Vancouver Doula (...and Slow Birth): Äpfel schütteln

Monday, December 31, 2007

Äpfel schütteln

"Komm, wir wollen Apfel schütteln,
Äpfel schütteln;
alle Kinder helfen rütteln.
Ria, ria, ria, rums."

This German children's song would be perfect to sing while shaking a woman's hips with your hands in labour. One of the many indigenous practices used for centuries to loosen the pelvic muscles and ease a baby's journey through the pelvis, "shaking the apples" works really well with first time mums in early labour, as well as multips as they approach birth.

I heard the term "Äpfel schütteln" used by an older German midwife about 15 years ago. We were in the attic of an old Kitsilano house, trying to fix the malposition of a baby late in labour. My client had hit a plateau at 8 cm, and, after a good half hour of vigourous hip shaking by the midwife, the woman said, "Did you hear that thunk?!" Then the labour took off, we all dashed to the hospital, and the baby was born.

I "shake the apples" to help second-time mums release muscles and allow the baby to be born. Sometimes, it just takes a two-minute shake, then she says, "It's coming!" Most times, she's sure the shaking knocked at least half an hour off the labour time.

Think of the speed that a paint can shakes in the machine at the hardware store...or the speed of a woman's hips during a Tahitian dance...

And it feels so good!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: I am new to the Doula world... this was done for my first birth and the woman loved it, said it relieved lots of pain! Thanks for the tip!; 9:29 a.m. PST
Lara said...: I've never heard of this before, but will certainly keep it in mind for future pregnancies--what fun imagery, especially for anyone who has actually shaken an apple tree to reap the harvest!; 4:24 p.m. PST
Unknown said...: As one of the lucky recipients of Jacquie's apple-shaking, it feels great, and it works! It really helped loosen my brain up as well - granting permission to be 'shaken' felt a lot like I was giving baby permission to get lower and lower and finally come and join us. Such a beatiful thing!; 3:13 p.m. PST

About Us

Jacquie Munro - Vancouver Doula

vancouverdoula@gmail.com

778-883-9851

I have been interested in birthing issues since I studied developmental psychology at UBC in the early 1980's, focusing on mother/child interaction and language development.

I put my studies to practical use during my two pregnancies, first with medical care (Sarah), then with midwifery care (Alex). After my inspirational experience with midwifery care, I worked to promote the registration of midwives in BC, and became involved in our local birthing community.

Over the next few years I became a Certified Childbirth Educator and, after teaching hundreds of couples, I tried out my own experiment, and attended the births of an entire prenatal class, just to see if it would make a difference - and it did! All those births were straight-forward and without complication. I was on to something! From then on, my focus began to shift toward providing support for couples throughout their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum period. A doula had been born (even though it was years before the term "doula" was coined).

I've been the Coordinator for Vancouver Childbirth, taught prenatal classes with Vancouver Childbirth and Kwantlen College, helped to develop the Douglas College Doula Course, was DONA-certified doula #16, the BC DONA representative, developed a holistic childbirth education series for The Midwifery Group, and developed a Slow and Simple parenting series with Pacific Midwifery.

I work closely with my daughter, Sarah (see more info below), and your "birthing team" (midwives, family doctors, lactation consultants, and complementary caregivers), to provide the best care for families during the childbearing year. I stay current by attending 4-5 births a month, attending workshops and conferences, networking, reading and researching "best evidence" during every spare moment, as well as listening to my most willing teachers - our clients and their babies.

Since 1987, I have provided doula care to over 1020 women and their families at home and in the hospital, and have taught thousands of expectant parents. I currently work solely as a doula in private practice. (Just to let you know, baby #3 is living in Colorado with her little son, baby #10 is a classical pianist, baby #15 is working on his Masters at SFU, and baby #1021 is feeding happily at home with her mum and dad.)

Outside my life as a doula, I love to hug my ever-expanding family (including twin grandsons!), ride my road and Mamachari bikes daily, am a literary junkie, and slow travel with my husband.

Email me or call me and let's have a chat!

- Jacquie

Sarah Munro

Sarah Munro (BA Hons, MA, PhD student) is a Vancouver-based doula, breastfeeding counselor, and mother of twins who has been providing perinatal support for birthing women since 2007. Working with birthing families bridges her passions for childbirth, breastfeeding, and research. In addition to providing doula support, Sarah is pursuing her PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies in health services and bioethics, specifically: "Birth after a previous caesarean section: Health communication strategies to enhance decision making". She is a Child and Family Research Institute Trainee and Western Regional Training Centre for Health Services Research Trainee. She is honoured to be providing doula back-up for Jacquie.

Please check out the "Vancouver Doula" section below for more information about the care we provide.

Jacquie Munro, founder of the "Slow Birth" movement, is an experienced doula and childbirth educator and is well-known for her individualized, intuitive approach to supporting families in the childbearing year and beyond. Since 1987, she has provided support at over one thousand births, at home and in hospital, and taught thousands of expectant parents. At home, Jacquie lives only a bike ride away from four generations of her family. You can usually find her at the park or beach, playing beside her twin grandsons who call her "Deecy".