ZENITH BIRTH SERVICES
  • Welcome
  • About Us
  • Services
  • Bradley
  • Work With Us
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Us
  • Articles

Zenith Articles

Bishop Score - What is it and Why it's Important

6/3/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
You may be wondering, “When will I go into labor? Will I need to be induced or will I want to get things moving, either naturally or medically?”  We tend to get excited and anxious to get baby out, whether it’s our first or sixth, but what are the benefits and risks of inducing labor and how would a Bishop Score, that you may or may not have ever heard of, help you know if inducing is the right route to go?

History of the Bishop Score

If you are having any sort of medical professional, OB/GYN, midwife or family doctor attend your birth, they will most likely be using the assessment of the Bishop Score.

In the 1960s, Dr. Edward Bishop developed a pelvic scoring system, called the Bishop Score, using cervical dilatation, effacement, station, consistency, and position to determine how likely an elective induction would be beneficial, if it would be successful, and whether or not it would be necessary. Based on his research, he concluded that elective induction would be most successful in women who had a score of 8 or greater, out of a total score of 13 points.

More research had shown that cervical dilation was the biggest factor in whether or not an induction would be successful, but using dilation in the scoring didn’t change the accuracy of predictions.

Some practitioners have used modifications such as adding a significance for the presence of preeclampsia or previous vaginal deliveries, adding 1 point for each previous birth. Then, subtracting a point for being past her due date (40 weeks+), no previous vaginal deliveries and having had a pre-term premature rupture of membranes.
​

There has been no evidence to support these modified scores being better than the original Bishop score.

So What is My Bishop Score and What Does it Mean?

Click here to determine your Bishop Score. Once you have your score, here is what it means.
A high Bishop score means you have a higher chance at a successful induction. A low Bishop score means you have a lower chance at a successful induction.

  • 8 or more points will most likely mean that you may start labor spontaneously, and maybe even soon! It can also indicate that if an induction is necessary, it will most likely be successful.
  • ​​6 to 7 points means the test isn’t a great predictor one way or the other, so you could have a successful or unsuccessful outcome.
  • 5 or fewer points would indicate that an induction is less likely to be successful. It can also mean that a woman who isn’t feeling well or is close to the 42 week mark is in need for an induction.

It is always encouraged, even with this information, to make the decision for yourself, especially if you and baby are healthy. Just because your score is lower or higher, doesn’t mean that the opposite outcome can’t happen. You know your body best, and if induction doesn’t feel right for you, you always have a chance to decline and wait. Also, 42 weeks is not an indicator for induction. Many women go past 42 weeks. It would be in your best interest to check with your care provider or doula to help encourage baby to get in a better position, because sometimes women don’t go into labor because baby isn’t engaged correctly.

Should I choose to medically or naturally induce?

Picture
Unless there is a health concern for you and/or the baby, it may be best to naturally induce instead medically induce. Medical induction has many side effects, while natural ways of inducing may cause less stress on you and the baby.

Medical Inductions

Once you are in the hospital to get induced, there is no turning back. You are now on the hospital and doctor’s time clock, your risk of infection can increase, and the risk of stress to the baby jumps significantly. While inductions can serve a purpose and may be helpful, for the low-risk, healthy, pregnant woman, there isn’t a need. Depending on your Bishop score, you will want to talk to your care provider about different ways to induce.

Natural Inductions

Picture
Again, natural inductions have less risk, and if they don’t work, you can continue to try them until they do. Also, you can do them comfortably in your own home. So if you have a good Bishop score and you're past your due date, you may try out these natural methods of induction.

  1. RELAX! Erase all fear and anxiety, breathe, be patient, and stay calm. 
  2. Practice the Miles Circuit! Practice this in the weeks coming up to your due date, past your due date and even in early labor.
  3. Exercise! Movement is KEY before and during labor. Walk, stair climb, swim, yoga, belly dance, using your birth ball, all great ways to keep the pelvis mobile.
  4. Acupressure/Reflexology! Check out these 9 spots on your body to use for easing labor pains and helping bring on labor.
  5. Nipple Stimulation! Get your natural oxytocin flowing by having your partner or yourself stimulate your nipples. One breast at a time for 15 to 30 minutes. Standing facing the shower and letting the water hit you and run over you is helpful, too. 
  6. Sex! Some midwives say that the best way to encourage labor to start and to keep it going is to stimulate it the same way the baby was made. Sex isn’t recommended once your bag of waters was broken, but it would be a great thing to do before to stimulate oxytocin. Your partner’s semen will possibly help to ripen your cervix, too. External stimulation would be fine after your bag of waters is broken.
  7. Use Clary Sage and Rosemary essential oils! Diffuse them, use on acupressure points listed above, and smell drops on a cloth or on hands.
  8. Midwives Brew!    Here is the recipe.
  9.  Eat  pineapple or spicy foods!

