I am truly excited to present this on-going seminar, and what better way then on the phone in the comfort of your own home!  Pregnant women have many important questions. Therefore, at the end of each session I will open up the lines to answer as many questions as possible. Follow-up and the remaining questions will happen on Birthwell’s Facebook page where I hope that the greater birth community will join the conversation. The first night begins at 6pm on Monday March 11th. Please email midwifemonday@gmail.com for information and registration. Blessings to you and happy birthing!!    Mari Oxenberg M.S., CNM

Zoë Etkin: Could you talk briefly about the hormonal changes women go through during the postpartum time?

Joanne Cohen: Postpartum is defined as the 6 week period of time beginning immediately after birth, during which the reproductive organs return to the woman’s pre-pregnancy state. It takes much longer than 6 weeks to heal physically and emotionally from pregnancy and birth, and the new demands of motherhood. This is a time of HUGE physical, emotional, psychological, and social change. There are fears, hopes, expectations, and demands that every woman confronts. And when we place a limit of time on a woman, she feels defeated if she is not feeling like her self 6 weeks after giving birth. It takes 10 months to grow a baby and become a mother, how could it only take 6 weeks to feel like her self again?

Much attention is placed on the new baby by family and friends and oftentimes, the needs and support of the new mom are left out. Many new moms feel stressed, exhausted, anxious, and overwhelmed.

In the western world, there is much emphasis placed on ensuring that a woman’s body is healing properly. That she is having a “normal” amount of postpartum bleeding, that her uterus is shrinking to pre-pregnancy size, and that she is producing breast milk for her baby.

There are so many emotional and psychological needs of a woman at this time as she adjusts into parenthood. People assume that if she is physically healing and meeting all of the markers of her recovery, that she is moving through postpartum with ease. I tell my clients to think of the postpartum period as a fourth trimester so they allow themselves at least 3 months after giving birth to heal emotionally and physically. But, the truth is, it is an ongoing journey.

ZE: What type of services and products do you use and recommend to postpartum women?

JC: The #1 recommendation I give to women before they have their baby is to line up support. The more support, the easier the transition is into parenthood. Many women feel bad or are uncomfortable asking for help, but I have seen time and time again that the more care and guidance a woman receives, the better equipped she feels in her mothering skills. Support can be friends making dinner or throwing laundry in the wash, it can be asking your partner for help so you can take a shower, and it can mean having herbal formulations ready for you, counseling if you need, and a warm embrace when needed. “It takes a whole village to raise a child.”

In my private practice, I offer support through customized herbal formulations as well as flower essences. The majority of women I work with do not suffer from postpartum depression, rather, postpartum anxiety. Everything in the first three months is new. A woman is learning how to breastfeed, how much milk her baby needs, when to change diapers, how to bathe (let alone working on the adjustments within her relationship). The insecurities or overwhelm she may feel lead to anxiety which leads to more overwhelm and so on. There might be mild depression mixed in but it is usually more anxiety.

Herbal formulations can strengthen the stress response so her body is better able to cope with the demands of motherhood. Herbs will help her body adjust to the lack of sleep, the overload of her senses, and the hormones coming back into balance. Flower Essences address the emotional piece of this new adjustment. It is important to create an open dialogue with women so they can overcome any difficulties that might inhibit their experience of motherhood. It is really a perfect union to be able to take botanical remedies for both emotional and physical healing.

And then I also work on diet. Sometimes just minor tweaks in a woman’s diet brings more confidence, clarity, and happiness. Even a minor change like adding more good fats to her diet can help with her focus and memory.

ZE: Does this balancing have a great effect on their relationship with their partner, bond with their baby or breastfeeding during the postpartum time?

The more care and guidance in the form of counseling, herbs, nutrition, and flower essences, the less overwhelmed, stressed, and frustrated she feels. This ultimately translates into greater joy and ease.

