hey guys it's Alice here I am a doula and a childbirth educator and I'm here with the
big wheel of birth you see I spin the wheel and whatever it lands on is the topic that we will
discuss today we have almost 40 videos so far and to make them easier to navigate easier to manage
and help you find exactly what you're looking for we put them into a free course organized by
things like coping tools anatomy and physiology big sections like that so you can get to exactly
what you need and if you're interested in getting into that free course the link is below also it is
at birth A to Z calm and the two is spelled out to you let's spin the wheel see we get
okay this one might be strange where is it washcloths number 13 wash clothes is that
a whole topic actually um what I was reviewing the topic list I got two washcloths and thigh is
that a whole topic it's a whole topic I'm going to talk about washcloths because I love to read birth
stories and I just really love to hear about how people you know how their birth when birth is so
different for every person and I love to pick out little details from births and what really made a
difference and so many times I hear people talking about how a washcloth made a difference in their
labor and birth so here is really a topic that if you're watching this and you are someone who will
be supporting someone in labor this is a great one for you if you are the person giving birth make
sure you forward this on to the person supporting you so they see see this information washcloths
are a great way to support your partner in labor and what I mean by washcloths is cool washcloths
and I'm gonna fill you in on a really great doula tip for keeping washcloths cold now let's back up
a little bit do you know that most birth birthing locations hospitals and birth centers have uh you
have a supply of washcloths that you can use use usually there's a cabinet kind of like this that
opens up that you can grab your washcloths and towels and extra counts or whatever from however
I have spoken with doulas that work in other areas that I am not familiar with and in specific I have
heard from some doulas that are working in the New York City hospitals and they say that they
don't have washcloths provided so it's a great thing to find out when you're on your Hospital
tour and find out if there's washcloths provided if there's not those should be packed in your bag
so first of all we've got to make sure we have them at the birth the second thing is to use them
at the right time so I would say if you're ever going to use a cool washcloth it's really during
that second stage of labor which is pushing the pushing phase if you are pushing a lot of times
you are getting super hot sometimes sweaty and just having a cold washcloth put right here on
your brow is lovely I mean it's like and that would be in between a contraction so push rest
breathe your partner puts a wet washcloth right there on your head now we're not going to put a
drop a dripping wet washcloth we're gonna wring it out we want it to be super cool cold so this
is where our super secret doula tip comes in have some kind of basin that you a cup a any
kind of plastic Basin that you can put water with ice in it have it nearby with an extra
couple washcloths in there you can wring out the washcloth so it's super cold and then put it on
your partner's forehead or maybe even use it to sort of put some cool coolness down here on the
top of your chest behind her neck now I'm gonna put a link below to your doula bag common they
sell an awesome little lunch bin like it looks not it's not a lunch bin but it's a portable ice
bin and it is it's my top doula tool to purchase and if even if you are birthing without a doula
it's not a bad investment because you can use it for the wash box in labor and then just use
it for when you're packing a picnic afterwards but that is put that with some water and ice
and some washcloths and be ready to go now if you're supporting somebody in labor you don't
want to have to ask do you want the washcloth just wring it out have it ready to go and say
say the words I have a cool cloth for your head she can always say no but often that's
gonna be yes and oh my gosh that felt so good so I put wash clothes on here because I read so
many birth stories that said and then when I was pushing and my partner put that cool cloth on my
head it felt so good so it might seem small but it could be just the trick to help push
that baby up and support in a great way so don't underestimate the power of a washcloth that's my
thought for today hope you guys like this video if you did please give it a thumbs thumbs up in
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again a link to get into that course is below and it's at birthAtoZ.com have a great day bye guys