Give the gift of...

Hello and Happy Holidays!
I hope this post finds you well!

As we are in season for being thankful and the season for giving I want to thank all my clients for the opportunity to support them in the most amazing way possible; in the miracle of life, what an amazing gift and moment to be thankful for! I am so grateful! In appreciation I am hosting a Client Appreciation Gathering. I look forward to seeing all the women and their partners that I have supported on their journey to parenthood, and seeing how big and beautiful their children have grown. I will be sharing pictures of our gathering in a future post.

Are you still looking for the perfect gift for a mother-to-be? There are so many things this highly consumerist society tries to convince mothers that they need! I know, I was one of them! Then I realized that all my baby needed was love, nutrition and warmth, and that my arms could provide it all... and for when my arms could not provide it? Maybe some clothes and a safe place to sleep... ok and some diapers ;)  unless you plan on doing eliminations communication (see more on that below). I also learned that what made for the most loving and peaceful birth experience was the care and support I received during birth. With the high rates of unnecessary interventions and c-sections it is something that is very overlooked! One of the reasons I am a doula!

So it comes from the heart and a place of service that I say that one of the better gifts a mother-to-be can receive is doula services to help her welcome her baby with love and peace.

In the spirit of giving get $50 off the Basic Doula Package and $75 off the Full Doula Package if you purchase services by December 25th, 2015.

Also, please remember that for any mother-to-be that you refer and contracts doula services with A Loving Birth you will receive a $25 gift card in appreciation for your support. Just fill out the gift certificate below for the amount of $50 (on me, or more if you want to add to it). You will get a $25 gift card and the mother-to-be will get $50 off doula services!

Birth World: In the Holiday Spirit here is a link to some beautiful pictures of Christmas births! My daughter was born December 18th, so I get to celebrate a Christmas birth too! http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikespohr/15-stunning-images-of-home-births-at-christmas#.vqopexVqxZ Natural Birth Tip: So, do you really know what a doula does? Do you know there is evidence supporting the role of a doula? Did you know that doulas can help reduce c-sections and unnecessary interventions and help achieve a natural birth? Well continuing the theme of doula services today I will share a link on the Evidence for Doula Support... http://evidencebasedbirth.com/the-evidence-for-doulas/ Parenting World: What is Elimination Communication you say? It is watching your babies cues for when they need to use the potty starting at birth! Yes that is right! I never put it into practice although it sounded interesting but with my busy and unpredictable life style not something I was able to do. However, I feel it can be really great and work for some parents. So here is more on that http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com/elimination-communication/ Appreciation Gift Card: Thank you Elena C.! You will be receiving a $25 gift card in appreciation for referring a client that contracted doula services with A Loving Birth! So thankful to be a part of another loving birth in the making! CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION CLASSES Make sure you RSVP by calling 561-808-3142 as space is limited. Private Childbirth Education Classes are always available for your convenience.

As always, thank you for your continued love and support.

Wishing you lots of love and happiness in this Holiday Season!

Gift Certificates, Classes, Breech, Vit D and more!

