Safe Passage

Informed Birth Gathering Hiatus

Gina — Mon, 02 May 2011 18:30:00 +0000

Hi all, we’ll be taking a break from our Informed Birth Gatherings until further notice. Don’t forget to attend La Leche League for that important mother-to-mother support. Meetings are on the 2nd Thursdays of the month at 6:30 pm at Barkman Library. Have a great summer!

Informed Birth Gathering This Week

Gina — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 05:02:23 +0000

Come join us for our monthly Informed Birth Gathering!

Thursday, March 3rd, 6:30 pm
Call Gina to RSVP and for directions: 369-4368

Breast has been the best for you and baby, but is it time to move on to something else? Come talk about introducing foods to your baby and the process of weaning. Feel free to bring a snack to share!

Special Informed Birth Gathering!

Gina — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:46:28 +0000

It would be great to see lots of you here on Thursday for this special Informed Birth Gathering! It’s important to be active in our legislative year! Even if you haven’t had a homebirth, or don’t want one, if you want to ensure that it remains a viable choice for women in Colorado, come listen to Indra and Jacy talk about Delivering Natural Care for Families. This Thursday, 6:30 pm, at my house (call for address).

The Colorado legislature is reviewing the law that regulates Certified Professional Midwives in Colorado. During that process, the Delivering Natural Care for Families Coalition seeks families, community groups, organizations, faith leaders and care providers to ensure that the medicine lobby doesn’t keep us from having the best natural maternity care around. The medical lobby will try to limit the practice of midwives, while we want to strengthen and expand the practice of midwives. We’d like to talk with you and discuss how you can become a part of our state-wide coalition to protect natural birth this session and into the future.

Here are two of our team members – who will be coming to Pueblo:
Indra Lusero, the legal and communications coordinator, is a homebirth mom (and homebirth sister!) and a recent law school graduate with a specialty in childbirth and the law. Jacy Montoya Price, strategic coordinator, is the former Executive Director of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights and recently gave birth naturally to her sidekick Hugo.

Here is a story about Indra and her efforts: http://www.westword.com/2011-01-27/news/indra-lusero-midwives-department-of-regulatory-agencies/

Call if you have any questions or for the address:
Gina Gerboth, CPM, IBCLC
Safe Passage Birth and Breastfeeding Services
Pueblo, Colorado
www.safepassagebirth.com
719-369-4368

Fertility Awareness for Young Women

Gina — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 03:32:22 +0000

This is a class for young women to learn about their bodies’ menstrual cycles, fertility cues, hormones, sexuality, etc. Topics will be presented in a value-neutral manner, but all questions are welcome to be asked and will be answered frankly. I would imagine the best age range for the class would be from about 15-22, but outliers are certainly welcome. I would discourage parental participation in the class since it is more likely that questions will arise without mothers and fathers listening. The class fee of $20 will include a book (probably Taking Charge of Your Fertility, subject to availability).

Class date: Thursday, January 27th, 6:30. Location TBA.
$15 deposit required with your registration by Monday, January 24th so that I can order books for the class. Call Gina at 369-4368 or email me at ginapueblo@gmail.com to register.

Please invite your friends! The more, the merrier! And come with questions–remember for every question you ask, ten other people are wondering the same thing.

Childbirth Series starts this week!

Gina — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:36:09 +0000

The 2011 Childbirth Series will look different than last year’s series. First of all, the classes will be FREE to Gina’s clients. Secondly, classes will run MONTHLY instead of weekly. So, you’ll need to start attending right away to get the series (6 classes) in before you deliver!

Classes will be held on the 3rd Thursday of the month, at 6:30 pm. Call Gina at 369-4368 to sign up and for location if you need it.

This month’s class is “Having a Healthy Pregnancy.” See you there!

January Informed Birth Gathering

Gina — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 03:43:00 +0000

Note the new day, time, and place (call for address if you’d like to attend)!

January 6, 6:30 pm
Waterbirth
Come share your experiences and learn more about this month’s topic: Waterbirth. Sound weird? Some people think so. Others wouldn’t be caught in labor without a birth pool–whether for labor or delivery. See you there!

Everyone is welcome! Bring a friend!
Call 369-4368 for more information or directions.

November Informed Birth Gathering

Gina — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:05:34 +0000

Babies! We’ll be watching the acclaimed movie, Babies, for this month’s Informed Birth Gathering. For added comfort, we’ll be meeting at a home, so please email or private message me on Facebook for location and directions.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 at 7:00pm
Private message or email me for location and directions.

Breeders: Bali Style

Gina — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 18:19:46 +0000

Here is another recent article talking about the lessons I learned in Bali.

Home Delivery

Gina — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 18:17:58 +0000

Check out the article I wrote about homebirth in our local independent paper.

It’s the journey, not the destination.

Gina — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 23:39:37 +0000

I have been thinking a lot about unexpected, and often unwanted, outcomes in pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding. I can think of several situations where my clients have faced decisions that they never wanted to make. Indeed, whether I am their midwife or doula, their lactation consultant or friend, it is, occasionally, a fact that sometimes things just don’t go as they planned.

I used to work with an older woman who had previously been a Montessori teacher. She was a wise one, this woman. Whenever I would get all Type A about my kids, or their art, or their behavior, she would remind me that it was about the process, not the product. How right she was, and how true these words are in the birth world.

It is a pet peeve of mine when L&D nurses pooh pooh a client’s birth plan. “You know,” they say down their noses, “The more detailed the plan, the less likely it is to happen the way you want it.” In private they joke that the more detailed the birth plan, the more likely a cesarean delivery. I think that what they are really saying is that you cannot possibly predict the way something so completely unpredictable as birth will unfold. This is true.

But should we make no plans at all? Should we completely surrender to what our friends, mothers, or even healthcare provider tells us to do? Are we not allowed to assert a preference? Of course not. Birth planning is important not to try to guarantee an outcome, but to stack the deck in our favor.

So here’s what I recommend when making plans for your pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding experience:
1. Choose a birth attendant who has a similar view of birth that you do. It doesn’t matter if you choose someone for a low-risk situation, and then find yourself in a high-risk one. You’ll adapt and change if necessary.
2. Choose a birth attendant who you feel is supportive. This does not mean that they are humoring you. This means that they believe in your plans and desires for your birth.
3. Choose a place of birth where you feel most comfortable. This may be evident early in your pregnancy, or it may not be until later that you feel clear about this. That’s okay. It’s never to late to make a change.
4. When composing your birth plan, make it more about the intention and less about the details. Rather than presenting a laundry list of do’s and don’ts, let your birth team know what type of experience you’re hoping for.
5. Listen to your intuition. If there is a niggling voice inside telling you that you’re not sure you’re on the right course, change. You know deep down what is best for you.

And in the end, what if things go completely opposite of what you’d hoped for and dreamed of? Ask yourself the same questions. Did I have a birth attendant who I trusted, and who trusted me? Did we both believe in the process. Did we keep an open mind, and make adaptations as necessary? Did I feel good about my plans and the care I received? If you can answer these questions affirmatively, then you made the right decisions. Plans change, and things don’t go as expected. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try.