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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

Optimal Umbilical Cord Clamping

December 8, 2012 By Deena Leave a Comment

Dr. Alan Greene gives us an insightful look into the practice of immediate clamping of the umbilical cord and the detriments of doing so.  These include: decrease of red blood cells, decrease of white blood cells, decrease in baby’s iron levels and decreased oxygen levels.  His talk is thorough and compelling. He advocates for waiting at least […]

Filed Under: Into the Light, Main Blog Page Tagged With: Baby, Childbirth, Delayed Cord Clamping, Dr. Alan Greene, Evidence-based practices, Infant, Newborn, OB, Placenta, TED talk, Umbilical Cord

If I know I’m getting the epidural, do I really need a childbirth class?

April 9, 2012 By Deena 1 Comment

In short – YES! Ok and now for the longer answer: Your anesthesiologist won’t come to your house and you won’t be admitted to the hospital if you are too early in labor.  So, what do you do while you labor at home?  How do you know when to go into the hospital? What if […]

Filed Under: Into the Light, Main Blog Page Tagged With: C-section, Childbirth Education Classes, Communication, Decision making, Epidural, Expectations, Fathers, Fear, Natural Birth, Pain, Placenta, Valid Medical Reason

Placentophagia – Consuming your own placenta. Benefits or Placebo Effect?

March 29, 2012 By Deena 4 Comments

Ok, well technically, the placenta is the baby’s since it shares his DNA… but I digress. There’s been quite a bit in the news this week about placenta eating.  Mad Men star, January Jones let it be known that she consumed her encapsulated placenta after her baby was born, per her doula’s suggestion.  The original […]

Filed Under: Into the Light, Main Blog Page Tagged With: Eating Placenta, Evidence-based practices, Hormones, Media, Natural Remedies, Placenta, Placenta Encapsulation, Postpartum Depression

About Shining Light

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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