Alternative Birthing Methods

photo credit: eyeliam

A birthing method is considered “alternative” if it deviates from what is considered the norm in most modern cultures: a laboring woman enters the hospital, where the staff takes her in as a patient, monitors the birth, and the doctor performs the delivery. Alternative birthing methods include home births, water births, hypnobirths, and others. Here are some of the alternative ways of bringing baby to birth that parents are choosing.

Bradley Birth

This method of birthing is also called husband (or partner)-coached childbirth. This is because the Bradley method, which was developed by an OB named Robert Bradley in the late 40s, involves the whole family in the preparation and process. Bradley students are taught the importance of nutrition, exercise, breastfeeding, and other pre-natal and post-natal health issues, and the husband  is included in the education.

Bradley students learn about how to communicate with their health care providers and hospital staff, and the post-partum period is also discussed. The Bradley method emphasizes a medication- and intervention-free delivery.

The Bradley method can be practiced at home or in the hospital. The husband/partner assists in the birth.

HypnoBirth

Self-hypnosis methods have been developed to help some women overcome the pain of labor. In fact, moms who choose this method may not even seem to be in labor at all! Hypnosis is the power of suggestion, and practitioners learn to tap into the woman’s subconscious where they can make use of this power. Like the Bradley method, hypnobirth can be practiced just about anywhere a woman is in labor. To prepare, expectant mothers work with a professional instructor to learn the technique.

Lamaze

Often depicted on television or in movies as “natural” childbirth, Lamaze emphasizes breathing and relaxation techniques. By controlling her breathing, learning to relax and changing her body’s position at certain points during the labor, the mom-to-be is said to gain control of the labor and experience less pain. Lamaze is a form of natural childbirth which emphasizes minimal interventions and medications, as well as the mother’s comfort and ability to move around.

Water Birth

Laboring and giving birth in a tub of warm water is said to help relieve the pain of labor and help women relax. A true water birth means the baby is born in the water, but some women will use water off and on during their labor and delivery. Water births can take place at home or in a birth center.

Home Birth

Giving birth at home is something more and more women are choosing. If you are having an uneventful, uncomplicated, low-risk pregnancy, giving birth at home with a midwife can be a very positive experience for women who prefer familiar surroundings.

What is the advantage of these alternative birthing choices? For one, ease of breastfeeding initiation. Babies born to mothers who are active and involved in their births nurse quicker and more easily, typically. When mom has been exposed to painkilling drugs in labor, baby is often affected in a way that makes the early breastfeeding experience difficult. Preparing for breastfeeding begins with birth!

Making your own baby food isn’t as hard as it sounds. It’s a lot more economical than buying the jarred stuff. It’s also a great way to give your baby the best, freshest food possible, that’s free of additives, fillers, artificial colors and flavors, and other questionable ingredients that are in some baby foods.

Here are five healthy,easy baby food recipes to start with.

5 Easy Healthy Baby Food Recipes

1. Raw fruit

This is an easy one. Simply peel soft, ripe fruits like peaches, pears, bananas, plums, and melon and mash them with a fork or run them through a blender or food processor. Babies love the taste of pure fruit without added sugar. Freeze leftovers in ice cube trays, then pop one or two cubes out, thaw, and serve. This method of preservation works for nearly all home-made baby foods.

2. Whole grain brown rice cereal

In a grain grinder or blender, grind 1/4 cup organic brown rice until it is a flour-like consistency. To prepare, bring 1 cup of water to a boil and whisk in the brown rice “flour.” Simmer gently for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Cool and flavor the hot cereal with a couple of frozen fruit puree cubes described above. You can also stir in a little breastmilk for flavor, nutrition, and consistency. You can substitute ground, rolled oats for the brown rice for variation. Note: Be careful when introducing grains to your baby, as they can be very constipating. Start with extremely small portions diluted with breastmilk, and watch carefully for any reactions.

3. Yogurt

Full of probiotics (“good” bacteria), yogurt is a wonderful baby food. You can make your own in a crockpot, flavor it however you like, and save a lot of money! You will need:

- 2 quarts of organic, non-ultra pasteurized milk
- 1/2 cup plain, organic yogurt already prepared (you can use some from a previous batch of your own, or a commercial brand)
- thick bath towels

Set your crockpot on low. Pour in the milk, cover, and leave it for 2 1/2 hours. Turn off/unplug the crockpot. Leave the milk mixture in it for 3 hours. Then, stir in the 1/2 cup of prepared yogurt and cover. Wrap the crockpot in thick bath towels – be sure to cover the top and sides. Leave 8-9 hours (overnight). In the morning, the milk will have thickened and you have yogurt! Mix with the organic, mashed/pureed fruit of your choice.

