---

The New Essential Guide to Lesbian Conception, Pregnancy & Birth
more info...

---

Browse our
Classified Ads

---

June 2007 Newsletter

• From the Midwife • Classes & Support Groups • June Chart Review Dates

• Lunaception • The Power of Bee Pollen • Archived Newsletters

From the Midwife

As Pride month dawns upon us for 2007, I’m hoping all of us will take a moment to reflect upon what we take pride in. I’d like to share some of my reflections with you.

In the past year since joining MAIA, I have experienced many instances of feeling pride about what we do, and feeling pride towards the communities we serve. I have worked with single women, taking the power to become mothers into their own hands and welcoming children into their hearts with strength and courage. I have listened to the stories of women in their forties, who are ready and willing to beat the odds of statistics that are quoted in the medical world with such discouraging finality. Families have come to us after years of infertility, seeking knowledge that fertility specialists could not offer, and at times, support after heartbreaking loss. Trans men seeking pregnancy have found at MAIA the expertise, validation and understanding they could not find elsewhere.

I am constantly re-inspired at what midwifery has to offer families who are in the process of becoming pregnant. Midwives hold faith that the body works, that given good health, our bodies are perfectly capable of accomplishing what we ask them to. The midwifery model of care is to teach and to empower, and in the process of becoming a parent, to look inside oneself and trust the inner knowing we each possess. As a midwife I hold space for the entirety of experience—mind, body and soul—involved in bringing a baby into the world. I feel proud to be one of the few midwives in the country applying midwifery wisdom to fertility and preconception care.

As many of the families we serve go from preconception care to pregnancy and preparing for birth, I am blessed with the delightful experience of guiding families through MAIA’s childbirth preparation classes for LGBT families. Often these groups continue through postpartum preparation and newborn care classes, and into our parent/baby groups after the babies are born. It is beautiful to witness the community that is created amidst the unfolding of each parent’s experience.

Even as I behold what MAIA has to offer our local clients, I am reminded that our distance clients do not have the luxury of resources and support found by LGBTQI families in the Bay area. I have worked with families in parts of the country where same sex and transgender prospective parents are still being denied care at fertility clinics. No matter where you live, as a queer parent, you are faced with the homophobia that exists in the broader culture every day. Take pride in the love that flows from your heart, the love you express in your families and in your relationships.

And to all families on the path of welcoming a child with intention, from a place of love and of being truly wanted, take a moment this June to feel proud. Take pride in yourself, your strength, your courage, your perseverance, and most of all, the love in your heart.

All the best,
Kristin

Classes & Support Groups

Childbirth Classes for LGBTQI Families Weekend Format August 24-26, 2007

Both practical and experiential, this class is an experience not to be missed! Complete preparation for hospital or home birth, with special attention to the queer family experience. Community is created here! MAIA Childbirth Classes continue to meet for years to come.

Class is held Friday evening, and all day Saturday and Sunday.

$350 per family, scholarships available.
For a full listing & dates, click here >

Are you or someone you know considering pregnancy? So You Want to Make a Baby… Getting Pregnant 101 Sunday, July 15, 2:00-5:00 pm

Get a head start on what you need to know to conceive quickly and successfully! Learn how to use your own body’s signals for perfect insemination timing. Meet other families and build connections with others who are going through this life-altering, life-enhancing experience.

Participants may follow this class with a one-hour, in-depth individual consultation. This is a great deal—4 hours of expert instruction and advice at the same rate as our usual 1 ½ hour initial consultations.

For a full listing & dates, click here >

June Chart Review Dates

All MAIA consultations include 3 months of follow up chart review. As you track your fertility for optimal insemination timing, this service proves to be highly valuable. You can mail or fax a copy of your fertility chart to our office, and the midwife will review it and make timing recommendations for the coming month. You may also email any questions or concerns, or simply check in for ongoing support.

Chart review is normally sent out on Wednesdays, however this summer there will be some slight shifts in the regular routine. Be sure to send in your chart as soon as you finish a cycle, so that there is plenty of time to receive your response. Here are upcoming dates for chart review for the summer months:

Lunaception:
How Eliminating Light Can Affect Hormones & Ovulation

· Eliminating light while sleeping fosters hormonal regularity in
many ways.
· People who do not reliably ovulate start to ovulate when they sleep
in darkness.
· Fertile signs line up more completely.
· Irregular cycle lengths become more predictable.
· Hormonal imbalances such as high FSH and low progesterone
rebalance.
· Fertile mucus becomes more copious.

Some studies have shown that you can delay or prompt ovulation by sleeping in total darkness and then sleeping in low-level light for a night. Do you use a nightlight or does light come into your bedroom from the hallway? Does light stream in through your bedroom window from streetlights or lighted signs? Do you have a digital clock? Does light shine under your door? If so, try to minimize the light you’re exposed to at night. Some women choose to sleep
in complete darkness, using heavy curtains to block out any extraneous light.

If you are someone who experiences multiple days of fertile mucus then you should sleep in total darkness until you have experienced one to two days of fertile mucus or wet vaginal sensations. Then, for the next three nights, you should sleep with passive light shining into your room. This will bring on ovulation. If you do not reliably have multiple days of fertile mucus, then add the passive lighting twenty-four hours before you expect your peak fertility signs to encourage your ovulation.

Excerpt from The NEW Essential Guide to Lesbian Conception, Pregnancy and Birth, by Stephanie Brill.

The Power of Bee Pollen
By Brescia Nember Reid, MAIA Intern

Bee pollen has long been praised for its medicinal and nutritional properties. In addition to containing a spectrum of vitamins and minerals, bee pollen is a well-assimilated form of protein. The unique benefits of bee pollen can be especially useful during the preconception period, throughout pregnancy and for rejuvenation after giving birth.

What Is Bee Pollen and How Can It Benefit Me?

Bee pollen is made up of specific flower pollen granules, carefully selected by honey bees, combined with plant nectar and their digestive enzymes. Many profitable traits are present in other bee products, such as raw honey, bee propolis and royal jelly, but those exhibited by bee pollen are unsurpassed.

Bee pollen contains a wide spectrum of vitamins, including vitamin A (beta-carotene), B vitamins, and vitamins C, D, & E. Vitamin B12 and folic acid, both present in this complete food, are crucial nutrients for fertility and pregnancy, and for the prevention of neural tube defects.

Bee Pollen is also a rich source of minerals, proteins, amino acids, hormones, enzymes, valuable fats, and natural antibiotics. These immune strengthening components work to create a state of optimal health, meeting the body’s needs so that reproduction can be accomplished.

By improving oxygen flow to all the body’s tissues, bee pollen is said to counteract negative effects of toxins, radiation and oxidization, as well as accelerate tissue repair and cell regeneration.

Bee pollen carries specific benefit to the sexual and reproductive systems. It is recommended for both male and female fertility enhancement, as it stimulates ovarian and prostate function. It is also specific for egg health. The general health improvements experienced by a regular intake of bee pollen all aid in helping the body to reach its maximum fertility.

How Much Should I Take?

Bee Pollen is available at health food stores in tablet or capsule form, or as loose granules. Check your local farmer’s market for a local, organic source. A generally recommended dosage of bee pollen is 400-1000mg, or one teaspoon of loose granules, taken twice a day with meals. Within only 2 1/2 hours, bee pollen is thoroughly introduced into the bloodstream, and is circulating throughout the body.

Archived Newletters

Spring 2007 >      June 2007 >       August 2007 >

MAIA Midwifery & Preconception Services :: 925-253-0685
info@maiamidwifery.com