Pregnancy & Birth Information Session

The first step in birthing (and living) in-awareness is to turn your attention inward each day. One of the important tasks of pregnancy is to consciously tune in to, develop, and trust your own, new, maternal intuition. 

www.birthingfromwithin.com

Are you pregnant and interested in learning practical ways to improve your pregnancy and birth experience?

Dr. Amy Heilman, West Lethbridge Family Chiropractic, will offer some practical ideas about easing some of the common discomforts of pregnancy as well as answer any questions about how chiropractic care can help many of these problems.


Ellie Colver, Birthing from Within Mentor and Doula, will begin to help you prepare for emotionally and mentally for your birth and parenting experience. She will also tell you about her classes and doula support.

Saturday, February 4
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
West Lethbridge Family Chiropractic - 888 Heritage Boulevard W

For more information and to RSVP:
Contact Ellie Colver
Birthing from Within Mentor & Doula

elliedoula@gmail.com
403-360-7878



Birthing from Within Lethbridge on Facebook

Good Nutrition is the Number One Thing You Can Do to Ensure a Healthy Baby

Throughout pregnancy, many women receive numerous tests to ensure that their baby is healthy.  While these tests can sometime be helpful in detecting problems, in most cases knowing something is potentially wrong does not actually provide a solution.

The best thing you can do to take care of your baby and yourself is to eat well and stay physically active.  There is no guarantee that if you do all the 'right' things, your baby will be healthy, just as some people do things that research has shown to be harmful and end up with perfectly healthy babies.  Nevertheless, eating well and exercise have been proven by research to improve outcomes for babies overall.  Also, the habits that you form around your diet before and during pregnancy will be passed on to your children.  Babies actually develop a taste for the food that mothers are eating through their amniotic fluid (and later through breast milk) and like those foods themselves.

Here are some specific suggestions (businesses are all Lethbridge-based):

Yoga is great for helping you feel good during pregnancy and preparing your body for birth. Theresa Spencer at Terra Sol Yoga offers classes and workshops for pregnant women and their partners. www.terrasolbodytalk.com

Eat whole, unprocessed food. Avoid processed soy, sugar, corn syrup and artificial sweeteners whenever possible. Many grocery stores have a 15% discount on the first Tuesday of the month, so stock up on healthy, organic food. Look for local produce and meat, as it is often free of pesticides and hormones and it supports local businesses.

Eat as much as you need to of healthy, nutrient rich food and you can expect to gain 28-40 pounds (or more) during your pregnancy. Perfect Fit – Pre & Postnatal Fitness offers classes specifically tailored to pregnant and new moms to help you stay physically active. www.perfectfitness.ca

Taking a DHA (or fish oil) supplement improves your baby’s brain development. Naturistas (424 7 St S) sells prenatal DHA, other prenatal vitamins and many other high quality pregnancy and baby products.

Receiving chiropractic adjustments can be a great way to relieve many of the common discomforts of pregnancy. Many women under chiropractic care report feeling better during the entire pregnancy, better quality of sleep, less morning sickness and a more comfortable labour and delivery. Contact Dr. Amy and Dr Elliott at West Lethbridge Family Chiropractic for more information. 403-327-0070.

Birthing from Within® Childbirth Classes help you prepare for the healthiest, most stress free pregnancy, birth and new parenthood possible. Contact Ellie at elliedoula@gmail.com to learn more about these unique classes.

Take time every day to relax and connect with your baby, even if it is just a few minutes. When you are eating, pay attention to the food, how it tastes and remember that you are nourishing yourself and your new baby.

Join ‘BIRTHING FROM WITHIN LETHBRIDGE’ on facebook for great articles and information to help you in pregnancy, birth and new parenthood and chances to win prizes.

Getting Postpartum Support - A few ideas

Below are some ideas for support with a new baby.  Most of the resources are local to Lethbridge, but the ideas apply to everyone.


When you have the baby, change your voicemail to say:“{NAME} was born {DATE&TIME}, weighing {POUNDS}. We are busy getting to know our baby and we will get in touch when we have all rested a bit.” You can also put a sign on the door if you expect people to stop by.

 Make a list of things that people can help with: Groceries, Meals, Chores, Errands.  This way when they ask what they can do, you can put them to work. Check out www.mealtrain.com to set up an online meal request calendar.

Hire a postpartum doula (if you haven’t already).  A postpartum doula can help you with practical baby care, emotional support, babywearing and anything else you might need.  See www.elliedoula.com for more on postpartum support.

Connect with La Leche League Lethbridge for breastfeeding support.  Meetings are the first Tuesday or Wednesday of each month at the downtown library.  Join the facebook group to get reminders about the meeting or call 403-331-1003 for phone support.  www.lllc.ca.

Find a group of new moms you can connect with.  www.mommyconnections.ca offers postnatal programs for moms in Lethbridge.

If you think you might have postpartum depression, get help.  www.thesmilingmask.com has lots of resources including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.  Alberta Health Services offers in-home counselling for women with postpartum depression, free of charge.  Contact Bree Elliott, Mental Health Therapist at 403-388-6666 for more info.

