What Happens During Labor in the Hospital?

So, you are in active labor (5 cm or more) and the hospital has deemed you “ready” for a birthing room. So off you go. At this point, you call or text your doula and photographer and let them know which room you are in, so they can come and meet you there.

The room will be fairly large since it must accommodate a team of nurses, your OB, the heating table for the baby, the bed, medical equipment, and usually a couch that can double as a bed for your partner. It will also have a bathroom and usually a shower.

If you are not into “hospitally” stuff (really, who is?), it’s important to bring things that will help you relax and feel safe.

What Can I do during a Hospital Birth to feel more Comfortable?

1. Your Own Gown

2. Electric Candles

3. Birth Affirmations

4. Your Own Music. This can be played on the hospital speakers (in your room) often times.

5. Aromatherapy. I have only been to one hospital that allowed a diffuser. However, Amazon has little patches of aromatherapy tabs. They can be found here.

What Happens During a Hospital Labor

Ok, so you have your creature comforts, you are in active labor and are now in your birthing room. What now?

Let us assume you are doing a natural birth without an epidural.

Now it is a waiting game. What I mean by that is, you will hopefully continue having your contractions. They will become more intense as time goes on. They will become quicker until they are on top of each other. And then you have a baby.

Now, all of the stuff in between. If you go to the hospital too soon and they still admit you, the likelihood of you asking for an epidural can increase. Why is that? Labor can take a while, and you get tired. Being completely exhausted is a real reason epidurals are asked for. You simply get too tired and cannot take on contractions while exhausted. In other words, really stick to that 5-1-1 rule (part I in the blog)and stay home as long as possible.

It is important to relax and listen to your body. Yes, labor progresses quicker if you are using the UFO method. That is you are in an Upright, Forward-facing, and in an Open position. Movement is your best friend during labor. However, if you feel you need to rest or sleep, please go with that. Never think taking a nap will stall labor. You can move afterwards, as you are in for a lengthy stay. If you can catch little cat naps in the early active stage, you will likely have more stamina for the more intense time later on.

What if I Feel Pressured by Labor Nurses or my OB during Labor?

In no way am I stereotyping here, so please save the hate mail. I am only speaking from my own experience, having been to many births.

There may be times when a nurse will check your dilation. Remember, this is an elective procedure. In no way feel like you must comply. If you are listening to your body and you don’t want to be checked, you have every right to voice that. But if you do want it and you have not progressed much over a specific amount of time, they may strongly suggest interventions.

The suggestions may be said in such a way as to make you feel like it is the best thing in the whole world. I have heard things like, “if you would like to have a little Pitocin to move things along, you could be holding your baby much sooner”. I have also heard, “You are so close, we could break your water and baby will be here in no time at all”. Now these statements sound very reasonable right? Nothing pushy about it, correct? But imagine you are so exhausted, perhaps in a lot of pain, and someone throws out one of these “life preserver” statements. Right at your most vulnerable, the chances of you jumping at it, is high. In no way am I saying any of these interventions are bad or wrong, but if you have it in your mind, you are doing this as naturally as possible, these statements that nurses say, can go against what you want, and when you are vulnerable, you take it.

Adding Questions to Your Birth Plan

When I do birth plans with clients, I always ask them, “Do you want staff to offer interventions or do you want to wait to ask yourself?” This is hugely important. It’s totally ok, if you decide to have interventions, but make it on your terms. You or your partner ask for them. When you are offered options at a vulnerable moment during labor, those options can change the course of your birth dramatically.

Using Your B.R.A.I.N. During Labor

Whenever you are given an option to do something, such as getting a little Pitocin, breaking the water, getting an epidural, always use the acronym BRAIN.

For example, an OB says, “Would you like a little Pitocin since it seems your labor has stalled”? First of all, yes, your contractions can slow down or become less intense. Some practitioners call this “failure to progress”. What a nasty little term THAT is! As necessary as I feel hospitals are, they are often run on numbers. If they can’t get you delivered and moved to the maternity ward quickly enough (opening up the room for another birthing person), then they may look for ways to speed you up. Contractions slowing down or becoming less intense are often part of labor. If you and baby are doing fine, then, in reality, they should just leave you alone. However, they don’t always do that.

