As one of the most well-known home birth doulas in the city, you can be confident that you will receive experienced and knowledgeable support for your home birth when you book my services. Over 80% of the births I attend are planned home births, and the vast majority of my clients who plan home births […]
Circumcision is a contentious issue in our country, and many people shy away from discussing it for fear of offending anyone who is circumcised, circumcised their child, or who is planning to circumcise their child. This procedure is painful and has serious repercussions for males, and avoiding providing education and information on this important topic […]
I think something really important gets left out in a lot of circumcision debates. People talk about ethics and tradition in regards to circumcision. People debate whether or not circumcision has health benefits. But something that often gets left out is that the foreskin actually has important functions that are lost when it is removed. […]
Foreskin Is Fabulous – from the Vancouver Pride Parade Although it may seem intimidating to care for an intact penis if your newborn’s father is circumcised, there is really nothing special you need to learn! The most important thing to remember is never to retract your son’s foreskin. At birth, the foreskin is fused to […]
When I shared my sister’s family freebirth (birth outside the medical system) story and birth images last week, they created a ripple effect in the online world that inspired a lot of women to want to share their stories and images from their beautiful births. Over and over again I have women tell me that the […]
A few weeks ago my colleague wrote a post called Facebook Censored Me Again. When my sister’s gorgeous story and birth photo were censored from facebook, I couldn’t help but write my own post on the topic . I am so frustrated with our society’s viewpoint that women’s bodies are only acceptable for public viewing if it’s in a sexual […]
A while back I shared a brief post from my younger sister, who gave birth to her first baby this fall. Her and her husband invited me to attend their birth in Calgary, a province away from where I live in Vancouver, BC. My partner decided to make a working-vacation of it, spending about a month in […]
I wanted to send a note to thank you again for your presence at our birth, and all that you did for us. From my hazy perspective, your voice and your breath coached me through the strongest pains. Your three promises kept me real, and believing that all would come to an end. Our pre-birth […]
I wrote an article when I first started doula work called How I’m Building My Doula Practice as a guest post on a marketing blog. Now, 3.5 years into my work as a birth doula, I run a successful, well-known and full doula practice. Along with taking 4 clients per month, I also teach a […]
I’ve been reflecting lately on why the “birth activist” in me has been publicly quiet lately, at least relatively speaking. A year or two ago, I was blog-posting with feistiness on the regular, attending regular birth rallies, and was part of youtube videos talking about why change in birth needs to happen. That participation was fulfilling, […]
Women and their partners are often asking about “comfort measures” for birth. There are a lot of them you can learn in prenatal classes and books and online. The truth is, the only way through birth is to do it, to feel it, to be supported in feeling it, to allow it. Here is a […]
I got a new doula-bag a few months ago, and I am still excited about it. Being a full-time, fully-booked doula, I decided it was time to upgrade from my cumbersome suitcase to a nice bag that that I could love carrying around. I opted for a bag that can be worn as a shoulder […]
Jessica Austin and a client with her baby a couple days post-birth “Thank you for being there with us to bring Bea into the world. Your calming presence allowed us to begin our life as a family of three in exactly the way we wanted. As well, I appreciate your endless patience – you didn’t […]
I’m always getting my clients to be mindful of their snack habits and protein intake. (Stay away from sugar and make sure you’re eating protein throughout the day is the short and the long of it!). Try this snack for sneaking in some extra protein in your day. Use the date variant to also get […]
