What Our Meetings Cover

At the prenatal meetings I like to discuss your preferences for your birth, help you write a birth plan, and discuss what comfort measures may work for you including:

  • Aromatherapy
  • Massage
  • Oils or lotion
  • Touch
  • Hydrotherapy
  • Hot or cold use
  • Music
  • Lighting
  • Encouragement
  • Positioning
  • Directed thoughts
  • Food and drink
  • Using a birth ball
  • Coping strategies
  • Likes and dislikes
We will talk about pre-labor preparation (stretches, nutrition, teas, etc.), your pain tolerance and level of desire for pain meds or natural birth, and discuss pros and cons of any medical procedures you may be considering. I like to practice a few positions for labor.

I also have a large book of collected resources that I loan out to my clients... everything from local nursing shops to breastfeeding support to cord blood banking. This can help you find information you need.

I have a lending library of pregnancy and birth books and DVDs that you are welcome to borrow between our meetings.

I make one postpartum home visit to check up with you, answer questions about baby or the birth, help with breastfeeding or baby care, and also to review your memory of your birth experience.

Recommended Reading

  • "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin
  • "The Complete Organic Pregnancy" by Deirdre Dolan and Alexandra Zissu
  • "Husband-Coached Childbirth" by Robert A. Bradley, MD
  • "The Birth Partner" by Penny Simkin
  • "The Doula Book" ("Mothering the Mother" - older verision) by Marshall & Phyllis Klaus
  • "Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn" by Penny Simkin
  • "Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year" by Susun Weed
  • "The Natural Pregnancy Book" by Aviva Jill Romm
  • "The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth" by Sheila Kitzinger
  • "Obstretric Myths Versus Research Realities" by Henci Goer
  • "Your Amazing Newborn" by Marshall H. Klaus and Phyllis H. Klaus
  • "Vaccinations - A Thoughtful Parent's Guide" by Aviva Jill Romm
  • "Father's First Steps" by Robert Sears, MD and James Sears, MD