Holistic Pregnancy & Childbirth

The University of Minnesota has created this lovely resource on holistic pregnancy and childbirth as part of their Taking Charge of your Health and Wellbeing initiative.

“A holistic approach incorporates all of who you are and all you know about pregnancy and childbirth. You and your support team recognize your innate capabilities and seek to enhance them. You deliberately make choices that maximize your potential to have the healthiest pregnancy and the most natural progression of labor possible.” - From the UOM Website

A holistic approach

Why go holistic?

Birthing positions

What about pain?

History of childbirth

How childbirth works

Factors that influence birth

Preparing for pregnancy and birth

Get birth support

Classes and birth plans

Research

List of Referrals and Resources

Never hesitate to reach out for help or guidance!

Local Support 

• Albany Helping Hands

  • Phone: 541-926-4036

  • Address: 619 SE 9th Ave, Albany, OR, 97322 

    • Website: https://www.albanyhelpinghands.com/ 

  • “Our Mission: “To help relieve suffering and brokenness by providing basic life necessities, in love, while restoring the life Jesus Christ has destined for everyone!” 

• Signs of Victory Ministries

  • Phone: 541-967-8545

  • Address: 1100 Jackson St. S.E. Albany, Oregon 97322

  • Email: matland6@gmail.com

    • Website: https://www.signsofvictoryministries.com/ 

  • “Signs of Victory’s mission is an emergency shelter open 7 days a week, serving 3 meals a day, assisting with hygiene and items of clothing.”

• Jackson Street Youth Services

  • Albany House

    • Phone: 541-220-2950

    • Street Address: 1240 SE 7th Ave

  • Albany Drop-In Center: Youth Services Center

    • Phone: 541-220-2955

    • Street Address: 960 Queen Avenue SW

  • 24 Hour Hotline: 800-901-2904

    • Website: https://www.jacksonstreet.org/ 

  • “Jackson Street Youth Services gives youth a safe place to live and resources that get them on the road to a better life. Founded to fill a gap in local support services for housing homeless youth, we serve Linn, Benton, and Lincoln Counties and rely on donations and partnerships from throughout the region to give youth in crisis a stable future.”

• ABC House

  • Phone: 541-926-2203 

  • Visit By Appointment: 228 SW 5th Ave, Albany, OR 97321

  • Email: info@abchouse.org

    • Website: https://www.abchouse.org/

  • “ABC House is the child abuse intervention center serving Benton and Linn Counties.  We provide high-quality child abuse assessments for local children when there are concerns of abuse and neglect.”

• CARDV

  • Main Office: 541-758-0219

  • 24/7 Hotline 541-754-0110 or 800-927-0197 or Live Chat 

    • Website: https://cardv.org/

  • “The Mission of Center Against Domestic Rape and Violence is two fold: 

    • To provide service and support to those affected by sexual and domestic violence, and 

    • To provide education and leadership within the community to change to societal conditions that cultivated these forms of violence.”

• Albany Counseling Center (Accepts Medicaid) 

  • Phone: (541) 928-2710

  • Address: 936 SW 8th Ave. Albany, OR 97321

  • Email: frontdesk@albanycounselors.com

    • Website: https://albanycounselors.com/

  • “For over 32 years, The Counseling Center has been a safe place for change and growth. We provide quality mental health services and affordable counseling to a diverse community in the Albany, Corvallis and surrounding areas. We don’t just treat the issue, we treat the person. This requires working with a holistic viewpoint, taking into consideration one’s mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs. It is our desire to bring the positive forces of hope, personal power, and change to each client.”

• 1st Hand Seconds: Mercy House Inc. 

  • Phone: 541-928-6909

  • Address: 411 2nd Ave. Albany, Oregon 97321

    • Website for 1st Hand Seconds: https://1sthandseconds.org/ 

    • Website for Mercy House Inc.: https://mercyhouseglobal.org/about-us/ 

  • “Mercy House Provides Safety, Hope, Healing, and Restoration for Women & Their Children Who are at Risk. Mercy House is dedicated to the renewal of women & their children recovering from domestic abuse.” 

National Support

• RAINN

  • Phone: 800-656-4673

  • 24/7 Live Chat 

    • Website: https://www.rainn.org/

  • “RAINN is the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization.”