A mom and her baby are energetically connected throughout the first year postpartum. If a woman is feeling loved, cared for, and secure, she will pass on these qualities to her baby. Not only does she model to her baby how to nurture oneself, she also has more of herself to give to her baby. She is not consumed by daily tasks that need to get done or how to create more time for herself. This frees her up to be present with her baby.

Every relationship adjusts to this new experience differently. Becoming parents is a major life transition. Not only are women learning how to take care of their babies, they are also learning how to be partners in a different role. Again, the more support a new mother receives so that she can focus on her baby and her partner, the better the whole family feels. And the more outside guidance a partner receives about the new family dynamics, the more he/she can be present in a new way.

Communication is the next key (after support) in relationship. Asking for what you need is the one of the most powerful tools. It is important for new parents to make time for their individual selves, time together, and time as a new family.

Joanne offers some key insights into caring for mamas during the postpartum time. We encourage you to check her out! We’d also like to let you know that Birthwell offers our Pampering Postpartum Gift Basket, as well as Mari’s Postpartum Tea, which really calms and sooths. It’s tasty too and great for postpartum women or for easing moon time stress.

Joanne Cohen is the owner of Naturally Prosperous. She helps women who arestruggling with various reproductive and hormonal challenges – PMS, fibroids, endometriosis, fertility and postpartum issues – through nutrition, herbal medicine, and flower essences. Joanne believes that healing takes place when a woman is supported emotionally AND physically. You can reach Joanne for more information at www.naturallyprosperous.com or joanne@naturallyprosperous.com.

By Kelly Meehan

Birth Art by Kelly Meehan

Birth art has been around since the beginning of time throughout the world. Within each culture the elements of nature were used to create art. This art has been seen as drawings etched in the sides of mountainous rocks, paintings in red berries, brown sediment, charcoals, and even in sculptures from earth’s natural clay. This kind of art is special because it uses the foundation of life as its palette…birth.

Birth art is inspired by conception, pregnancy, birth, baby, and motherhood. Birth art is a type of art that carries the message of life and co-creation. It has been witnessed as
womb like figures with round womanly shapes birthing baby, sacred spirals surrounding mother, vagina’s crowning with life, and labyrinths of conception. Birth art is visually
stimulating, emotionally driven, and spiritually awakening.

Art in general has a healing quality that plays into the subconscious mind with either positive or negative experiences. The viewing of art or the physical expression of art
both offers something very valuable. Birth art is instinctual and unique because it comes from that internal calling whether it is a personal experience of birthing children, witnessing birth, working in the birth field, or being born. Birth art is no new concept and an area of art that continues to grow into amazing expressions from realism, abstract, expressionism, to  impressionism, pop art, and surrealism. Birth art affects everyone and it touches the spirit and opens up the mind.

Birth art differs from culture to culture; each region of the world worshipping the sacredness of mother and birthing through ancient family traditions or new formed family traditions. In American culture it is very popular to create a belly cast of mothers pregnant belly before birth, receive a henna belly tattoo, use placenta for art, use paint or airbrush on pregnant body, and photography before, during, and after pregnancy. Birth art is a subjective medium, a therapeutic outlet, a master piece of life, and a sacred gift to humanity. As Friedrich Nietzsche says “Art is not merely an imitation of the reality of nature, but in truth a metaphysical supplement to the reality of nature, placed alongside thereof for its conquest.”

Find inspiration in artworks at the upcoming Birth Art Exhibit in Huntington Beach on July 29th! Check out our calendar for more details.

Kelly Meehan, MA
www.birthhealing.com
birthhealing@gmail.com
The Healing Room~ Topanga, CA

Lara Catone

As a doula, childbirth educator and sexual wellness coach this is a question I am asked often. With 98% of women in hospitals receiving epidural medication it’s hard to imagine that giving birth could be pleasurable–never mind orgasmic. Culturally the connection between childbirth and sexuality has long been severed. However, physiologically women are wired in a way that sexual arousal is an aid in pain relief and easeful passage of baby.

