Pregnancy After 35

Us modern women have changed the pregnancy statistics at historic rates as we put careers first and find fulfilment on our own terms before deciding to start a family.  It seems as if Hollywood started the trend, but we find that all over the country women are getting pregnant later in life with more success than doctors of another era would have us believe.  Let's shed this stigma and get down to supportive evidence (plus a whole lot of fun and educational links)! Enjoy!

Is Having a Baby Over 35 As Risky As We Thought?

The stats that define 35 as "old" for pregnancy are pretty old themselves. Here's what you need to know.

By: Laura Kenney

Photo Credit: Kelly Knox/ Stocksy

I’ll never forget when I first saw the term on my medical record: “Elderly Multigravida.” There it was, like a death sentence, confirming all my worst fears: I was old, and dying of something very, very grave.

But, in fact, I was 35 and enjoying a healthy pregnancy with my second child.

“Elderly,” in the language of obstetrics, refers to expectant mothers who are 35 or over. (Multigravida means I had been pregnant more than once. If it were my first pregnancy, my code would have read “Elderly Primagravida.” Just as bad!) But this is just one in a litany of quasi-ageist terms knocked-up over-35’s are blasted with: There was “advanced maternal age,” “geriatric pregnancy,” and the fact that I was considered “high-risk.”

Am I being over-sensitive? As a health editor, I should be used to this, right? Or is age 35—the number that’s been creeping in the back of every woman’s brain since we first heard it in sex ed—really the age that your chances of having a healthy pregnancy nosedive?

It seems like everyone you know is over 35 and having kids, right?

I had my first child at 33, my second at 36, and recently delivered my third at age 39. When I got pregnant at 32, I was one of the first of my friends to have kids. The rest all joined in after age 35—echoing a national trend. The average age of first childbirth rose to 26.3 in 2014, up from 24.9 fifteen years ago, in part because more women are waiting longer to start families.

In fact, the first birth rate for women aged 35–39 rose in nearly all states from 2000 to 2012, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It climbed a whopping 40 percent or more in Washington, D.C., New York, Rhode Island, Washington, Oregon, Wyoming and both North and South Dakota, and jumped over 20 percent in 30 other states.

If you’re over 35, are you automatically a “high risk” pregnancy?

____ Many doctors I spoke with for this article were quick to discount the belief that age 35 draws a line between a healthy pregnancy and a difficult one.

“We’ve learned that there’s nothing magic about age 35,” Sarah J. Kilpatrick, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Cedars-Sinai, tells SELF. “I would never tell someone that just because she’s 35 she has to see a high-risk doctor—only if there’s something in her history, or something that happened during her pregnancy that warrants it.”

Some doctors even downplay the phrase to their patients. “I try not to use the term ‘high risk,’” says Prudence Hall, M.D., ob/gyn and founder of the Hall Center in Santa Monica, Calif. “You tell a patient ‘you are high risk’ and that’s going to set up the condition. You want to be straight and informative, but I don’t think we need to use terms that can be derogatory.”

The stats that define 35 as “elderly” are pretty old themselves.

Thirty-five became the go-to number for advanced maternal age between 20 and 30 years ago, says Kilpatrick. At that time the chance of having a baby with Down syndrome was one out of 200 for a 35-year-old woman. The risk of a miscarriage due to amniocentesis—a procedure used to diagnose chromosomal abnormalities, which involves extracting amniotic fluid with a needle from the sac surrounding the fetus—was also one out of 200.

“The risks match at age 35,” says Kilpatrick, “and that’s how this age became the cut off for advanced maternal age. It’s stuck because we use that as measure.”

Today, a 35 year old’s odds of giving birth to a baby with Down syndrome is one in 350, according to the National Down Syndrome Society. And, studies have found that only one in 1,600 women will experience a miscarriage from a second-trimester amniocentesis.

So the numbers that define age 35 as advanced maternal age are no longer valid.

That said, your chances of having a baby with a chromosomal abnormality do increase with age. But there are awesome tests for it now.

A 20-year-old woman has a one in 2,000 chance of conceiving a child with Down syndrome. That chance increases gradually with age to reach one in 350 for a 35-year-old woman, one in 100 by age 40, and one in 30 by age 45.