How Important is Your Bishop Score?

Picture
The Bishop Score is just one tool to see who would be the best candidate for a medical induction. Baby’s position can be a cause for a low Bishop score as women near 42 weeks, so it’s important to work with your care provider and doula to help get baby in the optimal position. Women also efface and dilate at different rates, so don’t get upset if you have a lower score early on; give yourself some time if you and baby are healthy.

The Bishop Score can help you make the best decisions for you and your baby. If you both are healthy, you will want to be sure to have a high Bishop Score before considering induction. But if you have a high Bishop Score and are healthy, you may want to wait since labor is likely to happen on its own. If there is no medical concern, waiting for baby to come in his or her timing  definitely has its benefits. Weight the benefits and risks of induction and of waiting, and then do what you feel is best for you; it is your body and your baby!

0 Comments

Exciting News!

4/4/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
We have exciting news! We’re growing our family!

Ok, we’re not having a baby. That was a little sneaky of me! But the Zenith Birth family is growing!
Picture
 After my birth doula partner, Andrea, moved out of the state, I started the hunt for a new partner. I’m so excited that I found Chelsea Eggleston! She’s currently getting her all-in-one doula certification from Elite Doula & Co. When she’s done, she’ll be certified in fertility, birth, postpartum, lactation, bereavement, and herbs. How cool is that?!
 
Chelsea started an Instagram page for Zenith Birth Services, so go check it out. We’re gearing it towards prenatal, birth, and postpartum education. We already have some educational stuff up, so give us a follow!

And, drum roll please.................
Picture
We now offer postpartum doula services! LaRay Nazario, a certified postpartum doula, joined our team. We couldn’t be more excited to have her working with us!
 
What’s a postpartum doula, you ask? You know how a birth doula mothers the mother during labor and birth? A postpartum doula continues that care after birth. She’s an expert in nurturing women who’ve just given birth. She will also help with newborn care, including any evidence-based education you may want. There are so many benefits to a postpartum doula!

Chelsea and LaRay also both offer in home lactation support. I’m excited that we now have that service in the Cedar Valley!
 
Fill out our contact form if you’d like any more information about these new services. And welcome, Chelsea and LaRay, to the Zenith Birth family!
0 Comments

Let Them Soar!

3/21/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Well, we’re all stuck at home. With our kids. For a lot of people, this might be a time to panic. But for me, a committed introvert and longtime homeschool mom, I’ve been training for this moment for years!
 
I say that I’m a longtime homeschool mom. Is six years a long time? Some days it feels like it! So, for those of you suddenly thrust, not by choice, into the world of having your kids learn at home, here are a few tips.
 
First, don’t try to recreate public school at home. It won’t work, and it’ll cause you and your child(ren) lots of headaches! I’m assuming you don’t have twenty children in your house, so don’t pretend you do. Guiding just a few students into learning is very different than a leading a classroom.
 
Second, favor routine over schedule. I’ve seen many elaborate daily schedules floating around social media right now. Some of them schedule out every hour of the day! Kids don’t need even moment filled. Now’s the time for them to explore what they’re passionate about! Give them the freedom to make some of their own choices.
 
Third, limit screen time. One of the schedules that I saw on Facebook included two hours of free TV time every evening. That can be a lot for kids! I find that when my kids are having too much screen time, they suddenly can’t entertain themselves. They’re bored all the time, and they don’t know what to do with themselves. If you find that happening to your kids, cut back on the electronics.
 
Lastly, simplify! Like I’ve already said, you’re not recreating a classroom at home. Learning doesn’t need to be complicated. It doesn’t even need to be adult led at all times. Here are some simple, yet powerful, activities that your kids can do, some with adult help, and some without:

  • Read out loud to your kids. Depending on the ages of your children, it could be a picture book or a chapter book. Or both! One of our favorite evening activities, instead of a movie, is to have me read a chapter out loud from the book we’re reading together.  

  • Play a game. Board games and card games can be very educational. And so much fun! Find games you can play with your kids and ones that they can play without you.
 
  • Set out stuff to craft. It doesn’t have to be something fancy. I’m talking about a box of crayons and some paper! If you have more than that, like ribbons and buttons and stamps and construction paper, put out some of that, too. Let them make what they want to create. Then when the time comes, have them help tidy up the crafting supplies.
 
