Just the (VBAC) Facts, Ma’am

Apr 232013
 

VBAC Facts Class and Webinar

Do you know the facts about VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean)?

I took the VBAC Facts class in April in Portland and I loved it!  I want you to take it, too, if you are planning a VBAC or you work with VBAC clients and here’s why: It’s important to understand that not all VBACs are alike – there are individual factors to consider – and what you need is knowledge. Knowledge is power in a VBAC.  The very first thing you should do if you are pregnant after cesarean is to inform and empower yourself. Jen Kamel, the founder of VBAC Facts, as a mother who had a VBAC, has some really important information to share – she has read and reviewed and analyzed all of the studies and data that exists about the history of VBAC politics and policies, and the risks of VBAC. She took this on like you would if you were doing an MPH thesis – she looked at all the data, all the studies, all the public documents that are behind the policies and recommendations – basically she did ::all:: the work and I got to sit back and benefit (for $85.00) and you can, too!

For more information about local classes and webinars, see the VBAC Facts Classes page on VBACFacts.com. You can also find VBAC Facts on Facebook and Twitter.

If you’d like to plan your VBAC with doula support, I’m ready to help you. Contact me today for a free doula consultation.

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Portland Bottle Feeding Support Group

Dec 132012
 

A safe space to connect, find support, and explore issues in motherhood and specifically bottle-feeding

Bottle Feeding Support Group at Portland MamaBaby Center in Portland, OR

This is an open group facilitated by Keely C. Helmick, LPC, Doula

and

Kate Donahue, Doula/Monitrice and Owner of Portland MamaBaby Center

Each month on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays at 11am
[In January on the 9th and 23rd]

Join us at the Portland MamaBaby Center
[5528 SE Woodstock Blvd
Portland, OR 97206]

Cost:
$10 / group session (reduced slots available)

 Questions: please contact Keely
k.carissa33@gmail.com
(www.keelychelmick.com)
ph:503-332-7003

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Join Us For Doula Tea and a Topic: Boundaries and Self Care for Doulas

Aug 132012
 

Our next doula tea is scheduled for Monday, August 27th, 2012 from 10am-11:30am. [calendar]

This month rather than just gathering to meet and support each other, we have a guest speaker and a topic.

Portland therapist and doula, Keely Helmick, will be joining us and the topic will be setting healthy doula-client boundaries to avoid vicarious traumatization along with some self-care strategies.

There is no fee to attend, but we would gratefully accept your $5-10 donation toward funding guest speakers and mini-workshops like this one (we can take your debit/credit card via Square, to make it extra convenient for you to be able to contribute if you don’t carry cash.)

Please plan on attending if you are a doula, doula in training, or a student doula in the Portland Metro area, and please plan to bring a friend. We would appreciate your help in spreading the word to reach all the doulas in our birth community!! Paraprofessionals are also invited to attend, though we will be speaking specifically to the topic as it relates to doulas, the information will be beneficial to others in related fields.

If you have any questions, please contact Kate@PortlandMamaBabyCenter.com.

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Weekend Intensive: Doula Workshop for Your Doula Business

Aug 082012
 

Doula

What: Doula Workshop for your Doula Business (Weekend Intensive)

Where: Portland Mama Baby Center located at 5528 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland, OR 97206 [map]

When: Saturday, September 29 and Sunday, September 30th from 9am – 5pm (with an hour for lunch)

Your doula training is done and all the leads you got while working towards certification are gone or dwindling – now what? You have to very quickly get your practice up and running. Portland is a very competitive doula market. Learn how to set up your doula practice, get samples of forms that will save you hours of time, and pick up some tips and tools for being the most effective professional doula you can be and turn your calling into a career that you can sustain and grow in.

I’ve taken the Doula Business Workshops and condensed them and edited them down to fit into a weekend intensive.  The dates for the next session are September 29th-30th, 2012 (9am-5pm with an hour for lunch for a total of 14 contact hours) at the Portland Mama Baby Center.

