Hound Hill Doula

Labor and Birth

Reach way back to your high school biology class and remember how the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems work. The sympathetic nervous system is our “fight or flight” system. It raises heart rate and increases blood flow to the muscles and brain. We tense up and become more alert and perceptive […]

Hacking Your Nervous System for Labor Coping

This entry was posted on May 25, 2017 by Amy

Nesting is the act of creating a safe and comfortable space to give birth, where your body can make oxytocin; the love hormone. Just like a cat will escape to a secluded dark spot to deliver her kittens, humans too do best delivering in a private, safe, dark location. In […]

Building your nest for a hospital birth.

This entry was posted on September 25, 2016 by Amy

The message is finally getting out. Preterm induction (before 39 weeks) is not good for babies. But what about induction at 39, 40 or even the common 41.6 weeks? The rate of induction of labor in the U.S. has risen from 9.6% in 1990 to 25.7% in 2018, including 31.7% […]

If you are not happy to be induced, your provider ...

This entry was posted on December 16, 2015 by Amy

Lately the doula profession has become kind of “cool”, and every year there are more and more doulas and doula groups popping up in NH and on the Seacoast. On the surface, the option of more doulas from which to find a good match might seem like a new parent’s […]

Who’s Your Doula?

This entry was posted on April 18, 2015 by Amy

Technically known as “Vernix Casoesa,” vernix is a white substance often found coating the skin of newborn babies. Vernix is made up of a mixture of lipids (fats), proteins and water, secreted by the baby’s sebaceous glands. It is similar to cream cheese in appearance, but very waxy and difficult […]

Vernix

This entry was posted on March 27, 2015 by Amy

At a recent doula meeting, a member wondered aloud at the fact that many a well written birth plan is tossed aside when the parents are actually in labor. There is a great debate within the birthing community about the value of birth plans, how they should be created and […]

Do I need a birth plan?

This entry was posted on January 16, 2015 by Amy

The #1 variation to their birth plan that expecting parents fail to prepare for is Cesarean delivery. Everyone thinks it won’t happen to them. It can be scary to think about, let alone plan for, and you may feel it is bad luck to even consider the possibility. Unfortunately 1 […]

Planning for the Unplanned Cesarean

This entry was posted on March 6, 2014 by Amy

You may have made many plans and gone to great lengths to avoid the use of Pitocin for inducing or augmenting your labor; but did you know that many providers have a standard practice of injecting mothers with Pitocin immediately after delivery? If you have, or had, an open IV […]

Postpartum Pit: The Shot in the Dark

This entry was posted on January 17, 2014 by Amy

The large brains that give humans so many evolutionary advantages have created a head that is disproportionately large in comparison to the pelvis it must pass through during birth. Luckily this potential problem is solved by the amazing design of the infant skull. Our craniums (the domed part of […]

Your Baby’s Head Might Look Frighteningly Unusual After Birth. Here’s ...

This entry was posted on August 21, 2013 by Amy

Most moms are familiar with the small hand held doppler used to listen to your baby’s heart beat at prenatal appointments. But once you are at the hospital there are other options for fetal heart monitoring. Which is best, when and where, is not the topic for today. We will […]

They want to do WHAT to my baby’s head!?

This entry was posted on July 28, 2013 by Amy

Let’s face it, being a labor partner can be pretty stressfull; especially when you slept through most of the childbirth class. You might not even be sure if you really want to see everything that may happen between the time you pull into the hospital parking lot and your […]

Two Simple Ways ANYONE Can Be a Super Hero in ...

This entry was posted on May 28, 2013 by Amy

New doulas always seem so curious about what to put in their doula bag. As a new doula I too looked for advice on what to bring along to help me support families in labor. As my skills have developed and my experience has grown, the contents of my bag […]

My Doula Bag Revealed

This entry was posted on November 3, 2012 by Amy

Every labor is different. While there is no way to know in advance if yours will be easy or more difficult, or if you will require interventions or not; there are many things you can do to increase your chances of a simple, uncomplicated, “easy” labor. Often when labors are […]

Three Steps To An Easier Labor

This entry was posted on August 27, 2012 by Amy

Part of being an effective doula is exploring the fears of your clients so that they can move forward through labor, birth and parenting with confidence, and the freedom to experience the joys unhindered by unfounded or unaddressed fears. During our prenatal meetings we always discuss each parent’s fears around […]

Keeping fear in perspective

This entry was posted on May 5, 2012 by Amy

I run across a lot of articles talking about using TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) for labor, but had never seen or heard of it being used in my area. Many of the people who wrote about their experience with TENS were in the UK, where it seems to be […]

TENS for Labor

This entry was posted on February 10, 2012 by Amy

On July 19th, 2011, HealthGrades Obstetrics and Gynecology in American Hospitals (an independent source of physician information and hospital quality outcomes) released a study that puts the US Cesarean rate at 34%. Hello people; that’s more than one in three! Look around your childbirth class, or the waiting room at […]

Cesarean Network

This entry was posted on September 13, 2011 by Amy