Source: [National Down Syndrome Society](http://www.ndss.org/Down-Syndrome/What-Is-Down-Syndrome/)

“There are many genetic abnormalities that a child can have, some minor and some that may even be lethal, but the reason why we place special focus on Down syndrome is that some babies with Down syndrome will have completely normal antenatal ultrasounds,” says Shannon Clark, M.D., a Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist and founder of Babies After 35.

Because of this, women over 35 are offered additional chromosomal screening testing, including a quad screen blood test and detailed ultrasounds. There’s also the newer cell-free DNA blood test, which screens fetal DNA in the mom’s blood for Down syndrome and a few other chromosomal disorders with a high degree of accuracy. This test can be administered as early as 10 weeks, and can tell you the sex of your child, too.

If any of your screening tests show high odds for Down syndrome or other chromosomal disorders, you can opt to undergo more invasive testing such as chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis, which can tell you for sure.

And there are age-related health risks that are valid concerns during pregnancy.

Pregnant women are monitored for a litany of conditions that can harm mother and baby, including diabetes and/or high blood pressure. Women over 35 also have higher odds of delivering prematurely, requiring a cesarean section, having placenta previa or preeclampsia and experiencing pregnancy loss.

“As we age, there is the potential for developing medical diseases; an aging woman who becomes pregnant is no exception,” says Clark. “A woman who has these or any other pre-existing medical conditions in addition to being advanced maternal age will be monitored more closely during her pregnancy.” ____

But if you’re over 35 and generally healthy, your pregnancy should be too.

“Traditionally 35 and older is considered a high risk pregnancy,” says Hall. But since that number was coined 30 years ago, Hall points out that we’ve gotten healthier as a population. If you eat right, exercise, don’t smoke and have a healthy weight, your odds of developing a harmful pregnancy condition drop dramatically.

“Age has less to do with the health of your baby versus the health of your body. A 40-year-old women could be healthier than a 20 year old, biologically.”

Bottom Line: Age by itself should not be major criteria for a high-risk pregnancy, says Kilpatrick. “It’s really age plus whatever else is going on with that woman.”

This article originally appeared on Self.com

Doula Meet & Mingle

Don't forget to come out TONIGHT starting at 6pm for our Doula Meet & MIngle! Every doula is there to provide educational, emotional and physical support both during and after pregnancy. Some have backgrounds in physical therapy, others in yoga or massage, but they all share a passion for giving you the support you need!

Sip & Shop, Tonight!

Join Embrace Birth Wellness Collective tonight at 7pm for Sip & Shop! Two great local shops, The Spotted Pocket and Green Baby Planet will be premiering new products while you shop and mingle with light refreshments! We hope to see you there!

Eating Dates Reduces Chance of Augmented Labor

I have always been an advocate and continuing researcher of the best and most recent scientific studies when it comes to childbearing and pregnancy.  Time after time, studies prove organic and holistic methods to be extremely beneficial, especially when it comes to prenatal nutrition.  Here's one little tip I always share with my mamas and have experienced it's effectiveness first-hand!  I recently found an article on thepeacefulbirthproject.org highlighting the statistics backing it up, so I thought I'd share! Enjoy!

The date fruit is the product of the date palm, a tree native to Northern Africa and the Middle East. There is a wide variety of dates including the better known Medjool and Deglet Noor. Each variety is unique in size, sweetness, flavor, and texture. Containing at least 15 minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc, 23 types of amino acids, vitamins, carbohydrates, protein, 14 types of fatty acids, dietary fiber and a lot more, these sweet little fruits are a nutritional powerhouse. [International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 2003]

On the photo I quote a study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology which concludes that eating 6 dates daily during the last four weeks of pregnancy “significantly reduced the need for induction and augmentation of labor, and produced a more favorable, but non-significant, delivery outcome”.  Some significant findings:

• Cervical dilation was significantly greater in the date-eating mamas upon arrival at the hospital
• 83% of mothers who consumed dates had their membranes intact upon admission at the hospital 
• 96% of the women who ate dates went into labor on their own
• Use of Pitocin (synthetic Oxytocin) was significantly lower in women who consumed dates (28%), compared with the non-date fruit mothers (47%)
• The latent phase of the first stage of labor was almost 7 hours shorter in the date-eating mothers compared with the non-date fruit eaters (510 min vs 906 min). Not bad for eating a few dates!

