Debra Pascali-Bonaro

Awaken Your Inner Wisdom

In Your Voice

Spreading Oxytocin in Japan

by Kiyo Ito
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I cannot believe that it has already been two weeks since I returned to my home in NYC from my home country Japan.  I am still filled with oxytocin and love from the amazing experience I had there- An experience of organizing the first ever Birth Doula workshop in Japan featuring Debra!  

I participated in Debra’s birth doula training at the Birth Day Presence (NYC, New York) more than two years ago. It opened my eyes to a whole new world and changed my life forever. I totally fell in love with the idea of supporting women through pregnancy and birth as a Doula. During the first day of that life-changing training, I already knew that I was going to become a Doula.  I also knew that I was going to encourage women- not only those who want to become Doula, but any woman who wants to learn about the wonders and power of pregnancy and birth- to take part in Debra’s workshop.  By the end of the training, I knew that I want to one day organize Debra’s Doula workshop in Japan.

After the Birth Day Presence workshop, I quickly got busy with the daily juggling of work and life- starting a doula career, working on short-term overseas consultancy stints for an international development agency and finding time to spend with my husband, family and friends.  I quickly forgot my dream of one day organizing a Doula workshop in Japan.

14202607_10206072742132497_7691291795037344645_nThen it happened. I was taking Khalsa Way Prenatal Yoga teachers training in 2015 when I met Debra again- she was one of the speakers of the training at Khalsa Way. It reminded me of how much I enjoyed her Doula workshop and how I wanted women in Japan to experience what I had experienced.  It was a sign- it was time for me to get into action.

I quickly contacted my friend Rieko, who is most likely the only Japanese professor researching doula. I convinced her to work with me on organizing the Doula workshop in Japan. We made a plan, assembled a team of energetic volunteers, started fund raising, and started a search of the perfect location to hold the workshop.

It took close to one year of preparation, but we were finally able to secure the funding, sorted out the logistics, and welcomed Debra in Japan to conduct the workshop in a quiet and peaceful Japanese traditional house.

In the morning of September 6th, 20 enthusiastic participants- including 3 midwives and surprisingly two men- gathered at a traditional house in Tokyo to begin what will be a life changing experience for them.

I knew that Debra will do her magic at the workshop, but at the same time I was worried about the reaction of my Japanese participants, especially medical personnel as birth doula is a totally new concept in Japan. There are few postpartum doulas working in Japan, but birth doula is still unheard of to the Japanese public and pregnancy/birth is considered something for medical professionals to engage in.  Japanese, myself included, are also on the shy side and it usually takes some time for us to open up and BAGANAGOMU. 

2016-09-06-14-41-19But, it took no time for Debra to draw them into her world and the world of Doula.  I could see all the participants getting drawn into her and her message and enjoying learning to be a Doula.  It was a great opportunity for all of us, including me, to think about birth in Japan- how they were done in the past, how they are being done now, and how we can do them better for both the mother and the baby.

I sensed that the participants were enjoying the workshop, but I wasn’t certain to what extent.  So when I started reviewing the participant’s comments and survey that they had filled out, I couldn’t stop crying from joy. All the participants had many positive things to say and appreciated the workshop. I was so happy to be part of this successful birth doula workshop, which I believe is the beginning of the birth doula movement in Japan.

In addition to the workshop, together with Debra, I visited a birth house, birth clinic and hospitals in Nagoya and Tokyo.  It was a great experience to see the reality of birth settings and beautiful efforts of Japanese birth workers. It gave me a lot of ideas on how doula can work together with other birth workers in Japan to enhance the quality of birth in Japan.  I also saw the challenges, obstacles and long road ahead before Doulas are accepted and fully embraced by mothers, medical practitioners and hospitals.  But, all Doulas are optimistic and I am proud to be one of them. This is just the beginning of a revolution.  I am confident that doula will be mainstreamed into Japanese society and spread oxytocin and love.  Who knows, availability of Doula services may become the ultimate solution to young Japanese’ reluctance to having babies resulting in quickly aging society and shrinking populations.

