[SmilingBluEyes]

For info on Doula training/information, please see:

www.dona.org

Doulas of North America

Good suggestion, thanks!

[wannabemw]

"And, since I'm being so sassy anyway may I make a suggestion that is not in the form of a book? Consider, as an L&D RN, taking a doula training course, where you learn nothing but labor support techniques for the mother and family."



Alison,
what a great idea! Now if we could only convince nursing schools of this! (I laugh b/c they already complain of not enough time to teach the "basics")

And I have to say...my husband was a GREAT DOULA! (So guys if u think this doesn't apply to u, u r dead wrong!)

I will also look for Penny Simkins book. Thanks for the suggestions!
~MJ

[SmilingBluEyes]

The Labor Progress Handbook is another excellent Simpkin resource.

[FrumDoula]

Alison,
what a great idea! Now if we could only convince nursing schools of this! (I laugh b/c they already complain of not enough time to teach the "basics")

~MJ[/quote]

My husband is a medical student, and his school uses the "not enough time" excuse to justify not teaching NUTRITION. Duh, people. But damn if they don't spend a year on pharmacology to treat all the illnesses brought on by poor nutrition.

Oh, and another excellent resource for the L&D nurses who see persistent dystocia brought on by malpositioned babies : Optimal Fetal Positioning The authors' name escapes me, but it's a great resource.

The Labor Progress Handbook is fabulous, I agree, and one more, since I have everyone's ear. When Survivors Give Birth by Penny Simkin and Phyllis Klaus. An outstanding book on helping survivors of abuse to have a positive birth experience, and how to avoid retraumatizing them. Very powerful.

I gave a presentation to nursing students once at the University of Missouri-Columbia on doula care and labor support, and I can't tell you how supportive and open-minded they were to the ideas (and the birth ball!) I brought with me.

Alison

[SmilingBluEyes]

I don't understand medical schools STILL not teaching nutrition. That blows my mind. It thought they were changing that. STUPID.

[FrumDoula]

Originally Posted by SmilingBluEyes

I don't understand medical schools STILL not teaching nutrition. That blows my mind. It thought they were changing that. STUPID.

Some may well be, but apparently his is still in the Dark Ages. And they have no Ethics course, either.

And he attends an Osteopathic medical school, where they should know better. They spend plenty of time on manipulation.

Alison

[ndsweetheart]

Hi everyone, I am pretty new to this but I am a senior baccalaureate nursing student and will be graduating in May of this year. I am going to be working on the OB floor. I had my first baby this past summer and a wonderful book that was offered to me by my doula is "Birthing From Within". I don't remember the author and I have loaned it out to a friend. But the book is fantastic for both nurses and woman currently pregnant.
I highly recommend it!

[tasharn]

Originally Posted by MinervaB

I would add "The Red Tent." It is a fictional book, but is a great read for anyone interested in childbirth and history.

I bought the red tent and read it in one day, I could not put it down.

[wannabemw]

Originally Posted by ndsweetheart

Hi everyone, I am pretty new to this but I am a senior baccalaureate nursing student and will be graduating in May of this year. I am going to be working on the OB floor. I had my first baby this past summer and a wonderful book that was offered to me by my doula is "Birthing From Within". I don't remember the author and I have loaned it out to a friend. But the book is fantastic for both nurses and woman currently pregnant.
I highly recommend it!

My DOULA friend requires this as reading for her birthing couples! Excellent book. I also have really liked "Silent Knife" for recovery from c-section... its excellent for anyone that has suffered from Birth Trama. However, to get everything that you can out of it, u MUST read the whole book...it takes u through stages of identification and recovery. Be prepared to get mad, cry and feel better and more educated for your next birth. (I also LOVED "The Midwife")(formerly on Oprah's book club).
~MJ

[wannabemw]

Oh how much fun that must have been to "enlighten" nursing students! I am ENVIOUS!

I will look up the other books u mentioned..especially the Survivors book...I have too many friends & family members who could benefit from this book. U & I would get along well....

I want to add another "Must Read": The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" and one book that should be in every OB Unit in the US" "The Breastfeeding Answer Book" Both these books r written by La Leche League (not all LLL leaders & members are, lol, "Nazi Nursers") These books r excellent resources too...ck the library if u need to.