B. in BRAIN

Ask what the benefits are. In the example above, ask your OB, what benefits are there to me and baby if I have Pitocin?

R. in BRAIN

What are the risks? If I get Pitocin, what are the risks of that?

A. in BRAIN

What are the alternatives? If I don’t get Pitocin, what can I do instead?

I. in BRAIN

What does your intuition tell you? Do you feel Pitocin is the right thing to do?

N. in BRAIN

What if you do nothing? What will happen if I do not do Pitocin or any alternatives? Even if for a little while.

Part III

Part III will come out in a day or two. That part will be pretty short, but vital!

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Ok, now that’s off my chest, lets talk publications. As you may (or may not know) I had an interview with SHOUTOUT LA magazine last year. Since expanding my birth photography and doula services to include San Diego, Orange and Riverside counties, SHOUTOUT SOCAL magazine asked to do a similar interview.

They like me. They really like me!

It’s always exciting to get asked to interview. I think birth photography might be a little misunderstood. I think people feel we are going to be all up in their lady parts and photographing their naked body. News Flash–birth photography is really about the feelings, emotions, the high and lows and everything in between on the day your child is born. What were you doing? What was your partner doing? How did you cope with labor? Who was there in the room? What did your baby look like? Did you cry? Laugh? Did your partner faint dead away or did they throw their arms around you in joyous celebration? Maybe it was a more subdued day. Maybe you decided on an epidural or a C-section. Did you get in the shower? Did you use a birth tub, birth stool or peanut ball?

What I am trying to say, birth photography is the journey of your story on that day. One day in your life that is documented. It’s not about nekkid lady parts.

Alright Already, where is the SHOUTOUT SOCAL article?

You can find the article here. Please don’t look only at the pretty pictures–I do have some things to say. I describe how I got started (duh!), why I love it and some tidbits about the Southern California area.

Is Birth Photography Right For You?

I realize birth photography isn’t for everyone. However; if you are curious and have questions, you can read anywhere on this website or you can send an email. I will happy to talk with you. No pressure to book!

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A couple things may happen at this point. Either the prices are going to be there or you have to “contact” for the price list. Either way, you get your answer and you ARE BLOWN AWAY. Why on earth would birth photography be so expensive and in some cases rival that of wedding photography? This is the question I am here to answer, but before that, let me explain the why we do this work.

I am going to tell you we all have a passion for birth. We love it and if we could give it away, we would, because we believe it is that important. Alas, it is hard work and we need to feed our families and we need to charge accordingly.

On Call time

Imagine for a moment, someone asks you to photograph their wedding. They give you an approximate date, but tell you in could happen at anytime a couple weeks around that date so you have to be ready. Heck, the wedding can be in the middle of the night, so be ready! Don’t be sleeping the night away or out at a party skunked. It doesn’t matter if we are throwing a birthday party for our kids or it’s Christmas morning, when we get the call that the wedding is now, we must go. We are owned for the 2-3 weeks prior to an estimated date.

Challenging Lighting

Buckle up Buttercup, it’s going to be a dark ride! Ok, so we have grabbed our gear and snacks. We have placed our kids at a babysitter (who by the way are expensive since they are on call too) and rushed to the home/ birth center/ hospital only to see the lights so dim that one can barely make out the zipper on the camera bag.

Going back to the wedding scenario, not only do we not know when the wedding will be, but we will be asked to shoot in the dark, by dimmed light, those twinkle lights and then that dreaded ultra bright spot light doctors use during the delivery.

We, the photographers, need to know how our camera works. We don’t shoot in “AUTO” mode, we need to get creative with shutter, aperture and ISO. Most use full manual mode to create the beautiful images you see. If a flash is used, knowing how to use it is imperative. Most flashes are also in manual mode to burst the right amount of light for a given situation. This flash is bounced and never pointed directly at anyone especially a laboring mother or newborn. Flash is bounced from the ceiling, a side wall or even a wall behind us. We go through great pains for the laboring mother and those attending not to be aware of the flash.

