Prenatal Deliveries

[MIA-D]

Our special topic of the week for this forum is .......

What is your favorite thing to talk about during prenatals? What can you go on and on and on about?

[MIA-D]

I tend to run on and on about the fact that I am not there to take dad's place as that seems to be the thing that most dads are concerned about in all of my interviews and prenatals. I try and convince him that he is the hero. The one that should be remembered for holding her hand and the puke bucket. I'm just here to remind him where that puke bucket is in the rush of everything.

[MothertheMother]

oddly enough it's the hormones stuff that I love explaining to people. The fear/tension/pain cycle, relaxation and endorphines, gateway theory etc. I love how the science of it proves the earthy birthy side of it.

[AussieDoula]

Anything to do with infant care; especially ways to bond and conveying to my clients that their newborn will be a completely separate and unique individual with their own character traits, needs, and wants.

[jessa_bee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MothertheMother oddly enough it's the hormones stuff that I love explaining to people. The fear/tension/pain cycle, relaxation and endorphines, gateway theory etc. I love how the science of it proves the earthy birthy side of it.

[swissmiss]

Benefits of NCB over interventions/elective cesareans. Kinda hits close to home.

[helpinghands]

freedom of choice based on knowledge/informed consent.. personal responsibility and the role of a doula.. hmm, yeah.. that is about it. Its amazing how much of an umbrella that is

[earthgirl]

Well I can go on and on about a lot of things, but I like to make sure they understand my role by giving a few examples. Like, if the OB is about to break BOW without their knowledge- I won't grab the amniohook from his hands, but I will speak up and let them know. "Dr. Blank may want to break your bag of waters, do you have any questions, or concerns about that?" This gives the clients an idea about what could be done, and how exactly I advocate for them...by helping them speak up. It also gives the OB pause to wait for consent....or refusal. This also opens up what do you ask the OB? BRAIN

[doulajamie]

My second prenatal visit is my favorite. We do postpartum planning and baby care information.

Jamie

[MIA-D]

Okay so now what is the topic that you really hate discussing? The one you feel you are lacking information in or it just really bugs you to talk about.

[AmandaB]

The topic I love is informed consent, personal responsibility and empowerment.

Topic I "hate" (so to speak) is breastfeeding, I just don't feel like I know enough to really help although most of my families have developed wonderful breastfeeding relationships with their children...

[DoulaMegz]

I love to talk about the fear/tension/pain cycle, endorphines, relaxation, and movement. I also like to discuss BRAIN with my clients at length to get them thinking. I think they all need to be reminded that babies come out with or without someone there, so they should trust their bodies.

I'm not so good about talking about breastfeeding as I have not yet done it myself and don't feel well qualified to discuss it at length. Though I do talk about LCs as a resource and offer to assist to the best of my ability.

[Precious_Partum]

I can go on and on about hormones of labor, how they work best when unobstructed by outside influences. I love the whole "what got baby in will get baby out," spiel. I explain how oxytocin is the love hormone; it allows me to cement the vital importance of the partner's participation. "Mom needs that TLC, and you're the perfect person to give it to her." This is a great segway into practicing comfort measures and positions; like in the "slow dance" move, I tell Dad, "this is the perfect place to whisper those sweet words into her ear and kiss her neck and hold her tight and tell her how wonderful she is." They light up like Christmas trees.

My hardest topics are breastfeeding and circumcision. Breastfeeding because it's a HUGE topic and I just can't cover all of it at once, and I feel under-qualified to offer much assistance.
Circumcision is a tough one for me because it's SO HARD to remain objective about it. Around here, most parents don't think twice about cutting and the best I can do is offer up the information I have (teaching DVD) about circ, encourage waiting a few days (to account for the BF relationship and baby's strength in general), encouraging mom or dad to be w/baby during surgery, explaining vit K in connection with circ'd boys, and explaining circ care in the days following surgery. If mom and dad have more questions about circ, I'll definitely answer them. A lot of times, the above info presents opportunities to ask a lot of questions. I honestly feel, though, that the parents where I live are hard-wired into the tradition/routine of circ and have never bothered to consider the hows and whys (or why nots) of it all. I try really hard to not come off as judgmental, but since for the vast majority of normal, healthy boys, there's just no good reason to circ, I can't present this info in pros and cons. (There are NO pros, only cons.) I certainly don't want people to feel guilty, and I don't want to appear unsupportive, but I'm always afraid that my personal "intactivist" bias will scare people away. It's such a controversial topic, is there a way to present it fairly?

[earthgirl]

Breastfeeding, here too. I have a lot of people to refer to in my inadequateness. In all my studies, books on breastfeeding are the biggest chore for me.

[MIA-D]

Hmmm it seems to be the consensus. Mine also is breast feeding because I have tried three times and failed all three times. Reading books just didn't do it for me. So I defer all breast feeding questions to my successful doula partner or Le Leche or the hospital (note that they are last).