MOV Birth

06/11/2026

This one never gets old... 😍

Die Geburt unseres vierten Kindes, meine dritte Alleingeburt, diesm...

05/29/2026

There's this fun thing that some practitioners, especially midwives, like to do in pregnancy:
They check your blood pressure and then in order to make everyone feel normal about everything that is happening in their body, they'll tell you a little white lie that your 120/80+ BP is "normal."
…or, maybe they don’t even know that 120/80+ is not within the ideal BP range...
…or, maybe they weren’t taught anything about how to address it until it gets to 140/90 and someone needs medical intervention.
Is it alarming? No.
Is it an emergency? No.
Is it high? No.
Is it pre-eclampsia? No.
Is it healthy? Honestly? No.
So that's the thing... we gather information to try to help us decide what is happening… and then some people ignore it. It’s one piece of the puzzle. The cool thing about an elevated-not-high BP is we can normally make lifestyle changes, revamp the supplements, and bring it back down to optimal before it actually becomes high... or before the malnutrition leads to Pre-E or PIH or GD… or late-in-life heart failure.
Remember, blood pressure is only a symptom, not a cause.
There are actually more nuances to the blood pressure ranges that you can learn about with a quick internet search. ACOG even has a whole section detailing these ranges on their website when discussing Pre-E and PIH. But, if we can remember that 120/80 or above is not optimal... not healthy... we can start to get to the root cause a lot easier, and a lot faster, than if the only number we're watching for is the dreaded 140/90 value... (as a correction, its 140 on the top OR 90 on the bottom... it does NOT have to be BOTH at the same time).
Support healthy blood pressure:
Hydrate... and this includes the hydrating foods you're eating full of moisture and electrolytes as well.
Eat dark leafy greens... a lot... bitter ones, too.
Balance protein & healthy carbs & all the colors of the rainbow in veggies, fruits, and healthy fats.
Optimize magnesium & b-vitamins especially.
Get rid of the coffee and black tea (yes, even decaffeinated).
Reduce busyness.
Get movement in sunshine every day.
Go to sleep with the sunset and rise with the sunrise.

05/20/2026

Look, you don’t want to just w***y nilly pull on a cord… not even to manage a hemorrhage (leave that to someone that can think through this situation a little… and likely have other tools than pulling on cords). Pulling on a cord to an ATTACHED placenta may cause tearing of the placenta leaving pieces behind that can cause more bleeding OR uterine prolapse… NOT COOL! BUT… when the placenta is DETACHED… grab it, give it a gentle tug and FEEL the tautness and how it moves and how the cord lengthens.
Do you notice pain in your belly or just pressure in your bottom?
If you’re a support person, midwife…etc., helping out a mom with your placenta birth… TALK TO HER… we’re not trying to rush things along. There are times where it isn’t going to be quick… mom might even need a nap to be emotionally ready for this part. But if you’re helping and there are clear indications that it is time for the placenta to come, ask her what she’s feeling and go slow and gentle. We’re just trying to teach moms to listen to their body’s communication rather than just suffering through a bunch of strong after pains thinking that’s just what it’s supposed to feel like when really if she’d just get the placenta birthed her after birth contractions would lighten up a little. Yea, you might need to change positions, sit on the toilet. You might even need to push your bladder out of the way if your pelvic floor is a little out of whack. You might need to change positions AND pull on the cord.
But it’s all about logically thinking through this part of birth and working with your body. It’s not just about pulling straight down either. This is a big hunk of meat that has to squish through a canal that’s already squished back to quite a small size. It might take some breathing, relaxation, position changes, and a little wiggling front, back, and then some.

05/18/2026

Skills day today with the Birth Story scenarios card game. Sooo fun practicing with area midwives & assistants!
We...
Analyzed "p*e" made with egg whites and honey and turmeric...
Resuscitated newborns with masks and mouth...
Navigated deceling heart rates and panicked husbands...
Administered herbs for placenta and hemorrhage...
Initiated transport for medical needs...
Discussed, troubleshooted, reflected, and revised...

Only 2 full scenarios played today out of thousands of options that lasted through the morning... so many possibilities with this game 🙌

05/18/2026