Job Opening at WBWC Boutique

Those Awful Aversions!

By Claire C. McKiernan

          You wake up one morning and the smell of your favorite hand cream is suddenly revolting. You walk into the kitchen and run out again when you get a whiff of fresh-brewed coffee. You walk back in a few minutes later, hand protectively covering your tummy, and can’t imagine why you are the only one who thinks the eggs being cooked are more sulfurous smelling than the house of Hades. Thinking of going outside for a breath of fresh air? Maybe, as long as the smell of wet earth, mulch, and budding trees doesn’t send you running back to the bathroom.

          Maybe the nausea ends every morning after you’ve been awake for an hour or so. Or maybe, your sense of smell stays in high gear. All. Day. Long. Perfume, coffee, fast food, spicy ethnic foods, seafood, tomatoes, tomato sauce, veggie burgers, garlic, rare beef, ground meat, chicken, sweet foods, and cooking vegetables were all on the list of WBWC patient aversions.

WBWC patient Alisa wrote, “In my first trimester, I couldn't hear or even think the words ‘popcorn,’ ‘macaroni and cheese,’ or ‘steak’ without wanting to hurl. Thankfully that's not happening anymore, as I've had cravings for both popcorn and macaroni and cheese several times in the last month alone!”

Basically, anything that is on the craving list for some women can be on the aversion list for others, and can completely reverse from pregnancy to pregnancy and even within the same pregnancy. Heck, even the smell of your husband/SO can become an aversion (and you craved him at least once, didn’t you?)

          And so goes those awful aversions of pregnancy: the unfortunate flip-side to the fantastic cravings. Each woman and each pregnancy is different. Sometimes there are aversions, sometimes there are cravings, sometimes there are both, and sometimes there are neither. They come and go, or last and last throughout the pregnancy (and possibly beyond).

          Here’s what WBWC patient, Danielle (who also had incredible cravings), experienced:

“When I found out I was pregnant, I was working as a cheese maker at a local goat dairy. I found out I was pregnant while on vacation for Christmas, and a few hours into my first day back in the cheese room I took a break to snack on some cheese and crackers. When I started eating, the cheese tasted as if it had gone bad. It was awful and tasted completely rotten! I threw it away, thinking it had sat too long while I was on vacation. I got a different cheese and it, too, tasted rotten! I threw it away and started inspecting all the cheeses in the walk-in cooler, worried that something had gone wrong. After tasting a few more cheeses, which all seemed bad, I found a co-worker and asked her to sample some. It turns out they were all fine! It was just my first food aversion. I could NOT eat any goat cheese until I was far into my third trimester! But I had to work my entire pregnancy making cheese full time, smelling it all day. Some mornings I would show up for work, walk in, and the smell of cheese would be so overwhelming I would run back outside and vomit! I even had to stop sampling it at the farmer’s markets; the sight of it sitting there on the cutting board would make me sick!”

CAUSES

Aversions, much like cravings, are a result of hormones. Your heightened sense of smell can make things smell fabulous or putrid. However, it is also possible that some of your aversions are protective. After all, perfume is not natural, fresh, clean air, and your body may be over-reacting to the perceived assault on your nose because subconsciously you don’t feel it’s safe to breathe in those chemicals.

It’s not such a bad thing if the aversions keep you away from chemical odors or foods that aren’t really good for you. Unfortunately, when the aversions apply to healthful foods or naturally pleasant odors, especially things you normally love, it is a nuisance, to say the least.

REMEDIES

So, what can be done about aversions? Not much, other than avoidance. There’s also an element of mind over matter. If you can refocus, you may find it helpful to have some pleasant thoughts or appealing odors (either in mind or physically nearby) at the ready for when an aversion is lurking around the corner. This won’t solve the problem, but it may reduce it. Remember: the more you think about it, the worse it gets. The same is true of cravings, of course.

Other than that, remedies are the same as for run-of-the-mill nausea during pregnancy: ginger, ginger candy, peppermints, and mint or ginger tea are helpful for some. They can settle your stomach as well as offer a distraction. Believe it or not, sucking on hard candies can have a calming effect (unless, of course, you are averse to ginger, mint, or anything sweet).