Thank you Debra, you planted the seeds for wonderful birth in Japan.  You have trained twenty professional and caring birth doulas in Japan. I will do my part to see them blossom and grow. One day, we will see many Doulas in Japan providing options for women to have the best pregnancy/birth experience that they truly desire and deserve.

Read more about Debra’s time in Japan!

Interested in joining a doula workshop? Learn more about doulas, attend a workshop, retreat, or Pain to Pleasure workshop!

What’s it like to take a doula training?

Mothering PositionCurious about what it is like to take a doula training? What types of things you will learn, what the atmosphere is like? Read a recent testimonial that was shared with us from one of Debra’s trainings

The training exceeded my expectations. I now know how to be a great Birth and  Postpartum Doula. The information and literature was extremely helpful and invigorating.   I learned about the joys and challenges that may arise during the mother’s transition into motherhood when she arrives home from the hospital and how important my role is as a Postpartum Doula.

The instructor was awesome. She was knowledgeable, and explained everything in detail to us. Debra did various demonstrations and so did we, which made the class so exciting. Some nights we had homework and everyone was eager to present the next day. Our instructor shared her experiences of being a Doula with us, the good, the bad, the indifferent and we were just in awe at the stories she told us. She was uplifting and empowering. We also learned the Business aspect of being a Doula; such as ensuring our paperwork is accurate and in order and to take good notes at all times and over all how important documentation is. We also received marketing tips on how to present ourselves to the public. I have a clear understanding of how to obtain my certification, which I am looking forward to.

Lastly, I had the distinct honor and pleasure of being in the midst of such beautiful women of all cultures they were, kind, giving, talented, wise, intelligent, funny and grateful.  The room was filled with love. Love for the lives that we will touch as Doulas.  We shared stories of motherhood, recipes, resources, smiles, tears and laughter. We bonded and are now Doula sisters.

Again thank you I am truly Grateful,
~Patrina Owens

LET THE CIRCLE BE OPEN BUT NOT UNBROKEN

Interested in becoming a doula and want to learn more?

Community Doulas Equal Positive Birth Outcomes

by Gabriela Ammann, MPH, LCCE, CD(DONA), Director, By My Side Birth Support Program

“I commend these women. To be able to be so passionate, available, and helpful in a time that could either make a woman crumble with fear or grow with empowerment is amazing.” (1)The first thought I had as I prepared to write this was wow, the By My Side Birth Support Program is 6 years old! I had to take that in for a moment – six years providing free doula support to hundreds of women in Central Brooklyn, and still going strong! Back in 2010, Healthy Start Brooklyn developed By My Side both to complement our other maternal home-visiting programs that did not offer labor and birth support, as well as to address the lack of accessible doula support for women living in high-poverty neighborhoods in our program area. To date, By My Side doulas have supported over 560 families and have attended 433 births. Outcomes for the program are promising – rates of cesarean section, preterm birth, and low birthweight are all lower among program participants than the overall rates in the neighborhoods we serve. And because we’re based in the New York City Department of Health, we have support from a great network of colleagues.

Data and statistics aside, none of this would be possible without our amazing team of doulas, some of whom have been with us since the beginning, and two who were themselves clients in the program! They are an incredible group of women who are deeply dedicated to supporting women and families during their childbearing year; I am honored and grateful to work with them.doulas

One of our former clients recently wrote a blog about her experiences with the By My Side Birth Support Program. You can read the full blog here, but below are excerpts that I think exemplify doula support and its profound impact on birthing women:

“She fed me, bathed me, massaged my back, held my hand, made sure my husband was taken care of and fed, and held my head up out of the tub so I could nap between contractions during transition. She would make low moaning sounds with me to help me focus. She lay in bed with me and my husband and supported us through a 24 hour long home birth with back labor.”