Get a baby carrier and wear your baby as much as possible.  www.ecobabycanada.com is a local business selling great slings, wraps and soft structured carriers, along with help learning how to wear them.  Also join the facebook group for Bridge City Slingers – Lethbridge Baby Wearers, to get support on babywearing and info about meetings.

DADS: If mom is breastfeeding the baby for hours every day what does dad do:

o   Everything else! – find ways to give mom a break (even a short one)

o   Wear your baby in a carrier around the house or go for a walk

o   Change diapers

o   Give the baby a bath or take a bath together

o   Take a nap with the baby (make sure to follow safe co-sleeping practices)

o   Make a meal, or go out and pick up healthy takeout or nutritious snacks

o   Sweep the floor, do a load of laundry, change the sheets on the bed...

o   Support breastfeeding by caring for your partner, so she can care for the child.

Active, creative self-expression...

... is critical to childbirth preparation.  And it is really beneficial for life in general.

Making art slows down fleeting images, allowing us to really see and know how we see things. People who discount or dismiss the importance of art-making in prenatal preparation are probably people who feel uncomfortable making art themselves. They often argue that millions of women have given birth without ever having made any art during pregnancy. That is true, but it doesn't mean it is "right." Birth Art is a vehicle that brings parents from their outside knowing to their inner knowing. It is an organic and enjoyable form of learning, unsurpassed by any other method. - Birthing from Within

Birthing from Within Classes allow parents to engage in creative self-expression through birth art.  Birth art is a part of the class that people are often either intrigued by or terrified of.  First, let's clarify what we are talking about with birth art.  It is:

• For the purpose of learning about yourself, finding new ways of thinking about yourself and your birth.
• Not art therapy.  The only person who looks at your art is you.
• Different for everyone.
• Not supposed to be pretty.  It is not 'supposed' to be anything.  
• Helpful in preparing for birth and parenthood, because it usually doesn't go the way you planned it in your head, but even more marvelous things happen than you could have imagined.

Even though I am not pregnant, I get to do lots of art in preparation for mentoring my Birthing from Within classes.  The idea is that everything I ask parents to do, I am doing twice as much of.  So if I ask parents in my class to draw their 'Strongest Image of Birth' as the assignment for a class one week, I am drawing that assignment or something similar twice.  

Doing the same assignments several times allows me to let go of some of the associations or 'stories' I am telling myself about certain aspects of pregnancy and birth.  Every time I draw something the images are different and new questions come up.  Sometimes little questions about what to ask parents in my class after a certain art assignment and sometimes big questions that help me to understand and put aside my own judgments and biases.

The Birthing from Within book has some of the art assignments in it, but the best way to experience the art is in a class setting.  Whether you draw and paint on a regular basis, or you haven't picked up a crayon since kindergarten, the birth art process will teach your something about yourself.

This belly cast is not something that we do in a class, but it is something you can experiment with.  It is decorated with henna, which women around the world have used to decorate their bodies in order to celebrate major life events such as birth.

My friend Kim Strom did the henna decoration.  You can find her on facebook under 'Henna by Kimberley'.  She does blessingways, baby showers and plain old henna parties.

Parents' Individual Needs and Differences Determine Class Content

Birthing from Within Classes are designed as gourmet meals, where parents can 'order up' different dishes  depending on their needs and appetites.

In a six week series, each class is a meal, which includes:

• APPETIZER: some type of introduction to whet the appetite
• BREAD BASKET: this is the pain-coping.  1/3 of each class is spent on learning practical skills that parents can use during labour.
• MAIN COURSE: the 'meat and potatoes' or practical information.
• SIDE DISH: enhances the main course.  It can include birth art, role plays or other activities to initiate parents - moving from the known into the unknown of birth and parenthood.
• DESSERT: closing the class by celebrating the pregnancy and upcoming birth.

A weekend class is designed the same way, with three complete meals on the Saturday and three more on the Sunday.

I have at least 50-60 hours of potential content and 15 hours of class time.  So while I follow this menu, and I have a general idea of what types of things might come up, the same class from one series to another can be very different depending on what kinds of questions parents ask.

I always begin the first class by asking:  "What would need to happen during this class to make it worthwhile for you?" and I use that in my preparation and delivery of class content.

The one thing I don't spend too much time on is providing a lot of obstetrical information.  I find that people who are interested in medical information usually have a lot of it by the time they take the class.  I am always happy to recommend books to parents and there are some suggestions on my website and this blog. Birthing from Within is really about learning what birth might be like from the parents point of view and to prepare them for their own birth experience.

Topics covered in a typical Birthing from Within Class:

• How to cope with pain in labour (what it might look like, practical non-medical and medical ways of coping)
• Nutrition and physical health for pregnancy and postpartum, including breastfeeding.
• Labour itself:  early signs, a 'map' of labour, things that help labour progress, what might a 'normal' labour look like.
• Unexpected events: Induction and Cesarean Birth are covered
• Special class for dads:  dad's role as the main support person; special concerns of dads
• Life with Baby: includes expectations, practical information, where to get help
• Ways to celebrate birth and new parenthood
• And lots more....

