Newborn Care: Why Delay Clamping Baby’s Umbilical Cord?
Once your baby is born, at some point, his/her umbilical cord must be clamped and then separated from the placenta. Many families are now considering delaying when this clamping happens because of the benefits offered to the newborn. Approximately one-third of a baby’s total blood volume is in the placenta and/or umbilical cord at birth.…
Giving Birth at AdventHealth Tampa
What is it like to give birth at AdventHealth Tampa? We recently toured and met with Birth Designer, Emily Sullivan, RN, BSN. Here are some of the things we learned about this hospital: Birth Designer The Birth Designer works with each mother-to-be to customize her birth experience and act as a liaison between her care…
Giving Birth at Clearwater’s Morton Plant Hospital
Tampa Bay is fortunate to have many different excellent birth options, including Morton Plant hospital in downtown Clearwater. Today we had a private tour and are pleased to share what we learned! Before You Go into Labor You’ll be able to pre-register and meet with a special “family admission nurse” to talk about your choices and…
Breastfeeding Advice from a Tampa Bay IBCLC
First, congratulations on choosing to learn more about breastfeeding! Getting educated on breastfeeding will help you get off to a great start. Read books, talk to friends and professionals and ask questions; you are going to do great at this! You probably already know that breastfeeding is the biological norm. This is how we have…
Comfort Measures for Varicose Veins
About 28% of women will develop varicose veins in pregnancy. While they are mostly harmless in the short term they can cause pain and discomfort. Here are my recommendations and best comfort measures to try if you are dealing with varicose veins in pregnancy. If you’re like me, before I had varicose veins I had…
Leah Remini on Why She Hired a Doula
My husband, Mike Rinder, co-hosts the TV show Scientology: The Aftermath with actress, comedian and best-selling author Leah Remini. She visited the Tampa area a few months ago. At dinner one evening, I was pleased to learn that Leah Remini’s doula provided invaluable support after the birth of her daughter, Sofia, 12 years ago. She graciously agreed…
Labor Pain and Nitrous Oxide
Have you heard about this new option for pain relief in labor – nitrous oxide? Well, to be fair it’s technically not new. Nitrous oxide, a tasteless, odorless gas made up of 50% nitrous and 50% oxygen, has long been used in other countries like England, Canada, Australia and more. It was used in the…
A Doula for Twins
All new mothers need information, encouragement and support. How can a doula be especially helpful when you are having twins? 1. Your doula can help you find accurate information and determine what your preferences and wishes are. Giving birth to twins presents possibilities that you may want to know more about, including: will they be…
I Trust My Doctor. Why Do I Need Childbirth Classes?
At a childbirth education class recently, a father-to-be asked a very thought-provoking question: If you have a great care provider (OB/midwife), why do I need childbirth classes? Why do we need to know any of this stuff? Why not just trust them to make the decisions for you? While not comprehensive, here are a few ideas…
What’s Laboring Down?
Whew! You made it! You’re finally at 10 cm dilated, that means it’s time to start pushing, right? Well… maybe not yet. Dilation is only one small part of the coordinated efforts made by your body and your baby’s in order to be born. Other things that need to happen are effacement, tilting of the cervix AND…
Birth Plans & Your Unpredictable Birth
We love helping our clients figure out and come up with their birth plans. It’s a great opportunity to learn about all of the options and variations that can come up in labor and birth and what you would prefer. One of the hardest things we deal with as laboring and birthing people is accepting and…
Hospital Bag Checklist
“What should I bring to the hospital?” Here are some ideas. A few items on the list will also be provided by your hospital (blankets, pillow, shampoo, soap, etc) but if you prefer your own toiletries and want to feel more at home we suggest you bring these items with you. Download a copy of this checklist here. Labor…
Interview With a Postpartum Doula
Rebecca Towner and her two children, Photo courtesy of Pure Bloom Photography. Buddha Belly postpartum doula, Rebecca Towner, answers questions about her role in supporting families: What does a postpartum doula do? A postpartum doula wears a lot of hats. She is there to provide emotional, practical and educational support for your family during this…
Sex After Childbirth
Intimacy and sex after childbirth can be a source of concern or relationship tension for new parents. While this topic may seem taboo to some, it’s helpful to keep some factors in mind. Your midwife or doctor will likely recommend refraining from sex until at least six weeks postpartum whether you had a vaginal birth…
The Many Uses of a Yoga Ball (updated July 2022)
A yoga or exercise ball is a great tool to have in your home during your pregnancy, labor and beyond. Due to the many helpful ways you can use a yoga ball, it really is a worthy and smart investment. When choosing a ball be sure to get the appropriate size based on your height.…
Who Hires Postpartum Doulas?