Where do you think that knowledge comes from? For some, how to use a camera comes from schooling. For others, it’s self taught. Equally important is the camera equipment. The camera absolutely needs to be able to handle low light situations and the flash should have manual mode as well. The batteries within the flash should be lithium so each burst of light has the same power and consistency.

The walls might be painted a relaxing earthy green, a calming blue or a combination of colors. What’s the big deal you ask? Well, whether flash is used or not, the dreaded color cast on the birth pictures is a real concern.

Labor Can Be Quick or Take a Long Time

Ok, so we have arrived at the mystery wedding (your birth!), but we have no idea how long we will be there. Labor can be quick or take several hours. Birth photographers stay no matter how long. We aim to arrive when you are in active labor (around 6 cm) and stay around 90 minutes postpartum or after the baby exam. The length of time in between is anyone guess. We may miss birthdays and holidays with our family. We could miss vacation time, recitals, plays, actual weddings, you name it.

As a birth photographer, we may have booked a couple of births within a month. It is not unheard of to finish one birth to begin another right afterwards. Sleep? What is that?

Editing Time

Are you tired of the wedding scenario yet? I hope not, because here we go! Birth is an event as big as any wedding. There are many many hours of editing to do. We are not done because the birth is over. However; unlike a wedding, parents want those images like yesterday. We edit, edit edit. Circling back to the wall color, this can take many hours if we have to edit out color cast from faces. Granted this is more documentary than a wedding is, but the same effort is given to each image.

So There You Have It

As much as we love this genre and believe in it on a visceral level, it is a lot of work. It’s not something we can give away even though we absolutely love it. It is time consuming and technical. I haven’t even mentioned camera costs, flash costs and software for editing. We also have business licenses and insurance to keep current. There are workshops to help us continuously improve our craft, organization dues and website maintenance costs. We are business owners. We love our business, but we need to treat as a business.

So yes, it can be expensive. I fully understand that. But now, I hope you have an idea why.

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A doulatog is the best of both worlds. It’s a winning combination of a doula, providing pregnancy support, and a professional birth photographer. My goal is to support and empower you and your partner in having a safe and positive birth experience.

Having a doulatog eliminates the the number of people attending your birth as well. We all know hospital rooms can get cramped really quick. Homebirth can be the same. A person wearing two hats (doula and birth photographer) can reduce the number of people present.

A doulatog can also help financially. It is a terrible position to want both services but know that a budget only covers one. Having someone schooled and knowledge in both disciplines is a definite win!

If you would like to know more about this service I offer, please take a look at my package page and then contact me today.

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A professional birth photographer understands first and foremost how to shoot in low light. Most home births and birthing center births have low lighting. This is used in order to make a calm birthing space. Hospitals also tend to have low lighting except for the exceptionally bright hot spot light aimed your lady bits. Now that is challenging light! In any case, we need to know how to utilize the light and we need to have the correct gear to accomplish that. For those that use flash (I do), they need to know how to use it correctly as to not disrupt the the birthing person and the birth space energy.

The birth photographer also needs to know where and when to move around. This really comes with time and practice.You should have seen my first birth, I was in everyone’s way! Thankfully, they were all very gracious and I learned. Along the same lines if you are squeezed into a corner, a seasoned birth photographer will know how to work that corner. Trust me, I have been there too.

Finally, a professional birth photographer will make the images look good. What that means, is that we know the angles, the lighting and how to capture it in a way that is tasteful yet authentic. Documenting your story in its entirety is our goal. You are your story. Your partner, your birth team and how your amazing fortitude and strength brought your child to your arms is your story.

If you would like to know more about the birth photography services I offer, as well as pricing, please click here.

