Author: renfrewcountydoulasca_w2lvz8

Free and Informed Consent

Posted on by renfrewcountydoulasca_w2lvz8

FREE and Informed consent, what does it mean during pregnancy?

When a woman becomes pregnant she can often be flooded with “advice” and feel like she has to do things even when they don’t make sense to her.

From the top of buildings, we say “ASK QUESTIONS“.

 

Now we’re not talking about just asking friends and family. Ask your doctor or midwife; understand what a procedure involves. This is your birth, asking questions and weighing out options about your care are ways we can feel more comfortable in our decisions.

Ok, so we’ve chatted briefly about informed consent, but what about “FREE and Informed consent”
Informed consent is what we say when we usually mean free and informed consent.
When we are free to find out information, ask questions, weigh out options and make a decision without being shamed or bullied into a different one, then we are practicing free and informed consent.

Virtual Birth Prep

Posted on by renfrewcountydoulasca_w2lvz8

* Please note, this is not the same as a childbirth education class. This will be a free event however registration will be required. Please be aware this event date is assuming we are not at a birth! In such case we will reschedule the event and let registrants know as soon as possible.

Virtual Birth Prep

Given the recent changes at local area hospitals, we felt driven to find a way to get helpful information and tools for expecting mothers in preparation for their upcoming births.

We are inviting expecting families to join us for a mini prenatal meeting with one of our doulas! We will go over comfort measures that you can do on your own, provide links to various visual aids and videos, grounding techniques, as well as provide activities that can be done prenatally to prepare for life during and after birth.

Informed Decisions

Posted on by renfrewcountydoulasca_w2lvz8

BRAINS

Informed decision-making tips #1, use your brains…
Break your decision down step by step.
What are the benefits and risks? weigh out your options
Consider and make note of other alternatives. Explore them using the BRAINS acronym later is needed.
LISTEN TO YOUR INSTINCTS- consider what your gut has to say
What if I do NOTHING, Should I wait until I am in a better headspace to make this decision?

 

“Maybe I need a second opinion.”

If you have gone through all these steps and still don’t feel comfortable and confident in your decision, reaching out to a trusted professional may be a great idea.

Ask Questions

Posted on by renfrewcountydoulasca_w2lvz8

Ask Questions

The world around us is changing quickly.

New standards and policies are being introduced daily. As a new or expecting parent this can be quite overwhelming and can really cause disruption to our excitement, and natural hormonal flow during pregnancy.

Please, ask questions; to your birth team, call your chosen hospital where you will be delivering, ask your OB at prenatal appointments, ask your midwife, ask your doula. For many this is not the pregnancy and birth experience we expected.

We will be posting more tips this week on how to ask meaningful questions, who you can contact locally, how to make informed decision making, and grounding techniques. We can’t provide all the answers as we do not always receive answers, but we can and will do our best to be here to support you the families.