Seattle expectant moms and new babies guide 2008-2009
As a new mom I was struck by the difficulty of locating decent prenatal care and safe, effective products for my pregnancy and new baby. Below are my recommended products and services based on my personal experiences for expectant mom and new moms in the Seattle area. I tend to chose products that are BPA-free, low impact on the environment, no toxins.
Category: Service
Penny Simkin’s Birth and Preparation Series
Parent Trust Great Starts Organization
2517 Eastlake Ave East, Suite 102, Seattle, WA 98102
Comments: These classes are taught by Penny Simkin or one of her teaching partners: Sandy Szalay or April Bolding. Fee: $200 per couple. $55 non-refundable deposit at time of registration, with balance due on the first night of class. Reading Materials: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn; The Birth Partner; and handouts (Both books are included with the class fee)
Run don’t walk to enroll in these classes. They fill up quickly. You will find a relaxed atmosphere and the answers to ALL your new parent, birthing questions. 2 hour sessions are broken up by snack time and birthing preparation exercises (breathing, partner support). Expectant dads will enjoy this class as well. Feel confident and walk away with the ability to make informed choices no matter what your birthing approach: home birth, birthing center, full medical births in a hospital. Your fellow classmates range from granola type to yuppie type and are a great mix. A lot of fun! Do attend the reunion class for great photo ops and to hear everyone’s birth stories.
Category: Service
Monica Legatt Acupuncture
www.seattleacupuncture.com
509 Olive Way, Suite 1301
Comments: If you TTC (trying to conceive) this is an excellent alternative. Monica Legatt is a very professional, deeply caring, kind and a positive resource for this journey. Her accupuncture and ancient Chinese herbal prescriptions in capsule form do work. I cannot recommend her enough. Her practice also deals with asthma and pain management. Wear slip on shoes and loose clothing and summon all of your patience. Success can take many months. Acupuncture is particularly effective when used in tandem with IUI’s and is gaining acceptance by Western medicine and some health insurers. I found it is totally ok if you are skeptical at first. Ask questions. Monica will talk about the practice before performing it on you. The needles are used only one time and thrown away. Very safe. The sensation of the needles when rotated is like ~zinnnggg~ to your nervous system but is totally manageable. A very calming and centering effect afterwards that lasts for hours.
Category: Service
Swedish Birth Center and Swedish Midwives Heather Paar and Fra Na Ready
Comments: We chose Swedish Ballard Birthing Center because it was small and personable with only 7 birthing rooms off a central hub. The Swedish Midwives are officed on the bottom wing which enabled them to join us almost immediately. We found it to be the most up-to-date yet relaxing birthing center - better than busy Swedish First Hill and UW Birthing Center. Ballard has many popular options to aid labor includeding one giant jacuzzi soaking tub. Best of all you stay in the same room for labor, delivery and recovery. Our doula was also welcome here. Though we did not use any medical intervention epidurals are available at this location . We were allowed to sleep while the nurses watched the baby. Great food, milkshakes delivered to our room from the cafeteria downstairs. Immediate post-partum care was wonderful, we were well looked after. Included is a follow up visit with a highly educated lactation consultant on staff. We had some difficulty finding a pediatrician who serviced the center for the newborn checkup the day after the birth. Hearing test, PKU and Apgar are provided by the center. All in all a great experience. Our Aetna insurance made this experience extremely cheap and affordable.
Category: Service
Northwest Women’s Healthcare, Dr. Karen Bohmke, OBGYN
Location: 1101 Madison Street Suite 1150
Seattle, WA 98104 http://www.nwwomenshealth.com
Comments: Ok, I have to reserve my recommendation for NW Women’s Health for those who have a concern and wish to make sure your pregnancy is going well. They can and will perform batteries of tests even if you don’t need them. This is an efficient and busy practice and a swanky office serving ONLY the Swedish Hospital 1st Hill location. It is run by Dr. Karen Bohmke and her husband. I found two standouts in this practice: Amy Coe ARNP and Dr. Lauren Pray. They are caring, knowledgeable and somewhat open-minded. However none of the doctors at the practice I met had ever seen a non-medical birth(!). They view pitocin drips and IV’s as standard. Also because the doctors in this practice rotate their schedules you are never guaranteed a delivery by your particular doctor. You will get whoever is on call at the hospital. I found this disappointing.
