No matter how a baby’s birth unfolds ― whether it’s a first-time mom having a C-section, or a third-time mother fighting through a labor that lasts two full days ― childbirth is hard and it is messy.But in between all the, well, laboring are moments of love. Love between partners, love between families and doctors, doulas and midwives, and that very special love when … [Read more...]
A Loving Start: Full-Spectrum Care Gives Families Their Best Start
Having a baby is a major, life-changing experience. SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital – Madison Director of Women and Children’s Services Robbie Sonnentag says quality care spanning pregnancy, labor and birth is vital to giving families their best start.Prenatal CareAs soon as a woman thinks she is pregnant, she should call for an appointment with her primary care … [Read more...]
It’s that time of year when women like me find out if we can afford to go to work
With every child you have you learn many lessons. One of the lessons I learnt after trying to get my older two children into daycare is that by the time I was pregnant with my third I needed to make sure I had his name on some childcare waitlists.So when I was four months pregnant I put my yet-to-be-born son's name on a few these lists. At the time I didn't know what gender … [Read more...]
The Things I Didn’t Know About My Rainbow Baby
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.My first pregnancy ― eagerly anticipated, anxiously awaited ― ended, not in a birth, at least not in the kind of birth I intended. Instead of pacing the hospital floor counting the patterned breaths of Lamaze, belly round with life, I’d give birth, alone, paralyzed by general anesthesia, in a sterile operating room, where … [Read more...]
10 Things About Giving Birth Your Doctor Won’t Tell You
Choosing an OB/GYN or midwife when you’re pregnant is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make and one most moms give a lot of thought to. In fact, 89 percent of women said the reason for selecting their provider was because the person’s values were in line with their own, according to a study in the Journal of Perinatal Education.Although your provider’s … [Read more...]