Then again, when an aversion comes on strong, sometimes the thought of putting anything in your mouth is unthinkable.  You might have more luck with aromatherapy, such as putting a drop of peppermint oil or lavender on a tissue or handkerchief (although at least one WBWC patient reported an aversion to peppermint for the full nine months of pregnancy).

Keep in mind that you may be more prone to experiencing an aversion when your tummy is empty. If you can stomach regular, small snacks throughout the day, keep them handy. If you can’t seem to eat anything, day after day, and are feeling overwhelmed, talk to a midwife. She may have a trick up her sleeve that works for you, or at least help alleviate the stress you are feeling.

Be reassured that the aversions will eventually go away, and focus on the cherished end result. As one WBWC patient wrote in response to my aversion request last month:

“I haven't had any cravings the whole time, just nausea and aversions (to sight, smell, and thought of various foods)…I would give more details, but just thinking about food (even foods that I can eat just fine when placed in front of me) makes my stomach turn... oh well. Feel very blessed to have a healthy pregnancy anyway.”

Keep your chin up, a smile on your face, a clothes pin on your nose, and you’ll get through it!

My First Birth Story

by Claire C. McKiernan

Oddly enough, I owe my love for midwifery care to a doctor. It was 2002, and I was having my three-month prenatal exam at a well-reputed hospital in Raleigh.  When I began discussing natural childbirth with my OB/GYN, her response was, “Well, you can TRY it,” in a tone that did more than suggest I would not succeed.

           Then my husband, Mike, asked the doctor a simple yet fateful question:

                        “What would you do if this was your baby?”

           

      “I’d have a C-section at six months to avoid the uncomfortable 3rd trimester,” was her shocking reply.

    Shortly thereafter, I went on a tour of the Piedmont Women’s Health Center (now our beloved WBWC), a full hour’s drive from our home. I couldn’t believe our tour guide, Maureen Darcey, was saying everything I felt about childbirth, and with absolute confidence. I began to feel that my dreams were not just possible, but probable in this environment.

                

     I soon devoted myself to the advice given in Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon. I had read my mother’s old version of Robert Bradley’s Husband-Coached Childbirth, and if you discard the sexism of that time period, the idea of birthing like animals makes a lot of sense. Susan McCutcheon’s practical exercises and especially her stages of labor were indispensible. I reread those parts with each pregnancy.  I also credit the relaxing stretches with warding off back pain, even with a 60-pound weight gain!

         

    For simplicity, the midwives suggested that we work with the due date that had been given to me at the hospital. (According to my own charts, this was a week too early.) Christmas Day, the supposed due date, came and went. On the night of my husband’s birthday (New Year’s Eve), I felt my first contraction.

    I thought I’d have a New Year’s Baby for sure and slept sporadically that night. We spent a total of 12 hours laboring at home and then, in spite of what my childbirth book suggested, we went to the birth center (I wouldn’t jump the gun in future pregnancies). I labored another 17 hours at the birth center, and I often wonder how many miles I clocked walking in circles through those rooms trying to dilate more quickly.

               

     Fortunately, I had the expert help of two midwives, Helen and Angela, in addition to the loving support of my husband and mother. I kept going. And going. And going. My helpers saw to it that I stayed fed and hydrated, and I mostly remember just walking, walking, walking. Periodically, I’d lean against the kitchen table and breathe deeply through a contraction while Mike gave me an absolutely vital lower back rub.

    While stage one of labor had taken far longer than I ever expected, stage two (pushing) was blessedly fast. I gave birth on the bed to 22-inch, 9 lb., 1 oz Christina May at 3:18am on January 2nd 2003.

    For the next seven hours at the birth center, Mike, Christina, and I napped together, I made ecstatic phone calls, and we took photos plus a video of Christina with the hiccups (something I often felt her doing in the womb).  She was delightfully strong, alert, and oh-so-healthy! My mother kept us fed and helped me to shower, which felt wonderful after all that sweaty work.

    Before long, I was resting comfortably on my own couch, with a glass of water, a content baby at my breast, a phone, and my address book.  People couldn’t believe I was calling from home and how alert I sounded. Later that day, my in-laws visited from out-of-state and were blown away by how easily I got around, even up and down stairs. We finished Mike’s birthday cake, which had now become Christina’s “original birthday cake”.

