Birth Anatomy Archives - Bare Birth https://barebirth.com/category/birth-anatomy/ Bare Birth Website Wed, 26 Apr 2023 00:05:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 https://barebirth.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/cropped-android-chrome-512x512-1-32x32.png Birth Anatomy Archives - Bare Birth https://barebirth.com/category/birth-anatomy/ 32 32 214114973 Umbilical Cord Basics https://barebirth.com/umbilical-cord-basics/ https://barebirth.com/umbilical-cord-basics/#respond Thu, 12 Jan 2023 00:04:45 +0000 https://barebirth.com/?p=25499 Umbilical Cord Basics Your Baby’s Umbilical Cord Your baby is part of a unit in your womb – the fetal-placental unit includes a placenta, amniotic sacs, an umbilical cord and a baby. Your baby is connected to the fetal side of the placenta via the umbilical cord, and the maternal side of the placenta is …

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Umbilical Cord Basics

Your Baby's Umbilical Cord

Your baby is part of a unit in your womb – the fetal-placental unit includes a placenta, amniotic sacs, an umbilical cord and a baby. Your baby is connected to the fetal side of the placenta via the umbilical cord, and the maternal side of the placenta is attached to your uterine wall.  The cord is the delivery system for your baby to receive fresh blood, nutrients & oxygen from you  throughout pregnancy.

After birth, they no longer rely on the placenta for survival so the cord stops functioning, even if we don’t cut it, it takes care of itself by closing off the vessels, drying up and falling off. 

You or your partner cutting the cord can feel very symbolic as we sever their link between the womb world and extrauterine life.

You can learn more about the placenta here!

Tips for Cutting the Cord

An umbilical cord is usually made up of 2 arteries, 1 vein and a fatty substance called Wharton’s jelly.  This keeps the cord from kinking as your baby is growing and possibly playing with or getting wrapped up in the cord a bit. It also gives the cord a sturdy constitution and makes it a little harder to sever.

Most people feel a bit apprehensive about cutting the cord, but there are no nerve endings in it so it doesn’t hurt you or your baby.  Your healthcare team gives guidance – they will put 2 clamps on the cord, hand you sterile scissors and show you exactly where to cut.

Anybody can cut the cord – moms, dads, siblings, grandparents, doulas or you can just leave it to the staff.

Newborns will have a little cord stump – basically dead, drying tissue, that falls off usually within 1-2 weeks and then voila, they have their cute little bellybutton.

When to Cut the Cord

The vessels in your baby’s cord will start to slowly shut themselves down once your baby is earthside and they begin using their lungs.

 

1/3 of your baby’s blood supply is still circulating through the cord and placenta so delaying the cut allows them to receive their own blood – termed physiologic, delayed or optimal cord clamping.  Depending on the organization, this could be anywhere from 30 seconds – 5 minutes so check with your healthcare provider about what “delayed” means to them.

Cord Cutting Guidelines

American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists:

  • delayed cord clamping appears to be helpful for preterm and term babies
  • increases hemoglobin levels at birth and iron stores within the 1st few months of life
  • ACOG guidelines consider 30-60 seconds delayed
  • delaying does not increase postpartum hemmorhage

American College of Nurse-Midwives:

  • should be standard for preterm and term infants
  • may be possible when the newborn needs extra assistance adjusting to life outside the womb
  • ACNM defines delayed between 2-5 minutes
  • delayed cord clamping doesn’t interfere with handling the placenta

More information on optimal cord clamping:

Blood to Baby

Wait for White

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]]> https://barebirth.com/umbilical-cord-basics/feed/ 0 25499 Placental Options After Birth https://barebirth.com/placental-options-after-birth/ https://barebirth.com/placental-options-after-birth/#respond Wed, 11 Jan 2023 23:45:40 +0000 https://barebirth.com/?p=25518 Placental Options After Birth Your placenta is an amazing organ created just for pregnancy to maintain hormone levels and aid in your baby’s growth & development. It is the only organ that a human will grow and discard in their lifetime. Pretty awesome!  Placenta means “flat cake” in Latin.  It is a vascular organ with …

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Placental Options After Birth

Your placenta is an amazing organ created just for pregnancy to maintain hormone levels and aid in your baby’s growth & development. It is the only organ that a human will grow and discard in their lifetime. Pretty awesome! 

Placenta means “flat cake” in Latin.  It is a vascular organ with 2 separate sides.  The maternal side is implanted into the uterine wall and holds on tightly during the pregnancy. The fetal side includes your baby’s umbilical cord which is an outgrowth of the placenta and  connects to their belly, providing all of the nutrition & oxygen they need for healthy growth while also discarding their wastes.

 

Each side of the placenta has a distinct appearance and it’s own circulatory system, your blood supply and your baby’s blood supply never mix; everything your baby needs passes from your side of the placenta to their side of the placenta through diffusion.

Learn more about the fetal-placental unit
and delayed cord clamping!

What Happens To My Afterbirth?

Your healthcare providers will examine your placenta; checking the vessels, the cord placement and ensuring  it is intact.

Many providers are excited to show you this awesome power source that kept your pregnancy running.  Some parents are interested in the ins and outs of their placenta and some are not.  No pressure!

After examination, with or without your audience, it is then discarded or it can be released to you.  Ensure that you communicate with the staff if you plan to take your placenta home with you. You will need a cooler with ice to transport it.

If you don’t have a clue what to do with a placenta once it is outside of your body, read on.

What To Do With Your Placenta

Placentophagy = eating your placenta

Yes, there are actual recipes  but if stew isn’t on your postpartum menu, just skip.

Placenta Encapsulation

Many people opt for drying, grinding & encapsulating as an option to ingest it.

You can learn more on the APPA website.

