FAMILIES : Baby Talk for New Mothers
“There are some new ideas about childbirth that are thousands of years old.” So says Jennifer Huddleston, co-owner with Kelli Way, of the Birth Source, a 6-month-old business dedicated to providing informed choices about motherhood--before, during and after birth.
Way and Huddleston met in a study group organized by the International Childbirth Education Assn. in Los Angeles. Both are certified childbirth educators and both had heard horror stories told by women about their birthing experiences. “All of the women I spoke to told of hellish experiences they did not want to repeat,” said Way, a mother of six.
After five years of participating in hospital, birth center and home births, Way and Huddleston decided they wanted to educate women to take charge of the births of their babies and, Huddleston said, “show women that if they can be in charge of the birth, they could handle motherhood too.”
The Birth Source was born.
Husbands, family and friends helped to turn an ordinary store on La Cienega Boulevard into a cozy office arrangement and space for a birth plan workshop, baby care classes that include baby massage, and various other classes offered free as a community service. There is also a reception area where anyone can walk in and buy books and hard-to-find products such as herbal sitz baths for new mothers.
Three-thousand years ago, pregnant women would not have attended birth classes, but they did have birth rituals, which included experienced women helping the new mother in her transition from pregnancy to parenthood. Huddleston and Way call those women “labor support providers” or “labor coaches.”
“Most labors and births are healthy, normal events which should center on the emerging family and require a minimum of medical intervention,” Huddleston said. “We nurture the woman with physical comforts and emotional support. We’re not there to make medical decisions.”
When a pregnant woman comes to the Birth Source, she meets with Way and talks about enrolling in the birth class. “We see if there’s a fit. If the woman wants a lot of information and control, then she’ll probably like our class. If she doesn’t really want to know and gives total control over to her doctor, then she wouldn’t like the class,” Way said.
If a couple decide they also want labor support, Way and Huddleston meet in the couple’s home close to the delivery date and discuss the couple’s expectations.
“By the time of the delivery, we’ve discussed everything of importance with the couple and we know where they live so we can find them in the middle of the night, should we have to,” Way said.
Either Huddleston or Way remain at the mother’s side through the labor and birth, including the first breast feeding. During labor, they perform massage and other relaxation techniques for the woman’s comfort as well as help communicate with the medical staff if it is a hospital birth.
The Birth Source does not endorse any specific birth method. “It’s consumer-oriented,” Huddleston said. “We say, ‘Here’s the information and here are the risks and the benefits that go along with it.’ ”
Jakki Fink Kay 33, is expecting her first child in April. She started going to Birth Source two months ago at the suggestion of a midwife in her doctor’s office. After finishing the yoga course, she now attends the birthing class with her husband. This week, she starts the breast feeding class.
“I’m from Vermont and there’s a very Vermont-like community feeling at Birth Source. . . . (It is) an educated, personal atmosphere, not a clinical or flaky L.A. feeling,” she said.
In a few weeks, Huddleston will deliver her second child at home and at her side will be her husband and 7-year-old son, who will cut the umbilical cord. “Children need to know about cycles and shouldn’t be sheltered from life and death,” she said. “It’s important for my son to know about birth, to take it seriously and to share my joy.”
Birth Source is located at 325 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. For information about fees and availability, call (310) 659 - 0364.