4. Applesauce

This is one product that often contains a lot of added sugar and/or preservatives when purchased from a store. Here is a simple way to make applesauce for your baby.

Core and coarsely chop and peel as many apples as you like (you will get about 1/4 cup of applesauce per apple). Put chopped apple into a steamer basket and steam for 10 minutes or until tender. Press the soft apples through a sieve or run them through a food mill. This gets some of the nutrients from the peels into the applesauce.

5. Chicken and vegetable soup

Great for an older baby who is eating a variety of foods, this is a good way to get a lot of nutrients in one meal. You will need:

- 1 large chicken breast, bone-in
- 2-3 cups pure water
- pinch of salt
- pinch of poultry seasoning and/or bay leaf
- 3/4 cup of mixed veggies, such as peas, green beans, or carrots

Simmer all ingredients in a saucepan for 20-30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through. (You could do this in a crockpot or pressure cooker, too.) Remove the chicken from the bones; discard bones. Chop, mash and/or puree the chicken and vegetables and serve warm.

photo credit: tanjila

Labor is usually broken down into stages. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with these stages so you’ll know what’s going on and what to expect. This helps prevent fear or panic from taking over. So here are some tips on what to expect during each stage.

Stage One: Contractions and Dilation

During this first stage, you will experience regular contractions that are moderate in strength. They may feel like great pressure across your abdomen, or like an over-sized menstrual cramp or ache. In the beginning of your labor, contractions will usually subside in less than 30 seconds, and come every 5 to 10 minutes. As you get closer to delivering your baby, they come closer together and last closer to a minute in length. The sign that you’re really in labor is the strength and regularity of the contractions. False labor doesn’t have this pattern.

What’s going on is this: each contraction thins and opens the cervix (the opening between the mouth of the womb and the vagina) a little bit more. This is known as dilation. Your healthcare provider may measure the progress of the dilation with an internal exam, and once the cervix is fully dilated, the second stage begins.

Stage Two: Transition

Somewhere between Stage One and Stage Two is a phase known as transition, and this usually marks the beginning of Stage Two. There may be an actual pause in contractions toward the end of transition, where the labor seems to “stall” for a moment. You may feel giddy or feel like crying and laughing at the same time. You may feel shaky or nauseated. Some women vomit at this time. Some need a change in scenery, position or temperature (such as feeling too warm suddenly).

Transition is an intense time, and your body kicks in with all kinds of “feel good” hormones and chemicals like endorphins. If you are having an unmedicated labor, transition is often when your labor takes on a dream-like state and you may not remember all of what happens afterward. Some women cry, “gush” over their partners, or let go of fears they had during their pregnancies in a cascade of tears. This is often a necessary process before the woman can “let go” of the baby and bring her into the world.

Stage Two labor involves stronger contractions that come closer together. Your cervix dilates rather rapidly, and your contractions require your full attention now. You may not be able to talk or have anyone else talking during them. The contractions last around one minute each, which is much longer than the shorter contractions of Stage One labor. This stage usually lasts anywhere from 4 to 8 hours, but for a mom who has had a baby or two naturally already, it can take just minutes.

Stage Three: Descent

Sometimes, babies begin to descend during Stage Two. Otherwise, Stage Three is when the baby begins to descend into the birth canal. The stage has been set: the cervix is dilated to allow the baby’s head to come through; the contractions are strong and forceful; and now you will begin to feel the urge to push. Pushing may help relieve the pressure and pain of the contractions too, and they will feel more “productive” now instead of passive endurance.

Interestingly, the contractions often back off a bit at this point, and there may be a longer resting time between each one. If you’ve had an epidural, you may not feel as much urge to push, and may need to be coached to pushed with each contraction. In a non-medicated labor, sometimes women are advised to hold off pushing if it’s early in labor that they get the urge, because it can cause exhaustion if pushing is begun too early. Some moms actually fall asleep in the minutes between contractions to get some much needed rest!