    I was the first in the family (in recent generations, anyway) to have an out-of-hospital, midwife-assisted birth, and I encountered skeptics and worriers along the way. I’m always thrilled to speak about my midwife-assisted births and love watching a mind open up, even just a little, after hearing my stories.

    Was my first baby’s birth difficult? Yes, just as the word “labor” implies. Was it perfect? Yes, just like my baby. 

Give Infant Potty Training a Try!

by Claire C. McKiernan

    I began researching Infant Potty Training (IPT) eight years ago. Perhaps it was that first poop that shot up to my firstborn’s armpits that made me put my skepticism aside.  I wound up buying Infant Potty Basics by Laurie Boucke (about 100 pages) along with the 500 page companion Infant Potty Training by the same author which covers potty training around the world. There are other books and websites on the topic, but these cover the basics.

    IPT is unconventional in America: I didn’t try it until my firstborn was eleven months old. On that glorious day, I showed her the new potty and she happily sat down and peed in it.  That day she peed six times on the potty!  Two months later, I introduced the potty ring on top of the toilet and she used both potties. By 14 months she was pooping twice a day, but I was only changing one or two poopy diapers a week.

    When my son came along 2 ½ years later, I couldn’t wait to put IPT to the test. I started him at 6 WEEKS old! Now this was real infant potty training!  I bought the smallest, simplest potty I could find. I gently placed him on it with his back resting against my belly while we happily gazed at each other in a mirror. That first day, he peed five times in the potty, and the second day he pooped for the first time in it. A week later we were catching three of his six poops a day in the potty.  I only held him on the potty for a minute or two at a time, and only if he was content. He quickly associated pooping with the potty and enjoyed being clean in his diaper. By the time he was 4 months old, I was only changing one poopy diaper a week. By 8 ½ months, he would let me know he had to go. By 10 months, he rejected his potty in favor of a potty ring.

    I also started my third child, another son, at 6 weeks old with much the same success. According to my baby journal, by the time he was 4 months old, I had only changed one poopy diaper in the space of three weeks!

My fourth child is now 19 months old. She did equally well early on, but more recently went through the longest potty strike of any of them: nearly three months! My other children went on strike for periods lasting 1-3 weeks. Strikes correlate with transitions, learning to walk, teething, illness, or anything that puts potty training on the back burner for either parent or baby. When I’m sick or stressed, I’m not as in tune to the baby.

    Yes, IPT takes some effort, but there is very little about babies that doesn’t.  IPT is, above all, a very gentle, loving method.  Really, it isn't any more trouble to put the baby on the potty before she goes than it is to change a diaper afterward. A baby will immediately convey that he doesn’t want to sit on the potty by crying or stiffening his legs. That’s your cue to say, “Okay, we’ll try again later.”

    IPT is practiced extensively throughout much of the world, and by both stay-at-home moms and working moms. Infant Potty Training was the norm in the U.S. until about 1950. Unfortunately, a few harsher methods had come into practice and this, along with the advent of the disposable diaper, put a stigma on early training in this country.

 That’s a pity because:

1. IPT respects the baby’s natural sense of hygiene (some hate being dirty more than others, but keeping them in diapers teaches them to ignore the sensations of a dirty diaper.)
2. It’s economical and earth friendly—I’ve saved countless diapers and wipes, and for cloth diaper fans, it saves washes.
3. Virtually no diaper rash!  No rash means greater comfort for baby.
4. It’s a bonding time—the other end of breast-feeding! My kids have spent many happy moments on their potty while we read books and sang songs.
5. There’s some luck involved, but little frustration. You don’t expect much control yet, so there’s no pressure on baby.
6. Being accustomed to a potty early on makes for fewer tears later. It’s far less likely to become a stubborn control issue than it is for a child who exclusively used his diaper the first couple years.
7. Over time, you intuitively know when she has to go, even if it’s not her usual time.

Consider giving IPT a try with your little one!

Tell Me Your Food and Odor Aversions!

by Claire C. McKiernan

   

  I am working on a follow-up to my Food Cravings article for next month. Whether or not you experienced (or are experiencing) food cravings, you may have had some serious food or odor aversions during pregnancy. Please email me at cmckiernan@yahoo.com with the subject title “WBWC:Aversions” (or something similar). I will not use any names in the article! However, if you have a specific anecdote to share and want me to use your name, let me know.  Thanks!