Doula Workshops for Your Doula Business Topics will include:

  • How to set up your practice (a holistic view)
  • Defining your target client
  • Branding/logo
  • Basic marketing materials
  • Advertising vs. Marketing vs. Networking
  • Social Media and Birth Work
  • Creating a simple marketing plan that works
  • Contacting companies for samples
  • Client Forms
  • Charting/Record Keeping
  • Client educational materials
  • Preparing for the consult, prenatals, and postpartum visits
  • Being on call
  • Managing difficult clients
  • Boundaries and Self Care
  • Doula Tricks and Tips
  • Working with home birth midwives

Each participant will receive a binder with useful samples/resource lists/and examples, as well as typed notes covering each topic. . Lunch is not included, but Mezza is next door and offers a 10% discount to class participants. (YUM!) We will have snacks and drinks available to you.

There are 12 openings for this weekend intensive, so the time to register and reserve your spot is now. Doing this is very simple, just download the registration form, print it out, fill it in, include your $70.00 deposit, and return it via snail mail to the center or via email if you’re the techy kind. Once I have your deposit, I will forward some reading to you to get you started.

Cost: $140.00 [$70.00 deposit when registering is required, the remainder can be paid on or before September 29th, 2012]

To Register: Download this registration form, fill it out, and mail it to the above address with your deposit.  Checks should be made payable to Portland MamaBaby Center or you can opt to pay by debit/credit card. If you would like to pay via PayPal, please email me (Kate) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make it easier.

For more information or to ask questions: kate@portlandmamababycenter.com or you can always just submit your questions through our contact form.

 

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Monthly Doula Tea Meeting at Portland MamaBaby Center

Jun 062012
 

Doula Tea Meeting at Portland MamaBaby CenterI hesitate to name it a doula tea, because that limits us so much! Maybe one day we’ll decide to have a potluck, or like this month we’ll eat hummus (and you can still have tea if you want it!)

Just to clarify, this isn’t a BSN sponsored event, just a MamaBaby come and hang out tea and chat time.

So here’s the plan for June: We’ll have “Doula Hummus and Pita” from Mezza at the Portland MamaBaby Center [map] and you can still have a cup of tea or a coffee if you wish on Wednesday, June 20th at 1pm .

You’ll still find it as “Doula Tea” on the calendar. There is no cost or fee to attend, but we will gratefully take your donation towards the MamaBaby Clinic if you feel so inclined as to contribute to midwifery care for women regardless of their ability to pay.

All doulas are welcome

Certified doulas and uncertified doulas, doulas in training, and aspiring doulas, you are all welcome to attend!  I figure this will be a chance to just sit and enjoy the company of sister doulas without the pressure of a workshop or a presentation. This is your moment to capture the spirit of the sorority of the doula community that surrounds you. This is just some you time to refill your spirit tank.

You can also bring your questions about the DONA doula training that begins the next day and any questions you might have about the Business of Being a Doula workshop I’m teaching.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend by June 19th.
You can just RSVP to the Facebook Event
or by emailing me (Kate)
so that I know how much hummus to order:

[kate@portlandmamababycenter.com]
Or just use the contact form

Babes in arms and nurslings are welcome.
Please arrange for childcare for older children so that we can all relax
and enjoy the sacred sisterhood we are creating.

 

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Another Beautiful Pregnant Belly Henna Tattoo at the Portland Mama Baby Center

Jun 022012
 

pregnant belly henna tattoo at portland mama baby center

This morning at the Portland Mama Baby Center, Ana spent a couple of hours with a lovely Mama doing this henna tattoo. I think it’s gorgeous. I really can’t say enough how much I love pregnant belly henna. What a great baby shower or blessingway gift, too! If you’d like to gift a henna belly tattoo to someone, just let me know and I’ll whip up a special little gift card for you to give to Mama.

If you’d like to schedule some time for your own pregnant belly henna tattoo, please just get in touch with Kate. It’s easy.

