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Shining Light

Building empowerment, self-confidence and connection through candid education and compassionate advocacy for all families before, during and after pregnancy.

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A Birth Story – Barb and Rob, mama and papa to Flynn Viktor

December 17, 2012 By Deena Leave a Comment

Barb was a regular at our Prenatal Yoga classes.  She and Rob also came to Infant Care class.  I’m honored that she’s sharing her birth story with all of us.  Happy reading!   I woke up in the morning on November 23 (my due date) feeling great with no plans to do Black Friday shopping. Since […]

Filed Under: Into the Light, Main Blog Page Tagged With: Baby, Birth, birth story, breastfeeding, Childbirth, Coping Skills, Fathers, Fear, Infant, Labor, Newborn, Pain, Pittsburgh, Placenta, Pregnancy, Prenatal Yoga, The Midwife Center, Water breaking

Aurelia’s Birth Story

October 23, 2012 By Deena Leave a Comment

Amy and Pedro came to my Confident Birthing class this summer.  Here is Aurelia’s birth story.  Enjoy! Aurelia’s birth went really well, we were very lucky.  I had a very long prelabor – started getting light contractions on the evening of Saturday the 8th but was able to get some sleep and did not experience any real discomfort.  […]

Filed Under: Inspirations, Into the Light, Main Blog Page Tagged With: Birth, birth story, Childbirth, Childbirth Education Classes, Communication, Confident Birthing, Coping Skills, Decision making, Expectations, Fathers, Labor, Motherhood, Mothers, OB, Pittsburgh

Penny Simkin was in Pittsburgh and I got to meet her!

October 17, 2012 By Deena Leave a Comment

On Monday, 10/15/2012, I had the honor and the pleasure of meeting and learning from the incomparable Penny Simkin.  She happened to be in town for a conference and took some time out of her busy schedule to meet with a small group of doulas, childbirth educators and midwives at a local Panera.  (note to […]

Filed Under: Into the Light, Main Blog Page Tagged With: Birth, Birth Plan, birth story, Childbirth, Childbirth Education Classes, Communication, Coping Skills, Decision making, Emotional State, Fear, history, Homebirth, Lamaze, Motherhood, Mothers, OB, Pain, Penny Simkin, Pittsburgh, Pregnancy

Myth: Childbirth is the Worst Pain, EVER!

July 19, 2012 By Deena 4 Comments

Dad (to me): “So, how painful will childbirth be for her?” Before I can answer, Mom blurts out, “It’s the worst pain of your life!” This is one of the most common myths about childbirth.  When we talk about pain, we need to put it into context. “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.” Me: “Well, […]

Filed Under: Into the Light, Main Blog Page Tagged With: Birth, birth story, Childbirth, Childbirth Education Classes, Coping Skills, Emotional State, Expectations, Fear, Ideal Birth, Labor, Media, Motherhood, Mothers, Orgasmic Birth, Pain, painless, Pittsburgh, Traumatic Birth

“I didn’t know what I didn’t know.”

June 17, 2012 By Deena Leave a Comment

I hear this quite a bit from moms who are pregnant with their second or third child. I hear this from moms who didn’t take a childbirth preparation class. I also hear it from moms who took a childbirth prep class that focused on natural birth only and neglects to cover the reality of hospital birth in […]

Filed Under: Into the Light, Main Blog Page Tagged With: Birth, C-section, Childbirth Education Classes, Coping Skills, Decision making, Emotional State, Expectations, Fathers, Fear, Ideal Birth, Interventions, Labor, Lamaze, OB, Pittsburgh, Pregnancy, Traumatic Birth, Water breaking

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Building empowerment, self-confidence and connection through candid education and compassionate advocacy for all families before, during and after pregnancy since 2012.

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