Welcome to the New Birth Company Resource Center! Our goal at New Birth Company is to give you as much information as we can to help you make the BEST decisions for you and your baby… We hope that this is a helpful tool for you to use and share with your friends. Please remember as you peruse books and websites that although they might be listed here, there may be things that we would not condone or view permissible for your care on an individual basis. Keep us involved in your decisions or if you have any questions about content from the following resources. Happy learning!
The following articles and studies might help you decide whether or not New Birth Company would be a good choice for you! Combine reading this compelling information with a tour at one of our facilities (every Monday or Tuesday at 6:00 PM) and decide what’s best for you and your baby.
The Cost of Having a Baby in the United States
Outcomes of Care in Birth Centers: Demonstration of a Durable Model
Undisturbed Birth: Nature’s Blueprint for Ease and Ecstasy – If you want a more challenging read through the hormonal intricacies of labor, this is for you. While always maintaining a priority of mom and baby’s safety, New Birth Company places great importance on high-touch, low-intervention care of the laboring woman. We strive to protect the importance of what you read in this article written by Sarah Buckley.
There is a wealth of information out there about getting pregnant, being pregnant, having babies and raising them! This is a carefully selected list of wonderful, trusted books we at New Birth Company cherish. Any book on this list will be a great place to start educating yourself on the adventure of becoming a parent. Please remember to look for other titles by the below-mentioned authors as well!
Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Books
All Babies Are Born – Cathy Gordon
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth – Ina May Gaskin
The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth – Sheila Kitzinger
The Natural Pregnancy Book: Herbs, Nutrition, and Other Holistic Choices – Aviva Jill Romm
Our Bodies, Ourselves – The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective and Judy Norsigian
The Doula Book: How a Trained Labor Companion Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier, and Healthier Birth – Marshall Klaus, John Kennel, and Phyllis Klaus
The Birth Partner: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and All Other Labor Companions – Penny Simkin
Breastfeeding and Newborn Books
Womanly Art of Breastfeeding – Diane Wiessinger, Diana West, and Teresa Pitman
The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age 2 – William Sears, Martha Sears, Robert Sears and James Sears
The Essential First Year – Penelope Leach
The Internet is an incredible gift when looking for information about pregnancy and childbirth. However, we want to direct you only to websites that have the highest regard and standards of care for your body and your baby. It is easy to get lost in different websites and not know what information to trust. Start with these! And if you ever read anything that sparks a personal fear or question in you, please bring that issue to your midwife for further guidance and we will process together…
Family Planning, Pregnancy, and Childbirth Websites
Contraceptive Efficacy
Family Planning: Things to Consider
American College of Nurse Midwives
American Association of Birth Centers
American Pregnancy Association
Spinning Babies – Labor is worth waiting for! To ensure that you go into labor as close to your actual due date as possible you might want to look at the spinning babies website. Spinning babies information is designed to help your body and your baby with optimum positioning for birth.
Miles Circuit – This website also details a series of simple positions that can help encourage baby to be in the best position possible – may be used prenatally as well as in labor.
Healthy Weight Gain During Pregnancy – This helpful tool allows you to calculate based on your prepregnancy weight and height, an appropriate amount of weight gain as you grow your baby. With suggestions about how to achieve weight-related goals – before, during, and in-between pregnancies – this website can help you take one step closer to success!
Doulas of North America International
Coalition for Improving Maternity Services
Science and Sensibility – Helpful research blog about healthy pregnancy, birth and beyond.
Aviva Romm – Website of Yale-trained physician who specializes in integrative medicine for women and children – a leader in the midwifery movement and holistic living.
For consideration with pregnancy loss: Still Birthday
Postpartum, Breastfeeding and Newborn Websites
The Pregnancy and Postpartum Resource Center – Center of great support with 24-7 hotline for help, located in Overland Park, Kansas.
Postpartum Support International
Dr. Jack Newman – This is the official website of Dr. Jack Newman, a Canadian physician who is known for specializing in breastfeeding support and advocacy. A wonderful resource to answer even the trickiest of breastfeeding questions!
Kelly Mom: Parenting, Breastfeeding
International Lactation Consultants Association
American Academy of Pediatrics
The Soft Landing – A helpful webpage written by four sisters from Olathe, Kansas, which guides you in the act of childproofing your home with a focus on natural living.
The following are links to some wonderful documents that will help guide your nutritional choices to help grow your baby and also help you gain the appropriate amount of weight during pregnancy! Please visit the “Healthy Weight Gain During Pregnancy” tool listed above under websites for particulars on what your personal goals should be.
Great Tips on this Link: Healthy Eating Charts
As of September 2014, New Birth Company welcomed Susan Scholtz, PhD (medical nutrition science), to our staff! She is open on Fridays for nutrition appointments to all. We encourage all of our clients to meet with her at least once to help form your own personal nutritional goals! (Documents below courtesy of Natural Touch Wellness Center)
Recommendations for Nutrient-dense Foods (all .pdf files):
Meat Seafood Eggs Dairy Grains Oils Sweeteners
Exercises for Prenatal Health and Beyond (.pdf file)
Exercises for Round Ligament Pain
Natural Touch Wellness Center: Dr. Preston Pierce is the founder and owner of Natural Touch and Wellness Center, a facility with a focus on holistic health and wellness, including chiropractic services and nutritional guidance. They are another fabulous additional support to your personal health – give them a call!
The following chart is a handy place to come for ideas on what to do with common ailments in pregnancy. Please remember the following list is not exhaustive and we strongly urge you to stay in communication with the midwives about any discomforts you are experiencing so we can help you decide what is the best course of action for relief. If you have questions about specific dosages of anything seen below, please call us and ask to speak with a nurse who can help you!
Article: Are Herbs Safe During Pregnancy?
Avoid these oral supplements during pregnancy: Arbor vitae, Beth root, Black cohosh, Blue cohosh, Cascara, Chaste tree berry, Chinese angelica (Dong Quai), Cinchona, Cotton root bark, Feverfew, Ginseng, Golden seal, Juniper, Kava kava, Licorice, Meadow saffron, Pennyroyal, Poke root, Rue, Sage, St. John’s wort, Senna, Tansy, White peony, Wormwood, Yarrow, Yellow dock, vitamin A (large doses can cause birth defects).
Avoid these aromatherapy essential oils during pregnancy: calamus, mugwort, pennyroyal, sage, wintergreen, basil, hyssop, myrrh, marjoram, and thyme.
Breastfeeding Preparation
7 Natural Laws of Breastfeeding – Nancy Mohrbacher
Videos of Babies Latching On! – Dr. Jack Newman
Preparing to Breastfeed – www.kellymom.com
Improving Latch by Improving Positioning – Jessica Barton (7-video playlist on YouTube)
Baby-led Latch – Dr. Christine Smillie
Breastfeeding Help
Common Challenges – Nancy Mohrbacher
Breastfeeding Articles – Dr. Jack Newman
“Motherwear Breastfeeding” – Search for these helpful podcasts on iTunes for interesting topics and lectures.