• birth

    Power Imbalance in Labor: Allowed vs Supported, Remember the Mother

    How does an imbalance of power in labor happen? It is pretty common in the birth world for women to ask if their care provider will “allow” them preferences. A few examples are: Will I be allowed: movement during labor and pushing to wait on spontaneous labor to begin until 42 weeks to eat and drink during labor intermittent monitoring Why is the difference in language between allowed and supported so important? Why does it matter? Support imparts dignity, and allow takes it away. Support humanizes. Allow dehumanizes. Support restores balance of power. Allow leads to imbalance of power in labor. When we use the language of “allowed”, it is…

  • birth

    Doula’ing the Doulas

    When the doulas need replenishing Why doula’ing the doulas? As clients know, sometimes labors can be quick and intense. Sometimes, they can be long and intense. Sometimes, labor can be traumatic. Other times, everyone present is floating on air. While we don’t get to choose what will happen during each birth, we do get to validate and value each birth and family. I love my job …pretty much everything about it. If there was a contest for best clients, I would nominate mine. They are a pleasure! If I there was a contest for the cutest babies of clients? Well, it wouldn’t be fair to other doulas. Refresh Sometimes, it…

  • Birth Stories

    Patrick’s Birth Story

    My newest lil man has arrived!!!! Such an exciting time! I’m gonna try to get all my thoughts into one place (mainly for my own reference/memory keeping hahaha — you’ll have to excuse the punctuation — i had to type it in ‘thought’ format! ha! Sooo let’s see… we found out about Mr. Patrick in November.. It made going home for Thanksgiving a lot of fun. We had Sadie do both the family announcements. At the in-laws we had her say (and she’s got a very dramatic flair so this was extra fun) – “Wait a minute, Erin needs an extra plate because she’s eating for two!!!!!!” Then at my…

  • Birth Stories

    Beck’s Birthing Story

    On this page, we share birth stories our clients have written and sent to us.  Permission is given to share these birth stories and pictures.  We hope you find them as inspirational as each of our clients have been to us. Welcome sweet baby boy.  Your mamma is so beautiful, strong, and courageous.  She is kind of a hero.  Your daddy?   He sure knows how to stand by your mamma.  He’s kind of your mamma’s hero.  I think you’re going to like them.  It was an honor to be with them as they welcomed you into their arms.  Here is your story:   Our baby boy was born at 10:28am on July…

  • breastfeeding,  doula,  Newborn Care,  Postpartum care

    Breastfeeding a newborn! Help!

    Help! I just pushed a baby out of my body and breastfeeding my newborn is making that look easy!   This is common.  Breastfeeding is well…it involves a learning curve and is possibly the hardest, most rewarding learning curve ever.  We want to encourage you on this learning curve.  We will be posting a series on breastfeeding helps.  Keep going.  It will be so worth it!* We offer postpartum doula support for mothers during this very special season.  Please visit postpartum doula to learn more.  For our first post in this series about breastfeeding a newborn, how about a couple of recipes?  By the way if you know someone expecting…

  • birth,  family,  Newborn Care,  Postpartum care

    Sad State of Postpartum Care in the U.S.

     Why am I writing about  the uniquely U.S. state of postpartum care and recuperation?   When a woman carries a baby and gives birth, her body undergoes great changes. There are visible signs of those changes, but that only shows a very small part of what her body has done. Her blood vessels have changed in order to accommodate twice the blood volume. Her lung capacity has changed, and it will take most of a year for it to return pre-pregnancy way of operation. Her muscles separated for the expansion of her womb, joints and connective tissue all became looser in preparation for delivery. All of her abdominal organs were…

  • birth,  home birth,  hospital birth,  Newborn Care

    After Birth – The Golden Hour

    The Golden Hour – What it is, what it is not Many changes for the better have been happening in the labor and delivery ward.  New terms such as Baby Friendly Hospital and the Golden Hour are becoming a part of the new jargon. What do they mean? We have written an article describing Baby Friendly Hospital designation.  Briefly, it encourages polices that support the mother-baby dyad, promotes policies that support breastfeeding and remove policies that  interfere with breastfeeding and the mother-baby relationship.  The article is available here. One of the policies that is part of the baby friendly designation is honoring the Golden Hour following birth.  The Golden Hour…

  • birth,  home birth,  hospital birth,  labor

    Birth – The design is not broken

    This has been on my heart a good bit lately.  I hope it will that not only encourage, but also empower the belief that indeed your body was designed not only to grow a baby but to birth a baby.  The design is not broken.   For the mothers who birthed through c-section: your body works.  You birthed, recovered, and cared for newborn while recovering from surgery.  You are so strong. Dear Mama and Supporters of Mamas, About birth – The design is not broken. Medicalized birth can give a very subtle, covert message to women that the design of birth is broken.  It is much more powerful than many women preparing…

  • birth

    Doula Gift Certificate – A Perfect Gift

    A Doula Gift Certificate for every expectant family. Adding a new baby to a family is a wonderful time yet a time full of exhaustion.  Would you like to give a gift of support to an expectant family for their transition with new baby?  We offer gift certificates that may be customized just for their needs. Postpartum: Every new family needs support after birth.  No exception.  More studies are coming out showing that postpartum recovery takes much longer than most realize: 1 to 2 years! Sibling Doula:  Other families worry about who will care for their other children when they are at the hospital or during labor. Birth Doula:  Birth…

  • birth,  birth stories,  Postpartum care

    Postpartum Recovery: It’s serious business.

    Postpartum Recovery: Healing through Rest *My sweet friend and doula sister, Lauren Tate, shared this post on facebook.  Because of the importance and seriousness of postpartum recovery, she has graciously given us permission to share it with you.  We invite you to gather a warm cup of coffee or your favorite tea and be still. “A mother and doula on Postpartum healing not so much from an educational side but from an experienced side – With my first and second child, I was so eager to get life after being pregnant going, that I forgot to take care of myself. 4 days after having Ellie, I went to the mall…