While the vast majority of the time birth goes (or SHOULD go!) smoothly, occasionally a family doesn’t get the birth of their dreams. A mother wrote her wise and beautiful reflections on not getting her dream birth, and how the first year of her child’s life taught her so much about parenting and about birth and about processing it all.… Read more →
I saw this quote the other day while reading an article about leadership, and thought it could be perfectly modified to suit the work of supporting a family during birth. All too often, doulas and other birth attendants are tempted to prove their usefulness with a lot of “doing” at a birth and to take a lot of the credit… Read more →
Oh, no, I got caught! I’m known for my “hands-off” philosophy towards birth, meaning avoiding disturbances of the instinctual processes of mother and baby unless absolutely necessary. This includes even subtle things like touching the baby or talking unnecessarily immediately after the birth. The initial moments post-birth are precious and part of an instinctual process as the family meets their… Read more →
I am so excited about an emotional podcast I just listened to with two of my favourite reproductive health advocates and one of my mentors. When I saw that the two of them had come together to do an interview on miscarriage, loss and abortion, I dropped everything I was doing, cuddled up in bed with a hot water bottle, and… Read more →
The lost art of Being With. The vast majority of the time, all the birthing person “needs” is the calm, confident presence of someone who believes in her. Fancy tips and tricks, directions, ideas and solutions more often than not serve to interfere and distract more than help. Sitting with, being with, breathing with. Being still with. Saying “That’s the… Read more →