New Arrivals

Adah Lynn Stenersen - 9 lbs., 13 oz - October 17

Gabriel Christopher Slaughter - 7 lbs., 14 oz. - February 1

*Grey Allen Desloge - 8 lbs., 10 oz. – February 5

Reilly Heron Ceartas - 8 lbs., 14 oz. - February 17

Abram Patrick Kelly - 8 lbs., 3 oz. - February 27

*Elliora Ruth Groseclose -9 lbs. – March 1

Connor Agostino Cutrara – 8 lbs., 15 oz. – March 2

Audarya Nieve Conn – 8 lbs., 13 oz. – March 2

Brieanne Abrigail Bissonnette – 8 lbs., 10 oz. – March 3

*Zyra Jade Holmes - 8 lbs., 4 oz. – March 3

*Adeline Rebecca Cronlund – 7 lbs, 7 oz. – March 4

Madeline Eloise Brown – 7 lbs., 9 oz. – March 5

*Roscoe Brubeck McLendon – 9 lbs., 1 oz. – March 8

Shepherd James Powlas  - 8 lbs., 13 oz. – March 10

Gavin Rhys Towle – 9 lbs., 2 oz. – March 14

Micah Hall White - 8lbs., 8oz. - March 16th

Giavanna Lützow Gentile Plonk – 6 lbs., 10 oz. – March 18

Eleanor Rose Waldorp – 8 lbs. – March 18

Baby Boy Nassim – 8 lbs., 9 oz. – March 21

Hunter Louis Bahntge – 8 lbs., 2 oz. – March 23

*Matheus Ivan Gapeyev – 8 lbs., 8 oz. – March 25

*Wyatt Cole Scott- 9 lbs., 5 oz. - March 26

Christopher Raymond O’Neal – 9 lbs., 2 oz. – March 27

Willow Roan Colón – 8 lbs., 2 oz. – March 29

Vivien Layne Von Kracke – 7 lbs., 10 oz. - March 30

Elliot Bren Almon – 9 lbs. – March 30

*pictured above



Courtney Cole Scott with son Wyatt and mom Lyn Cole. Wyatt is wearing the same t-shirt (hand-stitchced by Lyn to read "Birth Place Baby") that Courtney wore home from the Florida birth center where she was born 32 years ago!



If you would like your baby's birth announced in the newsletter, send an email with baby's name, date of birth, and weight to missy_swanson@hotmail.com.  You can also include a picture.  We'd like to hear from all WBWC moms, whether your baby was born at the birth center or UNC!

Harper's Story: A Different Path

By Elizabeth*

When I discovered I was pregnant, I knew a birth center and natural childbirth were what I wanted. I was happy to learn I lived five minutes from one of the only birth centers in NC (and one of the largest in the country). After an orientation, my once-hesitant partner was completely on board; we felt excited, and I felt no fear about the birth. I read books about natural child birth and breastfeeding and was looking forward to it. Being in a hospital was not an option, and I would never have a C-section or not breastfeed. I remained strong when dubious friends told me, “Hospitals are better” or “You can hurt your baby by not being in a hospital,” and I sought support from loved ones who were on the same page. I had a challenging pregnancy, but I was hopeful for a natural birth. I knew what I wanted and would will it into being.

At 32 weeks, a midwife suggested an ultrasound because I was measuring small. The ultrasound revealed low amniotic fluid, a low baby weight, and that the baby was breech. It felt stressful, but I had faith it would work out. The baby began to gain weight, and the fluid was low but stable. If we could get the baby to flip (which we would), we could deliver at the birth center.

                                                                        

For several weeks I tried everything to flip the baby—inversion positions, Chinese moxibustion, frozen peas on the baby’s head, acupuncture, chiropractic treatments, swimming, yoga poses, and standing on my head in the pool. When those didn’t work, we did an external version at UNC, all the while having faith the baby would flip. Again, I would never have a C-section; the baby would turn, and I would deliver naturally.

