From the WBWC Blog:

Month: March 2017

Cooper Jax’s Birth Story

Some births are short and calm; other births are long and intense; all births can be powerful and sweet! Not all births go according to plan but WBWC midwives are there for every step of the way when mothers need to be transferred to UNC Hospital. This is the story of a long and intense birth: By Hillary Prazak I wanted to be done with my pregnancy around week 37, so January 4th. By week 39, I was miserable. My stomach was still growing, 2-5 pounds a week, sleeping was near impossible, and walking was out of the question. My life revolved around sitting at the dog park until I had to pee and reading books on the couch. Then my due date, January 25th, came and went and I wanted to cry. Each passing day I knew I was one day closer to meeting Cooper, but I also had a fear I would never naturally go into labor. Once a woman reaches week 40 each day counts as a week – or it should. Based on these conditions I got to 49 weeks pregnant ;). Let me reiterate I was miserable and pregnant. Labor. Could. Not. Come. Quick. Enough. Then week 41 came around – February 1st. Brent and I went to UNC Hospital for an ultrasound to make sure baby Coop was still doing well in utero; he was, yay!! The midwives would let him bake for one more week, and if he didn’t come out by February 8th I would be induced. By this point, I thought about pulling the trigger and being induced even if Cooper was safe. I’m glad I decided against that. On Thursday February 2nd, I was 41 weeks +1 day pregnant. This is the average date when first-time moms go into labor. I woke up around 3 a.m. having period-like cramps. I crossed my fingers they would get progressively worse and turn into labor pains. But a couple hours later I was back to feeling my new ‘norm’, which was a big fat freaking whale. And then I had a HUGE burst of energy. Fellow mom friends have told me this is a sign labor is right around the corner. I hoped. I was in the shower and started panicking about the house being dirty. It definitely wasn’t. But when I got out, I deep cleaned everything for about the millionth time this … Read More

Birth Announcements

Welcome, Sweet Babies! *Thomas Wesley Langdon – February 2 – 9 lbs., 1 oz. *Cooper Lamar-Jax Prazak- February 3 – 8 lbs., 7 oz. Ethan Andrew Mueller – February 6 – 9 lbs., 13.5 oz. Timothy Philip Stockton – February 6 – 8 lbs., 10 oz. Onyx Jade Coston – February 7 – 7 lbs. Marigold Joy Reading – February 11 – 8 lbs., 4 oz. *Hatton Parker Howard – February 11 – 8 lbs., 4 oz. *John Clarus Hayes – February 14 – 8 lbs., 4 oz. *Cash Brockman – February 14 – 9 lbs., 1 oz. *Marianne Hillary Spring – February 18 – 9 lbs., 14 oz. Leandro-Enrique Arthur Dias – February 19 – 9 lbs., 1 oz. Annabelle Lena Ellor-Salganik – February 19 – 6 lbs., 13 oz. Lucy Ladd – February 20 – 6 lbs., 14 oz. John Henry Miller – February 21 – 9 lbs., 9 oz. Laurel Jean Ambrose – February 22 – 7 lbs., 4 oz. Elliott McCray Crooms – February 24 – 7 lbs., 5 oz. Charles Ishan Nix – February 24 – 10 lbs., 1 oz. *Lyra Belle Earle – February 26 – 8 lbs., 8 oz. February stats: Total babies born: 28 Biggest baby: 10 lbs., 1 oz. Smallest baby: 6 lbs., 5 oz. To be included in this celebratory list, please email Tori at tori@ncbirthcenter.org  with your baby’s birth announcement information that includes  their name, date of birth, and birth weight as well as a photo, if available. If you would like to send us your birth story along with photos, we are happy to include that in a future newsletter!  

