Experience Natural Childbirth
New Birth Company Blog

Hydrated Holidays

Have you noticed the air in your house is dry?  Fly away hair, itchy skin, more coughs and sneezes.  Whenever I think about complaining, I remember what it was like to be pregnant over the holidays.  Our skin is already stretching to make room for baby.   Some pregnant women experience additional itchiness in our hands and feet.  Others have less dry skin.  We each experience pregnancy individually so bring up any concerns you have with your Midwife.

Its the day after Christmas at New Birth Company, and I am soaking up our humidifier (the water wall), the infused water with cranberries and nectarines, the fire (ok, the fire app) and the smell of our Lavender shea butter skin ointment; perfect for rubbing on growing tummies, rough elbows and sore feet.  Stay hydrated Mommies…inside and out !

Hydration for Mommies, Inside and Out

Birth Bullies -NOT ALLOWED

“No one likes a bully” they are aggressive jerks!  Bullies are found everywhere!  Bullies are defined as people who use intimidation and sarcasm to “get their way” and “in their minds” they somehow believe they have the authority to demean anther person.  Bullies are self-governed by their narcissistic motivation to elevate themselves.  Bullies actually get satisfaction when they belittle another individual.  The bully will do anything and everything they can verbally to tear down another person. They do this by laughing at them, not listening, interrupting and even “telling them off”.  Bullies thrive on being right and letting everyone know it!

Everyday while working with women,  I listen to stories from clients  about how they believe they failed at birth.  I hear words like ” failure, wimp, didn’t try, “they made me get an epidural”, and “not a ‘real’ natural birth”.  They will tell their “birth story” and over and  the common thread of defeat is ” I feel like a failures” because they did not experience birth like their friends, co-worker, and family.  Women will talk of a so called “friend having a painless easy birth” and question why they could have them same, they must have failed.  The feelings of failure arise from conversations whereas women challenge each other on their birth options and outcomes.  Often, one can hear the conversations “well I had my baby at__________, why would you ever think of anything else? If you go to that facility  ____________they will _______, and _________, or ________.”

Sometimes one can hear ” that can’t be safe”……. or ”you’re crazy to consider that”

Just fill in the blanks, it can be fun.  No matter where you are the birth bullies try to make their personal opinion and outcome the one that is best for others.  It can be such a strong influence that one can feel reject and like a failure if they don’t even try what the bully suggests.  Bullies often use fear to make to coercive their opinion.  They will attempt scare you into believing that options are not options by using the biggest scare tactic of all, “they will take your baby”.

My philosophy is that all babies are born.  Think about it -they are born.  Very few are born in a “blissful breathing baby out with harmonious singing and happiness and no pain.”  This is not the norm, and it definitely doesn’t happen often.   Believe it or not, in our world today, over 90% of all  babies are born as “natural .”    The birth itself  is also one of the most powerful athletic events of all times!  This event surpass all team sports,  olympics,  gold medals and trophies.  This event uses an entire body to rhythmically and gently move a living being out of another. Yes, there is pain, exhaustion, physical, mental and emotional work and most importantly there is great reward.  Birth requires training, health, and strength, it is not for wimps, failures, and cowards. Even bullies can give birth!

Every athlete in our world endures pain, training, exhaustion and reward.  Athletes need encouragement, coaches, trainers and the cheering audience, not bullies.   GOD’s plan was for women to be the champions.  He chose women because they are strong, wise, fearless and able to complete the task.  Each women who desires and is chosen to given birth will win and receive the prize!  It is a miraculous event that can happen.  BIRTH IS FOR CHAMPIONS -NO BULLIES ALLOWED.

The bible describes the evilness of the tongue in Psalms 52, reading the the tongue is deceitful, devises destruction like a two edgedsword.   Reading these scriptures one can understand how words can be so painful that the cut to the heart of an individual. Our words to one another are very strong, and can either uplift or tear one down.  I am challenging myself and you to champion positive influencing words to empower women in having an INCREDIBLE BIRTH DAY!

League of Extraordinary Women Giving Birth

You know that excited feeling you get when you receive something in the mail and can’t wait to open it?  That was me sliding the Fast Company magazine out of the mailbox.  ”The League of Extraordinary Women” highlights women across companies and non for profits who are making a difference to improve the lives of women all over the world.

I believe Moms choosing natural childbirth and birthing at the birth center are INCREDIBLE and they inspire us every day with their efforts in birth and taking care of their babies and families.  We have made such progress  gaining access to more insurance networks and that is a tribute to the hard work of our moms and dads.  THANK YOU !

We’ve found that its really important to keep telling everyone what insurance networks we are in.  Please help us spread the word to your friends and family.

All BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD plans, FREEDOM NETWORK, PREFERRED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, CIGNA, TRICARE/TRIWEST, KANSAS HEALTHWAVE, MISSOURI HEALTHNET.  We are actively working with UNITED & HUMANA to finalize our contract with them (Yea!).

Please call us if you have any questions as there are many plans that fall under a different name. We also offer a self pay option.  We encourage families to be smart consumers and compare like services.

Thank you everyone for supporting birth center birth !

