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I am here to empower you to achieve a natural childbirth and the best start to your new life for you and your baby.

“For me an empowered birth is one where I am the one who makes the decisions for me and my baby. Where I am in an environment of love, support, and respect for the power within my body to successfully birth my baby. Where I can be free to express anything I need to express; sound, movement, fear, love, ecstasy in a place that my expression will not lead to interference from the outside. I believe women have the ability to create an empowering birth experience regardless of if the birth outcome is natural, medicated, or surgical.   When women are making the decisions for their bodies and their babies out of education, faith, belief and confidence in themselves and not out of fear or manipulation they will be empowered.  I believe in the human body, in it’s power, and in birth’s ability to transform a person, woman, wife, and mother.”  Dr. Nancy, Your Birth Coach

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Posted on August 22, 2011 by Dr. Nancy | 23 Comments

What are Babies Learning Before Birth

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Dr. Nancy

Posted in General | Leave a comment

The Truth about Childbirth: Mothers Matter

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Dr. Nancy

Mothers Giving Health Decision Makers a Wake Up Call: Mothers Matter Campaign Launches on Mother’s Day.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – May 12, 2013 – OTTAWA, Canada –  Mothers of Change-National Capital Region is officially putting health decision makers all over the province on notice; mothers’ experiences in childbirth matter. The organization believes not enough attention is being given to the fact that childbirth has life lasting effects on an individual, not only a new mother but also as a woman, partner, and member of society.

Dr. Nancy Salgueiro, spokesperson for the Mothers Matter campaign says, “It is time that we start paying more attention to maternity care in this province and this country. The old adage ‘at least you have a healthy baby’ is not good enough anymore. We also need healthy moms!”

Mothers of Change- National Capital Region has identified several truths that are the essential foundation to improving maternity care:

  •  Mothers need to become a bigger priority in birth so they can come through childbirth healthy; not just physically, but also mentally, emotionally, and socially.
  •  It has been shown that the way a woman is treated through the process of childbirth Continue reading →
Posted in Birth Stories, Childbirth Activism, General, Informed Choice, Ottawa Community Events | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Do You Want To Know or Is it Disgraceful That I Tell You?

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Dr. Nancy

Is it disgraceful and shameful that I am providing information on informed choice?

FACEBOOK COMMENT: (After posting this article http://www.hormonesmatter.com/one-less-after-gardasil/#comment-7116)

“This misinformation about vaccination is disgraceful. People who don’t vaccinate their children are ignorant, taking us back to the days when people lost their beautiful children to measles, diphtheria, whooping cough etc. If you want to see the health of societies that lack vaccinations, check out the infant mortality of the 19th century, or present day sub-saharan Africa. The deaths and poor health suffered in these communities is shameful and shame on anyone who is ignorant enough to jump on a bandwagon without stopping to consider why it is that we no longer remember anyone dying of these diseases…. vaccination.”

MY RANT:
I wholeheartedly disagree with your comment. The only bandwagon I see is the one where Continue reading →

Posted in General, Vaccines | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Is Caring About Your Birth Experience Selfish?

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Dr. Nancy

Natural childbirth, homebirth, home birth, childbirth courses, prenatal classes, video of birth, videos of birthYES!!! YES!!! YES!!! to what is said in this article.  It says everything that should be said, so I don’t really have a comment, except that all women need to read this:  http://www.improvingbirth.org/2013/05/selfish-women/ and that NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! it is NOT selfish.

“Saying that what happens with you and your baby during and after birth doesn’t matter is the same as saying it doesn’t matter whether you bond with your toddler or that it doesn’t matter whether your teenager hates you.  Birth is part of your life as a mother.  This is your life.”

I can’t stand the idea that people have that women are “selfish” for wanting a good birth. A good birth for mom is what creates a good birth for baby. They are one in the same, not a competition of one vs the other. The safest birth, most physiologic birth possible, for mom will allow baby to be born gently and without added risks.

“Acting as if a baby’s safety is compromised by treating his mother well in birth is ludicrous, and I’d like to call for an end to that.  If I could go back in time, I’d ask those people who questioned me to please explain how I was the most important factor in pregnancy and the least important in birth.  How my value as a person deserving of positive experiences plummeted so dramatically when I crossed the threshold from pregnant woman to woman in labor.  And how on earth treating my body well in pregnancy was intuitive, but treating my body well in birth was not.”