I also came across a very interesting research comparing the use of dates and Pitocin in the management of postpartum hemorrhage.  The study demonstrates a significant reduction in the amount of postpartum bleeding experienced by women who consumed date fruit compared to women who received synthetic oxytocin (Pitocin). The randomized clinical trial was done in two hospitals. Immediately after the delivery of the placenta one group was give 50 gram of dates. Another group  received 10 units of synthetic oxytocin in an intramuscular injection.  Blood loss mean in the end of first hour after delivery were significantly different in dates and oxytocin groups (104 ml vs 141.6 ml) The researchers suggest that dates are effective for management of postpartum hemorrhage because dates have Calcium, serotonin, tannin, linoleic acid, enzimes, iron and other nutrients beneficial to control bleeding and prevent anemia. Khadem, Sharaphy, Latifnejad (2007)

These studies are yet another confirmation of the priceless legacy of ancient wisdom. Since the beginning of time, women have been using food, teas, oils, poultices and herbs to ease the pains of labor, heal during postpartum and support breastfeeding. Eating dates has been emphasized during pregnancy and after delivery in many Islamic traditions. 

The Quaran tells of Mary eating dates in labor: “The pains of labour drove her to the trunk of a date-palm. She [Mary] said, “Oh if only I had died before this time and was something discarded and forgotten!” A voice called out to her from under her, “Do not grieve! Your Lord has placed a small stream at your feet. Shake the trunk of the palm towards you and fresh, ripe dates will drop down onto you. Eat and drink and delight your eyes…” (Qur’an, 19:23-26)

Dates are also said to increase sexual stamina, help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower blood pressure. Dates have been used for thousands of years by athletes to improve physical endurance, agility, and stamina.  So start eating your dates and have them handy during labor!

8 Tips to Increase Chances of Conception

1. When you decide you're ready to start trying to get pregnant, make an appointment with your midwife.  Together, you can review your health history (i.e. hypertension, diabetes, thyroid issues) to identify any risks or obstacles to get under control before you conceive.
2. Get to your ideal Body Mass Index (BMI).  The ideal BMI for pregnancy is between 20 and 25.  Being over or underweight can have an adverse affect hormones.
3. STOP SMOKING.  Everyone should do this anyway, but studies show that women who smoke and are trying to get pregnant can take up to a year and a half to conceive.
4. Limit your alcohol.  Heavy drinking affects fertility by increasing the amount of time it takes to get pregnant and reduces your chances of having a healthy baby.  This goes for men as well.  In addition, smoking marijuana reduces male sperm motility and decreases sperm count.
5. Try to conceive in Winter or Spring.  Studies show that male sperm are healthier during these times.
6. Track your ovulation.  You can download free apps to track your cycle, purchase ovulation predictor kits or use the basal body temperature method.  Generally, ovulation occurs around day 14 before your next cycle begins.
7. Have sex before and after ovulation.  Have sex in the 4 days leading up to ovulation and 1 to 2 days after.
8. Avoid commercial lubricants.  They have adverse effects on conception by decreasing sperm motility and potentially harming the sperm.  Opt for natural substitutes like olive oil.

BONUS TIP— Relax!  Your sexual activity should now have two goals instead of one.  Making a baby and climaxing.  Stress has harmful effects on the body and stressing out over conception isn’t helping you, your partner, or conceiving.


For more information on this topic visit Parents.com

The Birth Center Difference

Community Class Success!

We had such a great time last night at our FIRST Community Class at Ellwood Thompson's last night! Thank you to all of our participants, it was actually quite a diverse crowd of couples in different stages of conception and some wonderful doulas wanting to learn more!  We will absolutely be doing another class there, topic to be decided...any suggestions?

Does My Vagina Look Normal?

Even if it has not been your habit throughout your life so far, I recommend that you learn to think positively about your body.”
― Ina May Gaskin, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

There’s an old joke…men look at their penises 6 times a day…5 times to pee and once just to admire it!  As women, we have to work much harder to see our vaginas, so there is a much larger mystery about them.

Every woman I know is concerned in some way about her vagina.  Well, really, technically, they are worried about their vulvas, which are the exterior lips of the vagina.  As women, we do not really “see” other women’s vaginas or even vulvas…unlike men who are all out there in front, in every locker room in America.  So, that leaves us to compare ourselves (if we chose to) to porn stars and online images.  And unfortunately, like every other public image, those are usually not the most realistic models.

