I sent my last newsletter on August 24th. And today is the last day of November. Wow! Is it only me that feel like time flies? New year is already ahead of us.
Dear First name / Friend,
Last 3 months were very busy. I can share with you pages and pages about last months. I am still very excited about all the conferences I attended, all the births I supported and all the educations I taught. I am very eager to write about them all but instead I picked up only key topics to share with you.
I met many new couples and babies in these months. I would like to say welcome to this world and to your families Adrian, Elisa and Seneca. Every new couple and baby have an impact on me and on my business. I ask for feedback after my sessions and doula support. It helps me to review the process. New testimonials are on my website. Thank you so much for your feedbacks!
Here are some news from me:
*I am going to take part at the European Doula Network (EDN) office as a volunteer. I am an EDN friend (individuals are called as EDN friend, instead of member) almost for 2 years now and I also become the Istanbul Birth Academy's representative of EDN.
*I will be soon announcing my new education packages. Stay tuned!
*I started my sessions at Bubu Island. (Don't forget to check their schedule for babies and kids activities)
*I have attended EDN conference in September. I was not only a participant but also a volunteer as a zoom host and co-host.
*In November there were the congress' of ISPPM e.V. (International Society for Pre- and Perinatal Psychology and Medicine e.V.) and APPPAH (Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health) in consecutive weekends. I couldn't make it to all sessions because of the time difference and my agenda. The advantage of the online conferences are, you can watch them from the replays. That's what I am doing at the moment. I will be sharing about them in this and my upcoming newsletters and blog posts.
In today's newsletter:
✨ Slow Down
✨ Turning a Breech Baby
✨ Never-ending Story: Oxytocin
📣 2022 Global Congress Announcement
Slow Down
I attended Evidence Based Birth (EBB)'s webinar this month and it was about ways to prevent tearing in birth. Dr. Rebecca Dekker, the founder of EBB, talked about the evidence on common practices that are being used to avoid tearing and how effective they are: avoiding episiotomy, birthing positions, warm compress, hands on vs hands off, perineal massage. These are all technical methods however as a conclusion the evidence shows that the most effective thing that prevents tearing is to SLOW DOWN. I think this is a very important topic to discuss.
In the last century, people got fast! We are always in a rush. We are trying to do everything fast as if we are always trying to save time for something else. Therefore most of the time we miss the real experience and we don't respect the nature's pace. This is just like that in birth. Babies have their own pace. Our bodies have their own pace. However medical system likes to accelerate birth. In my childbirth education we talk about how it is important to slow down by breathings and relaxations not only for birth but also for after birth. Slowing down helps you to be more patient as well and this is an important aspect when you become parents.
To sum up about the tearing in birth, slowing down, using slow birth while pushing and patience are proven by evidence that are the most effective to prevent tearing.
Moxa therapy- or in full name moxibustion is a Chinese medicine with herbs and we see it in a moxa stick form. The moxa stick is burned and hold close to an acupuncture point on the little toe. Moxa is one of the best known ways to help a breech baby. This can be done around week 34 if the baby is still breech.
In my moxa sessions, I first apply it myself and then teach how to do it to the mother/father because it should be continued at home.
There are also other methods that triggers baby’s movement like spinning babies' recommended positions, talking to your baby, holding a torch/light to the baby's way, accupuncture, chiropractics although none of them guarantee that the baby will turn. It is important to be aware that it is the baby that chooses his/her own way to come to this world.
Never-ending Story: Oxytocin
In the EDN Conference, the opening sessions topic was Oxytocin: Pain and Pleasure.
There are always new things to talk about oxytocin because it has lots of effects on our lives. The studies show that it eases stress, improves social relations, promotes attachment and has lots of effect on behaviour. And of course it is the leading hormone during childbirth and breastfeeding. To know the ways that simulates oxytocin secretion is essential for labor and birth. There are some very easy ways: Talking, relaxing, listening to music and physical contact (hugging, kissing, cuddling, sex) trigger the release of oxytocin. These are recommended for labor for pain relief and they also help the progression of labor because contractions take place with the oxytocin secretion. They help with breastfeeding too because oxytocin helps the milk to come out from the breast and it promotes attachment. That's why it makes it much more easier to breastfeed in a calmer environment, where you can turn on a relaxing music, where you can relax, especially in the first weeks following the birth of your baby.
I am proud to announce next year's conference that ISPPM and APPPAH will be co-hosting and many associations from the world will be co-organising. Every country has their own committee of organisation. I am in Turkey's committee and we are getting together every 3 weeks to organise and create for this congress. Check the congress' website.
Lastly, I want to share something personal with you. When my business is busy (which means I have a lot of new babies coming and this is very exciting) I have some difficulty balancing my work and my personal life, especially issues about my son. This is very important to me for sure because he is still growing so fast and I don't want to miss any of it. This past 3 months lead me to think about these and find my own ways to balance work, personal time and motherhood. So tell me ... are you a working mother and sometimes having the same difficulty. I would love to hear your comments and solutions on this.
THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME INTO YOUR JOURNEy
Ayşegül
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