack of continuity makes me see it as a policy issue and not a health or safety issue, or what’s in the best interest of mom and baby. However, me dwelling on this limitation in our health care system keeps me in a “fight or flight” stance because I get angry. I know that being in fight or flight is ANTI optimal baby positioning and labor. It’s like me being in defense of the giant bear outside my cave when I am preparing for birth, the modern day threat: the healthcare system. It’s not what my mind or body needs. This also brings me to the conclusion that although I want to begin advocacy work for more options for breech birth as well as vbac and home birth in general, I think being in “fight or flight” with the system, as it gets me all riled up to think of our current state of options, isn’t the best for me while preparing for this next birth. I will jump on board more post birth to do my small part in making some changes. Even just sharing my experience now feels like a bit of a contribution.

So, I’ve done a LOT of gathering and now it’s time to have faith that baby will be head down and try my best to let go of the outcome. I will only do more research now when a new decision presents itself. I have enough facts and information about my birth choices and breech in particular and have taken a lot of action.

My third trimester mantras: Think positive. Be present. Safe to soften. Take the actions for body balancing for baby as I have been doing, but trust it is working. Talk to baby. Relax. Limit my Facebook group time. Protect my mental and spiritual space surrounding this with healthy boundaries and discretion. Have faith and surrender.