While this is office is highly proficient at detecting any abnormalities during your pregnancy with ultrasounds, blood draws, weigh-ins and other tests I found Dr. Bohmke’s attitude troubling to say the least regarding bedside manner. She personally told me she doesn’t tolerate questions from patients(!) which is a huge red flag with any care giver, especially an OBGYN. Most of the time I felt my care bordered on malpractice avoidance rather than any medical necessity. I was prescribed a total of 4 Level II diagnostic ultrasounds without any indication of a identifiable problem in the pregnancy. Level II’s must be performed at a separate facility on Swedish campus, there are very expensive (even with great insurance), there are long waits and it is an overall long (40 minutes - 1 hour) uncomfortable process. Use your judgment and when something doesn’t make sense ask questions and if the answers are not satisfactory or even tenable go elsewhere.
Category: Product
Sara Holliday: Prenatal Yoga Series - 3 trimesters on 1 DVD
Cost: $27 available on Amazon.com
Comments: I hate workout videos just in principle. But this was a great series on a single DVD. All 3 trimesters are accomodated. It is filmed outdoors, no studio, no makeup, no lighting. The instructor is pregnant but nevertheless very limber with a honed flexibility most of us do not possess. Do go slowly at first. Some of the stretches did not feel right as they required more flexibility than a novice. Stop especially if there is any pain or dizziness. I substituted a boxset of VHS tapes (remember those?) for required yoga blocks.
Category: Product
Rainbow Light Prenatal One Multivitamin
Comments: Ok, eating right in pregnancy is a mine field. There are so many don’ts or controversies it’s difficult to feel nourished. I settled on this brand of multivitamin after rejecting Stuart’s Prenatal (not a complete multivitamin), and Citracal Prenatal with DHS (too many chemical extras and DHS is controversial in pregnancy). Rainbow Light pills are horse pills but you take only 1 a day. You can cut them up into pieces if nausea is a problem. I found green Jolly Rancher candies worked for nausea. Also Raspberry Extract is included in Rainbow Light to ease nausea throughout the day. I have also noticed a disturbing trend of DHS in baby food. I have been unable to find any studies that prove supplemental DHS (as fish oil or synthetic equivalent) is beneficial to fetal development over DHS in your diet from real food (wild fish).
Category: Product
PCC Chewable Calcium Natural Citrus Flavor with Boron
Comments: Nursing robs a lot of calcium from your body. I had tried Citracal but had to reject it for Polyethylene Glycol (see FDA warnings against) in that formulation. Calcium citrate is best source of calcium apparently. There is also additional malate and carbonate for best calcium delivery plus D3 (cholecalciferol) and Magnesium. The tablets are large, about 3/4 inch across and 4 a day are recommended. The taste is not unpleasant, like malted citrus candy. There is sorbitol in them (an apparently safe alcohol derived sweetner) and there is yet more controversy regarding the effectiveness of calcium from dairy vs. calcium from greens like kale and broccoli. Sheesh.
Category: Product
Slo-FE Iron Supplement
Anemia and iron deficiency can go hand-in-hand in pregnancy. Slo-FE is often prescribed. It is gentle on the stomach with slow release throughout the day. I found it difficult to take it faithfully first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Magnesium supplements can help with the side effects of iron supplements.
Category: Product
Northern Naturals Latex Mattress Topper
Ok, I don’t know how LATEX is considered “Natural” but when your body starts expanding with curves and extra weight the usual sleep positions become unattainable. I found Northern Naturals Latex Mattress Topper to be the cheapest around and the best quality, at 4 inches thick. A king size costs under $400. Relax the Back stores charge $400 for a twin mattress topper half as thick. This is very heavy and if you have latex allergies you might opt for a organic cotton.