Placenta Smoothie

A raw placenta smoothie consists of a tiny piece of your placenta + mixed berries or other fruits blended together.  

Placenta Salve, Tincture

Some skilled encapsulators offer additional options.

Placenta Print

If you are the crafty type, placing your fresh placenta on thick art paper will give you a beautiful print.

Bury it

It is a rich life source and many people revere it for giving their baby life.  Ceremony, ritual, blessings or just a burial can all be a nice closure to the entire birthing process.

Check out the Bayung Gede placenta graveyard in Indonesia as an example of sacred placenta rituals.

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]]> https://barebirth.com/placental-options-after-birth/feed/ 0 25518 The Pelvis & Pelvic Floor https://barebirth.com/pelvic-floor/ https://barebirth.com/pelvic-floor/#respond Sun, 08 Jan 2023 23:34:02 +0000 https://barebirth.com/?p=24953 Your Pelvis & Pelvic Floor A Pelvis Primer It is often taken for granted, yet its strength and form are crucial to our overall health. Your pelvic floor muscles (PFM) are the main support system in your body. Located at the bottom of your pelvis, these muscles offer support for the bladder, uterus, vagina, bowel …

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Your Pelvis & Pelvic Floor

A Pelvis Primer

It is often taken for granted, yet its strength and form are crucial to our overall health. Your pelvic floor muscles (PFM) are the main support system in your body. Located at the bottom of your pelvis, these muscles offer support for the bladder, uterus, vagina, bowel and anus & baby when you pregnant.

Your pelvic floor muscles are attached to the bony pelvis, and the entire structure is integral in supporting your baby and helping them exit during labor. This is literally the seat of your power.

The first thing we need to do is become familiar with pelvic anatomy & then we will drift down to the pelvic floor.

Your pelvis is not one solid structure. It is a flexible structure, made up of different bones and joints and connected with cartilage to allow movement. Your baby has to navigate your pelvis in labor so knowing how to shapeshift your pelvis with different movements is an amazing labor tool.

It is not one solid structure. It is a flexible structure, made up of different bones and connected with cartilage to allow movement. Your baby has to navigate your pelvis in labor so knowing how to shapeshift your pelvis with different movements is an amazing labor tool.

The first thing we need to do is become familiar with pelvic anatomy.

Parts of the Bony Pelvis

The ilium (yellow) shape the top of the pelvis and are also what we typically call hip bones. Put your hands on your hips to find the top of your pelvic bones, usually located around your waist line. This is the pelvic inlet, where your baby enters your pelvis on their labor journey.

The ischium (green) at the bottom of the structure take most of our weight when we sit. These are also known as sit bones or sitz bones. This is the pelvic outlet, literally where your baby will be exiting after they navigate your pelvis.

It is important to find your sit bones for proper posture during pregnancy instead of sitting on a tucked pelvis. This can possibly help your baby move into an optimal position for labor – help them line up in the inlet with good form. 

Pubic Cartilage

The pubis symphysis, is a joint with cartilage where the 2 sides of the pelvis are connected. This connective tissue becomes more relaxed during pregnancy to allow the pelvis more mobility but also can cause less stability and sometimes pain. 

Sacrum & Coccyx

The sacrum (blue) is a triangle connected to the lower segment of vertebra and helps take body weight. It is common to feel labor sensations in the sacral area during contractions because your uterus is attached to the sacrum with sturdy ligaments. As the uterus tightens, it can pull on these ligaments.

Your baby’s position can also affect how much pressure you feel against your sacrum. Labor techniques like the sacral squeeze to assist in opening the pelvis or counterpressure to ease discomfort in labor are useful comfort measures.

Your coccyx (purple), also known as your tailbone, is connected to the bottom part of the sacrum. This bone is flexible. It can either be pushed closer towards your pubic bone to make less space in your pelvic outlet or it can be pulled away from the pubic bone to make more space in your outlet. 

Pushing positions that allow mobility in the sacrum widen your baby’s exit space in the pelvic outlet.

Pelvic Shapeshifting

Your entire pelvis can change shape depending on how you move your body. Bare Birth Flows explore pelvic shape shifting positions, and teach you helpful movements to use in labor.

Pelvic Floor Layers

The pelvic floor muscles provide support and stability for your entire pelvis and the foundation for the anus, vagina & bladder.  Think of a really strong hammock with a few layers to it.  The inner layer is interwoven tissue that supports your organs, and the outer layer is comprised of erectile tissue and sphincters – layered in and around your vaginal opening and anus like an infinity symbol.

Pelvic Floor Function

We need integrity in these muscles to aid in sexual functioning and continence throughout life, but especially in pregnancy when they are responsible for holding the weight of your growing baby, stabilizing your pelvis and facilitating birth. 

We are talking toned, not tight. A pelvic floor that is too tight can pull on the tail bone and make less exit room for your baby as well as causing dysfunction. A pelvic floor that is too weak cannot support the weight of your growing uterus, stabilize the relaxing pelvis and prevent pee leakage.

Some of you are already well acquainted with your pelvic floors, some may have dabbled in Kegels a bit and some of us might have totally neglected our pelvic core.  It is fine wherever you are, it’s never too late to connect with your pelvic floor.

 

 

 

It is a much bigger space than most of us think.  We are talking pubic bone to tailbone, hip to hip.  That is a lot of muscle!

The perineum is often discussed in labor.  That refers to the surface covering to the pelvic floor basically. It is between the anus and the vagina, and it has to stretch when your baby is crowning. This tissue is made to stretch and made to heal. Exploring perineal massage during the later part of the pregnancy can help you become familiar with it and may even decrease tearing in a first birth. 

Find out how to Connect to Your Pelvic Floor!

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