  • Turn on a radio drama or audio book. That way you can get some work done while your kids are still being enriched. Some of our favorites are audio book classics and fairy tales, G. A. Henty radio dramas, and Adventures in Odyssey.
 
  • Cook together. Did you know that you can learn math, specifically fractions, while cooking? Yes, you can! Bake a cake, make cookies, cook some soup. The possibilities are endless.
 
  • Send them outside. If you have a safe area for the kids to play outside, send them out as much as possible. Kids can learn so much from being outside with unstructured free time.
 
  • YouTube kids exercise videos. My kids love to do kids yoga, and stretching really helps to calm their bodies.
 
See? It doesn’t have to be hard. Don’t even try to “homeschool” for this short period. Just let your kids pursue their passions for a few weeks. Let them soar!
0 Comments

Resolution: Have a Better Birth

1/3/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
This last weekend I was up in Minnesota for a family Christmas celebration. Driving down the highway, I noticed the digital signs read:

Resolution:
Buckle Up
Phone Down

 
Those are simple, but important reminders for drivers, and they got me thinking about some simple, concise resolutions for a better birth. Here’s what I came up with:
 
Resolutions for a Better Birth:
Be Informed
Be Supported

 
Let’s talk about these two resolutions for a better birth and explore what they mean and how they can benefit you.
 
Be Informed
 
Information is critical for dispelling myths. And dispelling myths is central for eliminating fear. Eliminating fear is crucial for labor progress. It's an intricate cycle!
 
There are lots of ways to get information about birth! But how do you find credible information? In this day and age of info at your fingertips 24/7, how can you tell if what you're learning is fact or fiction? What I recommend to all of my doula clients is to take a Bradley Childbirth Class. This class is the best, most complete class out there. You will get A TON of information about pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Check out our Bradley page or reach out for the details about upcoming classes.
 
Reading is another great way to learn about pregnancy and childbirth. You don’t have to log on to Amazon and buy every birth book ever published. Check out your library; they have many quality books. Also, I have a lending library full of books about fertility, pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, baby care, and postpartum that I loan out to our clients. 
 
The internet also has a lot of excellent information about pregnancy and birth. It has a lot of junk, too! Check with your doula for recommended websites. I like The VBAC Link and Evidence Based Birth.
 
Be Supported
 
Hopefully everyone has someone in their life to support them as they learn and grow. Athletes have coaches. Realtors have mentors. Resident doctors have overseeing doctors. College students have professors, and professors have department chairs. Support is important to achieving the goals we set for ourselves.
 
If you want to have a better birth, find someone to support you!
 
Your support team may include your husband/partner, birth doula, postpartum doula, Bradley teacher, midwife or OB, mom, sister, friend, and labor nurse. You team could also include a chiropractor, massage therapist, pelvic floor therapist, reflexologist, and mental health practitioner, too. The possibilities are endless!
 
You have to choose your support people with care. You will want to find a health care provider who supports the goals you have for your birth. OB vs. midwife. Hospital birth vs. home birth. There are many choices to make. I’ve attended a lot of births, and I think that the majority of the providers in our area are wonderful. But their communication styles can be very different. The provider who I think is the best at obtaining informed consent is Bethany Gates, CPM, at Shiphrah Birth Services. She makes sure her patients know what she is doing and why, and she waits for their consent before she does it.
 
A doula is an integral part of being supported in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Birth support is our business; it’s our passion. A good doula supports her clients, no matter what they choose for their birth. At Zenith Birth Services, we don’t have an agenda. We put your choices first! We love the opportunity to work with moms and dads, to support their wishes, and to help them achieve their better birth!
 
So, if you’re pregnant this New Year, resolve to have a better birth!
0 Comments

Welcome Corrie Olive!

11/18/2017

3 Comments

 
Did you know that November 17th, 2017, was National Adoption Day?
 
We got to celebrate it in a very special way!
 
Tim and I are excited to announce that we finalized our adoption that afternoon! We just love our little Corrie Olive. She is such a blessing to our family, fitting in wonderfully with the other kids.
 
We named her after Corrie ten Boom, one of our heroes. She was a fantastic woman of deep faith, imprisoned in a concentration camp during the Holocaust for hiding Jews in her home. I like how her life reminds me that sometimes doing the right thing is the hard thing. Olive comes from the Bible verse Romans 11:17. It refers to non-Jews as olive branches, grafted into the cultivated olive plant, which is the family of God. We chose Olive because Corrie was grafted into our family.
 
