Women in the United States have far less options for pain management than women in many other developed countries. Most hospitals in this country mainly offer Epidurals or IV opioids for pain relief during labor. These interventions tend to weigh riskier than some medical alternatives. If the hospital does offer other forms of pain management, they are not made known to the birthing woman and her family. Many countries have other pain management strategies such as hypnosis, acupuncture, and electrical stimulation all of which can be very helpful techniques. While in this blog we are primarily focusing on medical alternatives I do go in depth into alternative pain management techniques in my Preparing for Childbirth course. If you are interested in this course email me at maggie@marigoldmaternity.com

It has become a norm in our society to make things easier, quicker and faster. We've gone from the natural unfolding of things to a man-made process. One example being the farming industry, going from slow growing crops and livestock to trying to speed up the process for more frequent, larger harvests. Another is the birth industry; we've moved away from physiological birth and allowing a woman's body to work through labor as God intended, to wanting it to be quicker and easier. But we can see in both of these industries that the risks usually outweigh the benefits and instead of it simplifying a circumstance it leads to it being more complicated.

There is a beautiful symphony of hormones that play a role in making your uterus contract as well as progress contractions thus progressing labor. Without the progression of contractions labor could stall or stop, and that is the last thing you want once contractions have started. When our bodies feel stress, whether it be mental or physical, we release cortisol and adrenaline which are hormones that signal to the rest of our bodies that we are not safe. And instinctively when our bodies don’t feel safe, they will not want to give birth to a baby.

There are many Saints who have earned the honor of being called a Saint through many trials and tribulations as well as doing good works here on earth. Thankfully because of our common faith. love and communion with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we have gained friendship and are in communion with the Saints as well. We are able to ask for their intercessions in prayer to help us in our own lives. What an incredible gift to have someone in heaven with direct access to Jesus, praying for us. 

It is a medication that is administered via catheter in the lower section of your back, in the membrane just outside of the spinal column. Epidurals can only be administered by an anesthesiologist therefore are only offered in a hospital setting. When pain medication like local anesthetics and narcotics are administered in this fashion it is intended to relieve the woman in childbirth from the pain while still being able to feel the pressure as well as relaxing her while remaining awake and conscious.

Have you ever thought about where you might want to give birth? Have you thought that your only option is the hospital or even thought that the hospital is the safest option? Where you decide to give birth is one of the biggest decisions you will make in your pregnancy. Where you give birth will also determine who will be attending your birth or vice versa. There are really four options when thinking about birth location and there may be less depending on where you are located. These four locations are a hospital, a birth center attached to a hospital, a freestanding birthing center or a home birth. If you are currently pregnant (CONGRATS!) or planning on getting pregnant in the near future it is time to start thinking about where you want to have your baby. This blog will give your insight into what each option looks like as well as the pros and cons of each and from there you will be able to do your own research to see what is actually available to you locally.

Your birth team are the crucial group of people who will be present and attentive throughout your labor and birth experience. The scope of these people is from family to health care professionals, to doulas and don’t forget husbands. The birthing environment is one of extreme fragility. You want to feel safe, supported and comfortable in this space and the people present can very easily alter the energetics either negatively or positively. In this blog were going to cover all groups of people to help you decide who you want on your birth team, we'll explore medical and non-medical team members as well as why you may want certain people there and others not there. I have much more on creating the ideal birth space here!

One might feel that having a doula is a modern luxury in the birthing world. Quite the opposite is true. Women have been emotionally supporting other women during birth for centuries. The term doula was coined in the 1960s being defined by the Miriam Webster Dictionary as “a person, one typically without formal obstetric training, who is employed to provide guidance and support to a pregnant woman during labor.” Doulas are becoming so popular these days that some hospitals are putting them on payroll to be of service to patients. This occurrence also makes another great point, that as a society we are realizing the benefits of a doula being present during pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum.