Belly Binding in Denton, Dallas - Fort Worth

What are the benefits of Belly Binding?

Belly Binding helps to return the abdominal muscles back to center (diastasis recti - abdominal muscle separation).

Stabilize loose ligaments

Reduces water retention

Helps to provide support for back and reduce back pain

Helps the uterus and other organs return to their pre-pregnancy place.

It feels amazing and supportive!

What happens in a Binding Session?

I will come to your home, bind you and teach you how to bind yourself so this can become part of your postpartum self-care routine. If you choose to use the herbal salve we will apply that as well. If there is someone you want to learn to bind you in the next few days I can teach them too. After you have learned to wrap yourself I will leave you with access to a couple of videos in case you forget something and of course you're welcome to contact me to troubleshoot if you have questions!

Has it been too long since I had my baby to benefit from belly binding?

No! It is ideal to bind in the first few weeks from birth, but there are still benefits much later.

How soon after birth can I have a wrapping session?

If your baby was born via cesarean wrapping will need to wait until your sutures have healed some, usually three weeks. If you had your baby vaginally, you can begin wrapping in the first week postpartum! 

When should I book a wrapping session?

It is ideal to book a belly binding session while you’re still pregnant. The wraps I use are professional high quality muslin bengkung belly bindings and it takes some time to ship. As soon as you have signed your contract I order all the supplies necessary for your binding session so they’re ready to go after your baby arrives! It’s never too late to book, but it might create a little wait while supplies are shipped if I don’t currently have the correct sizes in stock.

How is this belly wrap different than one I can buy in a store?

Bindings that you purchase in a store are a one size fit… mostly all. With the wrapping method I use we are able to customize the wrap to support the areas of your body that you are needing the most support. Your hips, back, belly can all benefit from the specific wrapping that is customized to your body. Your body is changing postpartum, so a store-bought wrap might fit for the first week or two after birth but won’t fit in subsequent weeks. This fits you like a glove, perfectly customizable so no matter how your body changes, it still works perfectly for you!

How do I care for the wrap?

The wrap is machine washable! Postpartum can get messy and the last thing we need when we’ve just had a baby is something that is difficult to clean! It is durable and after you use it to bind your belly it can be used as a baby wrap or can be saved to wrap after a future baby is born!

I’ve booked a Belly Binding session with you, now what?

Great! Now that I have your contract and payment I will ensure that I have the correct size wrap that will be best for your care and binding now we’re just waiting on baby to arrive! As soon as you have your baby give me a call (or text) and we’ll get your binding session scheduled. If you had your baby in the hospital vaginally, it’s usually best for me to come the day after you come home from the hospital.

 

I live in _________ do you offer belly binding in my area?

Probably! I serve the Dallas - Fort Worth and Greater North Central Texas area. It’s such a large area it’s hard to list every single town but some cities I have provided belly binding or birth doula services to clients in are: Denton, Corinth, Flower Mound, Lewisville, Highland Village, Keller, Haslet, Grapevine, Gainesville, Decatur, McKinney, Frisco, Sanger,

 

I still have a couple of questions, can I contact you?

Absolutely!! You can call or email me and I will be happy to discuss the service and answer any questions you may have! 

Photos Courtesy of KE Documentary

Trusting Your Care Provider

Trust in your care provider, whether it’s an OB or a midwife, trusting them and their judgement is so important in your pregnancy and delivery. I absolutely believe that you always have the final say in your care. Just because your care provider suggests a procedure or test does not mean that it has to happen. You always have the right to informed consent! All of this being said, you might come across a situation in which the best decision for the health of yourself and your baby is based on trusting your care provider to do what is in your best interest. A good care provider will balance your desires and plans for birth alongside whatever intervention may be required.

Often times doulas hear moms in due date groups, or even clients, who have reached the end of their pregnancy having a trust issue with providers. They maybe had some red flags pop up earlier in pregnancy that their care provider isn’t on the same page as them but they didn’t want to go to the trouble to change doctors or midwives. Or perhaps they didn’t want to hurt the doctors feelings, we hear “they’re so nice” quite often. Maybe they’re just going to “fight them” on this one issue and stay under their care. Let’s say it’s the home stretch in their pregnancy and something has come up medically and now there’s talk about whether or not getting all the way to 40 weeks is still a wise decision or if induction at 37 weeks is necessary. Maybe the doctor is suggesting a cesarean birth rather than your planned natural birth. Now these moms are asking “should I really go through with this induction?” they’re considering playing games with the hospital to keep their doctor happy - scheduling the induction but then not showing up or rescheduling last minute. Maybe they believe the doctor is going to say that a cesarean is necessary but she really doesn’t want one and is trying to decide whether or not to go to the doctor to hear a potentially uncomfortable suggestion. These are the times that it is so important to trust your care provider.

Understand, It should never be blind trust, You should absolutely advocate for yourself and your unborn child. I recommend to my clients that they use the B.R.A.I.N acronym: what are the Benefits? Risks? Alternative options? What does your Intuition say? What if we do Nothing?

Ask questions of your care provider, understand why this intervention, test or procedure is recommended. Sometimes it all boils down to it being a decision, do we wait and see? Do we intervene and potentially prevent (but of course all the risks of intervention and induction etc still apply). It’s all a choice. So do you trust your care provider? Do they have a good reputation for the type of birth you’re planning? Do they usually end up pushing inductions or interventions to get things “moving” at the end? Do they use scare tactics to get you to induce? Do you question whether or not an induction is for their convenience or if it’s actually necessary?

Do your homework. Ask the tough questions. Change care providers if necessary.

If you’ve picked a good care provider that practices in line with what you believe, what you want, your birth plan. You trust them, their expertise and judgement. Then you know when they say it’s time for XYZ that isn’t a part of your birth plan you can trust that it’s the actual truth, it’s a legitimate need for health concerns. As I said before, still - do your due diligence, research the proposed test, intervention or procedure. The bottom line is, the relationship between you and your care provider must be based on trust. Without trust, the foundation of your relationship is flawed and can lead to questions and doubt when time counts.

If you aren’t sure whether or not your care provider is a good fit for you, a great childbirth education course can help you ask the right questions! I’m happy to help you find a great in-person class in Denton or other towns in the Dallas, Fort Worth area. There are also wonderful online options to fit your busy schedule! Hiring a doula with local resources and connections can help you with your search for a great care provider to help you have an amazing birth!

Rebekah Lewis provides birth doula services in the North Texas area including Denton, Decatur, Gainesville, Krum, Aubrey, Flower Mound, Grapevine, Coppell, Highland Village, North Fort Worth, Keller, McKinney, and surrounding areas.

Denton is getting Nitrous Oxide

Update: Nitrous is now an option! A client used it in Spring 2019 and the nurses were great about getting the nitrous set up in her room quickly once she requested it!

Update (2/2/18): I wanted to let you know that Texas Health Presbyterian Denton does not currently offer Nitrous Oxide. As with many things in the hospital system, change does not happen quickly. We will be excited when this option does become available but it has not come as quickly as it was expected. - Rebekah

This past Monday night was our most recent meeting of the Denton County Birth Network. Dr. Heather Bartos of BE Womens Health and Wellness (in Crossroads just outside of Denton on Highway 380) joined us as our guest and was speaking about Inductions. 

Dr. Bartos had a great way of making a sometimes not so fun topic really enjoyable and relatable regardless of your knowledge about the medical induction procedures. She used the comparison of your cervix to an avocado. She said that sometimes we really want guacamole -it's what we're craving and all we can think about. So we go to the store and get avocados except none of them are ripe. You want guacamole so badly that you're willing to buy that unripe avocado that you know isn't any good for your guacamole. You take it home and put it in a paper bag, you put the paper bag in the window. You try everything you can to try to ripen the avocado so you can hopefully make your guacamole. Sometimes it's just ripe enough after all your tricks to make some okay guacamole but not always. Sometimes all those tricks and methods you used to ripen those avocados before they were ready isn't enough and try as you might, that avocado is too tough and just won't make  guacamole. 