“I commend these women. To be able to be so passionate, available, and helpful in a time that could either make a woman crumble with fear or grow with empowerment is amazing.”

gabriell

Gabriela Ammann, MPH, LCCE, CD(DONA) is the Director of By My Side Birth Support Program, a The Healthy Start Brooklyn Program (HSB) funded project. HSB seeks to improve the health and wellness of women, infants, and their families in Central Brooklyn. Rates of infant death, premature birth, and illness in the neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Bushwick, East New York, and Flatbush are far higher than elsewhere in New York City and the United States. To enhance the lives of families in these neighborhoods, HSB supports services, education, and training. To learn more visit HERE or contact 718-637-5231

Interested in becoming a doula?

Join Debra Pascali-Bonaro for an upcoming workshop or retreat. 4

 

Why I am a Doula (or The Journey of One Superhero)

Submitted by Amy Neuhedel

Reflections on Eat Pray Doul Bali

My daughter is a supeAmys-Bali-Princessarhero. She goes by the alias ”Super Ruby Princessa” which has a touch of her Swedish/American bilingualism in the name. I think often about my daughter’s curly blonde hair (maternal grandma’s), her blue eyes (paternal grandfather’s), her oh-so-tannable skin (maternal grandpa’s) and so on. But I’ve only recently discovered the lineage of her super-heroine powers. She got this from me! Her Mom! I’m a superhero.

Doulas are peacemakers, miracle workers, superheros. Just our very presence in the world, make the world a safer, more peaceful place. So we are a lot like Wonder Woman.

So, why I am I a doula? Well, for no less greater cause than saving the world.

TheCord-blogimage-ep2You may need to be a little familiar with 70′s American Saturday morning TV (or Marvel comic books) to get this metaphor, but Eat, Pray, Doula in Bali, was a lot like a gathering of the Justice League in a tropical place with organic, locally produced food and homemade ice-cream. Debra Pascali-Bonero, Katherine Bramhall, and Ibu Robin Lim, the more seasoned Super-heros lending some expertise to us novice, very enthusiastic, but perhaps not-quite-in-total-control-of-our-powers yet newbies on the Superhero scene.

Screen Shot 2013-03-22 at 2.19.37 PM”Holy Bat Doula, Robin!”

Yes, to take the metaphor further, there is in fact a bat doula and Debra (or Bat Girl???) will tell you all about it at the Eat, Pray, Doula Workshop.

Actually, it’s Katherine who drives a moped…perhaps she is Bat Girl!?

And the fact is, Ibu Robin’s name is Robin…a coincidence? I think not!

On one of first adventures together, the newly initiated – myself and my three Wonder Twins (so we are Wonder Quadruplets in this case), Anita, Chrissy, and Alison find ourselves in the parallel universe of Bumi Sehat Birthing Clinic on Nyepi, the Balinese New Year – the Day of Silence. No one, not even a superhero, may be in the streets on Nyepi or else the evil spirits (think Legion of Doom) will make life on Bali really difficult the following year and none of us are willing to take that chance. Besides some super doulas must be at the clinic if any birthing moms show up (birthing moms on the back of mopeds are invisible to the evil spirits).

One DSC04254such mom shows up:

Anita Wonder Twin and 1st Doula-on-call: Form of loving, creative, continuous, non-tiring support for mama!

Chrissy Wonder Twin: Shape of water bucket!

Alison Wonder Twin: Form of hot water!

Amy Wonder Twin: Shape of  water transport!

Success – in short, we harness our powers, dodge the Legion of Doom, and Anita doulas a gentle birth. One more step toward saving the world!

IMG_2849I thank my children and all my super doula sisters from Eat, Pray, Doula 2012 (especially Katherine, Debra and Robin) for inspiring and guiding me to focus my natural superhero qualities in such a meaningful way. And thanks to Anita for the super Bamboo clothing tip. Note to self: Synthetics+Tropics=Bad.

Love you all! And love to all future EPD attendees.

Eat, Pray, Doula –

Building peace, one Mother, one Baby at a time.

Amy is a doula and practices hypnobirthing in Sweden. Read her birth story of baby Henry on #obirth or visit her at www.amyneuhedel.com/thecord.