Hello! I hope this blog post finds you well! We have started our bi-monthly meditations! It is so nice to take a moment, quiet your mind and connect with your baby. Having a baby growing inside you can feel so surreal. Taking a moment to slow down and make that conscious connection with your baby can make it all that more real and special! The next meditation is scheduled for Tuesday, October 13th at 5:30 pm. On Saturday October 10th we will be starting our 4 weekly 2 hour Childbirth Education Series. Can't make it this week? No worries, you can jump in at any time! But make sure you RSVP as space is limited. Please see below for mediation and class details. MEDITATIONS If it rains we will meet at The Sol Oasis in Boynton Beach. You must RSVP by calling 561-808-3142. CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION CLASSES The first class will be held on Saturday, October 10th at 10:30 am. Make sure you RSVP by calling 561-808-3142 as space is limited. Private Childbirth Education Classes are always available for your convenience. Birth World: A woman is 36 weeks and her baby is still breech (head up)... she is told it is not safe to deliver vaginally and that she needs a c-section... but is this true? Are there other options? According to the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada breech birth under the right care is safer than a c-section and has started to train their physicians in breech birth. Hopefully the US will follow suit soon. In the mean time there are obstetricians in South Florida, with knowledge and experience, willing to deliver breech births. So if you or someone you now is in this situation please know there are other and safer options. Contact me and I will be happy to help you navigate them. To learn more about the safety of breech births I leave you with the following links. http://www.breechbirth.ca/Welcome.html http://sogc.org/publications/breech-childbirth/ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/c-section-not-best-option-for-breech-birth/article597103/ There are also things that a mother can do to help her baby turn head down, www.spinningbabies.com is a great resource for that. Natural Birth Tip: More and more mothers are choosing to have a natural birth, and it is not surprising because the benefits for both mother and baby are many, and the risks for unnecessarily medicated births are real. So what are  some things you can do to increase your chances of a natural birth? There are several, but today I will only touch on one.  We discuss how to achieve a natural birth in my classes and it is part of the support I provide my doula clients (if they so choose). Today's tip: The choice in care provider is key in helping you achieve a natural birth. Your care provider will provide more or less support and make suggestions for interventions, or not. Depending on the type of care provider these interventions may be more or less necessary, and can be based more on their preferences and beliefs than on actual evidence. A good resource to help you make informed and evidence based decisions is www.evidencebasedbirth.com But keep in mind there is still a lot we don't know about birth... so always listen to that voice inside you, no matter how soft, it is always there to guide you. So the next question would be, how do you know if your care provider is supportive of natural birth??? I will be happy to help you find one, and accompany you on your journey to parenthood; one of the many supportive roles I take on as a doula. Parenting World: I often hear and see the questions: Is it necessary to supplement my breastfed baby with Vitamin D? We know that Vitamin D has become very popular recently and that it is estimated that most Americans are deficient in this essential vitamin... so when it comes to our our babies, what are we to do? Isn't breastfeeding supposed to be a perfect source of nutrition for our precious little bundles of joy!? The answer is YES! So where does that leave vitamin D supplementation? The following research suggests that if the mother has adequate levels of vitamin D the baby will get what he/she needs through breast milk. Here is the research article explaining what breastfeeding mothers can do to insure their babies are getting adequate amounts of vitamin D... Maternal Versus Infant Vitamin D Supplementation During Lactation: A Randomized Controlled Trial http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/136/4/625.full.pd Baby Showers and Holidays Coming Up! Still not sure what to get the mommy-to-be? What a better gift than the support of a doula and/or informative and inspiring childbirth education classes! To purchase a gift certificate please email zeresh@alovingbirth.com or call 561-808-3142. As always, thank you for your continued love and support!

Childbirth Education and Meditation

Barefoot and Pregnant... on the beach!
Come join me and other pregnant mothers and their partners every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at 5:30 pm at Gulfstream Park (weather permitting, if raining we will gather at The Sol Oasis) in Boynton Beach for a FREE meditation session... a time to get away, put your toes in the sand and sea, calm your senses, and connect with your baby. Bring a towel. RSVP is a must by calling 561-808-3142.

Childbirth Education Series:
The new group series is set to start on October 10th, they will be held at The Sol Oasis in Boynton Beach, on Saturdays from 10:30-12:30. They will be held once a week for 2 hours in a 4 week rotating series, so you can start at any time. Drop in for one or sign up for all. Individual classes are $30, $100 for all four.
Subjects to be covered are: Intervention Intelligence for Pregnancy and Birth, Intervention Intelligence for Birth and Baby, Comfort Measures, and Creating a Birth Plan.
Great on their own, or as an addition and support to other childbirth education classes.
RSVP is a must by calling 561-808-3142.
Of course private Childbirth Education Classes are always available for your convenience.

Special Gift, New Classes and More!

