“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!

According to the World Health Organization, the African Region is the most effected by malaria and accounts for about 86% of the estimated 247 millions malaria episodes worldwide in 2006 and 91 % of the malaria deaths the same year. MALARIA REMAINS THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN AFRICA. It is recommended that EVERY WOMAN be TREATED for MALARIA during her prenatal care. Unfortunately, many women can not afford prenatal care therefore the goal is to have a minimum of TWO prenatal visits to receive needed medications.
In countries like Tanzania, the sub Saharan areas, everyone is assumed to have Malaria. Yes, we challenged this assumption and began to test everyone who presented with complaints including every pregnant women. We are taught as health care providers to not prescribe medications unless they are really needed. Knowing that medications are toxins released in the body to combat disease, a health care provider will withhold treatment often to assure they are targeting the disease correctly. When the lab results cam back to us in about 30 minutes,100% of the malaria screens were positive. It is true that the majority of Africans have malaria. Therefore those women who are pregnant are assumed also positive for Malaria and this can effect the baby.

Upon arrival into Tanzania one of the very first purchases we made was medications used for ingenious ailments such as malaria. We purchased enough doses that over 1000 people received treatment. Every woman presenting for prenatal care received prenatal vitamins, iron, malaria treatment, worm treatment and treatment for another parasite called shistoshimaisis.
Pictured here is baby Essa. Baby Essa is exactly one month old in this picture and struggling with Malaria. His liver and spleen are so enlarged that he struggles to breath. He has a high fever, and is too weak to nurse. He was dying. His mother had hope. Our team partner with the local clinic in providing him treatment for the malaria.
We monitored and aided him for 48 hours. Slowly baby Essa improved.

Les Amis de Naissance will be putting together backpacks to place in the hands of every midwife. Our desire is to include in these backpacks medications needed to treas women before they give birth for ailments such as Malaria. We can not do this project alone nor tackle the huge beast of Malaria. WE can only move forward one step at a time, treating one person at a time as we meet and know them each. However, partnering with as many other organizations and people as possible–we can make a difference. One at a time……maybe baby Essa will live….live to be the leader of his country someday.

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!

New Birth Company is near completion and it will take your breath away… Of course our final blessing will be when our  rooms are filled with the miracle of a new life. We have received several lovely gifts as well as requests for ideas. We created a wish list at Bed Bath and Beyond and want to share it with you and all of our families.  Type in ”New Birth Company” for both the first and last name. Thank you and bless you for your continued support !   http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regGiftRegistry.asp?wrn=-1220238756&

Saving Money for Kansas moms is one objective at New Birth Company.  ACTUALLY saving YOU money, no matter where you live!

Over the last several months, we have actively been pursuing our elected officials to help them understand how we can save Kansans and Missourians money!  We are talking for you!  Yes choosing a birth center saves you A LOT of precious dollars.  Often, we, as consumers, just trust our insurance “to cover” the expenses of health care including the birth of our babies.  The pendulum has shifted and now we can not really trust that expenses are covered.  We are “surprised” by the bill in the mail requiring thousands of dollars including what you must pay.  Many insurance require you  to pay a percentage of that bill.  IF your bill is $12,500 (average normal birth cost in KC area hospitals) and you have to pay 20-30% you are paying out of pocket between $2500-$3750.  WOW, that is more than the costs of the birth center facility fee itself!

LOOK At your OPTIONS closely—Birth Centers SAVE YOU MONEY and are a safe excellent choice.  Below I am including some talking points for you to consider using when talking to your employer, or insurance broker about saving money and choosing birth centers!

Did you know that approximately 1 percent of births in the United States take place in non-hospital settings. Of such births, in 2008, only 28 percent occurred in birth centers and 65 percent were home births. Hospitals remain the setting of delivery for 99 percent of all births despite the following findings:

(A)      Multiple studies have demonstrated that for women who meet criteria to be considered at low risk for obstetrical complications, labor and delivery at a birth center can result in higher patient satisfaction and equivalent or better outcomes than in-hospital birth.