Love Redeems the Storm: Pregnancy After Loss

*Hope and Healing after Pregnancy and Childbirth Loss.* Here at Debra Pascali-Bonaro.com and on Pain to Power online childbirth education, we have shared our stories of loss with you before – loved ones lost, expectations lost, dreams lost… Today we share with one story of a mother and father’s loss as well as the empathetic voice of Angelique Chelton to guide us thru this tough subject. We hope to provide you some resources and hope for your own healing and/or for your helping those who have experienced loss. We want to honor the mothers, fathers, parents, grandparents, siblings who have suffered a loss, holding them and their baby in our heart and prayers. We send our nurturing love to you as we invite you to read and find insights and healing in this blog and story.

by Angelique Chelton

bngdesignsWe liken normal pregnancy to a voyage by boat. We don’t know what the weather will be like when we embark on our journey, but the mother/captain’s body is a seaworthy vessel and she brings her midwife/navigator to sea. We expect an easy passage to a long-anticipated port.

But not all voyages are easy and not all ships reach their expected landing. Sometimes, a child is lost during the journey. When we first lose our precious baby, there is a rending of our bodies and our spirits. That which once was relished in lush, round fruitfulness ends in pain and longing and fear. The sweet visions of morning cuddles, bath times, story-reading, science projects, ice-cream cones, family vacations, holiday celebrations and eventually, graduations, weddings and grandchildren all come to a sudden end with a grunting push and a gush of blood.

The Book of Knowledge Volume 6 written by Various. Original copyright 1911, published by The Grolier Society.Our baby is gone. The one we waited for and loved with our whole heart is no more. Our ship crashes upon an unseen reef, everyone aboard thrown into an angry sea of grief and pain and loss, no one more so than the mother whose very body was the voyaging vessel.

We stumble through the ensuing months, pain washing over us as we cling to our sanity as a shipwrecked sailor clings to driftwood. Always expecting to be pushed over the side, to lose our grip with the next wave, we instead find ourselves eventually in calmer waters. Somehow the storm of grief and longing begins to abate. We wash up on an island’s sandy beach, emotionally spent, the raging sea of sorrow and fear of drowning in the past.

There is no going back to what once was; we slowly begin to rebuild. We renew old connections and make new ones. We realize that our grief won’t bring our baby back to us, so we give ourselves permission to feel ok today. Sometimes we find that the tide has come in unexpectedly and our grief washes over us once more.

Eventually, we get good at predicting when the tide will come. We expect it around anniversaries like the day our babies died or the unrealized ‘due date’ or when we visit a place that was important during our pregnancy. Sometimes the tied washes in and overwhelms us, but not as often as when we first came to this island.

Screen Shot 2015-06-11 at 10.54.41 AMOne day, we are sitting on the beach, a warm morning sun falling on us, and we remember our pregnancy and our baby and the flood doesn’t come. For the first time, maybe, we are remembering without being overwhelmed. We smile when we think of the precious moments we shared with our baby- making the pregnancy announcement, hearing our baby’s heartbeat, feeling fluttering movements. We love still, the love stronger than the pain for the first time since the storm.

One day, we realize that we have reached a place of balance. The shipwreck will never be undone- it can never be taken back and it will forever have an impact on our lives. The shipwreck changed us, became an important delineation point in our histories. It was powerful enough that the flow of our life is marked as before and after the shipwreck.

Now, in this time, we see the tide that flows in as an old friend; a life’s companion that returns to remind us of the weight of love for our baby. We make peace with this tide and see our future as one that will be lived in its presence.

Today, we are strong. We have integrated the loss- our shipwreck- into our lives. We recognize that the people we are today have been shaped by the experiences related to the loss of our precious child and the loss of a future with them. We can even celebrate the new person who came up out of that shipwreck, who found ways to bring healing and life and goodness to the world after such a catastrophic rending. The work we do is good. The life we are living is good. And without our baby and our shipwreck, this beautiful life never would have been.

There is peace and even joy in realizing the storm doesn’t end the journey, that love for our baby redeems the shipwreck in the end.

