The first step in overcoming fear during labor and delivery is to figure out where your anxiety lies. You can do this by keeping a journal or talking about your fears with a trusted friend, midwife or doula. Then you can take action to restructure, or turn around, your anxious thoughts. You can talk about this with us in person or over email – sometimes just voicing a fear or writing it down is enough to release it. Email us anytime with your fears at doulas@getbabied.com – we’ll help you work it out.

Acta Obstetrica Journal had a study to isolate the most common causes of fear before and during labor. Anxiety over the delivery was related to lack of trust in the obstetrical staff (73%), fear of own incompetence (65%), fear of death of mother, infant or both (55%), intolerable pain (44%) or loss of control (43%).

So you can break these down one at a time. The biggest one is lack of trust in OB and hospital staff. Find a practice that you can trust that has your interest in mind, and their practices are non-interventionist childbirth. If you aren’t confident in your OB choice, and aren’t able to switch, that’s reason to have a doula for your labor. You can inherently trust a doula – we don’t work for anybody but you – we have no other interest and don’t report to the doctor or hospital administration – you’re our boss.

I know a lot of VBAC mamas have issue on the second one – “I don’t know if I can do it”. You can do it. 60-80% of VBACs are successful – especially with doctors with low c-section rates. So the stats are on your side, and we’re going to continue to remind you throughout your labor that you can do it. We’ve seen many successful VBACS and we are believers. For everybody else – we believe in you too, and there’s never a doubt in our minds that you can’t do it, and we’ll remind you of that constantly. We’ve seen more than 200 births, and the body is strong and powerful and miraculous.

Fear of death – is statistically an irrational fear- mortality of baby is 0.06% of all births, and for mother 0.0001% – it’s more likely that you win the lottery (Texas lotto pick 4: 0.006% of winning). Go buy a ticket. Tell them Ame the doula sent you.

Fear of pain – real – but the pain of labor is one that builds – it starts small and grows, so your body builds up it’s own endorphins gradually to deal with this, also, contractions only last for one minute – so you can tell your self you can do anything for a minute. That’s it. One minute. And hire a doula – and we’re going to use all of our tricks to get you comfortable so you can manage these one minute blips in a relaxed and comfortable labor jouney.

Fear of loss of control – also real – loss of control happens. And it’s ok – we as doulas are going to keep you grounded, and bring you back anytime you lose it. It’s not something that spirals out of control, we catch it and keep it in check and get you back in to your labor zone. It’s hard to control something as unpredicatable as birth, so knowing that it is unpredictable going in helps you not to set up unrealistic expectations. If you don’t expect to have total control, then you won’t be afraid to lose something you don’t have.

Another one that is often specific to VBAC mamas is fear of having another C-section – Factors known to reduce C-section risk include having a doula (reduces risk by more than 50%) and choosing a doctor and hospital with a low C-section rate. Plan for a vaginal delivery, but work on accepting that a C-section may be the safer delivery method if complications occur, and that’s totally OK.

4 Ways To Fight The Fear
1. Avoid horror stories. Don’t watch overdramatized childbirth shows on TV, and ask people not to share their negative experiences.
2. Find the facts. Learn about normal labor and delivery, as well as the actual vs. imaginary risks.
3. Learn to relax. Meditation, deep breathing, yoga and guided imagery can help, as can long baths and peaceful walks.
4. Ask for support. Tell others how you feel, and spend time with supportive people who make you feel strong and confident.

The last two are most relevant for fear as it bubbles up in labor. If you have a fear, voice it there, let’s talk about it, and it will float away. And we will do our best to help you relax during labor – that’s our job. If your fears can float away, and your body is relaxed, you will have an empowered and positive experience regardless of the outcome.

At a routine 39 week appointment, Brittany’s doctor noticed that her
blood pressure was creeping a bit high and that her baby was a little
lethargic on his ultrasound.  These two things together sent Brittany
to hospital admissions straight away, for a scheduled induction the
next morning.  Although this wasn’t Brittany’s plan for natural
spontaneous labor, she was a good candidate for induction being 3-4cm
dilated.