Spotlight: Tiffany Thompson, RN

WBWC is been pleased to welcome another experienced women’s health nurse to our staff! Tiffany graduated from UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Nursing in 2009. While in nursing school, she attended the birth of a friend’s son, which happened to be at Women’s Birth & Wellness Center. At that time, she became hooked on the beauty of an out-of-hospital birth experience. After graduation, Tiffany began working as a maternal-child public health nurse in an intensive home visiting program where her passion for improving maternal and child outcomes blossomed. Tiffany’s career has always focused on women’s health and she has carried her public health roots with her in her work as a Labor and Delivery nurse in both the hospital and out-of-hospital setting. Tiffany is continuing to pursue her passion for maternal child health as she studies midwifery at East Carolina University. In her free time, you will find her spending time with her three nephews, learning new languages, discovering the Triangle’s great eateries, or planning her next trip abroad.

Recipe: Quick Mock Apple “Pie” à la Mode

per person: 1 medium apple 1-2 tsp brown sugar ¼ tsp cinnamon or apple pie spice 1 graham cracker 1 scoop vanilla ice cream optional: caramel ice cream topping This recipe can be made on the stove top (ideal for thickening juice) or in the microwave (fast!) Peel and dice apple, mix with sugar and spice. Microwave 1.5-2 minutes. (Or cook on stove top with 2 tsps of water on med-low for about 5 minutes, allowing apple to soften and juices to reduce and thicken.) Cool until just warm, top with ice cream (or pour over ice cream if you are using a different dish), crumbled graham cracker, and caramel. Great way to add the benefits of fruit and spice when the kids (or you) want ice cream for dessert! (courtesy of Claire Caprioli)

Breastfeeding for Doulas and Birth Professionals

Are you a birth or postpartum doula? A childbirth educator or other birth professional? In this class, you’ll supercharge your breastfeeding support skills! Whether you’re starting from scratch or have helped hundreds of babies, you’ll get a grounding in the latest breastfeeding information and learn something new (and customized to the Triangle area!). We’ll be covering topics including: Preparing your clients for breastfeeding success The anatomy and physiology (making milk, letdown, suck) Baby reflexes, abilities, and cues Optimal latch and positioning, and helping parents get comfortable “Protecting the space” immediately postpartum and navigating local hospital protocols Helping parents catch early signs that something isn’t going right, and navigate to the help they need Breastfeeding gear: pumping, bottles, and milk storage Overcoming common obstacles including engorgement, sore nipples, and worries about weight loss and milk supply Hot topics: understanding tongue tie, and bodywork for breastfeeding challenges The class will be taught by Rebecca Costello IBCLC CD MPH. Rebecca sees patients full time at Women’s Birth and Wellness Center where she’s the Director of Lactation Services. Before coming to WBWC, she worked at UNC Women’s Hospital as an LC, and was a birth doula for many years prior. She knows the importance of doulas to breastfeeding success, and how helpful it was to have breastfeeding education in her doula role. Cost: $50 To register call (919)933-3301 http://ncbirthcenter.org/event/breastfeeding-for-doulas/

Road Trip Tips

  Part I: Essentials By Claire Caprioli When you have four children aged 15 months to 8 years, the most reasonable and sane way to enjoy family time over the summer is with a staycation. Being neither reasonable nor sane in our house, we loaded the kids into the minivan for a 10-hour drive (in one day) to New York. Fifteen minutes into the trip, the baby vomited all over herself. The result of a rushed morning, she showed no signs of distress or illness. The child sitting next to her helpfully observed, “Hey, I can see the peach chunks from the yogurt she ate this morning!” One child in the back began dry-heaving. Another child requested an immediate opening of all the windows. My husband pulled over, his jaw clenching and unclenching, as he mentally calculated that to head home, clean up, and head back out would put us back in our current location 45 minutes from now. I, Supermom, with a smile and dismissive wave of my hand, popped into action. This was, after all, just a routine and minor hiccup in the day. (This was also several years ago, so my exact words, attitude, and demeanor have been lost to antiquity.) While windows and doors were opened wide, I headed to the trunk. I retrieved paper towels, wipes, baby wipes, 3 plastic produce bags, an infant blanket, a roll of lifesavers, and baby clothes. In fewer than 10 minutes (no joke), we were back on the road (did you not catch the Supermom reference?) How? Simple. As girl scouts, boy scouts, and Scar from The Lion King all know: BE PREPARED. With proper preparation, 90% of your work is done and all that is left is to 1. Prioritize and 2. Act. The next few minutes went something like this: Lifesavers were handed out to children (this is akin to showing a bird a shiny object. It serves as a distraction and is met with wonderment: “Wow, mom never lets us have lifesavers at 7:30am!”) My husband held open produce bag #1 while I wiped up as much as I could with paper towels. The baby was removed from her car seat, wiped with baby wipes, and changed. Her dirty clothes were placed in produce bag #2. Produce bag #2 was tightly tied off and placed in produce bag #3, which was also knotted (this would need … Read More