Stage Three ends with the delivery of your baby. A normal birth starts with his or her head, then shoulders, then the rest of the body – and finally with the passing of the placenta. After your baby is born and you’re busy marveling at him or her, your uterus will contract again (you may not even notice). After a few minutes, the placenta separates from the uterine wall and, perhaps with a little push from you, passes out of the vagina. You will probably barely feel it, because in comparison to the baby, it’s small and easy to deliver!

photo credit: jaimekop

The sleep sac comes in two different designs. One is a white sac with a red trim at the neck and arm holes as well as a beautiful red whale design on the front. The other design is very colorful – a bright orange sac with a green trim on neck and arm hole as well as a bright green apple emblem on the front. The sac itself has an upside down zipper, which is a great feature as you can easily change your baby’s diaper without taken them out of the coziness of the sac.

The sac was designed by moms for moms and is made in the USA.  To see more organic baby products, visit Our Green House.

This doesn’t have to mean weaning, however.

If you are a nursing mom, there are some extra steps you can take to ensure you and your baby cope well with this change in schedule.

This means stocking up on milk to nourish your baby while you’re away, keeping up your milk supply and remembering a few comfort techniques for yourself.

Here are a few tips for moms who have to leave their nursing baby.

1) Store Milk for Baby

Depending on how long you’ll be gone, you’ll want to begin pumping extra milk a few times a day to be stored and used to feed your baby while you’re away. This might take a couple of weeks, depending on how much your baby eats, how often you pump and how accustomed you are to pumping. Pumping is definitely a learned art. Don’t be discouraged if you get little or no milk at first.

Many moms find that it’s easiest to pump extra milk in the morning when their supply is higher, or after a nap. (Typically a woman has more milk after a period of sleep.) You could also nurse baby on one side and pump on the other with a high quality hand held pump. The familiar sensation of baby’s nursing makes the milk flow more easily, and you’ll often get more milk.

Store your milk in freezer-safe containers that the babysitter or another family member can pull out and warm for baby when he or she is hungry.

If your baby is not used to bottle feeding, it’s a good idea to introduce the bottle to him or her before leaving. It usually works best if someone else offers the bottle, not you, as baby will often reject a bottle when your breasts are nearby. Some babies are so sensitive, they won’t bottle feed if mom is in the house, so consider running an errand the first time your baby’s caregiver attempts this.

You can also leave behind an article of clothing of yours, such as a shirt or nightgown, to remind baby of your smell while feeding.

2) Keep Up Your Milk Supply

While away, it is important to keep up your milk supply if you plan on nursing your baby when you get back. To do this, you’ll need to find a pump that works well for you. It may be a hand pump, electric pump or by hand expressing your milk. You’ll want to pump as often as your baby usually nurses, if possible. (If you can’t manage this, shoot for every 4 hours and once at night.)

As long as milk is being taken out of your breasts, your body will believe it is still nursing and continue to produce milk on a regular basis.

Many women find it helpful to take along a picture of their baby to look at while pumping or a blanket that has their smell. It is a good idea to use the same blanket during a couple of feedings before leaving and take this with you. You might want to wear nursing pads throughout the day to catch any leaking that may occur.

3) Comfort Techniques

Not being able to nurse as frequently can cause painful engorgement for some women. The breasts feel sore, tender and hard in some areas.

Pumping the milk out can help out tremendously, but you may still want to employ some comfort techniques for your own benefit.

Take a warm compress, such as a hand towel moist with warm water and place on your breasts. After a few minutes of direct heat, gently massage the lumps in your breasts. This will help the milk flow easier and is a good time to pump some milk out.

After massaging the breasts, a cold pack might help reduce discomfort and pain. A hot or cold shower can replace the hot or cold packs if you wish.

It may not be easy when a mom has to leave her nursing baby, but hopefully with these tips you’ll be as comfortable as possible and resume a happy breastfeeding relationship once you and baby are reunited!

photo credit: Daquella manera

Many of these will teach correct technique and positioning, and if a mom can get those right from the get-go, she can avoid most of the challenges moms face while nursing.

Breastfeeding books also explain normal breastfed baby behavior. A woman who has never nursed a baby may not realize how often new babies need to nurse. She may mistakenly assume that breastfed babies act like the formula fed babies she’s observed (they probably won’t).

Another great thing about having breastfeeding books on the bookshelf: When mom does experience some challenge, getting answers is as easy as grabbing the book, turning to the index, and reading.

Some moms are shy about seeking help from a breastfeeding counselor, and may not have the money or adequate insurance to hire a Lactation Consultant. But they can often solve problems on their own with a little good information from an expert.

Here are some of the best breastfeeding books available.