African & Island babies growing at New Birth

New Birth Company invites all families to partner with us in the promotion of prenatal care across the globe! Our goal is to provide as many vitamins as we can to pregnant mothers and their children. We will be starting in two specific areas initially, the island of Trinidad in Caribbean Islands & Tanzania Africa. We will be working with Dr. John Powell in Trinidad & Pastor Daniel Ouma in Tanzania to promote prenatal care.
Our newly formed 501C-3 non-profit at New Birth Company is called Les Amis de Naissance. Les Amis de Naissance will procure the vitamins, through donations and prepare them to be freely given to mothers. Les Amis de Naissance, I will abbreviate as LAN, is collecting vitamins now for a team leaving for Tanzania December 9th.
Les Amis de Naissance is French for “friends of birth”. Our mission with Les Amis de Naissance (LAN) is to promote safe and natural childbirth. The friends of birth, LAN, will function in the following manner:
1. Promote safe and natural birth through advocacy. Serving as an incubator to arouse awareness of safety, standards and education of natural childbirth in our local community and throughout the world.
2. Using World Health Organization millennial goals to promote and aid in safe birth for women globally.
3. Fund raising for the promotion and awareness of birth globally and to procure needed supplies and medications for birth attendants in developing countries.
4. Provide funding to enhance education, standards and birth equality globally.
All of us can be friends of birth and promote safe birth and healthy babies globally. Our current project is to collect vitamins to give out to women who are pregnant. Ideally, the best vitamins are children’s chewable vitamins simply because mothers will often share their vitamins with their children. Prenatal vitamins are too strong for a child to ingest therefore we can safely offer children’s vitamins and supplement with folic acid.
If you would like to donate vitamins, you can bring them over the New Birth Company in Overland Park. Follow on the blog to see how they will benefit women and their babies!

Meet Kim Cornwell

Kim Cornwell, ARNP, joined New Birth Company in September. She has a wealth of experience which strengthens our family even more and we are so very pleased to have her here. Please read about her; we know you will feel the same. 
Kim has over 13 years of experience working in women and infants’ health. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from William Jewell College and her Master’s of Science in Nursing, emphasis in Women’s Health and Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Kansas.  She is currently enrolled in the midwifery program at the University of Kansas. She has worked in both the hospital and community setting and during the past 7 years taught women’s health, maternal and newborn nursing, nutrition and physical assessment in the college setting, while maintaining a practice as a nurse and nurse practitioner.  She has also traveled to Central America and Africa where she has provided healthcare to a variety of populations.  She is the mother of two small children and had two very different birth experiences, which is one of the many reasons why Kim is excited to be working at New Birth Company.  “I believe that childbirth is the most powerful experience that a woman will ever have.  My goal is to ensure that each woman has the most satisfying labor and birth experience possible.  I believe that this can be achieved through educating and honoring women’s choices. I see it as a joy and privilege to be a partner in bringing new life into this world”.

Meet Laura Boujakly

Laura Boujakly, RN, has joined the New Birth Company family and we are thrilled. We know she will be an important piece to our ever growing “business of being born”. We are eager for you to meet her.

“It is with great excitement that I can now say I am apart of the wonderful staff at New Birth Company! It has been my desire and dream for a long time to work in a birthing center that encourages and empowers mothers to give birth naturally. Little else gets my heart racing quite as much. I am a hippy at heart. I love to read in my spare time. I absolutely love chasing my nephews and niece around. I cannot wait to have children of my own and look forward to being apart of many incredible birth days at New Birth Company. ” Laura

Welcome Mocha Moms

New Birth Company is thrilled to welcome the Mocha Moms of Johnson County. Mocha Moms, Inc. is a support group for mothers of color who have chosen not to work full-time outside of the home in order to devote more time to their families and communities.  Support is fostered through playgroups, moms night events, quarterly book clubs, and community outreach opportunities. They have chosen to come to NBC for a Moms Night Out; we will tour, munch, sip, chat and more :) Welcome Mommies!

Thank You!

New Birth Company pauses to honor our Veteran moms, dads, aunts, uncles, sisters & brothers. We honor each of you and your families for your service and sacrifice.


 

Friday Relaxation Retreats

 

We are eager for you to meet Rebecca Thesman. She has joined our NBC  family to provide us with Relaxation Retreats and Journaling. She has many years of experience in both fields; she will be posting her life experiences and training that have led her down these paths. We are thrilled to have her and know you enjoy having her part of your life as well.

Friday, Nov. 18th is a perfect day for the New Birth Relaxation Retreat. With a holistic focus on body, mind and spirit – we’ll learn some techniques to de-stress our bodies and untie mental knots. The Relaxation Retreat is two hours of restoration where tension is released. We’ll learn some meditation techniques and leave with tools we can apply during our stress-filled lives. This retreat also includes a free smoothie and New Birth’s CD of music to guide you through birth. Register now to save your place at the Relaxation Retreat Nov. 18th from 10-12.

Join our Relaxation Retreat

Yoga for Labor Workshop

Childbirth and labor are an experience that we, as women, are certainly blessed to have. Our culture puts such a stigma on childbirth as if it is this painful moment that we need to just muscle through as quickly as possible.  I am so excited to be partnering with New Birth Company to help transform labor and delivery into a positive, personal, and memorable experience in which Mommy feels empowered and Baby comes into the world as naturally and comfortably as possible.

The “Yoga for Labor” workshop that is coming (once a month) to New Birth Company will give Mommies even more tools and practice to use on their big day. So often our first reaction to tension, anxiety or pain is to begin to cut off or hold our breath. This causes fatigue to our muscles that become deprived of oxygen as well as prevents us from experiencing the calming and soothing effects of deep breathing. In this workshop, we will combine rythmic breathing with a series of movements and poses which promote strength, stamina, balance and flexibility. We will learn how to breath through the tension, thus being able to experience the process of birth with more presence and positive energy.
We will also include pelvic floor strengthening exercises, useful hip openers and talk about positions that can help to relieve lower back pain during late pregnancy and labor.
Join us NOVEMBER 19TH OR DECEMBER 10TH from 10:00-11:30a.m. at New Birth Company. $15 per person