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Angelique Chelton of Hearthside Perinatal Bereavement Care is a birth doula (certified via Madriella and Hypnobabies certified) and postpartum doula, CLC, BEBE CBE. She has started her journey towards midwifery via Mamatoto Village Midwifery Assistant training and is an active midwifery apprentice in Lancaster County, PA. Angelique is also a perinatal bereavement specialist and has trained hundreds of birth workers via her ICEA accredited perinatal bereavement online training program and in-person workshops. She will be launching The Hearthside Perinatal Bereavement Specialist Certification Program this August in honor of her son Anduril’s tenth birthday. Learn more a Hearthside Maternity Services (families) or Hearthside Care (birthworkers).

Read Baby River: This is Your Story

 

 

My First Doula Workshop by Catalina Glasgow

CATALINAHello!

My name is Catalina and I have just completed my first DONA Doula Training Workshop in NYC with Debra Pascali-Bonaro and am on my way to become a DONA International Certified Birth Doula!  I am a 200-hour Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) in Brooklyn and currently attend school as I work towards a Nursing degree in pursuit of becoming a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM).

My calling to birth work came to me after a very dark time in my life when I was faced with the most difficult decision I have ever had to make thus far.  I found myself pregnant and alone in my early 20’s with a lack of support from the current partner, friends and family that I had at the time.   It was not the fear of motherhood that led me to the decision to abort, but rather the fear of childbirth itself and an extreme sense of doubt in my body and myself that was perpetuated by the people in my life back then. Had I known what I know now about Doulas and Midwives and the support that I could have had through the labor process I truly believe that I may have been able to make a different decision in my pregnancy.  I think about my baby everyday and reflect on her to give me strength to do this work for all the women who need the same kind of support that I wish I had in my life during that period.

However, there is no light without darkness in this world.  So out of the darkest of times after losing my baby I was able to clearly see the light that lead me in the direction of my true calling as a birth worker.  When this awakening occurred deep within my soul I felt so overwhelmed with emotion.  It was if the weight of the world was suddenly now on my shoulders . . . HOW CAN I HELP EACH AND EVERY WOMAN? WHERE DO I BEGIN? HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?  WHAT WILL PEOPLE THINK? These were the types of questions going through my head daily as I spent hours reading and researching on birth and what I could do to make a difference while still in school studying to become a nurse on the road to Midwifery.

As I stepped into the room on the first day of our DONA Doula Training Workshop with Debra I suddenly began to feel a sense of lightness.  Simply by knowing that I was in one room with a likeminded community of women working together for a common goal the weight began to lessen. The circle of support in the room where we shared our stories and learned directly from Debra’s profound wisdom and experience became extremely significant for me. Here, in this group of women, I had suddenly found the support that I was desperately missing in my past and so deeply needed for my future.   I found something that day, a part of me that I did not necessarily know was even missing and I still don’t know exactly what it was.  All I know is that I felt complete for the very first time in my life and I knew that I had been healed.

Each day I continued to feel lighter, gaining more and more confidence with Debra’s insight and guidance on how to support women in birth.  There were so many beautiful take-a-way’s from Debra that will stay with me forever and are imprinted on my heart, for example, “We birth the way we live”, “Be like Wendy” and “Birth it Forward”, just to name a few.  But, it was at one single point in the workshop when Debra said, “We know what we need to know when we need to know it” that I instantly felt all of the weight lifted off of my shoulders and I knew that I was now a Doula and that that was all I ever needed to know.

Thank you Debra! – Catalina Glasgow

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Debra offers doula workshops throughout the year and throughout the world. Please check her schedule for an upcoming workshop near you! No workshops near you? Interested in hosting one? Please email info AT www.orgasmicbirth.com for more information about bringing a workshop to you!

EAT PRAY DOULA – March 22 – 31st 2015. This DONA approved Birth Doula Workshop is taught by Debra Pascali-Bonaro, LCCE, CD(DONA), Ibu Robin Lim and Midwife Katherine Bramhall. Nine days, not only to learn, but to also nurture your spirit!  It is the time to come and immerse yourself in the gentle, loving, heart-opening energies of Bali.

