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How to Use the Reset Position to Remedy Contraction and Labor Issues

The ‘Hands and Knees’ position is instinctively assumed by women in labor all the time. And sometimes it’s suggested that women go farther, into yoga’s ‘Child’s Pose.’ But the Reset Position is quite different, and it could save your next labor a great many hours.  It opens the pelvis wide, and provides an opportunity for the baby to back OUT of the pelvis and REPOSITION itself. It works MIRACLES!

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How to Eat Pumpkin and Squash Seeds

At our house, the squash seeds are even more popular than the pretty orange vegetables; the kids wolf them down while waiting for dinner. Roasted squash seeds are super easy to make, so when squash and pumpkins begin to debut in your Autumn market, let the fun begin! The fresher and the smaller the seeds, the tastier they are to eat…..

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Do You Know the Difference Between Doulas and Midwives?

Because of their shared, women-centered maternity health perspectives, midwives and doulas often appreciate each other’s work and may be at births together.  Doulas assist mothers in positioning, provide emotional support and encouragement and act as an advocate for their individual birth plans, regardless of who is their health care provider. Midwives may also do these things, but are actually delivering (or "catching") the babies, and are responsible for the health care and safety of the mother/baby dyad in labor and birth. 

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Family Life, Natural Family, Postpartum Beth Barbeau Family Life, Natural Family, Postpartum Beth Barbeau

Don't Forget to Breathe

As a midwife, I’ve spent considerable amount of time with young parents to-be in their springtime season. In this hopeful chapter, they often expect to birth their baby and mostly get back to their busy lives with a baby in tow. “But babies,” I tell them, “are not on iPhone time.” I teach them that we need to slow down for our babies, and take the time to be with these fresh little humans. Pretty consistently, the mothers who take the time to spend the first few weeks a little more quietly with their babies on their chests, especially with some “skin-to-skin” time, seem to ‘luck out’ more often with calm, bright-eyed babies who pretty comfortably settle into life along side their families....

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Labor and Birth, Birth Pros Beth Barbeau Labor and Birth, Birth Pros Beth Barbeau

Mamas, Make Labor Easier By Moving Around

One of the primary keys to having an efficient and effective labor is having the unborn baby well-positioned in mama's pelvis. And if this seems to not be the case, based on how labor is moving along (or not), remember that to move the baby, move the mama! By understanding this general concept, anyone can effectively help their baby along in a way that fits their personality, their birth setting, and their labor circumstances.

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Get Well, Natural Health, Natural Family Beth Barbeau Get Well, Natural Health, Natural Family Beth Barbeau

Simple Elderberry Syrup Recipe Helps Families Sail Through Cold and Flu season

Elderberries have been used for millennia as both a food and a medicine, and its a wonderful immune booster of the best kind.  It’s particularly useful to enhance winter immunity in cases of fever and respiratory constriction, and has been found to kill the influenza virus and shorten bouts of illness. Here's a simple recipe to make yourself, which is safe for the whole family!

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An Introduction to Homeopathy

Natural remedies such as therapeutic essential oils, homeopathy, and herbs can offer a gentle correction or rebalancing for the body/mind system before things reach a crisis. Homeopathy is a safe, gentle, and natural therapeutic method that uses highly diluted natural substances to relieve symptoms. The active ingredients in homeopathic medicines are highly dilute properties from plants, animals and minerals that relieve the same symptoms they would cause at full strength (i.e., a micro-dose of coffee bean helps nervousness). Instead of masking symptoms, the medicine sends the body a signal to help it rebalance and heal.

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Homebirth Midwives Aren’t Too Hard to Find

Midwives are highly skilled professionals in the realm of normal birth. Although it’s common for current generations to think that all babies are born in a hospital with obstetricians (OB’s), the preferred attendant around the world for normal birth is still the midwife. So how does one go about finding a homebirth midwife, if you're the first in your circle to consider such a thing? Depending on the health care politics of your area, it could be super easy, or a big challenge!

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“The fireworks are too loud!”

Homeopathy is wonderfully effective remedy approach to those who dread the fireworks’ season, and it’s safe for everyone including infants, elderly, pregnant, those with PTSD, those on anxiety medications, and even pets. Look for the best symptom match, and it’s fine to use more than one. It’s not unusual to have family members, including 4-legged ones, who find fireworks distressing. The noise may be overwhelming to fearful small children or anxious adults, or trigger former military members with PTSD memories. And as a midwife, I’ve often counseled pregnant women to ‘let their babies know’ what to expect if they are attending a fireworks event, so they will be less alarmed by the explosive noises.

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