From the WBWC Blog:

Month: July 2018

Clara Mae’s Birth Story

By Grace Middleton The week of my birth, I knew I would be holding my baby by the end of the week. My body was ready – hopefully my baby was too! On the Saturday I turned 39 weeks, I bought Suki’s blend from the Boutique and started taking it 2-3 times per day. My Braxton Hicks became much more frequent, and by Tuesday nesting kicked in big time – I cleaned for hours. I scrubbed toilets, was down on my hands and knees mopping the kitchen floor, vacuumed, and everything in between. My house was shining, though I don’t think the baby cared if it was clean or not. I watched Netflix while knitting a little yellow baby hat for our surprise gender baby. By Wednesday I was getting bored (and still having lots of Braxton Hicks) because this was my first week of maternity leave. I drove from Chapel Hill to Raleigh to get Vitamin K drops for the baby – I mean I had to have them and was starting to freak out because I didn’t. Those last couple weeks of pregnancy you go crazy! Wednesday evening, the Braxton Hicks felt a little different, but I was able to go to bed at midnight telling my husband all was good. Contractions woke me up throughout the night, but they weren’t too bad, and I was able to fall back asleep. I texted my mom in Ohio around 2:30 and told her things seemed to be picking up and for her to be ready to come to NC. Around 7:30, my contractions started feeling like bad period cramping and were much lower. Being inexperienced, I told Wyatt to go to work. I told him to come home after he was at work for less than an hour because I lost my mucous plug! I had him get groceries so I could eat something nutritious for energy. He complied, although I think he was a bit of wreck. I had some bloody show over the next hour or so and called the birth center. They told me to prepare for a day at home and call when things changed. I tried to relax and work through the contractions. My husband made a great lunch, which I ate in shifts, since the contractions were getting more intense and closer together. We took a short walk, and when we got back … Read More

Birth Announcements

Welcome to the World, Sweet Babies! Jonathan Charles Bagley – June 1 – 8 lbs., 11.5 oz. Josiah James Harrison – June 4 – 6 lbs., 12 oz. Sarah Jessica Hancock – June 7 – 6 lbs., 11 oz. Piper Surles – June 7 – 8 lbs., 10.5 oz. Charlie Sue Ralston – June 8 – 7 lbs., 0.5 oz. Wesley James Chappell – June 15 – 8 lbs., 10 oz. Boone Hart Poston – June 15 – 7 lbs., 14 oz. *Landis Michael Cronlund – June 16 – 8 lbs., 8.5 oz. *Emmett Porter Hufft – June 20 – 7 lbs., 6 oz. Vyla James Price – June 20 – 9 lbs., 8 oz. Ashten Amir Smith – June 24 – 7 lbs., 4.5 oz. Caelus Tor Tucker – June 25 – 7 lbs., 1.5 oz. *Reagan Leigh S Goenaga – June 30 – 8 lbs., 6 oz. Arthur Finn Anderson – June 30 – 8 lbs., 4 oz. June stats Total babies born: 35 Biggest baby: 9 lbs., 9 oz. Smallest baby: 3 lbs., 10 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! 

Save the Date!

Fall will be here before you know it —  mark your calendar for WBWC’s annual birthday party!                             When: Saturday, October 27 2-4 PM Where: Great Meadow Park in Briar Chapel Bring your family for a fun afternoon of refreshments, games, and celebration of our wonderful community!

Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga at Triangle Yoga

  Prenatal Yoga (Mon at 6:15 pm and Sat at 11am) will focus on postures that are appropriate for pregnant women with an emphasis on connecting with the baby, breathing, relaxation, and muscle toning. Benefits include building stamina, strength, balance, soothing the nervous system, releasing tension in the lower and upper back and preparing you for labor through conscious breathing. No experience necessary. Classes taught by Brianna Bennett & Kathy Peillot. Our Postnatal Yoga class (Tue at 12:30pm) helps new and returning mothers stay centered, strong and aware during their first months together. Bring your little one from as young as 4 weeks to this nurturing class. Common postpartum and baby handling/carrying issues, are addressed with toning, core strength, and stretching. No experience necessary. Classes taught by Liz Harden. “Class has been the one time a week for my baby and me to connect without distractions. I have appreciated every class and am thankful for the way that you lead, inform and care for the women in your classes.” Nancy Triangle Yoga is located on the 3rd floor of the WBWC building.