The Birth Doula Workshop covers all of the basics of doula care before, during and immediately after childbirth. The workshop has been approved by DONA International and counts toward three steps toward certification (The DONA Workshop, Childbirth Education, Lactation Requirements). www.eatpraydoula.com

 

 

Nikia Debates Breastmilk vs Coconut Water

Submitted by Nikia Lawson

DSCF7333Recently I attended the Eat Pray Doula, DONA approved Birth Doula Training in Ubud, Bali facilitated by Katherine Bramhall, Debra Pascali-Bonaro, and Robin Lim. This week-long training included birth doula education, postpartum care, childbirth education and breastfeeding support. The skills to become an effective birth doula were definitely the goal of the training, but what I was not prepared for was the adventure of sisterhood and connection that would happen in merely a week.

This trip to Bail, Indonesia was filled with “firsts”: my 1st international flight, my 1st time using a passport, my 1st time walking through a “monkey forest” and my 1st time being on a global stage talking about the benefits of breast milk! Yes, the latter was a 1st for me and I have had many opportunities to share the benefits of breast milk in various settings.

Nikia spirit festOn March 22 several of the EPD birth keepers and I attended the 7th Annual Bali Spirit festival. When we arrived, we settled in to watch the local entertainers.  When they finished performing, the crew began setting up for the next performers. To pass time, the MC came to the on stage and began to share some “interesting facts.” He began his chatter with a statement about kids and parents and eye color….interesting, but nothing mind-blowing. Then the gavel landed and he stated his fact that coconut water had the same ingredients as breast milk minus one thing….breast milk contained magnesium!  I gasped! The other birth keepers gasped! We immediately went into a frenzy telling everyone around us that that was not accurate information that that there is absolutely no comparison of breast milk and coconut water in terms of beneficial properties to a baby’s needs and development!

DSCF7407I quickly ran toward the stage and engaged him in a dialogue about how making a statement, as a fact, could have grave ramifications on the efforts to get indigenous women to breastfeed. If women feel that breast milk and coconut water are equivalents, then they may feel no NEED to BREASTFEED! They could simply contend with coconut water, which is in abundance in Bali. Also, I shared two (2) KEY/ESSENTIAL ingredients that are in breast milk that could NEVER be in coconut water. We exchanged some relevant conversation and he asked me if I would like to grace the stage and share the FACTS about breast milk that I had so enlightened him on.

After that exchange, I was introduced and I ran on the stage to share my knowledge about breast milk. Here are the 2 life-changing ingredients that I shared with him that urged him to take the stage and admit to the crowd, “I have been schooled by my friend Nikia…. and I stand corrected!”

DSCF7359First, breast milk contains antibodies. Any foreign object that has ever been in mom’s blood stream OR any bacteria or virus that she’s ever been exposed to, her blood and plasma cells created antibodies to neutralize them. Thus, those antibodies are present in breast milk and colostrum. Babies that get mother’s milk, get their 1st immunization to help build a healthy immune system and strengthen their sensitive little digestive systems with enzymes and antibodies to fight infection and bacteria. Second, breast milk contains human stems cells. These stem cells are life-saving; and, can possibly repair damaged, little organs due to the replication of the stem cells to build tissue and new cells. Human embryonic stem cells are very widely studied for their limitless regenerative properties and the ability to have specialized function in the new cells they produce.

Well, since coconuts are not human and do not have a blood stream, these are 2 very distinct and useful properties (not to mention that there are hundreds of other ingredients with benefits in breast milk that have yet to be identified) contained in breast milk that can never be in coconut water.

I finished my enlightenment opportunity with a lively chant: THE BREAST IS BEST! THE BREAST IS BEST! Empower the women in your life to breastfeed, because coconut water just won’t do it!

Learn how you can join the magic in Bali for Doula or Advanced Birthworker Workshop at Eat Pray Doula!

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Biography: Nikia Lawson is the owner/operator of Birth Blessings Professional Birth and Doula Services, owner/Project Director of The Natural Way Birthing Project ~ Ft. Worth, and managing partner of Tarrant County Doula Associates. Nikia’s goal is to empower women to know that they are divinely designed to give birth; to learn to trust their bodies and listen to their inner spirit as they embark on their birth journey.

