Posts Tagged ‘birth’
Your Job Must Be So Fun!
This is the most common response I get when I share with someone what I do for a living. When I share that I’m growing into midwifery. If all we did was snuggle babies and drink margaritas, I suppose this statement might be true. But this job isn’t all baby snuggles, and it rarely involves…
Read More100 Things I’ve Learned in 100 Births
So, my 100th birth happened last week, just before midnight on the 12th. 100 births since 2008. 44 doula births. The other 56 births were as a midwifery assistant and student. Those began January 29th, 2014–my late father’s birthday. The birth of a new life, and the birth of my midwifery journey. A significant day…
Read More5 Things Midwives, Doulas, and Postpartum Moms Love
As I was in the shower today, after two births in 24 hours–one in the hospital as a doula, the other at home as a student midwife–I was appreciating the perfect temperature of the water, the smell of my shampoo, and the utterly clean feeling I had when I stepped out onto the mat. I…
Read MoreDrink More Water: Creative Ways to Stay Hydrated in Pregnancy.
“Drink more water.” It seems to be the pregnancy panacea. Having a lot of Braxton-Hicks? Drink more water. Feeling tired? Drink more water. Having headaches? Drink more water. Constipated? Drink more water. How many of us feel like we are paying our care provider to tell us to stay hydrated? In Colorado it’s doubly tough,…
Read MoreGrace Under Pregnancy: Responding to Horror Stories
We’ve all heard the horror stories. The homebirth turned cesarean. The induction gone wrong. The horrible hemorrhage. Cracked and bleeding nipples. Breastfeeding sabotaged by circumstances. And more. There is almost a compulsion to tell these stories, and we are often left feeling a little dazed as we walk away. These are valid experiences, but hard…
Read MoreWhy take childbirth classes anyway?
Why take childbirth classes anyway? You and baby are made for this process, so what is the big deal? You go into labor, have many contractions, eventually become fully dilated and push out a baby. Bam. It’s nature! Right? Not quite, I’m afraid. In a perfect world, women would grow up around pregnancy, labor, birth…
Read MoreA Doula For The Dying, Part 2: 5 More things I learned while doulaing my dying father.
When I set out to be by my father’s side in 2012, I had no idea what to expect. My sister and I both lived in Colorado Springs, so naturally we caravaned to Oregon together. We talked about it a lot. What would we have to do? How would we help our mom? This was…
Read MoreIn Honor of International Doula Month
Not only were we able to celebrate World Doula Week recently, I found out that there is an entire month to celebrate doulas! Now, I could re-state all the facts about professional labor support. I could share famous doula quotes. I could toot my own horn, as it were. However, I don’t want to do…
Read MoreDoulas and Home Birth
Is there benefit to hiring a doula for a home birth? I say YES absolutely. An oldie but a goodie, from Desirre, in honor of International Doula Month. As a seasoned doula who has attended home births as labor support and now an intern midwife who clinically supports the mother, I believe that many women…
Read MoreAwe & Gratitude
I have been putting together a scrapbook of pictures, cards, letters, and memorabilia from the doula clients who have so graciously shared such items with me. As the 8×8 book comes together, I find myself full of memories of each story. I have not forgotten a single birth. Not one. Each one is a treasure…
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