A MIDWIFE NATION

Helping improve pregnancy care and education for people and midwives.

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Are you practicing to standard of care? Share your thoughts! 👇🏽

Are you thinking it’s time to dive into precepting a student? Let’s talk about it! I could talk about precepting, students and midwifery all day long. I’m not an expert by any means and learn new things every day. Let’s get that disclaimer out of the way. But I do think there’s not a lot of mentorship when it comes to taking midwifery students.

Need to shower? Can you smell the crunchy spit up in your hair now? hear YOU! Postpartum mamas deserve a shower every day. Every day! But sometimes you’re so tired and sleep wins over hygiene in the end. New parents are sometimes overwhelmed by simple acts of hygiene after the baby is born (what do you do if the baby is crying? what if I can’t hear the baby? where do you find the time to poop?!). Try this simple tip to get your daily shower or Epsom soaks in: feed the baby right before you plan to shower, put the baby right next to your bath or shower in your baby docking device of choice, check on them as needed, and enjoy those suds as long as they’ll sleep. Tell me your tips for hygiene in those first few weeks and inspire another parent ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Answer: Yea! You can eat fish during pregnancy! And it’s beneficial for mamas and growing babies 💪! Fish are full of a fatty acid called omega-3s. Fats are necessary for your baby’s brain and spinal cord to form. There are so many types of fish that are safe to eat in pregnancy, but there are some fish that are considered unsafe to eat because of their high levels of mercury (think - the bigger the fish, the more tissue to store harmful elements from the sea). Also, if you’re catching fish to eat at home (whether it’s from rivers or ocean), be sure to check with your local environmental agencies to make sure that fish is safe to eat. For all other FAQs , check out the blog post today: amidwifenation.com. If this post was helpful to you, save an share it! 😘 Fish tacos anyone? 🐠🌮

Listen closely for baby snores! 🥰💙

Consider this your gentle reminder to book your dental cleaning if you are pregnant or postpartum. And add floss sticks to your grocery pick up list. (Bonus tip: They make kid flops sticks so you can start your kids early on the flossing habit by making it fun! 🦷🪥😁) If this helped you, share it with someone you know is pregnant or postpartum 🥰

Your first pregnancy visit in the office is exciting, nerve racking, joyful, terrifying… insert your word here: _______. But it shouldn’t be a firehouse of information that leaves you wondering…”What did they recommend?” “Where did they say we give birth?” “Who will we see very visit?” “Why did they draw all that blood?” “Who do we calm after hours?” “Wait, did they say eat fish or don’t eat fish?” “Aspirin in pregnancy - did I hear them right??” Don’t wonder. Show up to your visit with a handout to guide you through each step of the visit, remind you what questions to ask, and to help you schedule the follow up you and your baby need for the pregnancy. Get your handout for FREE on the blog. Link in the linktree. 💪😘 (PS - If I could give a handout to every pregnant person I know, this is the one I would give them asap 🎁!) #pregnant #6weekspregnant

One of the most common questions I get in clinic is “What does a contraction feel like?”

Back pain during your pregnancy?! Don’t despair! There are so many things to help your back pain but one that a lot of people discount is a good pregnancy support belt - or a belly band. You want a band that doesn’t just stretch over your belly, but goes around the bottom your belly and the top of your hips and LIFTS the uterus off the pelvis while supporting the pelvis and back. I’ve used the same one from Amazon for all 4 pregnancies - it was a lifesaver for shift work too. Tell me which support belt you recommend or other things that helped your back pain ⬇️⬇️ Forward this to any mama you know that’s 20 weeks or more in her pregnancy 🤰😘

About 5 minutes from the hospital I knew I was not going to be able to make the walk from the parking garage up to the 6th floor (it’s a pretty big hospital) so I called labor and delivery. I told the nurse I wasn’t going to be able to walk up once we got there. She told me where I needed to go once I got there and I told her no, I know where I need to go but I will not be able to physically get up there. So she said someone would meet me down at the drop off area.

About 6 years ago, I had a long discussion with a midwifery faculty member about using the term delivered versus birthed. The faculty member argued that we should be using birth instead of deliver as the verb; as in: that mama birthed her baby or we are going to birth the placenta. I thought a lot about it, and to me, birth respects the human process and act of bringing another human into the world. Delivered implies that the work is all someone else - I delivered room 3. Tell me what you guys think is the term we should be using and why! ⬇️⬇️⬇️😘 #birth

Midwifery care supports physiologic birth. Did you know what was more or less likely with midwifery care? If you’ve had care from midwives and OBGYNs, tell me what you saw was the hugest difference in how your care was delivered?

