Well hello! On Wednesdays, we try to focus on some good ol’ education. I call these posts “Women Ask Wednesday” and the topics come from a variety of situations – a journal I read, a friend’s birth, a conversation with a patient – you name it, it can spark a post!
But these also tend to be some of the most popular posts on the blog!
Here’s a recap of the top 5 posts in the past year and a half of blogging – does that mean the blog is a toddler? Sure feels like it sometimes!
By a landslide, the most popular to date is: Women Ask Wednesday: What is lower extremity nerve injury? (And can it happen during birth?)
May is the awareness month for lower extremity nerve damage. This post followed Chelsea’s birth stories (here and here) and I can’t recommend enough that every provider read them and understand the rare but real risk of this type of nerve injury in birth. Since nerve damage is uncommon, there are even fewer resources for mamas and families struggling with injury. Nervedamagefromchildbirth.com is a great place to start. Or follow on the instagram @childbirthnervedamage.
Second most popular was a post about a birth resource. Women Ask Wednesday: Amazing, FREE educational resources for pregnancy, labor, postpartum and breastfeeding!
The site is Global Health Media. The group is a not-for-profit aimed at helping produce videos to help health care workers around the world in birth, pregnancy and beyond. The healthcare workers are often in rural areas and have limited resources – what’s rather amazing is this: the skills to support birth are the same worldwide.
It’s one of the best resources I have found for women to see what normal birth looks like in the community setting.
I listed the videos I think most mamas should view in the post, but the full list of videos is available here! ***Disclaimer: the videos show lots of natural childbirth and babies being born, but I love how hands off the birth attendants are and how mobile the mamas are during their labors and births.***
Third most popular was a post about The Well Woman exam – Women Ask Wednesday – The Well Woman Visit.
The annual pilgrimage to your women’s health office has always been looked down upon by generations of women. Revisit the well woman visit to see if there’s not more benefit to the visit than a breast exam and a Pap smear. The post breaks down the visit from top to bottom (n o pun intended).
Disclaimer: Midwives can care for women from adolescence to after menopause! The specifics often vary by midwife, practice and access to care, but don’t rule out seeing a midwife or a nurse practitioner for your well woman exam!
Still pertinent and popular one year later: Women Ask Wednesday: Where can I get good pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and newborn education during the COVID-19 pandemic?
This post bloomed straight out of telehealth visits. Patients and providers were asking – where can I tell patients to go for education? This post covers it all!
Lastly, and not least! Women Ask Wednesday: What’s pelvic floor physical therapy? In particular, the pelvic floor resources from this post are my favorite:
- MyPFM (My Pelvic Floor Muscle)
- Article: Musculoskeletal Dysfunction During Pregnancy and After Childbirth
- Article: Pelvic Pain: Causes, Symptoms, Physical Therapy Treatment
- Article: Questions to ask your physical therapist
- Article: Tips for Improving Urge Incontinence and Bladder Health
- Article: Physical Pain with Sex
- Article: 10 Step Guide to Putting Your Pelvic Floor First
- YouTube channel: ChoosePT
They are always available on the RESOURCES page as well.
That’s a wrap for our top five! I think more than ever, mamas and providers must know and recommend the best resources available online. The next generation of mamas have only known the iPhone age and an in-person childbirth class may seem ‘old school’ or out-dated to them. That makes education ever more important to the future of families and the United States. What do you guys think?
Jamie
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1 year ago on the blog…