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Published: February 26, 2009 03:10 am |

MOTHERS’ HELPER

Pueblo woman specializes in childbirth education, encouragement
By MARY JEAN PORTER
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

Her services can be described in a word: support.

Gina Gerboth is a certified childbirth educator, a certified birth doula (assistant), an intern midwife and a certified breast-feeding consultant, and in each case she provides help for the mother-to-be or the new mom.

“My job isn’t advocacy as much as it is support – educational, physical, emotional,” says Gerboth, whose office message board bears the words, “If you don’t know your choices, you don’t have any.”

Gerboth started her career working for the USDA as a policy analyst for food stamps, but the Women Infants Children program staffers were nearby and she overheard a lot about the benefits of breast-feeding. Watching her eldest son thrive on breast milk – after initial difficulties – led her into a new line of work. Her degree in political science from University of Colorado-Denver has been helpful with midwifery issues and policy, “but I just didn’t think it would lead to this.” Sariah Walters is one of Gerboth’s clients and says her help as a birth doula made daughter Auriella Coffman’s birth easier.

“She helped me stay calm. At first, I didn’t want the medicine, then I did and it was too late. She got me calmed down and she helped me by telling me, ‘This is where you are at (in labor).’ She let me know what to expect.”

Since Auriella’s birth, Gerboth has helped Walters with breast-feeding problems.

“She wasn’t gaining weight. I thought I was going to quit,” Walters says. “I asked my mom some questions, but having Gina here helped. She could see me in the daytime when I needed her. Now Auriella is gaining weight and is a lot happier.”

Gerboth says support for a nursing mother – information, practical suggestions, encouragement, understanding – is the No. 1 indicator of whether a mom successfully breast-feeds her baby. She urges new moms to attend local meetings of La Leche League to get help and information and to be with other breast-feeding mothers.

Gerboth says she tailors her services to a client’s needs. Her work as a birth doula – the word is Greek for “woman’s servant,” referring to the continuous, hands-on support given to a woman in labor – means she works with fathers-to-be as well.

“A lot of the time dads just don’t know what to do. I think they appreciate that I can start something like rubbing the mom’s back during labor and they can continue it. A lot of times dads worry that having a doula means they are being pushed out of the way, but it’s nice to have a second person there. One can talk to the mom face to face while the other rubs her back.”

Gerboth teaches independent childbirth education classes and has taught weekend childbirth classes for Parkview Medical Center. And she’s working to become a certified professional midwife. In Colorado, midwifery falls under the Department of Regulatory Agencies, and a midwife must meet requirements established by the North American Registry of Midwives, Gerboth says.

She plans to go to Bali, Indonesia, for the month of September so she can volunteer at the Bumi Sehat birth center to get clinical experience and help the midwives there provide safe, gentle births for all women. The maternal mortality rate is extremely high in Indonesia – 373 per 100,000 live births compared with 13 per 100,000 in the U.S., according to Gerboth.

Gerboth’s office is located at Lancaster Chiropractic Center, 4736 Eagleridge Circle. The center will have an open house from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday to explain its services for pregnant women and babies.

For more information about Gerboth’s work, call her at 369-4368 or e-mail safepassagebirth@gmail.com .

Open House

Come visit Pueblo’s premier natural pregnancy and baby care center! Learn how chiropractic care, natural birth experiences, breastfeeding, massage, aromatherapy, and natural baby care products can help your baby get off to the very best start!

Tuesday, March 3rd, 6-9 pm
4736 Eagleridge Circle
Pueblo, Colorado, 81008

Call Gina at 719-369-4368 for more information.

The Breastfeeding Mother’s Guide to Making More Milk

The Breastfeeding Mother’s Guide to Making More Milk by Diana West

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I finally sat down with this new release and was very impressed. I had the good fortune of attending a conference where Lisa Marasco was one of the keynote speakers, but this book is going to be an invaluable reference for my practice.

Written for the mother, it is equally useful to the lactation consultant. It’s informative but accessible. It was filled with tidbits that were new to me (for example, that studies have shown chiropractic to be an effective intervention for low milk supply).

I would caution the average reader to remember that far more women have TOO much milk, rather than not enough milk, and the tools in this book (especially the preventative ones) are directed to people who concerned that their supply will be compromised for a good reason–past history, fertility complications, breast shape, etc. Your mother or grandmother’s reports that she didn’t make enough milk should be taken lightly, as lactation management was poor in previous generations and it’s not unlikely that their problems were created by poor management.

View all my reviews.

Childbirth Classes Coming Up!

I am pleased to announce that I have scheduled two childbirth class
series–one in Pueblo and one in Monument for your convenience! If you
know anyone who is pregnant, please share this information with them.
Classes are ideal for first-time parents, parents planning a birth
experience that is different from what they’ve previously had (i.e.,
are planning an unmedicated or homebirth after a previously medicated
birth, etc.), or parents who didn’t feel they received a thorough
coverage of childbirth topics from previous classes.

These are eight-week, ALACE-inspired (www.alace.org) course covering
the physical and emotional aspects of pregnancy, birth, and
breastfeeding.

The classes cover :
Class One-Birth Today
Class Two-Pregnancy and Prenatal Care
Class Three-The Physiology of Birth
Class Four-Designing Your Birth
Class Five-Complications and Unexpected Outcomes
Class Six-The Postpartum Period and Your New Baby
Class Seven-Breastfeeding
Class Eight-Practice, Networking, and Community Building

In Pueblo…
Monday Nights, 6:30-9:30 pm,
Starting February 16th
Location: 4736 Eagleridge Circle

In Monument…
Thursday Nights, 6-9 pm,
Starting March 5th
Location: TBA

Cost: $150, includes The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by
Sheila Kitzinger and Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws For
Nursing Mothers by Nancy Mohrbacher, as well as an extensive notebook
of handouts and resources.

“Bundled” pricing available for Doula and Midwifery Clients.

Private classes can be arranged, but I encourage parents to take
advantage of the community-building that can happen in childbirth
classes.

Please call 719-369-4368 or email safepassagebirth@gmail.com to pre-register so that books can be ordered ahead of time.

Thanks for helping me get the word out!