• Amy Spangler’s Breastfeeding: A Parent’s Guide- Amy is a mother, author, nurse, board certified lactation consultant and the author of several very good books on breastfeeding including Breastfeeding, Keep it Simple, which is a personal favorite.I interviewed Amy Spangler a couple of years ago and you can read the transcript of that conversation here. Her expertise clearly shines through in her books and I highly recommend them for any breastfeeding mom who wants good information.
• La Leche League International’s Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. This one is considered the breastfeeding “Bible” by many. Seriously, reading it is like having tea with a very experienced older, wiser mom friend. Its tone is very warm, and it touches on many aspects of mothering, such as discipline and nutrition, not just breastfeeding.This is seriously a must have book for any breastfeeding mom. It is an invaluable source of advice for the first couple of years of baby’s life. One of my favorite things about the book are the many stories from different moms. Instead of having just one “voice”, one source of advice, you’re getting the collective wisdom of hundreds or thousands of moms in the book.You can read another review of the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding here.

What was your favorite breastfeeding book? Do you give a new mom a breastfeeding book as a baby shower gift?

This product is a feeder/teething ring with a reusable mesh bag that allows your baby to explore new foods safely and independently. It also helps teething babies to chomp safely through the mesh on food to ease their pain.  Frozen pieces of fruit or bagel can be an especially effective way of comforting your teething baby.

The product is designed for ages 5 months and up. It has an easy to hold ring shaped teether with a reusable mesh food bag attached. You can buy additional mesh bags for convenience. All you do to use it is unscrew the top and place food inside the bag. Screw everything back together safely and your baby will enjoy chomping and chewing with no worries. The mesh allows the flavors and tiny particles through, reducing choking risk. Babies love that they can hold it in their hand and feed themselves instead of waiting on every bite from you!

The product is dishwasher safe.

Get the Sassy Mesh Baby Safe Teething Feeder at baby supply stores or online.

Reality Check #1: The First Weeks of Breastfeeding May Hurt

“I tried to breastfeed but my nipples got so sore and cracked that I had to stop.”

I’ve heard so many mamas say something along these lines as the reason they quit breastfeeding. They see these images of happily nursing women, figure breastfeeding is supposed to be a 100 percent positive experience from the get-go, and then are disappointed when it’s not only unpleasant in the early days—it’s downright painful. Moms probably wonder what they’re doing wrong and some may even think they can’t breastfeed. So they switch to formula.

Maybe they just needed a reality check.

While it’s not normal for breastfeeding to hurt, meaning it shouldn’t hurt, it’s not uncommon, especially in the early days. While it’s true that a proper latch doesn’t hurt, it often takes time to get a good latch. In the meantime, there can be soreness.

Breastfeeding is a learning process for both baby and mom. Babies need to learn how to properly latch on to get the most milk in the shortest amount of time. Once they figure out a correct latch, the clouds will lift, your cracks will heal, and the pain will go away.

In fact, a good latch can stop pain instantly. Therefore, if you are having pain that is beyond the soreness you could expect from a new activity, have your baby’s latch checked by a lactation consultant or La Leche League leader or other breastfeeding specialist.

Reality Check #2: Life with a Newborn is a Life Spent Nursing

Newborns must nurse often (and all the time) to build up mom’s milk supply. Couple this with the fact that newborns have small tummies that quickly digest breastmilk and you have one hungry baby.

A newborn baby may seem like a total leech—a cute, cuddly leech, but a leech nonetheless. Don’t assume your baby isn’t getting enough milk because she constantly wants to nurse. This is just the way the early days of breastfeeding are. Your best bet is to plan accordingly.

Create a “feeding station” in a nice comfy nursing chair. Give yourself a breastfeeding stool to ease any back pains and keep pillows handy to prop your baby or supporting arm on. (Nursing pillows are especially helpful.) Keep a large glass of water nearby along with a stack of books, a telephone, your laptop, and anything else you need to pass the time.

Instead of wishing you could do other things than sit and nurse, lay back and enjoy it. Now is your time to relax. This won’t last long at all. Pretty soon you’ll be running around the house chasing a toddler, wishing you could sit all day (or at least for five minutes!) and read a good book.

Reality Check #3: The Smell of Dirty Diapers Won’t Make You Cringe

You won’t have to hold your nose during diaper changes if your baby is exclusively breastfed. (The introduction of solid foods greatly changes this scenario. Consider yourself warned!)

The dirty diaper smell may not be unpleasant at all. Many moms say their exclusively breastfed baby’s poopy diapers smell like buttermilk. So if the smell of buttermilk makes you cringe, get a face mask ready.

