From the WBWC Blog:

Month: March 2018

4th Annual Women’s Health Awareness Day

On Satuday, April 7, WBWC will have a booth at the Women’s Health Awareness Day Conference at NC Central University! You can participate in free health screenings, health education and healthy living sessions, and learn more about health resources! Registration is free. Activities will take place from 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM at the Mary Townes Science Building, located at 1900 Concord Street in Durham (NCCU campus). Click here or contact Lynae Thomas at lynae.thomas@nih.gov or (919)541-9844 for more information or register for this event!

Tara Jane’s Birth Story

By Allison Dembowski   The first Dembowski born in 26 years arrived September 8, 2016 at 3:09pm. She was 7 pounds, 9 ounces.   I woke up early the morning of September 7, at 38 weeks 1 day, with what I thought was a constant backache. When I fully woke up, I realized the pain was coming in waves, but I had been falling back asleep in between. I laid in bed for a while texting with my mom, Laura, about my symptoms. At the time, she was a nurse at the birth center, and training to become a midwife. (Now she is a midwife there!) She told me that what I was feeling was likely pre-labor pain and to drink water, take a hot shower, and keep an eye on it. I sat up to get ready for work, and on the edge of the bed, I felt my water break. A lot of fluid came out as I rushed to the bathroom. I sat down and let it flow, and when I wiped, I saw my bloody show. I couldn’t believe it! I never imagined my baby would come before her due date of September 20, let alone 2 weeks beforehand!   I texted my mom again and continued to try to get ready for work, but I kept gushing fluid. I woke up Frank and told him what was going on. He was as shocked as I was. We were definitely not ready. I’d had what (I realize in retrospect) was a nesting urge on that Monday, and had run several errands and cleaned the bathrooms. When Frank had come home from work that night at 9:30 to find me cleaning the bathroom—when I usually was either already in bed or getting ready to go—he said I seemed like I had more energy. I replied that it was panic!   I called the midwife at the birth center and explained what was going on. I asked her was this it, and should I go to work? (Not thinking straight) She said yes, and no! Our plan was to go to Durham to labor at my parents’ house with my mom, since we live two hours from the birth center. However, Frank had a presentation to do for class, so we spent a few minutes debating about if he should go do his presentation, or if we should … Read More

Birth Announcements

Basheer Zubair Hakeem – February 4 – 6 lbs., 13 oz. Drew Porter Anderson – February 4 – 8 lbs., 10 oz. William Felix Gibbs – February 5 – 7 lbs., 8 oz. *Ajimal Kuruveliparambil Engstrom – February 7 – 8 lbs., 9 oz. Alex Hutchison – February 8 – 8 lbs., 8 oz. Jackson Avi Kalna – February 9 – 6 lbs., 3 oz. Charles Johnson Shannon – February 10 – 7 lbs., 4 oz. Revel Wade Ash – February 14 – 9 lbs., 2 oz. Talia Elise Hanson – February 15- 9 lbs., 7 oz. Kendrick Vaughn Rencher – February 21 – 7 lbs., 5 oz. Aeroh Wynn McCall – February 21 – 6 lbs., 15 oz. Alexander James Buckner – February 27 – 7 lbs., 4.5 oz. *pictured above   February stats Total babies born: 22 Biggest baby: 10 lbs., 4 oz. Smallest baby: 6 lb., 3 oz. To be included in this celebratory list, please email Missy at missy@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! Also, if you have a printed birth announcement to share, we’d love to have a copy to  add to our bulletin board in the clinic! 

Do You Still Need Childbirth Classes in 2018?