As awareness of postpartum doula support grows, many people ask us what type of family hires a postpartum doula. They often ask “Who hires postpartum doulas?” Here are just a few examples of who hires postpartum doulas: First-time parents. When bringing your first baby home, everything is new! Feeding, sleeping, diapering, washing, doctors, daycares… it’s…
All Alone With My Newborn Baby
I had planned to have a natural birth at a birth center but things didn’t turn out that way. My son was born via emergency cesarean and my world was turned upside down. My mother had a flight booked for the first week in January to be at the birth, but my son came two…
The Low-Down on Tearing ‘Down There’
You just had your baby! Yay! Congratulations! You also have a … (cue scary music) … tear. Try to relax, perineal lacerations, aka “tears,” are a common occurrence during vaginal birth. Yes, it’s common; in fact, it happens in more than two out of three vaginal deliveries. These lacerations are classified into four categories: First-degree:…
The Love Hormone: Oxytocin
Oxytocin has physical AND behavioral effects on the human body, making it one amazingly magical chemical. (Note: oxytocin and pitocin are not the same thing. Pitocin is the synthetic version of oxytocin. It can replicate the physiologic aspects of oxytocin on the body, but not the behavioral ones.) It’s called the “love hormone” because our…
When is the Best Time to Hire a Doula?
Is it ever too early or too late to hire a doula? Our answer is: if you are currently pregnant, it’s never too early or too late. If you hire a doula very early in your pregnancy, you will have more time to use her services and get to know each other. Your doula will be…
Why Prenatal Yoga?
During my last pregnancy, I attended prenatal yoga classes at Yoga Village in Safety Harbor and I was really happy that I did. I got more out of it than expected. Here are some reasons to consider prenatal yoga. 1. Relief from common pregnancy discomforts. As your body transforms, more weight and stress is put…
Chiropractic Care for a Healthier Pregnancy: The Webster Technique [Updated 2025]
Your back aches in ways you didn’t know were possible. Your hips feel like they’re being pulled apart, and that sharp, shooting pain down your leg? Let’s not even go there. Sound familiar? If you’re pregnant and finding that simple things—like getting out of bed or putting on shoes—feel impossible, you’re not alone. Up to…
How Do I Get A Breast Pump From Insurance? [updated in 2021]
Expecting parents sometimes ask us how they can get a breast pump from their health insurance company. Whether you’re planning to return to work or not, a breast pump is handy to have available for those times when you can’t nurse your baby at your breast. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, these should be…
Partners Are Parents, Too! 3 Ways to Promote Bonding with Newborns
It’s a pretty common idea that a “great way” for partners/fathers to bond with your new baby is to express milk and let him/her feed the baby. And while it is a fun activity, expressing before your milk supply is well established – by your baby – is not recommended. It’s best for your baby…
What Is A Gentle Cesarean? (updated June 2022)
Many families are interested in what is referred to as a ‘gentle cesarean’ or a ‘family centered cesarean.’ The purpose is to allow mothers and partners a more active role at the birth, create a peaceful and calm atmosphere and to emulate what happens during and after a vaginal birth. Let’s discuss the features that…
It’s Baby Time! When Should We Leave Home?
They say ‘timing is everything,’ and this is no less true in labor than other aspects of life. It does matter when you go to your birth location – you don’t want to be there too soon, and you probably don’t want to have your baby in the car! So when exactly is the right…
What Should You Do in the Early Labor Phase? (Netflix & Chill!) [Revised 2026]
Sometimes it’s hard to tell when you’re going into labor. Discomfort is normal—but panic doesn’t have to be. Believe it or not, once early labor begins, you can just keep living your life. Yes, early labor is real labor—it counts! But it can also be calm, manageable, and even relaxing. In fact, the more relaxed…
Who Will Be in the Birth Room?
A new baby brings such joy, not only to her parents, but also to a gathering of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, neighbors, friends… the list goes on and on. And truly, as new parents, you’ll learn to rely on the support they’ll provide over your child’s life. Is there ever a time you won’t…
Doula Support Positively Affects Breastfeeding
Improved breastfeeding outcomes are not merely opinion. Research has concluded what many mothers and doulas know from personal experience. Having a doula not only improves the birth experience, it makes the transition to a new life with baby smoother. Plainly stated doula support has a positive affect on breastfeeding! One study was conducted with 724 first time mothers.…
7 Things About Writing a Birth Plan (updated 2022)
Many expectant parents ask us about a birth plan – what should go on it, what shouldn’t? For most people, a birth plan is a good idea, when used as a communication tool. By this we mean, it communicates your preferences to your care providers in a clear, succinct fashion. Birth is unpredictable and there…