Brittany had her water broken around 7am.  She decided that she and
her husband Tim would master the early labor on their own by walking
the halls, lunging, and frequent position changes.  By 10am when I
checked in with them, Brittany was already 6cm.  It was time for me to
join her!  I met them there shortly afterwards and found Brittany
smiling and in good spirits coming back from a walk around the
hospital.  Contractions were increasing in intensity, and Tim was
providing counterpressure during a contraction while Brittany leaned
on the bed.  I tag-teamed in and took over counterpressure so that he
could spend time at Brittany’s head providing emotional support (and
give his thumbs a break from the massage he had been doing all
morning).

Brittany thought that she would like laboring in a squatting position,
but she found it uncomfortable, and opted to labor on hands and knees
on the bed while I or Tim did a double hip squeeze.  She switched it
up every 30 minutes or so back to a standing position (often leaning
on a stack of pillows with the bed on the highest setting).  During
one contraction she felt a lot of pressure, something had changed, so
she requested an internal exam.  She was now 7cm; probably not as far
as she would have liked to be with the intensity of the contractions,
but progress nonetheless.

For a change of scenery Brittany moved over to the shower.  She sat on
the birth ball in the shower leaning forward, and I stood behind her
with the showerhead in hand and made hot water circles on her back for
quite a while.  The contractions were less intense, and less frequent.
That wasn’t a bad thing, it gave Brittany a chance for some rest
before she went back to her preferred hands and knees position, a
position that turned the contractions back up.   Brittany was having
the urge to push with contractions, but no urge between contractions.
Another exam had her still at 7cm, but the baby was lower, and the
cervix was completely effaced, so progress.  Baby’s head was low,
which was giving her that pushing feeling when a contraction came on,
but cervix wasn’t quite ready to push.  She hopped back in the shower
for 30 minutes, and the pushing feeling was getting even more intense.
Dr. Oliver checked her again, and she was a 9cm – almost there!

Brittany moved to the toilet to take some contractions there.  A great
place to finish off dilation – the position naturally opens your hips
when you straddle the toilet, and the body is conditioned to relax the
pelvic floor when you sit in that place.  It wasn’t long until
Brittany was feeling the overwhelming urge to push.  But the nurses
wanted to hold off for a full hour since her last cervical check –
they didn’t want to disappoint her if the progress wasn’t what she was
hoping for.  So we just hung out on the toilet for another thirty
minutes.  The way Brittany was breathing, it seemed as she was already
pushing.  She was trying not to push, but sometimes the body just does
what the body does.  When her hour between exams was up, her internal
check revealed she was 10cm, and a +2 station – baby had worked his
way down on his own while Brittany breathed through contractions on
the toilet.

She moved up to the bed and found squatting with the support of a
squat bar the most natural position for her to push in.  With one push
the nurse saw baby’s head, and frantically called for the return of
Dr. Oliver.  Brittany had to “not push” again – probably the hardest
thing for a mom to do when your baby is that low and your body wants
you to push.  Baby kept coming down, and luckily a winded Dr. Oliver
arrived in a few minutes from her office across the street.  Brittany
pushed for 5 minutes (that’s the official time it took from the call
to the doctor to baby’s arrival) and baby Jacob arrived.

He was put up on mamas chest immediately, started crying and nuzzling
mama’s breast and then was calm, quiet and alert with skin-to-skin
time the entire time mom was delivering her placenta and repairs were
being made.  After a quick weight and height check, he as back with
mom rooting and latching and exploring breastfeeding.

Brittany was a “birthing warrior” (I think she laughed when I chose
that affirmation during transition).  I had a hard time believing she
ever was in transition – she smiled and engaged in conversation
between each contraction, and during contractions the most foul word
from her mouth was “yikes”.  Her breathing was perfect – calm during
early labor, and perfect panting/hee-heeing during transition.  Tim
was her rock from start to finish.  If he wasn’t behind her squeezing
her hips, applying counterpessure, heat compresses, or giving her a
back massage, he was at her face holding her hand, providing a
shoulder for her to rest her head on, whispering encouragement and
sneaking in kisses every now and again.  Congratulations family Gast
on a beautiful day and a beautiful family.  AS.