I hate that moment I have a woman cringe at the thought of a vaginal exam, shame and worry in her eyes.  I had one woman who had never let her husband see her undressed…she put on a nightie in the bathroom, and crept to bed.  Intimacy was under the blankets, under the nightie and under the cover of darkness.  Why?  Because she was sure her vulva was abnormal, because her labia minora (the pink, wet inner lips) were too large and uneven.

So, after some gentle talk, and some reassurance, including the option to decline the exam completely, I left the room so she could get ready for the exam.  When I came back in, she was draped well, completely tucked in.  I talked a lot about how all vulvas are different, just like noses and toes.  How some have “innie” lips, and some have “outies” and how often the lips are different sizes.  How we have to learn to be as comfortable with our vaginas and vulvas as we are with our elbows.   And then I asked if she was ready for the exam.

She nodded through tears, and I smiled gently.  I just lifted the drape a bit and peeked.  I dropped the drape, wide-eyed and straight-faced.   “Oh my goodness~ it looked just like a vulva!”  We both started laughing.  I looked again, a bit closer this time, and told her that her labias were perfectly normal, and no larger or smaller than most women’s.   Relief flooded her face.  Tears rolled down her cheeks.  She had spent years thinking she was deformed, believing it for so long she couldn’t even remember when it had become a thought.   I began telling her about her body, explaining the purpose of each part, and continually reassuring her it was perfectly normal.

So, let’s be clear.  Vulvas come large and small, even and uneven, pink and brown, smooth and wrinkly, all of them as unique as the women they grace.  If your vulva doesn’t pinch when you get on a bike or hurt during sex, it’s normal.

Meanwhile, as some homework, go visit http://www.greatwallofvagina.co.uk and enjoy the great variations that nature brings us.

What is a Midwife?

We get asked all the time, "What is a midwife?"  Well, I'm here to answer the basics about what a midwife is...and isn't!

Top 10 Breastfeeing Problems Solved

From the bloggers at TheBump.com come the top 10 Breastfeeding difficulties and their solutions!  Our midwives at Embrace Birth Center are available to help you with all of your after-birth questions.  If you choose to use a Doula, which has SO many benefits, they are there to support you in the early stages of infant care.

Photo Credit: Very Important Date Photography

Top 10 Breastfeeding Problems Solved

It’s a natural process so it should be easy, right? But just like learning how to ride a bike, you need to learn how to breastfeed (and so does baby, by the way). We consulted with Jane Morton, MD, on how to handle the 10 most common breastfeeding problems.  She should know — she’s been teaching doctors, nurses, and lactation consultants how to teach the rest of us for more than 30 years. And she’s on staff at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford in Palo Alto, California.

Problem #1: Latching pain
It’s normal for your nipples to feel sore when you first start to breastfeed, especially if you’re a first-timer. But if baby has latched and the pain lasts longer than a minute into your feeding session, check the positioning.

Solution: Try to achieve an asymmetrical latch where baby’s mouth covers more of the areola below the nipple rather than above. To reposition him, place your index finger inside baby’s mouth to take him off your breast. Tickle his chin or wait until he yawns so his mouth is wide open and seize your opportunity. (Sandwich the breast as described in the video clip below to shape it to the baby’s mouth.) When he is correctly positioned, his chin and nose touch your breast, his lips splay out and you can’t see your nipple or part of the lower areola.

If baby’s position is correct and latching on still hurts, your nipples may be dry. Make sure to wear loose clothing and avoid washing with soap. Lanolin-based creams are good for applying between feedings.

Problem #2: Cracked nipples
Cracked nipples can be the result of many different things: thrush (see #6), dry skin, pumping improperly, or most likely, latching problems. During the first week of breastfeeding, you may have bloody discharge when your baby is just learning to latch or you are just beginning to pump. A little blood, while kind of gross, won’t harm baby.

Solution: Check baby’s positioning — the bottom part of your areola underneath your nipple should be in baby’s mouth. Also, try breastfeeding more frequently, and at shorter intervals. The less hungry baby is, the softer his sucking will be.
As tempting as it is to treat your cracked nipples with anything you can find in your medicine cabinet, soaps, alcohol, lotions, and perfumes are no good — clean water is all you need to wash with. Try letting some milk stay on your nipples to air dry after feeding (the milk actually helps heal them). You can also try taking a mild painkiller like acetaminophen or ibuprofen 30 minutes before nursing. If all this fails, try an over-the-counter lanolin cream, specially made for nursing mothers and use plastic hard breast shells inside your bra.

