Main Line Doulas: October 2013

Philadelphia Doula Prenatal Health Series: Fit4Mom/Fit4Baby

If you live in Philadelphia and are pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant in the near future, you may want to check out Fit4Baby. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) say that exercise is just as important during pregnancy as any other time of life. Fit4Baby is a prenatal fitness program that focuses on pregnant moms and works to safely prepare and strengthen the body for all the changes it will go through during pregnancy. There are other Fit4Mom classes that include dads, nannies, and other family members (see fit4mom.com for more details).

Fit4Baby classes are an hour long and include strength training, cardio, balancing and stretching exercises. They take place in the evening and are good for any stage of pregnancy, so even if you work during the day, you can still make the class in the evening.

Classes in November will be held on Thursdays, Nov. 7, 14, and 21 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Church at 2125 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103. For more info call 610.731, 6525.

Doulas Nurturing Philadelphia moms and babies

Serving Philadelphia and the surrounding areas.

We nurture you, so you can nurture your baby.

Helping you build the foundation that will last a life time.

Imagine this: You've just given birth to your precious new baby. You've waited so long to have him in your arms. He's here! It's exhausting having a new baby, but you've planned ahead to help make the transition as smooth as possible. You hired a professional, experienced doula to nurture you and your baby during the first weeks postpartum.

Your doula brings you breakfast in bed, you and your spouse enjoy your fresh squeeze kale, strawberry and orange juice, eggs and waffles. You then spend some time drinking your coffee and cuddling your baby and feeding him while your doula gets a load of your laundry in before you hand him over to experienced arms you can trust while you take your shower in peace and quiet. When you finish in the bathroom, your doula asks you if you'd like her to teach you how to bathe your little one and get him dressed for the day. You feel so great, as what used to scare you, you now realize you've just learned how to do! Your little guy is now freshly diapered, dressed and ready for the day ahead which will include mommy and daddy kisses and cuddles. The smell of his newborn head is unlike anything else, it's bliss.

Your doula goes home while you enjoy every minute of the day in baby bliss, counting his little toes, looking into each others eyes and experiencing the joy that comes with having your sweet baby in your arms. You look forward to seeing your doula again at bed time so that your little angel can have all his needs met throughout the night, brought to you for all feeding and you can get the sleep you so desperately need.

Services:

OB/GYNs and ACOGs new definition of "Full Term Pregnancy"

Today the ACOG has released NEW guidelines for what they consider to be a "term pregnancy".
This is something that has been debated for years.

For many years, the ACOG(American College of Obstetrics and Gynocology) stated that term pregnancy was from 37-42 weeks gestation. Babies born before 37 weeks were considered premature and babies born after 42 weeks were considered post term. Their new guidelines released on October 22, 2013 are redefining this standard. The new guidelines define term pregnancy as 39 weeks gestation.

We at Main Line Doulas are excited to see these new guidelines put into place and here's why: Many women are having nonmedically indicated, elective medical inductions(artificially starting the process of labor, either naturally or more commonly with prescription medications in the hospital) before their baby is naturally ready to come. Statistics show that their outcomes aren't always as good as their counterparts born at 39 weeks. According to a committee opinion article put out by the ACOG in April 2013 they say,

"Morbidity and mortality rates are greater among neonates and infants delivered during the early-term period [37-38 weeks] compared with those delivered between 39 weeks and 40 weeks of gestation. Nevertheless, the rate of nonmedically indicated early-term deliveries continues to increase in the United States. Implementation of a policy to decrease the rate of nonmedically indicated deliveries before 39 weeks of gestation has been found to both decrease the number of these deliveries and improve neonatal outcomes"

This means that many babies being born with symptoms of prematurity could have been avoided.

These guidelines will help stop babies from being born too early. A recent trend has been for the patient to request an induction that is not medically necessary. It is understandable that at the end of pregnancy, many women are extremely uncomfortable and ready to meet their new babies. By defining "term" pregnancy at 37 weeks, women and OB/GYNS are given the impression that babies born at 37 weeks are fully developed and ready to be born with the same outcomes as their peers born at 39-40 weeks, even if their body hasn't given them signs that it ready to start labor. This may give women the false impression that it is okay to induce labor before it naturally begins, as early as 37 weeks.

