Remember Who You Are
I recently spoke to an association of childbirth professionals about perinatal sex (that which occurs during pregnancy and the postpartum stage). Needless to say we had a blast, and enjoyed a really rich post-presentation discussion.
Here’s a takeaway that seemed to resonate with several attendees: having sex allows you to remember who you are. And that’s because most women are swept up into an unfamiliar dance with their respective identities when they decide to grow their families.
Sex is an integral part of our very existence. And whether we experience a biological pregnancy, or choose to adopt or employ surroga...
Source: Cord Blood News - January 19, 2021 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: Cord Blood pregnancy sex and pregnancy sex life motherhood Source Type: blogs
Oh, The Labels
I recently spoke with a postpartum mom who is participating in a specific online support group. While I can’t reveal its title, it did get me thinking about a topic I have pondered since I conceived my first daughter Lo those many years ago. It’s a little something I like to call The Label Trap.
“Breastfeeding moms.” “Co-sleeping moms.” “Sleep-training moms.” Working Moms.” “Attachment-led Moms.” These and many other phrases may describe a particular approach to a particular piece of the mothering puzzle. But they aren’t identifiers, and they shouldn’t put mothers in boxes.
Our...
Source: Cord Blood News - December 22, 2020 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: Mothers parents pregnancy labels moms reputation Source Type: blogs
Myth-Busting Pregnancy Edition
In honor of all parents-to-be, we bring you a few fun facts about family-building. While there is so much serious news to digest these days, we thought a break might be a welcome distraction.
Myth #1: Every woman’s water breaks before her labor begins.
Truth: Only 11% of all women experience a leak or gush of amniotic fluid prior to feeling their first contraction.
Myth #2: A due date is an actual thing.
Truth: Only 5% of all women give birth on their due dates. That’s why the clinical term is actually “Estimated Due Date” (and those of us in the birth world refer to it as a “Due Month” because there is s...
Source: Cord Blood News - December 1, 2020 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: parents pregnancy facts mythbusting Source Type: blogs
Pregnancy Questions? You Deserve Answers Now.
Nothing burns me up more than when a pregnant woman says she asked a question of her provider at her most recent appointment, only to be told Oh, we dont discuss that until (fill in the blank).
What kind of care is that? Yes, the gestation of your baby and the changes in your body may be a relatively linear process. And lets face it you cant be in your third trimester without having experienced the first and the second. However if you have a question that pertains to anything prenatal or postpartum, you deserve answers on the immediate front.
Dont let anyone dismiss you and your curiosity that can only lead to ...
Source: Cord Blood News - November 10, 2020 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: Cord Blood pregnancy sex and pregnancy labor pregnancyhealth questions self-advocacy Source Type: blogs
Pregnancy Questions? You Deserve Answers …Now.
Nothing burns me up more than when a pregnant woman says she asked a question of her provider at her most recent appointment, only to be told “Oh, we don’t discuss that until (fill in the blank)”.
What kind of care is that? Yes, the gestation of your baby and the changes in your body may be a relatively linear process. And let’s face it – you can’t be in your third trimester without having experienced the first and the second. However – if you have a question that pertains to anything prenatal or postpartum, you deserve answers on the immediate front.
Don’t let anyone dismiss you and your curiosity – that...
Source: Cord Blood News - November 10, 2020 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: Cord Blood pregnancy sex and pregnancy labor pregnancyhealth questions self-advocacy Source Type: blogs
When & How to Announce Your Pregnancy to Your Boss
Sharing pregnancy news is an intensely private decision. Timing is an important consideration, as are the specific people you decide to tell. And if all this isn’t complicated enough on a personal level, the question of how to approach this professionally can be very, very sticky.
The process is NOT made easy for moms. Often pregnancy/maternity leave policies are difficult to come by – and that’s if your employer has one at all!
First, you need to know your legal rights:
Visit the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to understand laws that protect you
For Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protection...
Source: Cord Blood News - October 27, 2020 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: parents pregnancy Department of Labor Maternity Leave Source Type: blogs
We See You
Loss comes in all kinds of intensity and darkness that can be both fleeting and stagnant.
Many of us in our time of grief seek support from family and friends and perhaps other resources. But it astounds me that even in this day and age, parents who suffer miscarriage often feel like they have to mourn in silence. This speaks to what we refer to as disenfranchised grief. It translates to an experience of loss that is at best rarely acknowledged and at worst, dismissed. When there isn’t an actual person for others to know on the outside, it’s challenging for their loss to be acknowledged. Well-intentioned comments like ...
Source: Cord Blood News - October 13, 2020 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: Health parents pregnancy grief we see you Source Type: blogs
Private Lives (and the Not So Much)
Once upon a time, women didn’t have to fret a great deal about keeping their pregnancy to themselves, at least not in the first trimester. When social media wasn’t (gasp!) a thing (and unless a woman chose to share her news with others), the general public was kept in the dark until she began to show.
