Welcome to Connect the Dots: Truth Bombs! Today I’m talking about how your baby’s birth experience can affect their development.
I explain why babies born vaginally get important immune benefits from mom’s bacteria and how squeezing through the birth canal helps shape their head properly.
As a mom who had a C-section, I share what I wish I’d known then about birth choices. I also talk about what to do if you need a C-section, forceps, or vacuum during delivery.
I give simple tips for making a birth plan and why having a midwife or doula can be so helpful. Remember, being pregnant is natural, not a disease!
This quick 5-minute video might completely change how you think about giving birth.
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Full Transcript
Introduction: Why Birth Matters 0:00
Hi everybody, it's Dr. Laura with Connecting the Dots, Truth Bombs. This is our power five minutes where we're going to bring some truth to you. We're following a developmental journey and today I want to talk to about why it is important to understand the impact of what kind of birth your baby actually goes through. And there's never any judgment. We all have to do what we have do. 38 years ago, I had a C-section. It certainly wasn't at the top of my list, but I didn't know what I know today. And this is my opportunity to share that information.
Maybe there could be a different outcome. You may see outcomes immediately, and you may outcomes way down the road. But if we understand what were looking at, we can make better decisions.
The Birth Canal and the Baby's Head 0:52
So what a baby is supposed to do is around seven and a half months. The baby's actually going to turn down into the birth canal. And the reason that the baby does this is because it's literally going shape the head. So you can see there's all kinds of suture lines. that go around the baby cranium, but also appreciate all of those are inside as well. And what happens is the babies head is an average of 15 centimeters and it's literally going to squash down to about 10. And that's the magic number that allows that baby to pass.
I refer to this as the big squeeze on the brain, because there's many things happening neurological at that time. Now, in addition, it's also about what the baby gets exposed to as babies going through the birth canal. And so those are two big elements that I really want to bring you some truth today. So when a baby goes through the birth canal, it gets exposed to bacteria.
Immune System Exposure During Birth 2:03
This is the baby's initial way to begin to build their own immune system. And when we look at the blueprint of a child and if C-section is on that list, it's important for us to connect a dot and see does that have anything to do with any type of immune issue, neuroimmune issue or gut issue. Now let's just make sure we understand what that word neuro immune means. Neuroimmune means that when there's a neurological development going on, like building the brain inside the womb during pregnancy, it matters that whatever that immune system is getting exposed to from mom, that it is prepared as the baby comes into this world.
If you're a C-section baby, unfortunately that does not happen. Now, the other part of it, is there is a lot more awareness going And there are literally doctors and midwives and things of that nature that are paying attention.
Birth Interventions and Cranial Development 3:11
What can we do to stimulate that baby's immune system by getting that Baby into contact with mom's microflora so that the baby can then be exposed to it? So that that's a very important element. Now, if the birth is interrupted, not only by C-section, but wonder if there's instruments used. So here's another truth. I have taken care of many children that are the result of a forcep delivery. And imagine if a skull is that pliable that it can literally squash down to 10 centimeters, what do we think forceps might do?
Or a vacuum extraction. I want you to pay attention to these things because they do show up in the histories of children and they play a huge part in development of that child. It is my truth that every child that has any kind of interruption to the birth process, that they would be referred to somebody like me who works on the development. If we have an opportunity to work with that child immediately, We can even teach the mom how to work with that cranial system. This is what's covering the brain.
It's very important to make sure that we have the right movement. The way the baby skull actually grows, you have those two fontanels opening spots.
Planning for Birth and Final Takeaway 4:47
And so it's not going to just close, it literally grows around. that maybe have a misshaped to their head, I'm going to really encourage you to look for somebody that does cranial work versus putting a helmet on their heads. The helmets literally look to the two broadest parts and begin to bring them back into the global arrangement of the skull. And that's not really the direction you want to go. Those are the parts that are probably in the right position. And it's the other ones that actually need the attention.
So the truth today is it matters how your baby is born. Look into these things. If you're pregnant and you are going to have your babies in a hospital setting, I'm going really encourage you to really have a birth plan. I am going encourage to also talk to a midwife or a doula. and see if they can come into that delivery room with you. The time to look at this is before there is an emergency. Now, again, no judgment. Things do happen, and God bless that we have skills and tools to help us through those situations.
However, the time-to-plan is BEFORE you get to that point. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but this is the truth that I am going to leave you with, is that pregnancy is actually in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual as a disease. I don't know about all the other women out there, I can tell you right now, conceiving a baby and having a
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