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It has been one year now and things haven’t really settled down that much. The birth world has been hit especially hard. Not only are birth photographers and doulas being denied access to hospitals to be with their clients, but even family members themselves have been denied entrance. Taking this down time, I reflected on the reality of the situation, studied to become a certified doula (almost there!!) and took some time to read some thought provoking books about what constitutes a good birth, maternal care in America and what women really want.

I honestly don’t see hospitals easing up on the number of people present at delivery time especially in the metropolis that is Los Angeles. This begs the question, will home birth be on the rise?

Planning your homebirth

So you have decided, after much thought about what a good birth means to you, that a home birth is the way to go. The first thing is to find a trained health care provider. This could mean a certified nurse-midwife, a certified midwife, a midwife whose education meets specific standards or a doctor practicing obstetrics within an integrated and regulated health system.

I have worked around Catherine at Home Birth Services of Los Angeles. She is very calm, knowledgeable and very kind. I have also heard wonderful things about Heart to Home Midwifery and GraceFull Birth. Depending on your insurance, often times the cost of having a midwife is covered, but of course check not only with your insurance, but with the midwife you would like to use. While having a homebirth can be empowering, financial hardship is not.

The second thing is do make a birth plan. You can do this yourself or if you choose to have a doula present, she can help. How will you control pain? Will you labor in a birth tub? What supplies for a home birth will you need? Talking to your chosen midwife can help with these questions.

Prepare for a hospital transfer. Discuss the signs and/or symptoms that might necessitate a hospital transfer. How does this coordinate with your birth plan?

Who will be in the birth space? Keeping in mind the need to have calm, security and connectivity, will there be a doula in addition to a midwife? Will there be a birth photographer? Your other children? Your mother or just you and your partner and the midwife?

This mother had her partner, sister in law, mother in law, midwife, student midwife and me, the birth photographer. That seems like a lot, right? It wasn’t. It was every bit as intimate, warm and connected as if it were just her and her partner.

Being a birth photographer is wonderful. However, becoming a doula has given me a whole new perspective that I can go on and on about (obviously!!). Please feel free to check out this homebirth during COVID.

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At the end of the crazy year known as 2020, a gentleman from the magazine ShoutOut LA contacted me. He asked if I would like to be interviewed for their start up magazine. I gave them a resounding Heck yea! It seems I always have so much to say! However; they shot me some real zingers that I really had to think about. I had to be brave and really tell my story of how I came to Los Angeles and continued my work as a birth and maternity photographer.

I invite you to read my interview with ShoutOut LA Magazine here

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So 2020 has been a bit of a whammy, hasn’t it? I have really neglected my beloved blog. Being the last day of 2020, it is fitting I make this year in review type of post. The last entry was in July and so much has happened since then! I have had several maternity sessions during COVID.

With hospitals not allowing birth photographers in and birth centers doing a reduction in support people allowed to attend, I have turned my focus to three things.

Doula Certification

The first is I am in the process of getting certified as a Doula. This is something I am really excited about! It not only allows me to grow as a birth worker, but will further my skills in holding space for the laboring person and partner. What does that mean though-holding space? It simply means being physically, mentally and emotionally present without judgement. “The person who is holding space helps set the tone for a kind, curious, and judgment-free interaction where the other person can be vulnerable, and like the term says “have space.” 

Maternity Sessions During COVID

The second thing I have focused on during 2020 is studio maternity photography. Maternity sessions during COVID are alive and well. Several online courses and webinars have led me to really excel in this genre. I have also been entering images into photography competitions which is something I have never done before. Winning a bronze in the RISE International Photography Competition motivated and pushed me to excel.

Website optimization

Finally, I have worked hard on this website. If you are visiting again, you will see it is much faster loading. There was a time for most of 2020 that the website was as slow as this year was long! My invaluable website builder, Tom, has put up with endless emails and phone calls from me and, well, I am incredibly indebted to him for what you are seeing now.

I look forward to a wonderful year ahead filled with growth, love and births!