Making Music Together

Babies love music. This will come as no surprise to you if you’ve ever soothed your newborn to sleep with a lullaby or bounced him to the beat of your favorite song. But did you know your son or daughter is also a natural music-maker? It’s true: We are each born equipped to respond to music from a remarkably early age. There is a lot you can do to nurture your new little musician—even if you don’t think of yourself as a “musical” person. Making music together from the very beginning will lead to a lifetime of shared musical enjoyment for both you and your child. The Music Together® Babies Class will start you on the path to becoming a musical family. Specifically designed for infants eight months and younger, this one-semester introduction to Music Together allows babies to embrace, enjoy, and express their inborn musicality. In your weekly class, you will spend forty-five music-filled minutes singing, dancing, and playing with your child, all in the company of other new parents and guided by an early childhood music specialist. You’ll learn how your child is developing musically and how you can support this growth at home. Plus, you’ll leave with lots of ideas on how to play and bond musically together and infuse music into your baby’s everyday life. Erica Berry, the owner of Jammin Baby, has been teaching children’s music for over 11 years. She is a classically trained vocalist and a musician. She will sing and play the flute for your babies in this class and lead you in making music of your own in the class and at home. Join our Fall Session by visiting www.jamminbaby.com. While babies are welcome in all of our many mixed aged classes, we have made this special class for our new mommas on Mondays at 9:45 a.m, starting September 10.

MILC Moment

We are excited that this month, our own Ellen Chetwynd is presenting at two conferences: the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) and the International Consortium of Oral Ankylofrenula Providers (ICAP). At ILCA, Ellen is presenting specifically on research on mastitis and therapeutic breast massage done here at WBWC – a project that many of you have contributed to by volunteering for training sessions!   Mastitis is a common complication occurring in approximately 3-22% of breastfeeding women postpartum. Standard treatment includes prescription antibiotics once fever develops, making mastitis the most common reason for antibiotic use in the postpartum period. However, both providers and patients prefer to avoid the use of antibiotics unless necessary.   In September of 2014, all WBWC lactation consultants attended a workshop or staff training on Therapeutic Breast Massage in Lactation (TBML) for mastitis and plugged ducts. In November of that year, we taught the midwives, nurse practitioners, and nurses what we had learned. We have repeated the training several times since so new staff receive the same education. Recently, we reviewed charts from two years before and two years after the initial training to see if the training had made a difference. We looked at a number of factors including whether antibiotics were prescribed, and if the patient ended up taking them.   We found that while many patients still needed antibiotics to treat mastitis, the odds of receiving a prescription for antibiotics were significantly lower after the training, and the odds of patients actually needing to start taking antibiotics were also significantly lower. WBWC providers, nurses, and IBCLCs continue to frequently provide TBML for patients with plugged ducts or symptoms of mastitis – sometimes avoiding the need for antibiotics, and sometimes working alongside antibiotics to help relieve pain and engorgement, and speed healing. We have seen that patients feel more empowered when they learn that a treatment for plugged ducts and mastitis can be literally in their own hands!   **If you think you have mastitis, never hesitate to page your WBWC midwives or your own obstetric care providers to be seen for care ASAP.**

WBWC Boutique featured on WCHL

Thanks to Sharon Hill at WCHL for inviting Brianna and Holly to come chat about the Women’s Birth & Wellness Boutique. Listen to the show to learn about our mission, how we got started, what makes us unique, how we find products (hint: LOCAL WINS), the importance of bra fittings, our price matching policy, how proceeds from the boutique support our mission to provide care for all, and what we love about what we do. https://chapelboro.com/wchl/weekend-shows/todays-business/june-16-2018 If you haven’t yet, come check out our small space with a LOTS of products and get help from our knowledgeable, supportive staff.

WBWC Seeking Board Members

Would you like to help guide WBWC into the future? We are currently seeking applications for board members! We are looking for community members with backgrounds in public health, law, finance, marketing, social work, or any skills that could help WBWC continue to grow and serve our community! If you are interested, send your CV to Maureen Darcey at maureen@ncbirthcenter.org. We look forward to hearing from you!