This is sometimes what it's like to be pregnant, all you can think about is getting the baby here and not being pregnant anymore! Or maybe we have high blood pressure, diabetes, pre eclampsia or many other medical issues that would be an indication we need to medically induce and not be pregnant anymore. Regardless of the reason you're looking at inducing. We can try all kinds of non-medical induction options like evening primrose oil, sex, increased physical activities and combine them with medical options for cervical ripeners, augmentation like pitocin and many others. Sometimes these things work and labor is kick started and we get guacamole... er, a baby! Other times no matter what we try your body isn't ready, your cervix isn't ripe and labor won't keep going on it's own. Depending on the individual situation, sometimes there is time to wait until labor can start or if it was a medically necessary induction for health reasons it might end in birth by cesarean. 

At the end of the meeting Dr. Bartos announced that she is excited to share that Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Denton will be offering Nitrous Oxide for patients as a new pain relief option very soon! 

Nitrous Oxide is a pain relief option that fell out of favor in the US in the 60's when the epidural came on the scene and gained popularity. According to the Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health Nitrous Oxide is a safe pain relief option for both baby and mother. Since it doesn't disrupt the release of the hormone Oxytocin it doesn't change the normal progress of labor or affect baby's alertness at birth. The Nitrous Oxide or "laughing gas" doesn't take away the pain of labor, women still perceive pain but it helps them relax through it and it seems like the pain is less. Nitrous Oxide is a great pain relief tool if you would like to have some medicinal relief from contractions but aren't comfortable with epidurals or narcotic pain relief. 

Dr. Bartos also made mention of the potential of a very new and exciting option for pregnant families in and around Denton birthing at Presbyterian Hospital of Denton... but it's still a secret - I hope it's something I can share soon! It's an exciting time to have a baby in Denton and the DFW area! We have more options than ever for expecting families to have the birth they desire! 

If you're in the Denton County area feel free to join us for a Denton County Birth Network meeting! They are free and open to the public! We meet every other month on a Monday night at 7:00 at the North Branch Library. Meetings are always announced on our Facebook page you can check out here! The Denton County Birth Network is your local resource for mother-friendly care, connection and community! 

Rebekah Lewis is a Birth Doula serving families in Denton Texas and the surrounding areas. Contact her today to schedule a consultation. 

Rebekah Lewis provides birth doula services in the North Texas area including Denton, Decatur, Gainesville, Krum, Aubrey, Flower Mound, Grapevine, Coppell, Highland Village, North Fort Worth, Keller, McKinney, and surrounding areas.

Pinterest for the Modern Doula

As a doula I provide information to clients about various topics related to pregnancy and childbirth. When a client contacts me with a question, I answer and after our conversation I send her resources with articles and research so that she can make an informed decision on what is best for her (because it's her birth and what she wants is what I want!). In an email or a text I'll send a link to my Pinterest board on that specific topic. 

There are so many great articles on Pinterest but we all know that can be a deep dark abyss of endless pins. Some of those pins don't hold information that's all that great and certainly not evidence based. On my Doula page I have specifically picked good resources and saved them for my clients in easy to find organized boards. 

I've found that expecting families seem to be inundated with paperwork and articles. By using Pinterest to send articles, that's less paper for you to keep up with and  the response can be immediate instead of waiting for me to bring print outs to our next prenatal. As your doula I try to only give my clients one print item, the beautiful Supporting Arms Booklet (see a sample here). It provides such great information, it's worth having it in print and easily referenced! 

I'm constantly adding more pins and information - you can check out my Pinterest page here! 

Contact me today to schedule a Free Consultation! 

Rebekah Lewis provides birth doula services in the North Texas and South Western Oklahoma area including Denton, Gainesville, Krum, Aubrey, Flower Mound, Grapevine, Coppell, Highland Village, North Fort Worth, Keller, McKinney, Ardmore, Marietta, Thackerville and surrounding areas.