by Nancy Albrecht, RN, BSN, MA On Sunday, March 11, Maureen Darcey and I and 200 other family, friends, and associates in the birth community gathered to honor the life of Svea Oster. She was a doula, home birth attendant, childbirth educator, and fierce advocate for maternal-child health for over 40 years. At the Celebration, many women and men spoke about the impact on their lives of their childbirth class experience with Svea. She gave them insight into birthing and parenting and a support network that many still rely upon today. I took Svea’s class 30 years ago with my fourth child, even though my husband and I had taken Lamaze classes three other times and I was a childbirth educator myself. I wasn’t sure I had much to learn, but she helped me turn inward to fully nurture that baby and that birth. Maureen and her husband took childbirth classes with each of their three babies, even though she was a midwife and they had both trained as Bradley childbirth educators; her husband wanted to connect with other dads. My husband became more excited and interested in the experience during Svea’s class. Peter says, “Svea was serenely confident in every woman’s ability to birth a healthy baby safely, with little or no intervention.” A childbirth educator with that kind of confidence inspires all the parents in the class with invaluable lessons and creates lasting bonds between families. Childbirth education in the United States developed in the 1970’s as a grassroots movement to give parents the knowledge and support they needed to be active participants in giving birth rather than being delivered by doctors. “The movement grew out of the realization that you didn’t have to be zonked out on drugs during labor, and that you could have someone you love in the delivery room with you,” says Henci Goer, a Lamaze International resident expert and the author of several books on childbirth.1 In 2012, according to the Listening to Mothers Survey III, 59 percent of first-time mothers took some type of childbirth class. Alternatively, 97 percent of all mothers used the Internet as a primary source, with up to 60 percent considering pregnancy and childbirth websites to be “very important sources”.2 More parents now rely on the Internet than a certified childbirth educator to learn about pregnancy and birth. Parents may feel that childbirth classes take too much time … Read More

WBWC Open House

Join us Saturday, April 28 from 10 AM-2 PM as we open our doors to WBWC families and the community. We’d love to see families who have birthed with us before, or who are planning a WBWC birth sometime in the future! Come meet our experienced and supportive midwife team, tour our birth center and clinic, enter to win door prizes, and get to know some of our fantastic community partners. Bring the whole family – there will be activities for kids and light refreshments. Learn about out-of-hospital birth and see what makes WBWC special: the people! We hope to see you there!

Womanwise Birth Circle & Meet the Doulas

by Gabe Lazarus, CD(DONA), HCHD *Womanwise Doula Collective will be hosting a Birth Circle on the last Sunday of every month on the 2nd floor of WBWC, in the clinic library, from 1-3 PM.  Each meeting will have a topic that will be led by a Womanwise member.  Pregnant, new, and experienced mothers are invited into a safe space to share and glean wisdom, prepare for and process their births, and build community.  Snacks and tea will be provided.  To learn more about Womanwise Doula Collective, please visit womanwisedoulas.com *Piedmont Community Doulas hosts a Meet the Doulas event every 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7pm on the 3rd floor in the Living Room of WBWC.  Come learn and explore what a doula does and what a doula brings to your birth experience.  There is time for questions and to meet one on one with some local doulas.  Members of the group include Gabe Lazarus, Johanna Wright, Heather Grissom, Wanda Sundermann, Kristie Wells, and Hannah Smith.

4 Reasons You Need “Me Time” & What to Do When You Can’t Take It

by Claire Caprioli You know that frustrating, tightening feeling in your chest when you feel like all you want is a little stinkin’ time alone? You know, like, to poop? Welcome to motherhood!Here are 4 reasons why you need “me time”: You are human. You’re not a machine, and guess what? Even vending machines, regularly handing out chocolate bars, sodas, and chips need replenishment. They run out, too. You simply           cannot give what you don’t have. Recognizing your humanity helps you to be a better mother. If you don’t take a little time for yourself, resentment quietly builds. No child deserves a resentful mother, so ask for help. Do it! No mother should constantly go it alone, and all mothers understand this. If you can’t rely on other family members, then your neighborhood, community center, church, and library all have other moms. They may already have free or cheap programs or support groups to help. Ask.  “Me time” teaches your children that you’re human. It teaches them compassion and understanding, especially when you take a moment to explain it to them. Go ahead, use my vending machine analogy (it made sense to you, didn’t it?) You need to give yourself love so that you have more love to hand out. They may give you a hard time at first, but you are teaching a larger lesson.  It teaches children that they, too, need “me time.” It teaches them that self-love is important, worthwhile, and makes them and those around them happier. Great, I understand WHY I need time to myself, but what if I still can’t take it?  You are strong. Your ancestors did not know the term “me time”, so draw on their strength. Think about the women on the Oregon Trail. They often had no choice in the decision to pack up and move, and may have been pregnant while toting several young children along. There was dysentery. There was cholera. They may have buried several children and even their husband (whose brilliant idea it was to leave home) along the way only to arrive in a strange place completely destitute. They did what they had to do. Note: the incredible collective strength of women can be empowering to draw on in moments of stress, but is not advisable long term. Yes, they were strong (so are you), but nothing says they were happy. … Read More