The Labor Waiting Room of Dystocia

I have spent a lot of time sitting in the waiting room lately. Not the hospital waiting room, but rather the auto repair shop. My 9 year old car Gracie decided not to work last Thursday and has spent the last five days being taken apart, put back together, and taken apart again. As I do not have an extra car parked at home, it is very frustrating being at the mercy of the “professionals” while they figure out how to fix my car.

Trying to make the most of my time I have been reading The Labor Progress Handbook: Early Interventions to Prevent and Treat Dystocia by Penny Simpkin and Ruth Ancheta. Sometimes labor slows or seems to stop. This is called labor dystocia. Like my car, the normal movement and progress of labor stalls and doesn’t make progress.

While the health care providers can provide diagnostic information regarding the labor, knowing and deciding what to do with the information can be a daunting task. One of the many roles of the birth doula is to provide informational support during labor.

Sometimes it can feel frustrating trying various solutions to find the correct answer for your situation. A doula can help you negotiate through the different positions and options to get labor moving again. The doula has your interests at the heart of her actions, so you know what she will dig deep into her bag of knowledge to help you and your baby.

Tomorrow I will hopefully have my car back and functioning again as she should. I am thankful that I have a husband well versed in auto repair helping me through this process. If you are preparing for birth and are looking for someone well versed in the physiology of labor I would highly encourage you to looking into having a doula. It is a great step to help prevent too long of a stay in the labor waiting room of dystocia.

www.gracioushandsdoula.com

Comments

Relaxation, Rhythm, and Ritual during the time of Uncertainty

As a doula I am often speaking with my clients about the importance of the Three Rs in Labor. The terms coined by Penny Simkin refer to Relaxation, Rhythm, and Ritual as the essences of coping in labor in place of Fear, Tension, and Pain. As our society is in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have found myself turning to these techniques in my own life as a way to cope during this time of uncertainty. I wanted to share these thoughts in hopes that like with birth, we can embrace the uncertainty one day/contraction at a time until the birth of healing arrives for our nation. Relaxation Uncertainty can make even the calmest person feel some stress. The key to relaxation is understanding what is and isn’t in your control. The simplest thing you have control over is your body and mind. Check in with yourself. Are you feeling tense in your body? Are your thoughts racing? Take time to acknowledge these feelings and ...

Scenes from Birth

As a doula, we see many things in our line of work. We see people at their most vulnerable, and at the same time at their strongest. We see the inside of lives and bodies. We see a rainbow of moods and emotions. We see the balance between life and death. The transformation of persons into parents and grandparents. But there are other things we see. We see the everyday beauty of the moment. The full moon on the way to the hospital. The close conversations between the birth giver and partner. And we also see the art in the birthing space. Pictures of nature. Flowers opening up into bloom. Tender moments of motherhood. Cute photos of babies. All decorate the halls of the maternity wards and designer birth spaces at birth centers. Little details to provide subtle encouragement for laboring women to open up and embrace labor and motherhood. As the laboring mother holds tightly to the hallway ra...

Feeding the hungry mother-Macaroni & Cheese

As a new mother... or even a veteran mother you sometimes find yourselves feeling hungry at random times of the day. For myself 10 o'clock in the morning is the time when I realize that while I did drink my coffee that morning, the toddler stole my breakfast and I never got anything else during the hustle and bustle of the morning. Post Toddler Theft Count Chocula Cereal This in between time where breakfast no longer sounds appealing but lunch seems too far away, I find myself glancing through the pantry for a suitable snack to tide me over. While I am reading some great books about healthy food options for pregnancy and postpartum, today I was looking for something purely comfort food based that would take little effort and time. As a result, I present to you Microwave Macaroni N Cheese ! The ingredients are pretty simple. Macaroni noodles, water, milk, cheese, salt, and pepper Find your largest mug that is microwave safe. Inside add 1...

Ask the Doula

Search This Blog