Problem #3: Clogged/plugged ducts
Ducts clog because your milk isn’t draining completely. You may notice a hard lump on your breast or soreness to the touch and even some redness. If you start feeling feverish and achy, that’s a sign of infection and you should see your doctor. Most importantly try not to have long stretches in between feedings — milk needs to be expressed often. A nursing bra that is too tight can also cause clogged ducts. Stress (something all new mommies have an overabundance of) can also affect your milk flow.

Solution: Do your best to get adequate rest (you should recruit your partner to pick up some slack when possible). Also, try applying warm compresses to your breasts and massage them to stimulate milk movement.

Clogged ducts are not harmful to your baby because breastmilk has natural antibiotics. That said, there’s no reason why you have to suffer. Breastfeeding should be enjoyable for mom and baby.

Problem #4: Engorgement/high milk supply
Engorgement makes it difficult for baby to latch on to the breast because it’s hard and un-conforming to his mouth.

Solution: Try hand-expressing a little before feeding to get the milk flowing and soften the breast, making it easier for baby to latch and access milk. Of course, the more you nurse, the less likely your breasts are to get engorged.

Problem #5: Mastitis
Mastitis is a bacterial infection in your breasts marked by flu-like symptoms such as fever and pain in your breasts. It’s common within the first few weeks after birth (though it can also happen during weaning) and is caused by cracked skin, clogged milk ducts, or engorgement.

Solution: The only sufficient way to treat the infection is with antibiotics, hot compresses, and most importantly, frequent emptying. Use hands-on pumping, making sure the red firm areas of the breast and the periphery are softened. It’s safe and actually recommended that you continue breastfeeding when you have mastitis.

Problem #6: Thrush
Thrush is a yeast infection in your baby’s mouth, which can also spread to your breasts. It causes incessant itchiness, soreness, and sometimes a rash.

Solution: Your doctor will need to give you antifungal medication to put on your nipple and in baby’s mouth — if you’re not both treated at the same time, you can give each other the fungi and prolong healing.

Problem #7: Low milk supply
Breastfeeding is a supply-and-demand process. If your doctor is concerned about baby’s weight gain, and he is being plotted on the World Health Organization curves designed for breastfeeding babies, this may be the problem.

Solution: Frequent nursing and hands-on pumping during the day can help increase milk supply. Surprisingly, forcing fluids and eating more calories or different foods hasn’t been shown to increase milk production.

Problem #8: Baby sleeping at breast
Baby is sleepy in the first couple of months after birth (hey, he’s been through a lot) so falling asleep while nursing is common. All that bonding makes baby relaxed!

Solution: Milk flow is fastest after your first let-down, so if you want to increase efficiency, start off at the fuller breast, then switch to the other breast sooner, rather than later. When you notice baby’s sucking slowing down and his eyes closing, remove him from your breast and try to stimulate him by burping, tickling his feet, or gently talking to him while rubbing his back, and then switch breasts. As baby gets older he’ll be able to stay awake longer, so don’t fret.

Problem #9: Inverted/flat nipples
You can tell if you have flat or inverted nipples by doing a simple squeeze test:  Gently grab your areola with your thumb and index finger — if your nipple retracts rather than protrudes, you’ve got a problem, Houston. Not really. But breastfeeding will be more challenging.

Solution: Use a pump to get the milk flowing before placing baby at your nipple and use breast shells between feeds. Once you feel like your milk supply is adequate, try using nipple shields if baby still has problems latching.

Problem #10: Painful/overactive let down
Your breast is like a machine — when you let down, all the milk-producing engines constrict to move the milk forward and out of your nipple. Sometimes the working of these inner parts can hurt, especially when in overdrive. Some mothers feel a prickly pins-and-needles sensation and others just get an achy feeling.

Solution: If this feeling of pins and needles goes beyond a mere tingling and feels more like a hundred little daggers poking your breasts, you need to check for a breast infection (yeast or bacteria). Sometimes this pain develops when you have an excessive amount of milk. Try feeding baby longer on one particular breast and switching to the other only if you need to. If the result is an infection (fever, aches, and chills may be present), you’ll need to get antibiotics from your doctor. No matter how unpleasant it is for you, it’s still safe for baby to nurse.

