Pregnant? Consider a Midwife

Our Bodies Ourselves has posted a video on their blog asking the question "Why Choose a Midwife?" The video is mainly being used to address legislation in Massachusetts governing midwives, but it has the added benefit of detailing the benefits of the midwifery model of care.

Parts of the video are drawn from Natural Born Babies which is told by 10 mothers describing their journey to have a natural childbirth. The video is amazing! I promise I'm not just saying that because I'm biased having worked with Executive Producer, Lorri Walker at South Coast Midwifery & Women’s Health Care or having had the blessed opportunity to serve as doula to the family who helped direct the film. If you are pregnant and are looking for a healthcare provider these films will give you pause and a reason to consider hiring a midwife.

Savoring Those First Few Moments - Umbilical Cord Care

For hundreds of years, midwives have practiced delaying the clamping of the umbilical cord after birth. The delay has proven harmless to baby and mother and offered the benefit of allowing for additional bonding time for the family.

A recent study published in the American Medical Association Journal by a group of pediatricians suggests that premature clamping of the cord is actually harmful and delaying clamping may help prevent respiratory distress syndrome.

As reported in Time:

Delay allows a gradual change from fetal to regular circulation without putting stress on blood vessels in the lungs and elsewhere in the body. The carefree manner in which the newly born infant is "disconnected" from his mother, concludes the report, "is in sharp contrast to the meticulous care with which the thoracic surgeon separates his patient from the heart-lung machine."

Ask your health care provider about their policies on cord clamping and discus with them the option of delaying the procedure. There is no rush.