Doula Network of Fort Wayne

"Better than I could have imagined..." -- Birth to Baby 2010

  
 

So many of the evaluations collected at the close of the Birth to Baby 2010 weekend expressed how pleased birth professionals and the public were with the educational efforts of Barbara Harper and the entertainment from BOLD Fort Wayne and the cast of "Birth!" 

Thank you to all who came out to IPFW and participated in the Waterbirth Workshop and got a chance to see the world renowned play "Birth!".  The DNFW appreciated the efforts of travel from Illinois, Ohio and Michigan as well as all the 'locals' of Indiana.  

A special thanks to our photographers:  Albright Creative Imagery who beautifully captured the weekends events.  Please visit the link below to see all of the phenomenal photos and to order your prints.    

   
 

See more pictures....
 

Waterbirth Workshop

 

“Helping Women Get Into Hot Water”

The 4th Annual Birth to Baby Family Fair, sponsored by the Doula Network of Fort Wayne. 

Birth to Baby 2010 will be a bit different than in past years.  Barbara Harper, RN, CD, CCE and the Founder of Waterbirth International, will be hosting a waterbirth credentialing and certification workshop all day Friday, April 16th.  With the safe alternative of waterbirth becoming more and more requested by birthing families we are thrilled to have the opportunity to learn from the best.

 

WORKSHOP TOPICS

Controversial and absolute contraindications to birthing in water.

Guidelines for water temperature.

Assessing maternal and fetal well-being throughout water labour and birth.

Using water as an intervention in labour.

Resolving shoulder dystocia and other complications in the water.

Characteristics of the water-born infant.

Starting hospital waterbirth programs.

 

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

 

This workshop provides opportunity for midwives, naturopaths, nurses, doctors, childbirth educators, doulas, and all those who care for women choosing waterbirth to recieve 7 CEU’s towards their certification/licensing programs. Birthing families are also welcome and can benefit from this tremendous opportunity to learn from the best. 

WORKSHOP PRICE LIST:

$250 for OB and midwifery professionals (CEUs) 
$125 for birth professionals (CEUs)
$50 for birthing families / students

Online registration and payment is available through IPFW.  

The DNFW is thrilled to announce that Saturday, April 17th and Sunday, April 18th Fort Wayne will have the distinct honor of witnessing it's premiere performance of  Birth, a play by Karen Brody.  Tickets are available in advance at the IPFW campus bookstore, or at the door the day of the event (doors open an hour before the event, seating is limited).

Without exhibitor tables this year, the DNFW wanted to be sure to continue to offer those great resources.  The DNFW will be providing exciting canvas give-away bags to workshop attendees and to the first fifty families at the door of the Birth performance Saturday evening.  If you are interested in submitting any items for the bags please contact Amber Hagen, Sponsorship Coordinator.

Looking forward to seeing you all again this year!

 

Doulas & Cesarean Birth

  As we all know, births don't always go as planned.  Sometimes cesareans are planned way in advance due to a baby's positioning or a mother's medical history but more often than not these days, a c-section can come on as a bit of a surprise.  Women today can be planning a vaginal birth but some may find themselves ending in a cesarean.  In fact the average rate of cesarean birth here in Fort Wayne has been reported to be around 33%.  That percentage is WAY higher, (more than double), the recommended rate for optimum outcomes for mother/baby health.  Now this article is not to argue whether or not Fort Wayne's astronomical rate of cesarean births are warranted, we have posted evidence-based research articles to this question in the past.  The Doula Network would like to turn focus to 'doula-ing' the cesarean families who are left dealing with mom's recovery physically, not to mention the family's emotional recovery, from an experience they may have taken action to prevent.  Are birth and postpartum doulas necessary in cesarean birth?

Birth doulas are experienced in cesarean delivery support.  Choosing to have a doula at a unplanned or planned cesarean can prove invaluable to the process.   Postpartum doulas are very experienced in the physical care of a mom post-cesarean and can help with any breastfeeding, bonding or family needs that may arise. 

We've been lucky enough to have a local mom share her cesarean story and how her doula helped to make a difference.  The Doula Network of Fort Wayne would like to thank Allison and her husband  for sharing their story and we honor her courage in coming through an unexpected journey.    

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I will GLADLY sing the praises of a good doula during and after a c-section birth! As you know, Doug and I had big plans for the birth of our 3rd baby. These plans included a drug-free labor and delivery, a labor where I was free to walk, rock, get into the water or on the birthing ball as needed, Daddy "catching" the baby and handing him/her to me and telling me what it was, Daddy cutting the cord (as he had w/ our other 2 babies), nursing immediately, and delaying much of the testing, measuring and cleaning up for at least the first hour.

Boy, did our plans change! At my 40 wk appt I was told the baby had turned breech. Which explains the sudden extreme discomfort from the previous day on. Since my midwife had performed many versions, had had 2 done on herself, and I had a previous successful version, we decided to try that before anything else. My OB/GYN wanted to get me on an epidural before the version because it "probably wouldn't work" and then I'd be all set for a c-section. I REALLY wasn't comfortable with this as I was hoping for the version to be a success and to have them then break my water and labor naturally from there. The OB/GYN consented after a lot of convincing from my midwife.

The next day we met at the hospital with our doula Shelly and prepared for the version. Doug had been up all night with a stomach flu and was not at all a "fit" labor coach. Shelly did everything she could to help him out as well as me. She got him snacks and kept an eye on him as we went through the preparation steps for whatever would follow. At this point the OB came in to talk to us and again try to talk me into doing an epidural. With the help and support from the midwife and Shelly we again talked her into trying the version first. The OB ordered no meds to be administered during the version because if it did go to a c-section she didn't want the baby groggy.