Nikia is a DONA birth doula, a 2010 DONA International Doula of Color Fellow and a DONA International approved, birth doula trainer and is an experienced childbirth educator and has taught classes for various community groups and hospitals since 2007. Nikia hopes to return to school complete her post graduate studies in Naturopathy and open her own maternity home for pregnant women.

Learn how you can join the magic in Bali at Eat Pray Doula!

7 Keys to a Blissful Birth

Mama Glow coverBy: Latham Thomas, founder of Mama Glow, author of Mama Glow: A Hip Guide to Your Fabulous Abundant Pregnancy

I remember the birth of my son like it was yesterday. Having the support of my midwife Stacy Rees and my boyfriend who both were keen on how to keep me comfortable, relaxed and in the zone was key! If you are pregnant or want to support someone in your life who is, please take these 7 tips to a blissful birth journey and add them to your arsenal. I was blessed to study under the tutelage of Debra Pascali Bonaro and as a birth worker Debra infuses love in to everything she does, she taught me that our goal is to really preserve the experience for the mother-to-be. Remember to practice what you preach and that will make you even more effective in assisting the mother-to-be.

Ways to Support the pregnant goddess:

1. Holding sacred space– a woman must feel safe in order to give birth, if the conditions are such that she is anxious or afraid, the progression of labor will slow down. This is often the case in hospital settings where the medical providers do not allow time, space, and ritual journey in birth to take place. If you are hooked up to monitors and getting poked and prodded under florescent light in a cool and sterile room, it’s not likely you would feel safe. Create a setting whether you are birthing at home, in the birth center, or in a hospital where the mother can relax and feel safe and carry out her birth ritual.

Ways to create sacred space include: lighting candles, burning incense, playing soothing slow music, run a warm bath, chanting, kissing your partner, putting a sign on the door- knock before entering.

Listen to Latham at the Orgasmic Birth Virtual Conference https://www.entheos.com/orgasmic-birth/Debra-Pascali-Bonaro
Listen to Latham at the Orgasmic Birth Virtual Conference https://www.entheos.com/orgasmic-birth/Debra-Pascali-Bonaro

2. Encourage Sound– we spend so much of our lives focused on being quiet, in school, in church and places of workship, at work, in transit. We are constantly being told to shut up. When are we ever given permission to make noise- during sex and birth. It is every important for a pregnant woman to make sounds to connect with what is happening in her pelvic bowl. Sound amplifies sensation and really helps during labor. The hardwiring for our mouth and throat is directly connected to our pelvic floor and sacred passageway (birth canal). When you open and relax the muscles in the mouth and throat and make low and deep bellowing sounds, you also relax the muscles of the pelvic floor and make birth easier for both mom and baby. Conversely, if mommy tightens her jaws, scrunches up her face and closes her throat, the pelvic floor muscles will follow. Sound is a gift so use it.

Ways to incorporate sound include: taking deep breaths and sighing long on the exhale, deep Ahhh sounds, Oohhh sounds, the birth sound- Om can be chanted as well.

3. Practice Deep Breathing– your breath is an amazing bridge between the conscious and unconscious because the respiratory system is both voluntary and involuntary. You don’t have to remind yourself to breathe, it just happens. But when we are mindful of our breathing we can tap into an energy in the unconscious realm. What ever state you are in, your breath will follow. If you are anxious your breath will be quick and shallow, if you are calm and relaxed your breath will be long deep. You can also breathe to encourage different states. If you want the breath to take you to a relaxed state you can start breathing long deep full breaths and it will send signals to the brain to calming you down. This is so helpful for birthing women because the deep breath along with the sound enhances the trance state during labor. Women can not journey into their labor in a Beta brain wave state, or regular consciousness. They must enter an altered state of consciousness for the cascade of hormones to descend and the primal state to turn on.