New blog post is up! Here’s a snippet of my favorite part…Some things that really helped day to day last year are still front and center this year. I try to do one thing at a time - this includes things from the dishes to writing a blog post. I am really intentional about my time I have that isn’t interrupted - if I have 20 minutes where al the kids are napping, I’m either sleeping or doing the task I have written on my to do list. Google Keep still reigns as my digital sticky note platform. But sometimes I still send myself a text message so it doesn’t get lost in the pile. I only clean one kitchen counter at a time. I say no to things, and I let it be. I make dinner around 3pm each day - this takes the pressure off of everyone and allows for all inevitable delays around dinner time - or, I bypass all of that and just use the crockpot. I try to savor the silence. Sometimes I drive my car around by myself in complete silence. It’s rejuvenating. I try to set clear boundaries - though this one is a struggle with some family members. I try to explain my expectations to my spouse - this is always a work in progress but my marriage is always better for it. I’m trying to get every good book recommendation I can because there’s just too little time to read the books that aren’t good. And if I can do something earlier in my day that helps me later in my day, I try to do those things first. Read the whole post on the blog. Link on the link tree!

…Some things that really helped day to day last year are still front and center this year. I try to do one thing at a time - this includes things from the dishes to writing a blog post. I am really intentional about my time I have that isn’t interrupted - if I have 20 minutes where al the kids are napping, I’m either sleeping or doing the task I have written on my to do list. Google Keep still reigns as my digital sticky note platform. But sometimes I still send myself a text message so it doesn’t get lost in the pile. I only clean one kitchen counter at a time. I say no to things, and I let it be. I make dinner around 3pm each day - this takes the pressure off of everyone and allows for all inevitable delays around dinner time - or, I bypass all of that and just use the crockpot. I try to savor the silence. Sometimes I drive my car around by myself in complete silence. It’s rejuvenating. I try to set clear boundaries - though this one is a struggle with some family members. I try to explain my expectations to my spouse - this is always a work in progress but my marriage is always better for it. I’m trying to get every good book recommendation I can because there’s just too little time to read the books that aren’t good. And if I can do something earlier in my day that helps me later in my day, I try to do those things first. Read the full post on the blog. Tell me one goal of yours this year below ⬇️⬇️⬇️

This tip is sooooo important but forgotten by so many. If you’ve had a cesarean section for your birth, be sure to request your ‘operative record’ after your birth. Your cesarean section is a surgery and your surgeon puts important information in their narrative about your surgery. Why is the operative report important? Two reasons. One, if you desire to try for a vaginal birth after your cesarean section, your next OB provider will usually want to read the report and make sure there aren’t any complications from your cesarean birth and that it is recommended to try for a vaginal birth. Second, remember that although it’s a birth, it’s also a surgery. If you have surgery later in your life and had a complication during your cesarean section, a future surgeon might want to look at those notes. And last…it’s almost always easier to get medical records shortly after birth (think within the first year…) than request them 5 years later after you moved somewhere new. Not sure how to request records? Contact your place of birth, ask for the medical records department, then request your ‘operative record’ from the day of your cesarean section. Every patient has the right to their medical records. Hope the tip helps - like below if it does or share with someone who recently had a c-section. #smart #csection

Do you know how to buckle that bump up safely in the car?! This should be reviewed at your first pregnancy visit but it’s not too late to learn. Keep those bumps safe on the road 😘 Follow for even more tips 💪🤰

We had a planned home birth! ♥️ My first three babes were born in the hospital - but for number four, the husband and I decided to have a home birth. Read the whole story and a bonus FAQ on the blog: amidwifenation.com 😘. If you’ve had a home birth, tell me what you loved most about it!!! ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ #birth #homebirthbaby #midwife

In the past 6 months, I precepted two students, one in the clinic and one on labor and delivery. I also got to be a participant of student care with my recent home birth. Both experiences gave me some time to reflect on being a preceptor and being a patient that receives care from a student.

*Midwifery care is the standard of care in all countries that have better birth outcomes.

Wonder what this line is called? It’s the linea nigra. It’s not a misspelled word - it’s a line of darkened skin that forms from the top of your pubic bone towards your rib cage in pregnancy. It’s from the hormone estrogen and usually shows up about 20 weeks of pregnancy. The line stays present through the first couple months postpartum - but, it might stay even longer if you’re breastfeeding. (Breastfeeding also keeps your estrogen levels higher). Other fun facts about the linea nigra: most lines jump over the belly button but some curve sideways around the belly button; the line doesn’t hurt at all; and you can’t predict what kind of line you’ll have! Tell me how many weeks you were in pregnancy when your line showed up and how many weeks you were postpartum when your line went away ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ Stay tuned for a birth story this week!!!! 🎉🥳

Medical Disclaimer and Copyright

A Midwife Nation was created for information purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice, recommendation, diagnosis or treatment. All site content – to include images, text, audio and other formats are for informational purposes only. The information on this website is subject to change without notice and you should always seek to verify the accuracy and source of the information provided. Information provided on this website is not complete, or exhaustive, and currency of the information is subject to change frequently. You should always seek the advice of your medical provider for any questions about your health or healthcare, and should never disregard or delay medical care because of something you have read on this website.

This blog was created by Jamie Guertin, DNP, CNM, RNC-OB in 2019. Copyright 2019-2022, amidwifenation.com. All rights reserved. Copyright protects the content of this blog (original content, images and artwork) and use of any content without permission is illegal. Tools or handouts have specific disclosures for use; see the bottom of each tool for copyright allowances; credit should always be given to the original source. For any copyright questions, please email amidwifenation@gmail.com. Thank you!

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