Nowadays, women of childbearing age – especially those who are partnered – can feel a lot like a fish in a big, glass bowl. They worry about what friends and family will say if they decline an alcoholic beverage or if they cancel plans. Their social media accounts will be scoured for clues. Well-meaning relatives mi...
Source: Cord Blood News - September 22, 2020 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: parents pregnancy Uncategorized motherhood privacy Source Type: blogs
Doula? Baby Nurse? How Do I Choose?
What’s the difference between a Baby Nurse and a Postpartum Doula? If you’re considering professional help for your family, how do you choose?
Let’s compare the two so you can better understand the type of help each professional can provide:
Baby Nurse: this is someone who has been trained in newborn care and primarily takes care of the baby. Their knowledge base usually includes sleep, feeding, diapering, bathing, comfort, infant CPR, etc. Nurses often move in with a family and can provide round-the-clock care for the first week or two postpartum. Some nurses have other specialized training in multiple care and lac...
Source: Cord Blood News - September 8, 2020 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: babies Education parents pregnancy baby nurse doula postpartum Source Type: blogs
A Note to the Partners of Pregnancy
Dear Partners:
Partners of pregnant women come in all shapes, sizes and support styles. Some are eager to read all the books, attend all the classes, shop for all the gear and even help to plan the gender-reveal.
And others…? Not so much. This can be disconcerting to women, and a cause of unwelcome prenatal conflict.
But what’s really going on? Are these partners willfully ignoring the fact that an actual real-live human is on the way? More often than not, the answer is no.
Women who are biologically expecting a child experience a wide variety of changes in their bodies throughout pregnancy. If a woman is adopt...
Source: Cord Blood News - August 18, 2020 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: parents pregnancy Source Type: blogs
Prepping for Birth in Unprecedented Times
So much of life seems to be out of our control right now. It’s difficult for anyone to experience, but especially agonizing for women in their third trimester of pregnancy.
Studies have shown that during times of inordinate stress, it’s best to focus on what we can secure with confidence. While having a baby is just about the most unpredictable process we know, there are steps you can actively take to shore up support and help you to feel grounded:
Stay in touch with your care provider regarding protocol. Whether you are planning on giving birth at home, in a birth center or hospital, safety guidelines are changin...
Source: Cord Blood News - August 4, 2020 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: Health pregnancy Source Type: blogs
Medications and Safety During Pregnancy
Women who take medication for anxiety, depression or other behavioral health conditions worry about whether they’ll need to discontinue use when they conceive. For years, well-intentioned care providers believed this to be the only clinically responsible solution. The reason for this was simple: because it’s considered unethical to test medication on pregnant and nursing mothers, there was no literature to provide evidence for safety.
But we’ve come a long way, and the field of perinatal psychiatry has evolved a great deal. We now have evidence that supports the safety and efficacy of certain medications for some ...
Source: Cord Blood News - July 28, 2020 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: Cord Blood Cord Tissue Source Type: blogs
A Doula ’s Perspective on Cord Blood Banking
As a former doula, I can tell you that the least predictable process on the planet is labor and birth. And that was part of the fun – I never knew what awaited me as I supported moms and their families during this miraculous time in their lives.
Every birth was unique, and my job required that I wear many hats. One of my roles was that of cord blood coordinator. Of course, I didn’t collect the cord blood; that was the job of the amazing L&D nurses. However, once the vials were filled, it was my responsibility to call the cord blood bank and request a prompt pick-up.
There was no way to know while I was securi...
Source: Cord Blood News - July 14, 2020 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: Cord Blood Cord Tissue Source Type: blogs
Birth and Pregnancy Resources
Back in the day, when a pregnant woman needed advice, she’d call her mother. Or grandmother, or cousins, or sisters – a trusted female relative who had been through the ups and downs, the hormonal shifts, and the hankering for bizarre food combos at 3:00 in the morning. Sure, the bookstore had a pregnancy section (nay, shelf) you could peruse, and there was a related magazine or two for sale. But now, we live in a world in which you can type “mucous plug” into a search engine and yield thousands of responses. And those are just the websites; social media is one big cluster of the good, the bad, and the very unsuppo...
Source: Cord Blood News - June 9, 2020 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: pregnancy Source Type: blogs
Choosing a Provider When You ’ re Pregnant
When it comes to pregnancy and birth, women have a myriad of decisions to make, from the benign to the super critical. Choosing a suitable care provider definitely falls into the latter.
In the United States, women experiencing low-risk pregnancies can select a midwife or OB GYN to care for themselves and their babies. For some, the decision comes down to factors such as geography, insurance plans, and choice of birth location.
Let’s take that last one, for example. If a woman is interested in delivering at home, a consult with a home birth midwife is the way to go. Both types of providers have privileges at hospitals...
Source: Cord Blood News - June 3, 2020 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Jennifer Dembo Tags: pregnancy Source Type: blogs