By Dara Pettinelli

To view the original article, click here.

Orgasm During Childbirth?

It may be a rainy Monday, but we come bearing good news- at least for the lucky 6% of you! Multiple sources have credited this phenomenon of orgasm during childbirth and this doula, Bailey Gaddis has witnessed it herself! Below are tips on how to facilitate such an experience, so read on and may you be blessed!

I'm A Doula, and Let Me Tell You: Orgasms During Childbirth are a Real Thing!
By: Bailey Gaddis

The terms “orgasm” and “childbirth” sound like antonyms to most people. But, women have an orgasm when they conceive a baby (hopefully!), so maybe it’s not outside the realm of reason that they could have an orgasm while birthing the baby.

According to The Independent, a survey by the Positive Birth Movement and Channel Mum has reported that 6 percent of women say they have had an orgasm during childbirth. My initial reaction when I first heard about women who reported orgasms during birth was that they were lying braggarts — mainly because I was jealous I had never experienced this phenomenon.

But since I’ve become a birth doula, my “lying braggart” theory has been crushed; I’ve witnessed many women experience multiple orgasms during birth. I’ve heard them describe these births as “ecstatic overflows,” “spiritual awakenings,” “waves of bliss,” and “the longest, strongest, orgasm ever!”

I wonder if these will be the ladies that end up having six children?

This miracle outcome is not based in fantasy, but in science. Studies have shown that two of the regions in the brain (the anterior cingulate cortex and insula) that are active during orgasm are also active during painful sensations — and childbirth is often labeled the pinnacle of painful experiences.

Beyond similar activities in the brain, orgasm and childbirth both produce strong surges of blood and stimulation of the birth passage, cervix, clitoris, and vagina. And sometimes, they both involve the partner whispering sweet somethings in the mother’s ear — or, teetering on the edge of sleep.

A professor of psychology at Rutgers University, Barry Komisaruk says, “Anatomically, orgasmic birth is no surprise. In fact, the intense stimulation of the vaginal canal in childbirth may work to block pain, whether that stimulation is felt as sexual or not.”

Are you hoping for an orgasm during childbirth? Why not, right? Try out these suggestions to up your chances:

• Substitute the term “contractions” (it sounds so constrictive!) with the term “surges” — which sends a more fluid and pleasurable message from the mind to the body.
• Take deep-in-the-belly breaths during each surge, allowing the belly to fully rise. Breathe past the wall of pain, and you might just find a special treat on the other side.
• Envision a spiral of energy moving from above your head, down through your body, and concentrating its power as it moves out your cervix and washes over your vagina and clitoris. Imagine that energy waking up your body’s endorphins as it moves down, and dispersing them through the pelvic region.
• Submerge yourself in warm water as much as possible. The relief warm water provides to your hard-working birthing muscles creates space for them to focus on more pleasurable pursuits.
• When you feel yourself at the tipping point of pain and pleasure, let out long and low groans to allow any painful energy to be released.
• Have your partner stimulate your nipples during surges. This act pumps up your release of oxytocin, which can strengthen your surges — increasing the potential of a quicker birth, and awakened arousal.
• Ask your partner (or self!) to stimulate your clitoris. In 1988, Barry Komisaruk and co-researchers published a study in the Journal of Sex Research, which noted that vaginal or clitoral stimulation made women less sensitive to painful stimulation.

I imagine women have been experiencing orgasmic births since the beginning of humankind, but have likely been sticking to the motto “mum’s the word.” Now that sexuality is losing a bit of its taboo status, more women are coming forward about their ecstatic birth experiences.

Hopefully, the sharing of this possibility can spark renewed hope (maybe even excitement!) in women who are terrified of the prospect of birth, and removes the belief that there is shame in a woman feeling bursts of pleasure in an experience where pain is the standard.

Maybe, childbirth can hurt so good.

