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Are Basic Needs Met in Labor?

August 24, 2021 By Lauren McClain

Are Basic Needs Met in Labor?

You’re probably familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. I learned about it in teacher education, the idea being that we couldn’t expect a kid who hadn’t eaten or didn’t feel safe at home to care much about learning his times tables. Your physical needs are the most important. When those basic needs are left unmet, […]

Filed Under: Birth Science, Birth Workers, Natural Birth

Favorite [Birth] Things #2: A Doula

January 26, 2021 By Lauren McClain

Favorite [Birth] Things #2: A Doula

It’s Lauren’s Favorite [Birth] Things! My absolute favorite birth things are a loving, confident partner and a loving, respectful, and skilled provider. My hope is that you have or manage to find both. Lauren’s Favorite Birth Things necessarily focuses on birth things anyone can get–at least in some form. In the spirit of Oprah’s favorite things, these […]

Filed Under: Birth Professionals, Easier Birthing, Favorite [Birth] Things

Brain Waves in Labor

June 25, 2020 By Lauren McClain

Brain Waves in LaborNatural birth (any birth!) is much easier when you can find your relaxation zone and brainwaves--with this handout! Relaxation for labor and birth, the whole mediation thing, makes so much more sense when you explain about brainwaves.This handout on relaxation for labor and birth explains the way our brains enter different states, optimal for different [...]

Filed Under: Better Birth Graphics, Birth Professionals, Easier Birthing, Relaxation for Birth

Uncontrollable Birth: A Checklist for Thinkers and Planners

February 7, 2020 By Lauren McClain

Uncontrollable Birth: A Checklist for Thinkers and PlannersHaving a baby is notoriously unpredictable. You don't know when he or she is coming. You don't know how long it will take. You don't know how you or the baby will respond to labor. You don't know when your water will break. You don't know how long you'll need to push. You don't even [...]

Filed Under: Birth Workers, Birthing Rights and Choices, Natural Birth, Natural Birth Tips, Support: Doulas & Partners

Fear-Tension-Pain Teaching Tool

April 4, 2019 By Lauren McClain

Fear-Tension-Pain Teaching ToolInspired by the fear-tension-pain cycle, meditation, Brené Brown, and the concept of holding space, I plotted three aspects of labor experience. Everyone feels each cycle at some point in their labor. The goal, of course, is to spend as much time as possible in labor (and life!) feeling at peace. A high level of fear means more tension, which [...]

Filed Under: Better Birth Graphics, Birth Professionals, Easier Birthing, Natural Birth Tips, Relaxation for Birth, Support: Doulas & Partners

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