The birth of a baby represents the great culmination of our love making, of our creative force and the same sensuality that created this new being can bring it into the world. Here is how the science of sex and birth converge to provide an orgasmic blueprint.

Physiology

The vagina provides a magical passageway of pleasure for both women and their partners. However, a certain amount of foreplay is required to turn the magic on. When a woman is fully aroused she has 360 degrees of erectile tissue that engorges with blood and her nerve pathways of pleasure light up. When this activation occurs intercourse suddenly feels amazing. Without proper stimulation intercourse can feel dreadfully mediocre or even painful.

This same physiology is at play during childbirth and arousal makes passage for a baby much easier. As aroused tissue swells it becomes soft, wet and more elastic. You can open yourself to the sensuality of birth and share this with your partner through nibbles on the neck, caressing and even direct stimulation of the vulva and the highly sensitive clitoris. This may make the birth of your baby feel great and in the very least will help to prevent tears and injury to the pelvic floor.

Hormones

Many hormones come together to create a perfect chemical soup for birthing, however there is one that supersedes all others when it comes to orgasmic potential. Oxytocin is a hormone that is released during our most intimate moments in life like making love and having a baby. Oxytocin provides a feeling of deep connection and bliss and is responsible for bonding and attachment of mother and child. When we fall in love we are swimming in a bath of oxytocin.

In order to produce more of this feel good hormone during birth think of a setting in which you’d make love. Oxytocin surges in dark, quiet places where we feel safe and can be induced through activities like gazing into our partner’s eyes, kissing and nipple stimulation.
When we cultivate a friendly environment for oxytocin, we also invite a rush of endorphins that provide natural pain relieving analgesia. Read more tips for increasing oxytocin.

The Brain

When a woman is coping well in labor she leaves ordinary reality and enters an altered state. The more relaxed and internal she becomes her brain literally down shifts into deeper and slower waves allowing her to transcend into a primal and potentially ecstatic state. Many of us have had transcendent moments in our sexual experiences as well. Think of times where you felt utterly connected with your partner, your body and perhaps even to a higher power, where you had exquisite pleasure and sex felt hypnotic or supernatural. Again this shift requires the right environment. Two major factors prevent women from accessing this space 1) fear of going into such a state and 2) outside distractions. So, with all of these components practice and preparation is required.

Ways to practice and prepare for an orgasmic birth:

■ Breath and Sound – Both breath and sound keep us connected to our bodies and give the mind a place to rest or focus. Breathe deeply on your own and while having sex. Begin to add low deep ahhh sounds on your exhale to move the sensation through your body. Moving sensation is essential during labor.
■ Kegels or Pelvic Floor Exercises – There are many varieties and they can be done on your own or with your partner inside of you. Pelvic floor exercises create more blood flow, elasticity and arousal. Learn pelvic floor exercises here.
■ Intimacy and Connection – Maintain a sexual and sensual connection with yourself and your partner throughout pregnancy. Think of the changes in your body and hormones as opportunities for new exploration.
■ Relaxation – Deep relaxation is key to opening the body to pleasure and it is important to practice in the time leading up to labor. There are infinite visualizations and meditations that can be simply incorporated into each day.

Ultimately childbirth, like sex, is the most natural, primal and wild manifestation of our human experience. Birth is not something that should be controlled but is something to fully surrender ourselves to like we do our lovers. There is no way to guarantee that a birth will be orgasmic however why not open ourselves to the possibility? And have some fun practicing along the way!


Lara Catone inspires people to live fully empowered and celebrated lives. As a yoga teacher and sexual wellness educator with extensive experience in women’s health, Lara offers a full spectrum approach to health, wellness and happiness. In her private practice Lara draw’s upon her diverse background in yoga, meditation, therapeutic touch and strength training to create comprehensive individualized programs. Her specialities include restoring core strength and eliminating pelvic pain. She is the creator of Sexual Wellness TV, a web series about enlightened sexuality and health for women and couples. LaraCatone.com

Please check our Media Bar on our home page to see Lara’s instructional videos.