I was due with Jude in early June 2014. He was my second, and I delivered his big brother at Lifecycle Women Care in Bryn Mawr. During his brother’s birth, I arrived at the birth center fully dilated and was told it was time to push, so I didn’t get to labor there or wait for my body to have an urge to push. Going into my younger son’s birth, those were the focus of my birth hopes - I really wanted to labor in the tub, and I really wanted to wait to feel the urge to push.

This blog post was originally posted 2/23/2018

It is such an honor to be invited to the birth of a baby. Whether you are the soon to be grandparents, aunt or best friend, to be there for such a special time in the expectant family's life is truly special. With that great honor also comes the responsibility to help keep the birth environment safe, secure and one that will allow the pregnant person to labor the way needed and desired. The people around the laboring person can have a huge influence on the labor, the birth and the entire experience. There are so many things you can do to help the family during this time and there are somethings that, even though well intentioned, might discolor the experience for the new parents.​

When you’re a first-time parent, you need all the help you can get. Blessed breaks from grandma and grandpa and casseroles from the neighbors are surely welcomed, but they’re not the only place you can turn for guidance. Your phone is also full of tools to get you through the crazy first year with your little one, and we’re here to highlight some of the best ones!

4 Best Apps for New Parents
If you’re only using your smartphone to zone out in your pediatrician’s waiting room and send SOS texts to your postpartum doula, you’re not making the most of the miniature computer in your pocket.​

Cesarean Awareness Month was started by ICAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network) to shine a spotlight on the number of cesarean births in the United States. ICAN also wanted to bring attention to the lack of access women have to VBAC supportive medical care. In 2016 the cesarean rate in the U.S. was 31.9%, going down from 32% in 2015 but still not where we need to be. The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends a target of 10-15%. Research shows that most pregnant people want to deliver vaginally and half of the Cesareans performed are not medically necessary. So, what's up?

Everyone should have a group of friends that they feel at home around. There are so many shirts and mugs and hand-painted pallet wood signs beckoning us to Find Your Tribe. According to Merriam-Webster there are a few definitions of the word tribe but basically your tribe is your support system, your comic relief, your shoulder to cry on. Your tribe is your friends and their friends that you know you can count on for a coffee date or to grab a beer, to watch your kids or to borrow a fancy purse because why would I own a fancy purse! These are the people who have enough in common with you that you can talk for hours but enough differences that you are interested in them and never bored.