Herb of the Month – Nettle

By Violet Trisolini Nettle (Urtica dioica) is a useful herb for combating the all-too-common symptoms of allergy season. Nettle is a great source of vitamins important for healthy menstruation, pregnancy, and nursing, including iron, magnesium, and calcium. Its antihistamine properties make it a favorite for lessening springtime symptoms of hay fever and allergies. It is also a galactagogue and can increase milk supply! Can also be a mild diuretic. What’s not to love about this stinging plant?     Nettle can be found in the following products in the Boutique… Nettle Tincture (Suki’s Blends) Nettle Leaf capsules (Nature’s Way) Kick-It Allergy (WishGarden) – proprietary blend of Yerba Santa, Nettles, Echinacea, & orange peel. Teas including Nettle Tea (Traditional Medicinals), Woman’s Mother To Be (Yogi), Third Trimester Tea and Monthly Comfort Tea (Earth Mama Angel Baby), Pregnancy Tea, Woman’s Vitality, Fertility Tea, and Allergy Aid (Suki’s Blends) Many galactagogues, including Milk Rich with Goat’s Rue (Wish Garden), More Milk Plus, More Milk Two, and More Milk Special Blend (Motherlove)     Sources: “Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide,” Rosemary Gladstar (2012) “Body Into Balance: An Herbal Guide to Holistic Self-Care,” Maria Noel Groves (2016)

Upcoming Events – April

Click to view detailed calendar Babywearing Class – Saturday, April 1, 10 AM-12 PM, FREE Breastfeeding Basics – Tuesday, April 4 & 18, 6:30-8:30pm, $30/couple Coping with Motherhood – Thursday, April 6 & 20, 10:30 AM-12 PM, FREE Babywearing Dance Class – Every Friday 9:15-10:15 AM, $10/adult or $40 for 5 classes Weekend Breastfeeding Cafe – Saturday, April 8, 10:30 AM-12 PM, FREE Breastfeeding for Doulas and Birth Professionals -Saturday, April 8, 1:30-4:30 PM, $50 La Leche League Meeting – Wednesday, April 12, 7-8:30 PM, FREE Young Moms Meetup – Thursday, April 13, 4:30-6 PM, FREE Breastfeeding Cafe – Friday, April 14 & 28, 10:30 AM-12PM, FREE Cloth Diapering Class – Saturday, April 15, 10-11:30 am, FREE Meet the Doulas – Wednesday, April 19, 7-9pm, FREE Craniosacral Therapy Clinic – Saturday, April 22, 2-4pm, FREE Express Yourself, Pumping and Breastfeeding Class – Tuesday, April 25, 6:30-8:30pm, $30/couple

Community Prenatal Care

What is Community Prenatal Care? Community prenatal care (CPC) at Women’s Birth & Wellness Center is a unique program designed to meet the needs of the family delivering in a birth center. CPC is inspired by an evidence-based/researched model of delivering prenatal care to women in a group setting. After two individual prenatal visits in the clinic, you begin monthly group visits from 16-20 weeks in your pregnancy until your due date. You will know the dates of all six of the group sessions in advance. You will also have regular visits in the clinic between group sessions. Why Community Prenatal Care? CPC is woman-focused, enhances a woman’s ability to make decisions regarding her own care, and encourages the social support that is so critical to successful out-of-hospital birth. You also receive the benefits of one-to-one care and meeting all the WBWC providers during your regular clinic visits. For the family planning a birth center birth, the group sessions offer the opportunity to meet with like-minded women and partners who have made the same choice. Having a forum for discussing questions and concerns about pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and parenting provides you with a supportive community which will enhance your pregnancy and birth experience and build your confidence in your ability to birth, feed, and parent your baby. In community, you have the opportunity to challenge the traditional philosophy of birth that treats pregnancy and birth as disease states, embraces technology, and builds fear. You will help to empower each other with confidence in your body’s knowledge and wisdom, trust in your ability to cope with pain, and belief that you know more about your body and your baby than “experts” do. What happens at group? A group of six to ten women with similar due dates meet for six monthly sessions for 90 minutes in an informal setting with two WBWC co-facilitators: a midwife, who rotates, and a nurse, who will be the same for all sessions. Partners may participate as well. You check and record your own weight, blood pressure, and weeks of pregnancy and keep a copy of the information in your “chart”. Growth of the uterus and fetal heart tones are checked by the midwife in a private area of the group space. You will only be apart from the group for three minutes for the tummy checks! The group sessions follow a syllabus but the majority … Read More