There in a cold surgical suite on an inverted table I tried my best to relax as the midwife and OB began pushing and prodding, trying to get the baby turned. It HURT. No one was really talking to me and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do.... Then Shelly spoke slow and calm to me as I assume she would to a laboring mother experiencing contractions. She directed me to breathe to relax as much as possible through the pain. She continued to coach me through the deep breathing with empowering words for the several minutes they attempted to move the baby. Then my OB said " Are you ready to give up and do the C-section?" The way that was worded hit me like a ton of bricks. I could feel that the baby was firmly planted and not going to be movable.... but a kinder, more sympathetic way of wording it would have been appreciated. I teared up and said " I don't want to say it..."

At this point my husband also was pretty upset that we were not going to get the experience we'd looked forward to. Shelly was very sympathetic and reassuring to us both. Mostly without words. Which we appreciated. She and Doug left the room while they prepped me for surgery. When they came back we made sure Shelly had her camera. Although we cried through the c-section a little it was very exciting too.

From the moment they got the baby's little bottom out Shelly started snapping pictures and showing them to me so I felt more a part of what was going on instead of so disconnected. It was great to have Doug and Shelly there so one person could be with me and one with the baby at all times until I joined him in the recovery room. She also unlatched my arm to touch the baby better after my pitiful attempts to stroke his little head while restrained for the surgery.

Shelly was intregal in getting me nursing the baby within 40 minutes of birth (not bad for a c-section!) She continued "nursing" Doug back to health a little bit by getting him what he needed and also helping out so he could get to the post partem room to rest for a bit. I was wheeled to my room with my sweet baby latched on and nursing like a pro!

Once we were settled in our room for a little bit Shelly asked if it would be ok timing for her to slip out for a bite to eat and to develop the pictures. When she returned she had an album of all the pictures she'd taken. I cried as I flipped through them... I would continue flipping through them MANY times over the next few weeks until I had memorized them so it actually felt like my memories instead of the actual memories I had of trying so hard to see everything and be a part of it while my baby was so far away at the little bassinet as they measured and treated him (the whole time he's just wailing for Mama)

I can't describe how much it meant having Shelly there. I am trying to in this email, and I tried to when I wrote her a thank you note after coming home from the hospital. But she was much more than a doula to me that day. She was a mother figure that I so needed. She filled that role when I needed it most. She was concerned for me and excited for me and I felt as if I'd always known her. She was truly the only advocate I really felt I had that day with me. My midwife was not able to be there during the c-section, and Doug was still kind of coming around and trying to get to feeling better himself. It was a very emotional day- but thanks to Shelly and her support the deliriously joyful emotions outweighed the negative. I had a happy, healthy (Big) boy and was well cared for with my medical needs. Shelly helped give me memories by taking pictures of what I otherwise would not have seen. I can't tell you the value of that. It's priceless. I wonder if a doula isn't maybe even more needed w/ a c-section than a normal labor/birth- for the emotional side of it anyway. Even though it's such a shorter period of time. I guess everyone's experience is different. Shelly helped make the overtones of the day very happy. I just don't know how many different ways I can say it. Hope this helps!

~Allison

 

Corban Douglas  Born 9-24-08  8 lbs 14 oz  19 1/2"

"It's Worth It!" Becomes Finalist in National Film Competition

 

 The Doula Network's own Kathleen Hickey is announced as a finalist for the short film competition hosted by Birth Matters Virginia!  Kathleen partnered with Fort Wayne's Albright Creative Imageryto not only photo journalize the relationships and journeys of birth but also to develop original song and lyric that portray birth's true emotions. 

Guest judges:  Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein, acclaimed producers of The Business of Being Born and Sarah Buckley, M.D., international birth expert and author of Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering will be viewing the finalist entries and rendering a winner by mid-June!

View the video on You Tube.  Feel free to share the link and pass on this great piece for others by which to become inspired about the power of women in our community.  

 

"It's Worth It!" 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ7J8BIYa7g

 

 

The DNFW's New Director: 2009 - January 2011

Introducing Connie Gallagher, Certified Birth Doula (DONA) and Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator  

Welcome to the Doula Network of Fort Wayne!! I am excited to introduce myself as the current Director of this fabulous network of passionate women. I am Connie Gallagher, I have been a DONA certified birth doula for just over 4 years now. I have been married to my wonderfully supportive husband for 10 years, and we enjoy spending time with our four lovely daughters. My journey into the “Doula-world” began during my first pregnancy, by simply learning that doulas existed. After my second daughter was born, and I once again found myself disappointed with how my birth unfolded, I decided I needed to learn a little more about this whole concept. I was soon reading books I had never heard about, but they made so much sense! I found a DONA approved training, and began my certification process. I educated myself, and gained so much confidence that I was finally able to have the completely satisfying births I had longed for.

My desire is for every woman to realize her dreams of a satisfying birth experience. The DNFW was founded by a group of local women who are passionate about healthy pregnancy, real birth, and happy babies. As individuals and as a network we strive every day to make a positive impact in our community and in the lives of the families whom we serve. Please take a moment to read through our profiles, get to know us, and contact us with any questions.

We are already hard at work planning our 3^rd annual Birth to Baby Family Fair, which will be held Saturday May 2^nd at the downtown Fort Wayne public library. Our goal is to bring together businesses and organizations who, like us, care about making changes and offering choices for families in the Fort Wayne area. There will be a wide variety of booths to visit, as well as educational seminars to attend. We will end the day with a free screening of Ricki Lakes’ sensational documentary “The Business of Being Born” and close with a time for questions and answers by a selection of birth professionals. We welcome families in all stages of life, and look forward to seeing you on May 2^nd!!

In the doula spirit,

Connie Gallagher,

 CD(DONA), LCCE

Director, DNFW