(B)      Studies have consistently found that for low-risk mothers, planned home birth had the same outcomes as hospital births for similar risk women, but with fewer costly and often preventable interventions.

(C)      In a nationwide comparison of birth center costs to hospital costs, it is  that if 100,000 births were attended in birth centers, access to care would be greatly improved, and annual savings would total more than $314,000,000. 

The growing shortage of maternity health care professionals and childbirth facilities is creating a serious obstacle to timely and adequate maternity health care for women, particularly in rural areas and the inner cities.

The two most common conditions paid for by Medicaid in 2007 were pregnancy and childbirth (28%) and newborns (26%), which together accounted for 53% of hospital discharges billed to Medicaid.  The two most costly conditions billed to Medicaid in 2008 were ‘mother’s pregnancy and delivery’ and  care for ‘newborn infants, which together accounted for 26% of all Medicaid expenditures .  Furthermore, did you know that Maternity care facility charges vary significantly by setting and type of birth –

(A)      In 2008, the average charge for a hospital cesarean birth with complications was $20,080, and without complications was $14,900;

(B)      In 2008, the average charge for a hospital vaginal birth with complications was $11,410, and without complications was $8,920; and

(C)      in 2010, the average charge for a birth center vaginal birth was $2,277.

Our recommendations and solutions are specific to reducing the 600M spent annually on Children, Families & Pregnant Women are:

• Encourage prenatal care to begin with Midwives
• Encourage Birth to occur in one of the licensed birth centers within the state of Kansas.
• Encourage Birth Attendants to reduce inductions and allow women to carry their babies to the actual due date.
• Encourage physicians to collaborate with Certified Nurse Midwives so Kansas can increase the  provider workforce in the inner city and rural health care shortage areas.
• Consider encouraging more birth centers to develop and operate within the state of Kansas
• Consider working with Private insurance brokers are decreasing malpractice premiums to providers who accept Medicaid clients.

Recently I was asked, “Why do you have so many pictures of naked dads?”

I was slightly surprised and taken back by this question, and pondered as to where one might surmise I had pictures of “naked dads”.  Obviously the question resulted in my face contorting  a puzzled look.

“Naked dad’s?” I responded?

“yeah, those pictures you have of naked dads holding a baby”

“OHHHHHHHHHHHH”  now I understood!  “those aren’t naked dads, those are daddies who are holding their brand new babies closest to their skin to keep them warm!”

Amazingly, God made our bodies with incredible blood flow.  The rushing arteries motorized by the amazing beating heart pumping blood throughout our bodies produces incredible heat.  This heat filters into our fat tissue, and seeps out of our skin to keep us warm.

New born babies are much the same except their systems are newly transitioning to life outside of the womb.    They do not have a lot of “fat” like adults.  They have a fat called “brown fat” that actually is a reserved for them to maintain heat.  Brown fat is different, in many ways, primarily it is quickly burned up (metabolized) when used for heat.   It actually helps the babies maintain a core body temperature. If a baby is not warm, it body will use the stores of brown fat to maintain warmth.  These stores can quickly be used up and then the baby can no longer maintain a good body temperature.

Keeping “brown fat” in mind and a new born baby, one can consider how easy it is for them to be cold.  Really, they are coming out of a very warm environment.  The temperature they are used to is about 98.6 F.  At birth, a baby leaves this warm environment and most often comes into a cooler environment.  They also enter this new environment wet.  The cooler environment would be like stepping out of a heated pool into a 70 degree room.  It is chilly to say the least.  Therefore, their initial reaction may be to cry.  (I would- it is cold).  In addition, they will start using their brown fat reserves to keep warm.

To help our newborn babies reduce their stress, we like for the babies to go right on to mom’s abdomen or chest if the cord is long enough so that they can immediately feel her warm skin.   They also benefit from hearing her heart beat and snuggling.  Once born, we may use a soft blanket or towel to dry them off and cover their body while laying directly on mom.  They remain unclothed and are laying on moms uncovered skin. When ready, dad may take the baby to hold and snuggle.  Of course, we ask the dads to “remove their shirts” and snuggle those babies next to their body so they can stay warm.