• National Partnership For Women and Families

  • Phone: 202-986-2600

  • Address: 1875 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite 650 Washington, DC 20009

  • Email: info@nationalpartnership.org

    • Website: https://www.nationalpartnership.org/

  • “Our mission is to improve the lives of women and families by achieving equality for all women. That means standing strong for women’s health, reproductive rights and economic justice. That means speaking truth to power, holding our elected leaders accountable and fighting back when extremists stand in the way of our progress.”

• Futures Without Violence

  • Phone: (415) 678-5500

  • Address: 100 Montgomery Street, The Presidio

  • San Francisco, CA 94129

    • Website: https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/ 

  • “Futures Without Violence is a health and social justice nonprofit with a simple mission: to heal those among us who are traumatized by violence today – and to create healthy families and communities free of violence tomorrow.”

• The Hotline

  • Phone: 1-800-799-7233

  • TTY 1-800-787-3224

    • Website: https://www.thehotline.org/

  • “24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, the National Domestic Violence Hotline provides essential tools and support to help survivors of domestic violence so they can live their lives free of abuse.”

• Love Is Respect 

  • Phone: 1-866-331-9474

  • TTY 1-866-331-8453

  • Text: loveis to 22522

    • Website: www.loveisrespect.org

    • Chat Online:www.loveisrespect.org

• National Domestic Violence Hotline

  • 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

  • TTY 1-800-787-3224

    • Website:www.ndvh.org

Evidence Based Birth

If you’ve been wondering around these resources long enough, you’ve probably realized I LOVE evidence informed practice. Show me the data baby! Rebecca Dekker is an nurse who feels the same. For scientific facts on anything from Vitamin K to induction to breastfeeding, she’s your gal. Got questions? Check out Evidence Based Birth Blog!

Save Our Midwives, Save the World

What’s the deal with delayed cord clamping? Why is it important? What are the risks of quick cord clamping? Ibu Robin Lim introduces the concept in this short 8-minute video that I’m sure you’ll love!

Ibu Robin Lim is the Founder of the Bumi Sahat Foundation and was named CNN's Hero of the Year in 2011. In her talk, she talks about the importance of midwiv...

Recommended Reading

This is an ever-growing list of books that I found to be helpful. To access these books for free; check your local public library, this free online library, or if bolded reach out to me and I can lend you my copy!

Fertility and Conception

• Making Babies- Sami S. David, Jill Blakeway

• The Infertility Cure- Randine Lewis, Ph.D.

• Taking Charge of Your Fertility- Toni Weschler, MPH

• What to Expect Before You’re Expecting- Heidi Murkoff

• Enhancing Fertility Naturally- Nicky Wesson

• Beyond the Pill- Jolene Brighten

• How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby- Landrum B Shettles and David M Rorvik

Pregnancy Health

• Your Pregnancy and Childbirth Month to Month- ACOG

• What to Expect When You’re Expecting- Heidi Murkoff

Childbirth/ Doula

• The Birth Partner- Penny Simpkin

• The Doula Book- Marshall H. Klaus,  John H. Kennell, Phyllis H. Klaus

• Natural Hospital Birth- Cynthia Gabriel

• Pushed: The Painful Truth and About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care- Jennifer Block

Breastfeeding/chestfeeding

• Ina May’s Guide to Breastfeeding- Ina May Gaskin

• Mother Food- Hilary Jacobson

• New Mother’s Guide to Breastfeeding- American Academy of Pediatrics

• Nursing Mother’s Companion- Kathleen Huggins R.N. M.S.

• The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding- La Leche League

Parenting

• Organic Baby: Simple Steps for Healthy Living - Kimberly Rider

• Amazing Baby- Desmond Morris

Midwifery Care

• Baby Catcher- Peggy Vincent

• Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First- Marsden Wagner, M.D, M.S.

• New Choices in Natural Healing- Bill Gotlieb

Postpartum Mood Disorders

• This Isn’t What I Expected: Overcoming Postpartum Depression- Karen R. Kleiman, Valerie Davis Raskin MD 

• The Postnatal Depletion Cure- Dr. Oscar Serrallach

Sexual Health

• Divine Sex- Caroline Aldred

• Karma Sutra

• The Sacred Marriage- Lira Silbury

Self-Help

• 12 Rules for Life- Jordan Peterson

• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck- Mark Manson

• Lean In- Sheryl Sandburg

• The Pregnant Virgin: A Process of Psychological Transformation- Marion Woodman

• The Birth Order Book- Kevin Leman

Fiction

• Handmaid’s Tale- Margot Atlas

• The Secrets of Midwives- Sally Hepworth

Podcasts

• Midwifing America

Documentaries

• The American Dream

• Death by Delivery