It's still such an honor to attend the births of women here all over the metro. Each birth that I go to, I'm completely blown away by the kind of power and strength each mom has. I'm not even sure that she knew how much amazing endurance was within herself. Whether it's squeezing hips for days or repeating encouraging words, we AWD doula's (and I'm sure I can speak for all of us) love what we do. We get so much joy serving each mom, partner, and baby.
If I'm totally honest, there are times that I also become frustrated as a doula. Wishing more families had access to GOOD quality and evidence based childbirth education, that we had more providers and hospitals who always wanted the very best outcomes for each mother and baby. But you know what? That's getting pretty picky. We don't live in a perfect world. And when I really think about it, we have come SO FAR. So far. There are so many options and improvements that have been made in the metro over the years. Sure, we still have things we can improve on, but I'm thankful for the birth culture that's developing here.
Did you know?
-Minnesota has some of the most doula attended births anywhere in the US.
-2/3 of the hospitals in our area offer the option of water birth.
-All but 3 hospitals in the metro area offer VBAC birth as an option to mothers.
-2/3 of the hospitals in the metro offer the midwifery model of care.
-There are 9 hospitals in MN that now are Baby-Friendly, promoting better support for breastfeeding.
-A few hospitals in the metro are starting to offer Nitrous Oxide or laughing gas for a non narcotic, non epidural pain management option.
I'm feeling so grateful for how far we have come, and that we have an amazing group of advocates for birth here to help keep improving the kind of maternity care that's offered to women.
Interested in more info on what our local hospitals have to offer? Sign up here to download a FREE COPY of the Childbirth Collective's Hospital Options Chart. It's chock-full of info on which hospitals offer water birth, VBAC, telemetry, and other great options.
Sources:
childbirthcollective.org
www.babyfriendlyusa.org
http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-hospitals-and-birth-centers-are-bringing-back-laughing-gas/306564301/
If I'm totally honest, there are times that I also become frustrated as a doula. Wishing more families had access to GOOD quality and evidence based childbirth education, that we had more providers and hospitals who always wanted the very best outcomes for each mother and baby. But you know what? That's getting pretty picky. We don't live in a perfect world. And when I really think about it, we have come SO FAR. So far. There are so many options and improvements that have been made in the metro over the years. Sure, we still have things we can improve on, but I'm thankful for the birth culture that's developing here.
Did you know?
-Minnesota has some of the most doula attended births anywhere in the US.
-2/3 of the hospitals in our area offer the option of water birth.
-All but 3 hospitals in the metro area offer VBAC birth as an option to mothers.
-2/3 of the hospitals in the metro offer the midwifery model of care.
-There are 9 hospitals in MN that now are Baby-Friendly, promoting better support for breastfeeding.
-A few hospitals in the metro are starting to offer Nitrous Oxide or laughing gas for a non narcotic, non epidural pain management option.
I'm feeling so grateful for how far we have come, and that we have an amazing group of advocates for birth here to help keep improving the kind of maternity care that's offered to women.
Interested in more info on what our local hospitals have to offer? Sign up here to download a FREE COPY of the Childbirth Collective's Hospital Options Chart. It's chock-full of info on which hospitals offer water birth, VBAC, telemetry, and other great options.
Sources:
childbirthcollective.org
www.babyfriendlyusa.org
http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-hospitals-and-birth-centers-are-bringing-back-laughing-gas/306564301/
This post was written by Hope Lien, a birth doula with A Woman's Design- Doula and Childbirth Services. Hope is certified as a Birth and Postpartum Doula through DONA International, certified as a Lactation Counselor through Healthy Children, and certified as a Breastfeeding Without Birthing instructor.
She lives in the Minneapolis area with her husband and 15 month old daughter, who came to them through the miracle of adoption. She was able to offer her support as a doula to her daughter’s birth mother and helped catch her as she was born. She is very proud that she was able to induce lactation in order to nurse her daughter for over a year now.
She lives in the Minneapolis area with her husband and 15 month old daughter, who came to them through the miracle of adoption. She was able to offer her support as a doula to her daughter’s birth mother and helped catch her as she was born. She is very proud that she was able to induce lactation in order to nurse her daughter for over a year now.
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