Our bodies are a natural heat source for the brand new babies to keep warm.  We can actually provide them with the best heat source possible.  The best way for the baby to obtain this heat is direct skin to skin contact.  Babies skin touching directly on to mom’s or dad skin.  If the baby, mom or day is dressed then some of the heat is absorbed into the fabric.  The best way to keep a baby warm and reserve the brown fat is skin to skin contact immediately after birth.

I guess I have to say “we like naked dad’s” because we know that the baby is warm.

One of the MOST important aspects of your prenatal care is to clearly identify your due date!  Historically, the “gold standard” for getting your due date as accurate as possible is to base it on your last menstrual period(LMP).  This method of calculation is used throughout the world and has proven itself as very accurate.  HOWEVER, it can be a huge  problem to consider accurate IF a woman is unsure of her LMP.

It is not unusual to now really know your LMP, an for some women is quite common for the following reasons.

• Irregular periods making tracking the “time of the month” harder unless you actually write it on a calendar to refer to.
• Breastfeeding a baby can alter your ovulation, making tracking when you actually got pregnant difficult.
• Some areas of the world do not use calendars which really makes the dating difficult.

So how do you know when you are really due?

Well, that is a great question!  I can answer that question in several manners.  First, many women know when they actually got pregnant based on monitoring closely when they ovulate and have intercourse.  REALLY!  When you ovulate your bodies gives out signs that  ovulation is happening and if you have intercourse at the same time the probability of pregnancy is high! THE accuracy of your due date is best if you know when you ovulated(and more information on ovulation would be another blog topic).

We can also figure out your estimated due date (EDD) by ultrasound, “sort-of”.  This is done by measuring the head of the baby to the end of the spine, called a “crown-rump” measurement.  The best time to measure for MOST accurate due dates is during the first 12 weeks of the pregnancy. The Ultrasound machine then calculates  your baby and compares it to the “average size” of  baby at a certain growth and “estimates” a due date within one week.

If an Ultrasound is done after 12 weeks it has a 2 week error margin on accurate calculations of your due date.  Yep 2 week error margin, so if you have an ultrasound and the tech tells you they think your EDD is 12/25 (Christmas Day) remember that your baby could still be within the limits of the Ultrasound by being born on Dec.11 through Jan 5. Keep in  mind knowing your LMP is a better EDD than by Ultrasound.

One the “old fashion” ways to determine the EDD (and still remains as a high standard) is when you feel the baby move for the first time really well and that the top of the uterus is felt in line with your belly button when you are reclining.  When this all lines up, you are at 20 weeks!  It is really a great way we use to make sure your body is matching the date we have decided on.  Ask your provider to help you feel the top of your uterus–it is really fabulous!

After 28 weeks of pregnancy- it is really hard to get an accurate EDD within 2 weeks, therefore making the pregnancy harder to establish as normal. If an Ultrasound is completed, it can have a 3 week error margin!!!!

New Birth Company Birth Center had a due date given by our contractors of June 17th, for our completion.  Unfortunately, at this time we have come against a snag, or maybe I should say an ROCK WALL.  We have not received all of our permits for building the reaming parts of the building!  It is really frustrating to be held up by the permit people in Overland Park.  Basically we request a permit, and then the planning department responds with questions or approval.  We have been quick to answer all questions within 24 hours and serve as ready for any more at any time.  Unfortunately, Overland Park has a process where they are not obligated to respond to requests for 21 days.  They actually make us wait the entire 21 days to respond to our permitting process. The delay is not only very painful, but also very expensive to us as we are making payments for a facility we are not using. We have spent countless hours in meetings, writing letters, talking on the phone and waiting. I have been told, this is there slow time, and I wonder, really?

I think getting an accurate EDD is very important, even for New Birth Company.  Inaccurate information is costly, time, consuming and painful!

Welcome to the family, Justine Flory!! Justine lives in Lawrence, Ks., has a great and supportive husband and an adorable little boy. Of course he was born in warm and loving birthing center. Justine received her midwifery education from the University of Kansas. We are eager for you to meet her.