I am back in Florida and ready to take on birth clients and start the childbirth education classes and guided meditation sessions! To celebrate my return I am offering a special gift certificate worth $50 off of any doula services or private childbirth education classes! There is an added bonus for the  "gifter"! All you have to do is print it, fill it out and give it to a mother-to-be. She will get $50 off and you will get a $25 appreciation check once services are contracted, as a thank you for helping create a loving birth! If you are the one seeking services the gift certificate will entitle you to $75 off! NEW Meditation Series: Barefoot and Pregnant... on the beach! Come join me and other pregnant mothers and their partners every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at 5:30 pm at Gulfstream Park (weather permitting, if raining we will gather at The Sol Oasis) in Boynton Beach for a FREE meditation session... a time to get away, put your toes in the sand and sea, calm your senses, and connect with your baby. Bring a towel. Meditations will start September 22. RSVP is a must by calling 561-808-3142. Childbirth Education Series: The new group series is set to start soon, they will be held in Boynton Beach, exact time and location will be TBA. They will be held once a week for 2 hours in a 4 week rotating series, so you can start at any time. Drop in for one or sign up for all. Individual classes are $25, $75 for all four. Subjects to be covered are: Intervention Intelligence 1 & 2, Comfort Measures, and How to Create a Birth Plan. Great on their own, or as an addition and support to other childbirth education classes. RSVP is a must by calling 561-808-3142. Of course private Childbirth Education Classes are always available for your convenience. News in the Birth World: Did you know that the baby is the one that starts the birth process? That it is actually something in the baby's lungs that is released into the mother's blood stream that initiates labor? Did you also know that they just recently discover the actual proteins that are released by the lungs!!?? They discovered it a few months ago after many years of research. The baby is the driver of labor. It is so important to respect the chemical process that takes place in a beautifully orchestrated fashion. To learn more about this incredible finding see this link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150622162023.htm Parenting World: It is hard to find evidence based holistic dental services, well, I am happy to say I did! Although a little far for us, as they are located in Miami, it was worth the drive. I took my daughter in who is prone to cavities. My son who is 7 years old doesn't have any and yet my daughter 3.5 has several. I am so happy to have found Assure a Smile. After one visit I feel it is the right choice for us and I am happy to refer them to anyone seeking a more holistic approach to dental care. Here is a link to their blog where not only can you access their office information but you can read interesting articles on oral health for the whole family. http://www.assureasmile.com/miami-dentist-blog/ I hope you found this post's information to be useful. Don't forget to take advantage of the gift certificates and sign up for the upcoming meditations and classes! Today I leave you with my new logo/design that a client created for me. It is so beautiful! I am in love and so very thankful! As always, thank you for your continued love and support, Zeresh Altork, CD, CBE, M.Ed.

Taking births in September and beyond

Hello!
Hope you had a nice summer and that the "school" year is starting out well.
After a very productive summer; organizing, interpreting and facilitating Barbara Harper's Waterbirth Workshops for midwives in Spain I am back in Florida and ready to start seeing clients with due dates in September and beyond.
I also have a few surprises for pregnant mothers and past clients. Stay tuned I will be posting about that soon.
It is good to be back! I look forward to serving my new pregnant clients in Palm Beach and Broward counties.
You may reach me by phone at 561-808-3142
Or by email at zeresh at a loving birth dot com (typed separate for security reasons, please type as email)

In love!!!

Absolutely in love with a custom image a client made for me!!! Blessed!!! 
And of course it is copyrighted! No no using without permission please. 

Will be back at the end of August!

Hello! I hope this post finds you well! I have a lot of wonderful news to share and I finally have a return date to Florida! All the workshops that I organized through www.barbaraharperespana.com  this June in Spain have been a success!!! The two full weeks of travel and workshops were filled with learning, inspiration, open minds and open hearts! We have shared days with midwives, doulas, obstetricians, pediatricians, heads of obstetrics, heads of hospitals, mothers, fathers and babies! There have been tears and smiles, questions and answers, and a desire for more! It has been an honor and a pleasure to organize all these workshops and be the professional interpreter for Barabra Harper, an amazing woman and world renown midwife, author, gentle birth expert and the founder of www.waterbirth.org Here are some pictures of the workshops :) Workshop in Barcelona                          Workshop in Madrid                                                                           Presentation at the Pius Hospital in Valls         I have to say being around such amazing people and so much learning I too have been able to soak up a lot of that learning and knowledge, ready to continue my journey not only as a doula but as a student midwife! That is right! I have finally decided to take the plunge and I have started to study to become a midwife! In the mean time I am available and excited to be taking on new birth clients for due dates in September and beyond, I will be back in Florida at the end of August. If you are pregnant or know someone who is please feel free to email me or call me to see how I may best support your pregnancy and childbirth needs. (My Florida number is operational and of no cost to you even if you call me while I am in Spain). As always, thank you for your continued love and support, Zeresh Altork, CD, CBE, M.Ed. 561-808-3142 zeresh@alovingbirth.com www.alovingbirth.com