Ways to incorporate deep breathing include- bringing soothing familiar scents into the room and taking long slow deep full inhales through the nose and exhaling through the mouth (as it releases some of the internal heat energy)

4. Get Moving– Staying in a static position is a sure way to slow down the labor process. Moving around during labor is normal and it’s primal. Its part of how we manage the intense surges of energy in the body. Finding ways to move the body to promote comfort and and opening is key during labor. All of those prenatal yoga hip opening exercises, spinal flexions, rolls. Movement not only encourages the baby to move down it feels good for mommy too. Walking and hip swaying are especially helpful as women create more wiggle room in their pelvis and squatting increases the pelvic opening by 30%, which doesn’t sound like a lot but when you are pushing out a baby, it’s tremendous.

Helpful ways to get moving include: slow dancing, belly dancing, walking, hip rolls, cat/cow, squatting, showering

5. Practice Visualization Exercises– Visualization exercises are a part of every major spiritual practice as a tool to support entry into an altered state. I mentioned that women can not give birth in a normal state of consciousness- when thinking about their dry cleaning, their phone bill, or whether or not they look fat, etc. This sort of jumpy linear thinking is our brain operating on beta waves and when we are in that state we are not producing the cocktail of hormones that we need to progress in labor. The mundane has to be transcended for a mother to begin the ancestral ritual journey that takes her into her birth trance. This also includes fear. Fearful thoughts will shut labor down, so powerful visualizations are key. The shift from Beta waves to Alpha waves where the mother enters an altered state is much like when we enter into meditation, or a good daydream, that’s the place where labor begins and from there the brain waves can lead to deeper altered states. Why this is important to know is because there is so much distraction around women these days no matter where they are birthing. Having a set of tools to transcend the mundane and the fear will help labor progress naturally.

Tools for visualization exercises- practice envisioning the baby moving down the birth canal at each contraction, find a few symbols that can help anchor you into the space ie, lotus blossoms, the ocean, candle light

6. Offer TLC through Touch– Touch transmits feeling and intention. If you can place loving hands on a woman and also know when to not touch her it is a huge asset. At certain stages of labor touch is very helpful. Caressing while sharing calming and affirmative words of support are very helpful at certain stages of labor. Be observant and see what the moment calls for: foot rub, massage of her sacrum, caressing the forehead, etc. Our emotional energy field will transmit what we are experiencing onto others. Pregnant women are so sensitive in labor and can pick up on any frenetic, or ungrounded energy around them. Make sure to calm yourself and be prepared to learn and serve.

Ways to incorporate touch- use therapeutic essential oils and rub your hands together, place firm hands and offer warm touch

7. Practice Affirmations– Courage is feeling the fear and rising to the occasion anyway. When we encourage with loving words we help others move beyond fear, inspire them to keep the faith, and keep on moving. Affirmations are positive phrases. Speak in this love language of encouragement to help support the mommy-to-be. Trust me, it really helps.

Ways to incorporate affirmations- write them on cards, say them aloud, record them and play in the birthing room.
Listen to Latham at the Orgasmic Birth Virtual Conference https://www.entheos.com/orgasmic-birth/Debra-Pascali-Bonaro
Listen to Latham at the Orgasmic Birth Virtual Conference https://www.entheos.com/orgasmic-birth/Debra-Pascali-Bonaro

Latham Thomas:  Mama Glow

Screen Shot 2011-10-31 at 3.05.08 PMLatham Thomas is a maternity lifestyle maven, wellness & birth coach, and yoga teacher on the vanguard of transforming the maternal & women’s wellness movement. A graduate of Columbia University & The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Latham is the founder of Mama Glow a holistic lifestyle hub for women to explore their creative edge through wellbeing. Her practice provides support to pre/postnatal women along their journey to motherhood offering culinary and nutritional services, yoga, and birth coaching services. She lives in New York City with her son Fulano and their turtle Climby. Latham’s first book was just published in November- “Mama Glow: A Hip Guide to Your Fabulous Abundant Pregnancy”, foreword by Christiane Northrup, M.D., with Hay House. Latham is helping to green the planet one belly at a time.

Link to: www.mamaglow.com

Twitter: GlowMaven