Here are some comments I made on the topic a couple years ago, http://yourbirthcoach.com/2011/09/22/is-planning-a-natural-birth-selfish/

Leave your comments! Is Caring About Your Birth Experience Selfish?

Posted in General, Informed Choice, Natural Childbirth, Western Birth Practices | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Do You Think This is Fair?

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Dr. Nancy

“Caitlin Tiller’s senior portrait was banned from the yearbook because she chose to pose with her infant son. This after the school said the students could pose with props that represented them and their achievements. The school said it “promotes teen pregnancy,” and would not appear in the yearbook.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/03/teen-mom-banned-yearbook-caitlin-tiller_n_3208016.html

Teen pregnancy happens and will never be eradicated (I use that word facetiously). At least she is showing that her child is rightfully important and represents her life. 

I know wonderful teen moms and I know teen moms who totally skip out on their responsibility and leave it to the grandparents. I think this is an example of a teen mom who takes her role as mother seriously. It is currently the most important role she has, other than as her own individual woman, how is this a bad example to others.

Do you think Caitlin was treated unfairly or does the school have a point?

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Study Finds Adverse Effects of Pitocin in Newborns

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Dr. Nancy

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released this article today.  http://www.acog.org/About_ACOG/News_Room/News_Releases/2013/Study_Finds_Adverse_Effects_of_Pitocin_in_Newborns#.UYkdLeDO_9s.facebook

RISKS OF PITOCINHere are my thoughts as I read the article (you will get a glimpse of inside my head, I seriously wrote this as I read line by line):

ACOG Article:  “Researchers say this is the first study of its kind to present data on the adverse effects of Pitocin use on newborns.”

 Dr. Nancy’s Thoughts:  Are we seriously only now looking at the potential adverse reaction for the babies?  When 25% of moms (here in Ontario) get induced and even more (almost all) have their labor augmented with pitocin shouldn’t we have looked at the effect on babies BEFORE we started using it?

Actually this cannot possibly be brand new info.  Drugs.com currently states: “General side effects have included low Apgar scores at 5 minutes. Fetal death has been reported.” “Nervous system side effects… have included neonatal seizures and permanent CNS or brain damage has been reported.” “Hepatic side effects have included neonatal jaundice.”  “Overdosage with oxytocin… can lead to… variable deceleration of fetal heart, fetal hypoxia, hypercapnia, perinatal hepatic necrosis or death.”

How many mothers were told these potential side effects for their babies when having an informed consent conversation about administration of synthetic oxytocin?  Or were they told it’s for the good of your baby and its perfectly safe?  Do their doctors even know the risks of the drugs the are administering or are they knowingly lying about safety?  Has Continue reading →

Posted in Informed Choice, Western Birth Practices | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Is This the New Image of Motherhood?

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Dr. Nancy

I was at the store the other day, waiting for an oil change and found my way to the baby section to get some bum cloths (facecloths but we use them for diaper changes) and discovered the “Comfort Canopy.”

This caught my eye because of the images on the cover. 

I understand that this may be a useful item.  My problem is not the item itself, I can understand why it exists, BUT the images on the cover appall me!

Is this seriously the new image of motherhood?!

Your baby sitting in a capsule while you sit out on the grass reading a book through a barrier?

Again, I understand there may be uses for this, like if your baby is allergic to grass and its really sunny at the park, but seriously is this what we have become?  We can’t even have our babies out of their capsule long enough to read a book at the park?  She even has a blanket on the grass, the baby does not even need to touch the earth, she could at least be on the blanket.

I understand that in certain situations you may need to take your baby’s seat out of the car, but more and more this is what we thinking motherhood looks like.  A nice stroll through the park with your babe in…in a car seat.

Just as we have distorted images of birth to be institutionalized, medical birth, we have also changed images of motherhood to be mother separate from baby, instead of one unit as  nature designed.

These images are more of what motherhood looks like to me.  Unfortunately, parenting nature’s way, doesn’t make anyone profits, so is not marketed to new mothers.