By email: kate@portlandmamababycenter.com

By phone: (503) 206-7715

By text: (503) 451-3452

On Facebook  | On Twitter

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Herbs for the Childbearing Year at Portland Mama Baby Center

May 302012
 

herbs for the childbearing year

Herbs for Women in Their Childbearing Years
With Jessica Elliott

  • Herbs every women should have in her life.
  • Fertility & conception.
  • Nourishing herbs during pregnancy.
  • Herbal solutions for common pregnancy complaints.
  • Postpartum herbs for the perineum.
  • Milk supply herbs.
  • Preventing & treating postpartum blues.

CLASS: Herbs for Women in their Childbearing Years
WHEN: August 18 from 10am to 4pm.
WHERE: Portland MamaBaby Center (map)
RECOMMENDED PREREQUISITE: Herbs for Everyone
COST: $75.00. 

To register, simply download our registration form and attach your payment.

Return your completed registration form and payment to Portland MamaBaby Center at 5528 SE Woodstock Blvd. Portland, OR 97206. We also accept Paypal and major credit card. If you wish to use PayPal or a credit card, please fill out the registration form and send it in and then contact Kate directly (kate@PortlandMamaBabyCenter.com) to make your payment.

For specific questions about the class, please email Jessica at Jessica@PortlandMamaBabyCenter.com

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PDX: Why Portland, Oregon Is The Best City To Have A Baby

Apr 062011
 

Portland, Oregon, is the #1 city to have a baby*:

word cloud map of the state of oregon portland

I love Portland. It is truly the single best place in the United States to work as an advocate for Mamas and Babies. We’re not without fault, our cesarean rate is still high and consistent with the national average. We could be doing better, but I think the fact that so many women and men in Portland are actively working to improve our maternal health system and protect our right to birth where we want and with the provider we choose is ultimately our greatest strength. Portland women, especially, seem to agree that women have the right to birth in a way that even they themselves may not themselves choose. The right of other women to VBAC or birth at home with or without a midwife if they choose to seems to be something that most women who I come into contact with agree should be the individual woman’s right, not the government’s decision to impose upon them.

  • According to data from the CDC, infant and maternal mortality in Oregon is especially low.
  • Portland babies are 24% less likely than average to be born with low birth weight.
  • Babies here are 21% less likely than average to be born prematurely.
  • 88% of Portland mothers attempt breastfeeding. That’s the 3rd highest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 75%.
  • By six months of age, 56% of Portland babies are still being breastfed. That’s the 6th highest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 43%.
  • 19.% of Portland mothers breastfeed their babies exclusively (meaning no solids, formula or other liquids) for 6 months or longer as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, making it the 2nd highest scoring city in this category. The average for cities in our survey is 12%.
  • Once Portland mothers begin breastfeeding, they are 14% more likely than average to continue through 6 months. That’s the 8th highest level of follow-through of any city in our report.
  • Oregon has particularly progressive laws guaranteeing a nursing mother the right to breastfeed in public.
  • 14.3% of births statewide are attended by midwives, compared to a national average of 7.3%.
  • Portland has one doula for every 146 live births, the 4th highest ratio in our survey. The national average is one doula per 649 live births.
  • Portland has 116 midwives for every 1,000 births, the highest in our survey. The national average is 37 midwives for every 1,000 births.
  • Portland has 61 lactation consultants for every 10,000 live births, the 2nd highest ratio in our survey. The average city in our survey has 23 lactation consultants per 10,000 live births.
  • Portland has plenty of high-risk pediatricians, 69% more than average per capita and the 9th highest in our survey.
  • Portland has more OB-GYNs than average, the 5th highest in our survey.

*According to a 2008 study conducted by FitPregnancy.com

As a birth worker, I appreciate my sister doulas, the birth support network, and the network of midwives that I have available to guide me. As a Mama, I appreciate knowing that even if my family is ‘weird’ that there are other families just as ‘weird’ as ours is and I can find a playmate for Little. As a women I am grateful for the activists who work to preserve my daughters’ birthing options. After our 7 year adventure around the United States, I can say that there is no better place to have a baby and raise a family than in Portland, Oregon.

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