The external version was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced. At one point, I asked if the pain was like labor because, if so, I couldn’t do it. One OB replied that the version was much worse and was more like human torture. After several agonizing tries, it didn’t work. I wasn’t prepared for the physical pain. I felt beaten up and unsettled after the procedure; the soreness lasted for days, and I had scratches and bruises on my belly. I also wasn’t prepared emotionally for the disappointment when it didn’t work. I felt desperate and fearful. The head obstetrician, who was very kind and supportive, offered to try another version before the C-section, this time under anesthesia. Overwhelmed, I had to think about it.

I felt devastated at the thought of a C-section. I couldn’t understand how I came to this point, or how I could do it. My fear amplified and, most of all, I felt exhausted. I was tired of trying to flip the baby, tired of trying to figure out a way to deliver a breech baby naturally, and worn out from debating another version. I always thought I’d do anything possible to deliver naturally, including as many versions as possible. But now I was exhausted and began to worry about how our efforts might be affecting a baby that didn’t seem to want to turn.

After deciding against another version and hoping the baby would flip at the last minute (the baby would turn and we would all have a good laugh), I had a C-section birth at UNC on December 2, where our beautiful Harper came into the world. While I was upset, I was glad I had time to come to terms with it and process it. And, it ended up being a pretty positive experience. After researching how to make a C-section a better experience, I proposed some changes to the OBs and anesthesiologist, and they were agreeable and supportive. They readily agreed to turn down the main operating room lights to create a more relaxed environment, to put my IVs and pulse monitor on my non-dominant hand and nothing on my dominant hand so I could better handle the baby, to place my chest monitors higher to allow me to put the baby immediately on my chest, to slightly delay cutting the cord and pull the cord blood into the baby, to let us see and announce the baby’s gender, and to talk about the placenta. (I also tried to get them to let me see the baby being pulled out of me, but they wouldn’t agree to that; however, my partner was able to see it in the reflection in one of the lights, and I’m glad one of us got to see Harper being born.) I didn’t feel judged because I was a birth center patient, and the midwives present, Emily and Leigh Ann, knew the staff well and advocated for me. During the procedure, the staff communicated everything they were doing, which helped me feel like I was experiencing the birth. Harper went straight to my partner, then to me, then with us to our room. We were supported in our decision to decline the bath, the eye cream, and the Hepatitis B shot, and to delay the Vitamin K shot. The experience wasn’t perfect; I was frustrated when a nurse wouldn’t let our doula into the recovery room and with the plethora of random and unnecessary people who came into our room. But, overall, I felt supported by most people I met, including kind nurses and a great lactation consultant who spent three days with us.

Also, little did I know at the time that some of our biggest challenges were to come. After coming home, I hurt my back, had mastitis, and was bed-bound. Harper won’t latch on and my milk production is low, so I have to pump and supplement with formula; I’ve never been able to naturally breastfeed. I didn’t let myself rest like I should have, which delayed my recovery. Eight weeks after the birth, I am battling my second round of C. diff, an intestinal mega bug infection I likely contracted at the hospital and that ran rampant due to antibiotics from the surgery and mastitis. Baby Harper has to wear a full-body harness for three months to correct hip dysplasia and is undergoing regular physical therapy for torticollis (twisted neck). She also has plagiocephaly (an asymmetrical skull and a flat spot on her head), and it is likely she will have to wear a helmet to correct it.

Yet, throughout it all, I feel extremely grateful. I am thankful for a partner who is a real co-parent—not a “mommy’s helper,” but a true co-pilot who is completely involved in our child’s care and in taking care of our household. I am grateful for a healthy child whose issues are correctable and do not cause pain. I am indebted to everyone at WBWC who weathered our storm with us; my prenatal care and the presence of our midwives during the version and C-section were essential. I appreciate our phenomenal doula, Wanda Sundermann, who helped (and continues to help) me process our experience, and to Cher Durham, who gave me resources to understand my rights to ask for the placenta for encapsulation. I feel lucky to be five minutes from UNC where skilled practitioners continue to help us. I am grateful for the financial resources to get what we need and a generous paid maternity leave.

I am also thankful to have received a large dose of humility. I realized I once judged other women for their decisions, but now realize I never know what goes on behind the scenes. And, while the universe has given us challenges, it has also given us a happy, thriving, smiling, beautiful child who is the joy of our life, and who sleeps 11 hours at night and wakes up only once!  I’ve come to realize that, while our experience took a different path, there is much to appreciate.

*Last name withheld for privacy at author's request