Benjamin Earwicker

Mom And Baby Having Fun

Mom And Baby Having Fun by Petr Kratochvil

Posted in Attachment Parenting, General, Parenting | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

What do you think of the ‘Bottle Sling’?

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Dr. Nancy

I understand there are reasons people need to bottle feed but I do believe that even if your babe is not at the breast it could still benefit from being in arms and ideally skin on skin for feeding. Infant feeding is much more than calorie intake. What are your thoughts on this?

5 problems I see with this gadget: 

1. There would ideally be as much bonding, skin on skin time as possible with babies and this takes away feeding time as bonding time.  I know that may not be possible all the time and babies needs can be inconvenient, I have three and am a working and homeschooling mom, I understand inconvenience. Regular use, when not necessary (disability, lack of resources), is depriving the child of possible bonding time.

Yes, you may have bonded with your kids but there is always more bonding, with more time.  How can you judge if you are bonded as well or the same as another?  You can’t, you can just increase opportunities for bonding as much as possible.  Skin on skin has been shown, scientifically, to be better for babies.  We have known for decades that babies who are not held do not thrive but they may survive.

2. Children should never be in a car seat unless they have to be.  We have an epidemic of flat heads (Plagiocephaly) due to children being in car seats and having their head against a hard surface for so much time.  The skull was not meant to be compressed so often, it is meant to be up in the world (in moms arms) so the brain and skull can expand freely.

3. As a chiropractor I have particular issue with the car seat thing because it is horrible for the baby’s spine.  Seated in the most stressful position on the spine and is not the same as a cradle position.

4. This should not be used in a car because the bottle would be a projectile that could seriously injure or kill the child.  If you wouldn’t throw it full force at your babies face, it should not be loose in the car.  (I am trained to install and educate on car seat safety.)

5. If this was used in a car it is improper use of the car seat.  THE HANDLE SHOULD NEVER BE UP in a moving vehicle.  A handle in the upright position interferes with the cradle motion the car seat would go through if there was an accident.  Also, the handle could smash against the car’s seat and break sending shards of plastic into your baby’s face.

I understand that there are things that can make parenting more convenient and there are people with special needs, but are we making parenting so convenient that the child gets left out of the equation?

Posted in Parenting | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Natural Cesarean: A Woman-Centred Technique

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Dr. Nancy

Regardless of your intention for your birth, it is important to know you cannot dictate the outcome of birth. There are situations that may come up in birth which will lead you in a different direction than you originally planned.

 

Some women will avoid looking at any information about c-sections because they believe it won’t be them.  As much as I believe in the law of attraction and remaining positive, it is important to know what your choices are and what you would want if the situation presented for you.  A cesarean birth can also be an empowered birth if you, as the mother, are the one making the call, knowing that with the current situation, this is the best birth for you and your baby.

 

This video explains the choices you can advocate for to make a Cesarean birth as physiological as possible and to protect the important moments after birth.

 

For more information (what are your choices and how do you advocate for them) please join the Natural Birth Baby and Beyond Community at http://naturalbirthbabyand beyond.com.

Posted in Breech Birth, Caesarean Section, General, Twins | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

CHOICE: A Birth and Baby Film Festival

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Dr. Nancy

I am one of the co-organizers of the CHOICE: A Birth and Baby Film Festival.  In 2012 we screened a 11 films, each followed by a community panel discussion.  As a result of the great success of the film festival we are screening 5 more films this year.

The film address how women’s human rights are being violated through the current maternity care system.  Women’s basic right to autonomy over their body is being stripped from them by forced procedures that make maternity care easier for hospital and more dangerous for moms and babies. Looking at childbirth through the perspective of human rights has the power to start making necessary changes to maternity care to respect women and make birth safer for both moms and babies.

 

This film will be screened at 7pm on March 22 at St. Paul University.  The discussion happens right after the film and is complete by 10pm.

You can watch the film trailer here: http://youtu.be/pFWH_IZWulE

We also invite you to share this with anyone in Ottawa interested in childbirth,  human rights, or women’s studies as it would be informative and educational.

Posted in Ottawa Community Events, Western Birth Practices | Tagged , , | Leave a comment