The Joy of YES

By Claire Caprioli I remember one cold morning when my fourth child, Rosie, was a toddler. I had just sent my husband and three older children off to work and school, and I was cleaning up the remnants of breakfast: toast crumbs, banana peels, and cups of milk (always with just one sip left).  I desperately needed a shower. Rosie licked the butter off her fingers and happily finished her milk. “Okay, I think we could both use a shower,” I said. “Can I have some hot cocoa?” she asked. *Sigh* “How about we get in the shower first and have cocoa a little later? I don’t know about you, but I’d feel a lot better after a shower.” “How about you make me cocoa, and I drink it in the shower?” Rosie is accommodating, but she also knows what she wants. “No way, goosey-Lucy! Nobody drinks cocoa in the shower!” “Why not?” And that’s when I had my golden mom moment: instead of the instant “no” that eagerly danced on my lips, I actually took a moment to pause. To think. Hmm. Toddlers seldom drink hot cocoa without getting at least a chocolate mustache and often dribbles down their shirt. Nothing to worry about when they are naked and already in the shower. (And no, there’s no risk of burn—who serves a toddler hot cocoa that’s actually hot?) In the kitchen, there’s the risk of a full-out spill on the table and floor. In the shower, that would go right down the drain. The cocoa could go in a travel mug so there’s little chance of soapy water going into the drink. Hey, this isn’t sounding too bad. If she’s busy drinking cocoa, I might… *gasp* …I might have an extra minute or two to shave my legs! “YES!” I enthusiastically cried. “Why not?” I got to be the champ mom that said yes! She was happy. I was happy. It all worked out so dreamily that I briefly considered serving beverages to my children only while they were bathing. Less laundry! No spills! Okay, I never seriously considered that, but Rosie still remembers that first time, and she did get to do it a few more times after that. The moral is: kids can have great ideas that work out for everyone. When you are tempted to say “no” out of habit or because something simply sounds silly, … Read More

Birth Announcements

Welcome, Sweet Babies! *Eyram Sky Semawu – December 5 – 7 lbs., 10 oz. *Evangeline JoLee Brown – December 11 – 10 lbs., 3 oz. Madeline Cecile Smith – January 1 – 9 lbs., 1 oz. *Gwen Harper Saia – January 4 – 6 lbs., 7 oz. Amelia Kathleen Dudley – January 4 – 6 lbs, 10 oz. Morrison Dean Champagne – January 4 – 9 lbs., 6 oz. Trenton Dean Miller – January 6 – 7 lbs., 12.5 oz. Isabel Onyx Chicharro-Schoonmaker – January 12- 8 lbs., 5 oz. Memphis Lee Klingler – January 16 – 9 lbs., 9 oz. Seth Herndon Jourdan – January 24 – 7 lbs., 12 oz. *Aiden Archer Bahntge – January 28 – 8 lbs., 5.5 oz. January stats: Total babies born: 28 Biggest baby: 10 lbs. Smallest baby: 6 lbs., 7 oz.  To be included in this celebratory list, please email Tori at tori@ncbirthcenter.org with your baby’s birth announcement information that includes their name, date of birth, and birth weight as well as a photo, if available. If you would like to send us your birth story along with photos, we are happy to include that in a future newsletter!