Corrie is loved by so many! We love her dearly. Her birth mom loves her so much that she made the difficult choice to place her in our family. She is loved by our extended family and her birth mom’s extended family. Our lives are made better by having her in it, and I can’t wait to watch her grow!

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
3 Comments

Happy International Babywearing Week!

10/1/2017

0 Comments

 
October 2nd marks the start of International Babywearing Week! I'm celebrating by sharing a video about my favorite baby carrier for a newborn. My clients will often ask me what carrier I recommend for newborns. I always tell them that a ring sling is my favorite! It works great for tiny new ones, and it's versatile enough to last into toddlerhood. So without further ado, check out my ring sling tutorial below. And happy babywearing!
0 Comments

We Have Availability!

9/19/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
0 Comments

Exciting Announcement...

3/16/2017

2 Comments

 
Picture
Zenith Birth Services is proud to announce a new addition to our doula team!
 
Andrea Lind is joining Sarah as a birth doula. Andrea has been interested in pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding for many years. From her journey as a certified nursing assistant to a stay-at-home mom, Andrea has been preparing to be a birth doula along the way. She attended over a hundred births as a scrub tech at a local hospital, and she has given birth to eight children of her own. Her own births have been everything from hospital births to home birth, cesarean to VBAC, epidural to medication-free. Having personally experienced so many different types of births has equipped her to support our clients, no matter the type of birth that they choose.
 
Andrea’s passions include educating women about their birthing options, supporting them in those choices, and helping to empower women with compassion and empathy. She loves to see women have the resources and tools to advocate for themselves and their babies. She also enjoys homeschooling her children, making music together with her family, serving at her church, and being active outdoors.
 
Andrea has been married to her husband Chris since 2005. Between her and Chris, through birth and adoption, they have 11 children, ten girls and one boy. They are expecting another daughter this coming July, so Andrea will be using her maternity leave to finish up her birth doula certification through Childbirth International.
 
We couldn’t be more excited to add this wonderful woman to our team!

2 Comments

Happy 2017!

1/3/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
2017 is upon us! I think it means I’m getting old, but 2017 sounds so futuristic.
 
I know last year I posted my New Year’s resolutions. I actually stuck to them for a while. But eventually they fell by the wayside, neglected and forgotten. So this year I’m NOT making any resolutions!
 
I’ve been working on a few things in my life, so I’m going to keep plugging along with them. Here are a few of the things I’ve been trying to improve.
 
1. I want to be kind.
 
I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but I’m not always kind, especially with my kids. I want to strive to be kind in my words and actions. I want my children to see in me a role model of kindness and self-control. I love the Bible verse Luke 6:36, “Be merciful, just as your Father (God) is merciful.” My Father has endless mercy for me, and I want that to spill over as kindness to those around me.
 
2. I want to use less technology.
 
Technology is so useful! But I find that there are days when I’m looking at a computer/iPad/phone screen more than I’m looking at the real, tangible humans in my life. I’ve been working on putting away the screen(s). I will improve!
 
3. I want to live in the moment.

 
I can get caught up with thinking and planning. Preparing for the future is definitely a good thing, but when I find that I’m living in my head more than in real life, that’s not healthy. I’m going to continue to plan appropriately and live in today at the same time!
 
How about you? Did you make resolutions? Are there things in your life that you’re already working on that you will continue to improve in the new year?

1 Comment

Do You Worry?

9/23/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Anxiety…
 
Worry…
 
These words are all too common now days. Especially among mothers and moms-to-be.
 
And there are many things to worry about. I’m not going to list them here, since I’m sure your biggest worries are already popping into your mind.
 
So why am I talking about anxiety? I’m really not trying to get your heart thumping.
 
Pregnancy and birth have so many unknowns. Even if you’ve given birth before, there is still plenty of mystery. Hiring a doula can help to alleviate those fears. I can help you work through your fears and come to a place of peace.
 
I want to tell you that when it comes to my doula work, I don’t worry; I don’t have anxiety. I’m free to support and focus on you. I know birth and labor support. I know our local hospitals; I’ve been to them many times. I’ve worked with the hospital staff before. Sure, I don’t know exactly how your birth will go, but I know how to support you through it.
 
When you hire Zenith Birth Services, know that you can leave all of that anxiety, all of the worry, all of the fear of the unknown at the door. Let me support you so that you can labor in peace, knowing that I'm here for you, giving you anxiety-free support.
0 Comments
<<Previous
    Picture

    Sarah Oldre, CLD

    I'm a birth doula and placenta encapsulator.

    Archives

    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2020
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015

    Categories

    All

Picture

Zenith Birth Services

Waterloo and Cedar Falls, IA
© COPYRIGHT 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.