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I started this September with the most lovely momma, Teri, who came in to my studio for some maternity photos. Since she wanted something she could display in a frame prominently on the wall, I went into creative mode. I envisioned her in a beautiful red dress within a painterly soft image. A woman is only pregnant for 9 months…which is a blip on the lifetime radar. Something that comes and goes all too quickly. Because time is precious, capture these beautiful moments of pregnancy not just you, but your children and their children.

Booking A Session

Booking your session is super easy! If you are between 30-36 weeks, give me a call or send a message. My studio is currently in North Hollywood. I offer hair and makeup complimentary with some packages. Other packages, you can add on hair and makeup. It is terrific fun to get all dolled up and truly embrace the beauty that is you.

Who can be in the maternity photos?

I welcome you, your partner or any children that you already have. It makes the most beautiful image when siblings are there. It really underlines the fact that your growing baby is loved and cherished!

What about props?

I am a huge advocate of props. That being said, the right props can increase the personalization. The wrong props can clutter. Bring something to the session that is meaningful to you such as a musical instrument you play, a book you wrote (or a favorite reading one)! I will incorporate it into your personal piece of art.

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My Breastfeeding Story

August is breastfeeding awareness month as you all probably know.  What could I possibly say that is new, exciting and somehow impossibly insightful? Well, what I can tell you is that it is the most amazing form of bonding on the planet. I breastfed my own little love for 2.5 years. Now at 6 years old he still finds solace laying upon my breast when he is sad or down.

My milk had a hard time coming in. Preeclampsia had me coming in for an emergency c-section.  The next few days I was knocked out on magnesium. When I tried to pump (it was too toxic for my babe in the NICU) I was barely getting anything. I thought, well I guess that’s that. I won’t be breastfeeding. The nursing staff encouraged me to continue to try. I did. Pretty soon I was dripping milk everywhere! It was a bit horrifying…I went through a gazillion tee shirts before I realized there were actual boob pads for this milky problem.

Breastfeeding: Do I have low milk supply?

Often times we think our supply is low when it’s really not. Here are some of the things you may experience and think your supply is low:

– Breast milk dissolves much faster than formula so these babies need to feed more often. If baby is feeding often this is a good thing!

-sudden increases in nursing is likely a growth spurt.

-your baby is not nursing as much as before. Babies learn quickly. The older they get the more efficient they are at extracting the milk.

-You breasts feel soft again. This is also normal as you adjust to your babies feeding habits.

-You are getting little or no milk when you pump. Babies are far more efficient at getting the milk than a machine. Pumping is a skill and is also dependent on the machine.

**If you are truly worried about your supply, consult a board certified lactation consultant.

Potential causes for low milk supply.

Here are some causes of low milk supply:

-supplementing breast feedings with formula feedings. “Nursing is a supply & demand process. Milk is produced as your baby nurses, and the amount that she nurses lets your body know how much milk is required. Every bottle (of formula, juice or water) that your baby gets means that your body gets the signal to produce that much less milk.”–Kellymom

-If baby is sucking on a pacifier she may not cry to be fed as often, which reduces your flow. Your body is saying baby doesn’t need to feed as much, lets produce less milk.

-breastfeeding is all supply and demand. When you have scheduled feedings, this can interfere with that and reduce supply.

-Even if baby is sleeping and you are drained and all you can think about is sleep, if you skip the nighttime feedings can also interfere with milk supply.

“For the most part, milk production is a “use it or lose it” process.  The more often and effectively your baby nurses, the more milk you will make.”–Kellymom

Breastfeeding: Ways to increase supply.

Your breast milk is all supply and demand. The more you breastfeed you infant, the more milk your body will make.

1. incorporate pumping in between feedings. You can even pump right after breastfeeding if they don’t feel empty.
2. Take care of yourself. This includes healthy snacks and plenty of water. Being healthy will help on the milk supply!
3. Some moms take to lactation enhancements such as cookies and teas. Products that contain fenugreek, alfalfa, flaxseed meal, oats, and brewer’s yeast are used as natural enhancements. But do your homework and consult with your doctor or lactation consultant before utilizing these products to ensure their safety and efficacy.

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