The March of Dimes has been rallying against inductions before 39 weeks for some time now. March of Dimes is an organization that has been protecting the health of babies and children, leading cutting edge research, offering community programs and providing education to communities to help save babies lives. They help moms to have full term pregnancies and are there with support for those who don't. Over the past year, they have started a campaign in television commercials, billboards and in-hospital posters highlighting the importance of delivering your baby at 39 weeks or later unless there is a medical problem. This campaign has lead to a reduction in premature babies. Hopefully these new guidelines will increase this reduction greatly.

So here are the new definitions:

Early Term: Between 37 weeks 0 days and 38 weeks 6 days
Full Term: Between 39 weeks 0 days and 40 weeks 6 days
Late Term: Between 41 weeks 0 days and 41 weeks 6 days
Postterm: Between 42 weeks 0 days and beyond

What will this new definition mean for moms and babies? Doctors will be taking these new guidelines into consideration before inducing labor. Both doctors and patients will now have a better understanding of the healthiest time for a baby to be born and will wait the appropriate time for non-medically indicated inductions.

"Healthy babies are worth the wait!"

Sources:
http://www.acog.org/About_ACOG/News_Room/News_Releases/2013/Ob-Gyns_Redefine_Meaning_of_Term_Pregnancy
Non-medically indicated Early-Term deliveries: http://www.acog.org/Resources_And_Publications/Committee_Opinions/Committee_on_Obstetric_Practice/Nonmedically_Indicated_Early-Term_Deliveries

Philadelphia based Free Newborn Photo Session!

Philadelphia based newborn photographer, Sweet Potato Photography is offering 5 lucky moms and baby's a FREE newborn session!! Including free digital images! There is no catch, she just wants to expand her portfolio.
Contact her right away to get one of these spots:
http://www.sweetpotatophotography.com

Philadelphia area hospitals we serve!

Philadelphia is only two blocks from us! We moved to Merion because we have the train a block from us so that we can easily go into the city via train or driving. I feel so blessed to live in an area that can serve SO many hospitals. Most doulas have a rule that they need to be able to get to the place they are serving within 45minutes to 1hr at the most and we have that rule too. Living just outside of Philadelphia allows for that very easily as we can serve families as far out as Reading or as close as Queen's Village or Center City.

Here is a list of the hospitals within 45-60 minute drive of Bryn Mawr, PA. I will use Bryn Mawr since it is more towards the center of the Main Line:

(under construction)
Lankenua Medical Center
Bryn Mawr Hospital
Paoli Hospital
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvani
Pennsylvania Hospital
Jefferson Hospital
Delaware County Memorial Hospital
Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia(Yes they do have a special delivery unit!)
Hahnemann University Hospital

-Aliza

Ardmore's new parent/child cafe, Lulu's Casita!

I first learned about Lulu's Casita just outside of Philadelphia, in Ardmore just about 2 months ago. While I was at the Bryn Mawr Starbucks doing a doula consultation(my first back after having Ezra) I met a man who told me his wife Jessica was due with their second child in January. Of course we started talking, and I found out that his wife is also opening a new cafe, Lulu's Casita "where little ones play and parents stay". I was so excited to learn more! Jessica and I got together at Narberth playground of all places and had a wonderful time telling each other about our businesses. I am so excited that Main Line Doulas will be offering our child birth classes through Lulu's Casita.

So that brings us to today.... I got to bring my kids to come check it out BEFORE it opened. How exciting! The soft opening will be the day after tomorrow. So they were still working out the kinks. Not all the toys are there, no food or decorations yet. But the main stuff was put it. And my kids LOVED it. I am so so excited as a mom to have this new space available to me to meet friends and family at.

Here are some pics of my kids enjoying the space...