Not only will the diapers smell better, the spit up of an exclusively breastfed baby won’t stink or stain your clothes. Consider this nature’s gift to you. You’ve worked hard to give your baby the best food in life. When you’re covered in spit-up or hands deep in poopy diapers, at least know that Mother Nature saved you from the stink. The perks of breastfeeding keep getting better and better…

HOTmilk Lingerie is a newer line of lovely maternity and nursing bras, matching undies and gorgeous nursing nighties and gowns.

With names like “Awakened by Her Desire” and “Blissful Disorder”, you know these are no ordinary nursing bras!

Read more reviews and shop HOTmilk Lingerie here.

I recently went through this challenge with my nursing toddler. For several weeks I almost feared nursing her, anticipating a bite. While I wasn’t considering weaning her as she wasn’t ready and enjoyed nursing very much, I was worried each time I sat down to nurse her.

I’m not new to breastfeeding. This baby is my 5th breastfed child. And I’ve dealt with biting before. In fact all of my babies have attempted it, once or twice. I even had another determined biter, my 2nd baby, who otherwise was the sweetest, most easygoing of my babies!

Biting can be a bit confusing. Why would baby want to hurt mom?

Here are a few things I’ve learned about biting and how to bring it to an end, once and for all.

Figure out WHY baby is biting

This requires some sleuthing on mom’s part. Biting can come around teething time, or not. Sometimes it’s just an experiment in cause and effect… baby bites simply because s/he has learned how to. Some moms think that biting mean they have low milk supply, but I don’t believe that is true. I’ve nursed a few toddlers through pregnancies when my milk was almost nonexistent, and biting was never an issue then. I think moms get this idea because biting almost always happens near the end of the nursing session when the milk is flowing more slowly.

With older babies and toddlers, biting may simply be a way of getting mom’s attention. This was definitely the case with my youngest child. Too often, I was doing other things while nursing – multi tasking, if you will. And she missed my attention and let me know in no uncertain terms that she would have it!

Once I figured this out, I started looking her in the eyes more, rocking and talking to her while we nursed. I don’t have to do this every single time, and truly I might get antsy if I didn’t read an occasional book or email while nursing! However, I found that as long as I spent a couple of minutes focusing on her at the beginning of a nursing, she would be happy and not attempt to bite.

An advantage of paying close attention to baby while s/he nurses is that you can see a bite before it happens! My son, mentioned earlier, would literally get a twinkle in his eye right before he clamped down. My daughter would raise an eyebrow teasingly like Scarlett O’Hara before biting, almost as a challenge to me. I learned to look for that expression, and end the nursing session before baby made a chew toy out of me.

Some older babies are “done” nursing but don’t know how to nicely end the nursing session. As younger babies they often fell asleep and pulled away from the nipple, but they don’t do that much anymore. Consequently, they bite because they’re bored. If you suspect this, then be proactive and stop when you sense baby isn’t actively nursing (meaning sucking and swallowing).

And truly, a baby can’t bite if they’re actively nursing, because they would bite through their tongue. If baby is just “messing around” at the breast, end the nursing promptly. Be ready with a finger to slip into baby’s mouth to break the suction and protect sensitive breast tissue.

Don’t allow biting… but don’t overreact either

It’s only natural to jump or cry out if you’re bitten, especially if it’s the first time. Don’t let this happen often. Some babies enjoy the “show” and bite just to see your reaction. Other more sensitive babies may be so shocked and hurt (if their bite was accidental) at your display of emotion that they refuse to nurse for awhile. This is referred to as a “nursing strike” – which is no fun for mom or baby.

This doesn’t mean you should allow biting either. At the breast, your baby is learning about healthy relationships. As a newborn, when baby latched on incorrectly, causing you discomfort, you lovingly removed him from your nipple. In doing so, you were teaching him healthy boundaries and discipline. You knew it was best for both of you for him to be latched on properly, and you were unapologetic about repositioning him.

Now that your baby is older, don’t allow him to hurt you. If he bites once, tell him firmly “Ouch. Biting HURTS. Please be gentle.” And END THE FEEDING immediately. You don’t have to do so in a harsh way, but it’s ok to be firm with a toddler or a determined biter. You could also offer a teething toy or food that’s appropriate for his age, and tell baby it’s ok to bite THIS.

The only thing that ended biting with my son was this: I immediately removed him from the breast when he bit me. I sat him on the floor, and left the room for a moment or two. Essentially a “mommy time out”. I only had to do this a few times, and he got the message! He stopped biting, and I nursed him for a long time afterwards.

How have you handled biting? Any tips to share with other moms? Leave them in the comments below.