So my husband Ryan was on kiddo duty tonight while I was playing volleyball downtown.  He was playing guitar and chilling and lost track of the kiddos and went to seek them out in our ghetto mansion.  Hearing mischief upstairs he came upon them in the sewing room.  As soon as Azalea (3) heard him coming she met him at the door, barring his entry.  Ryan asked “can I come in?” and Azalea said “No, we are having a doula meeting.”

It turns out that she and Ryker (1) were just unravelling my spools of thread and causing trouble, but I guess somehow she picked up if you are doing something really important and don’t want to be disturbed, that’s a “doula meeting”.  I wonder where she got that.    AS.

From KH Weiss

by Kat Hickey, CD(DONA)

published in the International Doula, Volume 17, Issue 3

I love. I listen.
I empower. I massage.
I believe. I whisper.
I rock. I touch.
I breathe. I thank.
I witness. I praise.
I soothe. I dance.
I encourage. I hope.
I laugh. I cry. I dream.
I love.

Release: Immediate

Date: March 2, 2010

Contact: Get Babied! (661) DOULA-61

Meet the doula: the new must-have accessory for moms-to-be

Austin, (Texas) — Arriving at the hospital in labor can be an exciting but scary moment for many first-time parents.  Even though mom may have an excellent, trusting relationship with her doctor, the reality of modern hospital delivery is that the doctor is not called upon until the final throes of labor when the baby is about to be delivered.  That leaves the other 12-24 hours in the hands of the nurse that is assigned and with the ongoing shortage of nurses in most hospitals, patients end up sharing nurses with one or two other laboring mothers.  Instead of leaving the experience of childbirth to the fate of the quality of the nurse, a growing number of women are engaging outside help from doulas.

No doubt the new popularity of doulas owes something to celebrity endorsement. Nicole Kidman had a doula at the birth of her baby, Sunday Rose, last year. ‘I’d heard horror stories of 40 hours of labor,” she said, ”and I was sure that would be me, but I had a very easy labor” Nicole reported to Oprah when discussing the effect of a doula at her birth. Kelly Ripa had a doula.  So did Demi Moore, Cindy Crawford, Jennifer Garner and Ricki Lake. Doulas are the latest Hollywood “pregnancy essential” and moms all over Austin are following their lead.

Ricki Lake’s doula-assisted birth (ABC television)

Doulas are professional childbirth assistants who offer support and information to pregnant women in areas such as prenatal care, breast feeding, mother-infant bonding and postpartum care.   They also provide continuous emotional, physical, and information support to parents during labor and delivery.

Research indicates that mothers who used doulas during pregnancy are healthier, more satisfied with their birth experiences and more likely to breast feed.  Some studies even suggest that if all pregnant women used doulas, childbirth costs could be dramatically reduced, because women who use doulas tend to have shorter hospital stays and fewer complications, use less medication and are less likely to need caesarean sections.

The Get Babied! Doula Collective (www.getbabied.com), the first and only practice of its kind in Austin, takes the role of doula to a higher level of service and professionalism.  The four doulas in the collective share a 24/7 on-call rotation for assisting their clients in labor.  As soon as a mother goes in to labor, she calls the 24/7 on-call number, (661)DOULA-61, and the doula on-call for that day will be at the mother’s side within the hour.  Applying a traditional on-call concept to the practice of doula birth assistance ensures that Get Babied! doulas are well rested, and available any time of the day or night for their clients.  In addition to their unique on-call rotation they also offer many full service packaged childbirth experiences including pregnancy massage, childbirth and breastfeeding classes, lactation consultation, meal delivery, photography, pregnancy bookstore, prenatal and postpartum support, and monthly seminars on pregnancy and childbirth topics.  Get Babied! hosts a “Meet the Doulas” night the last Monday of each month where moms-to-be can meet and get to know the doulas in the collective and the various services Get Babied! provides to ensure a pampered pregnancy and blissful birth.

Get Babied! Doula Collective doula Stephanie Scott applying massage and counter-pressure to comfort her laboring client Manue Reynolds.