A Woman's Right to Birth

We love this Letter to the Editor from a brave mother sent to The Washington Post.  It is our goal to inform and empower women with choice.  Articles like these feed on all of the unfounded fears of having a natural birth, frowning on "natural" as an inferior method, once again undermining a woman's right to choose.  We believe that birth is intuitive to all women and with the proper guidance from a knowledgable and well-trained midwife, mothers can be informed to make the best decision for their bodies.  We are one of the only birth centers anywhere that has a direct collaboration with a Registered Nurse, Jessica Jordan, who is able to provide medications on a consultation basis.  We have had less than a 1 percent transfer rate, a 6 percent C-section rate, and a 15 percent transfer rate for reasons such as pain management, or the baby being in a less than ideal position.  We are proud of those numbers and are thankful for modern medicine to bring healthy babies into this world under such circumstances.  There is no shame about it!

(Paul Giamou/iStock)

Women Should Be Listened to About the Childbirth Process

As a mother who has birthed two children, I found Amy Tuteur wrong on many fronts in her May 8 Outlook essay, “The natural-birth industrial complex.” Perhaps her most egregious — and tired — assertion about childbirth is the “healthy baby and mother” argument.

Implying that women should be satisfied simply with a healthy baby-healthy mom outcome is dismissive of women and their birth experiences, especially when they are grieving events that are sad, disappointing or traumatic. Of course every mother wants a healthy baby, but when women are ignored, disrespected or violated during labor and birth, then birth may not be a beautiful experience for them.

We can set the bar higher. Birth teaches us that we are not in control, but that doesn’t mean women don’t have choices. Women are absolutely right to ask for more in terms of prenatal and postnatal care and labor and birth options. This applies to home, birth center and hospital births — because women should be respected and listened to no matter what the birth setting.

Sarah Farr, Silver Spring

To read the full article, click here.

Grand Opening Success! Take a Peek Inside

We had such a lovely time at our Grand Opening yesterday!  It was a successful event and we were so thrilled to be hosting amazing moms, expecting mothers, their partners, and their children!  It was all around joyful to be sharing something that we have been working so hard towards these past few months and seeing it all come to fruition.  Embrace Birth Center is up and running along with our Wellness Collective!  If you didn't get a chance to visit us yesterday, here's a peek at what's inside!

 Welcome to our Birth Center!  Our very own Kathryn Haines is speaking to expecting parents in the Midwives meeting room!

Here we have everyone gathered in one of our birthing suites, along with our examination room and our sitting area at the front entrance.  The photography you see around the office are all works of local photographers you can work with for your very own pregnancy and infancy portraiture!  The collection shown here is of actual births we've performed in Richmond.

This is one of our amazing birth suites, built with maximum comfort in mind.  A space for your family - a retreat - with extra deep soaking tubs, plush linens, and private bathrooms!

We are very excited about this little tree!  We will be hanging snaps of all the beautiful babies we deliver on its branches!  Blue for water babies, green for earth babies!

Our Wellness collective features Green Baby Planet, who focuses on safe, natural and eco-friendly products for your little ones!  We also offer prenatal yoga classes!  There is still room available in our collective, so if you'd love to contribute to this wonderful community of support, please contact us.

Educating, Empowering & Encouraging Women from Pregnancy to Motherhood

Think about the first mother that ever walked the planet.  Then think about the second, the third, and so on. All helping the other give birth from having lived through it themselves. Soon there was an abundance of mothers and babies who now make up the more than 7 Billion human population on this earth. Wow, what a thought.

Women have been giving birth since the dawn of human existence and we truly feel in our hearts, is an intuitive experience.  All women know instinctively how to give birth. Midwifery has been practiced throughout the ages before there was medicine or hospitals.  It has been practiced all over the world with varying traditions and expressed uniquely through local cultures. We believe that giving birth is a sacred experience not only for the mother and her family, but the community.

Advances in medicine, technology and science have led us to the practices we use today. Ultra-sounds find the position and the sex of the baby.  We now know how to keep mothers healthy during their pregnancies with lots of heavy prenatal care bibles. There are vast hospital wings dedicated solely to pregnancy.  But with all of this technology, we believe the advantages of using a midwife is giving the human, emotional, intuitive and physiological profoundness of birth it’s proper reverence.

We nurture the deeply connective mother and child bond through safe delivery practices that don’t separate you from your experience. Instead, we give you the power of choice by giving you all of our knowledge.  We want to honor your traditions and listen to your wishes. We empower mothers!

Embrace midwives are highly trained, with a low tech, high touch mentality.  Our goal at the Embrace Birth Center is to educate, empower and encourage women from pregnancy to motherhood!