Please get in touch with me to register for the classes I am offering in Lethbridge and check out www.birthingfromwithin.com to find Birthing from Within Mentors in other parts of the world.

Like my Birthing From Within Lethbridge Facebook page for interesting information and connection to community resources.

The Teacher is "Midwife" to the Parents' Discovery Process...

...not the expert from whom wisdom flows.

This is the fourth Birthing from Within guiding principle, and one more thing that sets Birthing from Within apart from some of the other prenatal class options that are out there.

I realized how true this is when I mentored my first group class last weekend.  My regular class series (whether weekend or six week series) is 15 hours of class time.  Last weekend's class was 6 hours total.  At first, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to cover 'everything' in 6 hours.  Then as I explored further, I recognized that there is no 'everything'.  There is simply the process of introducing parents to new ideas and ways of thinking about birth and themselves as parents and trusting they will take what they need from the class and learn more on their own.

There is so much 'information' about birth:  telling people where to go, what to do and presenting potential scenarios for parents depending on the decisions they make.  The reality is that parents will not really be able to understand in advance exactly what will happen and instead need to understand that each birth is a different and intensely personal experience for everyone (even a mother and father at the same birth or a mother from one birth to the next).  This is one of the reasons that we use the Labyrinth to look at birth.  The labyrinth has one pathway in and out, but the path is full of twists and turns.  When I taught this at my class last weekend parents really responded to it.  One mother said that she only really understood how useful it might be for labour and birth once she explained it to her own mother.  This is a really good example of how the Birthing from Within Mentor (teacher) introduces a concept and parents take it, explore it further and make it their own.  She bought the Labyrinth of Birth book, which includes history of labyrinths, how to make them and ways to use them in preparation for labour and during labour.

What I do as a Birthing from Within Mentor can be hard to explain.  In our society, we are accustomed to looking for the right answer.  Many people feel inclined to make judgments about pregnant women and give them advice, and sometimes that advice seems helpful, especially if it reinforces what we already believe about birth.  As a Mentor, it is not my job to tell parents what to or tricks on how to have the 'right' birth.  My role is to help them understand what might be right for them and to truly accept that the unexpected is inevitable.  From there, parents take responsibility for their own birth preparation.  Sometimes, it seems to make the classes more challenging to 'sell' to people, since I am not offering a magical solution.  Instead, I am offering the opportunity to discover things about yourself, your relationship with your partner and presenting new ideas that may help you in birth and as a new parent.

I have a six-week series starting on November 2, for those in the Lethbridge area.  please contact me for more information:  elliedoula@gmail.com

Childbirth Preparation is Also Parent Preparation

This is the 3rd guiding principle of Birthing from Within.  People spend a year preparing for a wedding day, how much time do we spend preparing for married life?  Similarly, most prenatal classes spend most of the time preparing for the day of birth itself, how much time do we spend preparing for actual parenting? The Birthing from Within perspective is that you are a parent while pregnant, and we use the terms parents, mothers and fathers to refer to our class participants.

One great thing about Birthing from Within Classes is that the way the classes are taught, prepares you for both birth and parenting.  We learn that birth is unpredictable, unexpected events occur, we cannot plan for or control every aspect of it.  We may feel frustrated, exhausted or uncomfortable.  Welcome to parenthood!

I think about the ideas I had about both birth and parenting before I had my daughter, and I have to smile at myself.  The expectation that I could control so many things, that if I just figured out the magical equation she would sleep, calm down, nurse the way I expected her too.  Even now, she is 2 and a half and I still sometimes want to make things happen in a certain way, that is easy or convenient for me.  I would have loved to take a Birthing from Within class, and maybe it would have helped me understand that holding a baby for hours on end to get them to sleep was not a problem to be solved, but what I signed up for as a parent. Now, in the rare event that she wants to snuggle or has trouble going to sleep, I do my best to use my Birthing from Within breath practices (used for pain-coping during labour), to be present in the moment and enjoy it or at least accept it.  It works (sort of) for temper tantrums in the grocery store too.

Connected to the topic of parent preparation, I participated in a workshop in my community this week, from the creators of The Smiling Mask:
The purpose of The Smiling Mask is to create awareness, understanding, and acceptance of postpartum difficulties; to bring peace and validation to mothers and fathers by engaging and empowering families, and communities in the life changing and natural experience of parenthood.


The three women who started it all experience postpartum depression after the births of their children, and they were not prepared for it.  Our society and media barrage us with images of happy mothers and peaceful babies, and if we fall outside of that there is some kind of deficit in us.  Really the deficit is in an understanding of parenthood as a major rite of passage and the reality that we feel all kinds of things as new parents.  Consistently, new parents feel exhausted, but other than that it really depends on the individual. If we do meaningful preparation before birth, the more resources and coping skills we will have.  The more that we create a community of support, whether it is family, friends or professionals such as postpartum doulas and counsellors, the more we can call on them when we need help.  Everyone who had a new baby needs help, the difference is whether we allow ourselves to accept the help.

I would highly recommend The Smiling Mask website, dvd and books.