Saturday Oct. 9th 2021 was the Pregnancy and Labor Workshop hosted by Kaci Jensen (Certified Birth Doula) and myself, Tabitha Vedsted (DONA Certified Birth Doula). This past event we welcomed a wonderful guest speaker, Hannah Beltz (IBCLC- International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) https://www.thefourthtrimester.net/
to talk all about those early postpartum days and feeding your baby.
These events are for anyone who is expecting, regardless if this is your first pregnancy or tenth! If you are planning a medicated or unmedicated birth or even if you have a planned cesarean, we welcome you! You can come by yourself or bring a birth support person.
I'm going to show and explain a little more about what you can expect when you come to an event such as the one this past weekend.
Before we begin, there are a handful of benefits when you receive knowledge and information before going into an experience like childbirth and postpartum. You begin to gain confidence in your ability to give birth, your partner understands more of what they can do to support you, and knowing you aren't alone in some of your feelings around this life changing time is comforting.
We start the workshop by addressing and bringing to light any fears, anxieties, or concerns surrounding pregnancy, birth and postpartum. This is a great way to verbalize these feelings and recognize them, so you can then learn tools and techniques to conquer them. Making space for your power and being an advocate
for yourself.
Then we explain and show how to prepare your mind and body for labor. This includes topics such as:
Movement
Nutrition
Coping measures throughout labor
Practice laboring positions
Breathing techniques (picture below) and much more!
All of these topics will be helpful on your journey regardless of your “birth plan” or what I like to refer as your “birth preferences”.
In our modern society of driving vehicles and/or sitting often the body can get out of balance and ligaments and connective tissue can get tight. With your consent we like to do hands-on techniques to loosen any tightness and teach you daily/weekly techniques to get better body balance. Optimizing your chance of an optimal fetal position… in hopes of an easier and shorter labor.
Have you ever heard of the saying “where the mind goes the body follows”? Being mentally prepared for such an experience like pregnancy, birth and postpartum is paramount to feeling empowered and like you had a say in the process with any situation that might arise.
Meditation is a wonderful tool to prepare your mind, by creating new brain patterns and getting you into a relaxed state. We then lead a mama and baby guided meditation which honestly makes me tear up every time!
You will walk away from the event feeling empowered and informed! As well a knowing local resources so when you need help you will know exactly who to reach out to. Stay tuned for the next event coming mid January 2022 and a brand new guest speaker!
Light and love,
Tabitha
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