Nurse Midwife

Kelly Fritz, Certified Nurse Midwife starts working officially at New Birth Company today!!!

Keely believes in  “Keeping birth normal and empowering women in their birth experiences”.

She also says that women’s health care is best served in a wellness oriented setting, and appreciate the value of the educational opportunities that we have with each client encounter.  When we educate women about their health, we can impact their health, the health of their families, and ultimately the health of our communities.

She is an ARNP-Nurse Midwife and ARNP- Clinical Nurse Specialist in Women’s Health and Community Health with 25 years of experience in nursing, related to mothers and babies, and 8 years of experience as a Nurse-midwife specializing in all areas of Women’s Health (family planning, STI testing/treatment, women’s health, preconceptual, prenatal/intrapartum and postpartum care).  Her work experience has been in a variety of locations, including a regional medical center, community hospital, county health department, freestanding birth center, midtown clinic, and private office.  I speak Spanish, and enjoy working with and learning about women from different cultural groups.

Kelly loves to spend time with my family (hubby & daughters), travel, be outdoors, read and learn.

Welcome Kelly -we are glad you are here.  To schedule an appointment with Kelly, go ahead and give us a call at 913-735-4888.

This weekend is proven to be worth waiting for!  Giving birth this Mother’s Day weekend, at 41 weeks and 5 days proved to be a redemptive, empowering, INCREDIBLE, and absolutely fantastic!  I was given permission to share this story with you today.  Together midwives and mothers can make INCREDIBLE BIRTH DAYS!

Four years ago,  our momma,  gave birth to her first born by cesarean section.  Unfortunately the baby was breech and failed to turn therefore the only option she was given was to deliver her baby by means of major surgery.  That birth left her void.  Holding her baby was not enough, she missed the opportunity to immediately bond with him, to cuddle him and to breastfeed.  Her arms were momentarily empty amidst the routine standards of care in the hospital.  She yearned for more.

She learned that she had a desire  to give birth naturally without surgery, medications, minimal interventions.  Pregnant with her second baby she sought out a very natural approach with a home birth midwife and doula.   Talking openly of the loving care of her midwife and doula,  she passionately shared they coached and guided her during labor. Her hopes for a home birth were sabotaged by  fear, anxiety, and assumed poor position of the baby.  Frustrations  mounted during labor and her progress stalled.  She was encouraged by her midwife to go to the hospital to give birth because she may need intervention.

Her doula took her to a local hospital near her home. Unfortunately, her midwife, did not have a physician to accept her care she entered the hospital through the emergency department.  In active labor, dialated 10 centimeters she was immediately they were halted and told,

“we are sorry, we do not offer vaginal births after Cesarean (VBAC’s) here”Shock penetrated her inner most being coupled with rejection and humiliation just as the next contraction mounted and surged through her body.  Crying out to God for help……….she felt so abandoned.

One of the department physicians had compassion on her and decided to accept her into care and evaluate her.  Realizing she was ready to give birth, they prepared for delivery.   Victoriously she did give birth on this day, vaginally, but had procedures and interventions done to her body she was not prepared for. Immediately after birth, her baby was whisked off to the nursery for observation “in case of infection”.  Again, her arms were empty, and she longed to hold, cuddle and snuggle the newborn.

TODAY:  It is mother’s day weekend, and baby number three is ready to come into the world.  This beautiful incredible woman gave birth today! The environment was gentle, soft music echoed through the background and sweet aromas filled the air.  There was no refusals today, no fear, not anxiety actually quite the opposite.  Today, welcoming arms and hugs to greet her and guide her.  The environment open for her to deliver her baby into her own hands.  He was born with his arms up at his face and fist clenched ready to take on the world.  There was no intervention needed, no IV, no medication, no procedures, and no reason to be concerned of infection.  A beautiful vigorous healthy boy was born as his mother guided his head out and into her arms……it was AMAZING!

I am honored and blessed today because I got to be there and witness this INCREDIBLE BIRTH DAY!  Thank you to this beautiful family for allowing me into their lives and being part of a beautiful birth today!