Congratulations Mamas and Daddies too!
Welcome to the Natural Crowning blog. Chances are if you reading this, you're an expectant mama, budding parent or have decided you want to have a child, in either circumstance, congrats!! By reading this blog, you're taking the time to invest in knowledge that will assist you on your journey.
So here's the purpose of this blog...
Filled with gratitude and excitement, I learned I was pregnant in April 2016. As I brimmed with a desire to have a safe and natural birth, I soon realized there was a lot of conflicting information about pregnancy, rigid health insurance policies and unfortunately a capitalistic approach to birth. Meaning I felt some some doctors were more interested in how much money they could make from each patient versus a strong focus on the health of the mama and baby.
Disheartened, I was determined to have a pleasant experience and healthy baby. I did lots of Google searches, read books, talked to some of my out of state friends who were already mothers. At the time I had only lived in LA for two years so I didn't have any friends who were moms. And being in the entertainment industry, most of my colleagues were actors or writers without children. To complicate matters, my ob-gyn touched me inappropriately with the ultrasound handle so it was time to switch doctors. Shocking isn't it?. My doctor was at a prestigious hospital but hey it doesn't matter if you're not treated well (that's another blog).
Divinely, I was serving at a charity event along with a group of soccer moms and one of them suggested I find a pregnancy support group. Great idea. So I did an internet search and many of the pregnancy groups info was outdated or the locations were an hour away. What kept popping up the most was pre-natal yoga. Ironically an awesome pre-natal class took place right down the street from my home at Yoga West in Beverly Hills. On my first day, during the introductions, the yoga instructor asked me where was I giving birth? She sensed it wasn't a good fit for me and she was correct. After class, she gave me a couple of doctors/options and as a result I switched to the midwifery team at Eisner Pediatric Medical Center. This changed the trajectory of my pregnancy journey which led to great medical care, a series of free classes, two doulas, plenty of gifts, a baby shower and a beautiful healthy baby girl Empress born naturally! Eisner even had the right pediatrician for Empress. Wow! The experience was amazing. I ascertained my yoga instructor is a connoisseur of information. Eisner is a medical powerhouse. This made me realize that having access to information is key, and in some situations life-saving.
I vowed to give back and the opportunity came sooner than expected. During my pregnancy journey, I was dubbed a champion mama and expectant mamas would ask me questions. And after dilating from 3 to 10 centimeters in thirty minutes and giving birth to Empress, a multitude of women and their husbands asked me to share my insight. Eager to share my passion and the course of events gave birth to Natural Crowning. So allow me to be your connoisseur of information and online coach to help you navigate through this exciting journey. It's a blessing for me to be of service and I will be cheering you along for a wonderful birth and parenthood.
Sending you love and light,
Regena