resources

Nationally c-section rates have risen to 27.6% (And growing higher!) Colorado has a rate between 22-24%. (Some hospitals are as high as 40%!) How can you reduce your risk of having a cesarean?

• Hire a doula! Check out Colorado Doulas for options on more doulas to interview.
• Labor at home as long as possible.
• Talk to your doctor about his/her philosophy and talk to the hospital about their cesarean rates.
• Pay attention to your posture!  See www.spinningbabies.com for more information of optimal fetal positioning.  How your baby is positioned makes a huge difference!  Don't be a couch sloucher.
• Eat well!  Following a healthy diet can prevent pre-eclampsia and other pregnancy illnesses.  See Blue Ribbon Baby for more information.
• Do everything you can to avoid induction!  Trust Your Body!  You made this baby, you grew this baby, you can deliver this baby.  Labor will happen.  If there is a medical need for induction, talk to your care provider (and your doula) about gentle options to kick start your body and prepare it for labor.
• Understand the dynamics of the hormones during labor.  Mothering  has a great article on The Hormonal Blueprint of Labor.  Call me for a copy or find it online.
• Call me or contact ICAN for more details on how you can avoid a surgical delivery.

Recommended Reading

• Gentle Birth Choices: A Guide to Making Informed Decisions about Birthing Centers, Birth Attendants, Water Birth, Home Birth, Hospital Birth
  by Barbara Harper
  
• Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation
  by Pam England and Rob Horowitz
  
• The Birth Partner: Everything You Need to Know to Help a Woman Through Childbirth
  by Penny Simkin
  
• The Thinking Women’s Guide to Better Birth
  by Henci Goer