VBAC baby turns one! “I would NOT have had my VBAC without Jessica” ~ Crystal Allen 1 year ago tonight, Jessica was giving my husband and I a pep talk. “Give it 24 more hours” she said. “You can do this.” I was 3 days into a labor that stalled during the day and restarted during the […]
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, […]
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 […]
General Breastfeeding Info: The following websites contain information on getting started with normal breastfeeding, as well as resources for breastfeeding challenges such as milk supply, blogged ducts & mastitis, and more. Exploring these resources, particularly the videos, can be hugely beneficial to watch in preparation for birth. Websites: Dr. Jack Newman’s Website Kelly Mom Dr. […]
“Midwives can’t really stand up for the mothers’ rights because the midwives don’t own these rights, the mothers do. It’s the mothers that need to come forward and say, … ‘what you’re doing to that midwife is a violation of my rights’.” ~Hermine Hayes-Klein Watch this video to see some women and mothers in my local […]
I don’t blog too much about cesareans, as most of my focus is on educating women on how to maximize their chances of having a healthy vaginal birth and there is only so much time in the day! However, one of my favourite topics is the importance of delayed cord clamping. Normally when I speak about […]
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 […]
I always brag that even if a woman is having trouble eating during birth, she will nearly always be able to get down chicken broth. My famous cure-all for birth is my chicken broth with egg recipe, which I learnt from an Italian family once at a birth. However, if that fails, I have another […]
I shared a snapshot from my birth journal a while ago about births that take a few days to get into the steadily-progressing phase of the birth process. While I have a very trusting philosophy about childbirth and believe that births that take their time picking up, slowing down, and picking back up again are […]
In Canada, one of the tests offered to women prenatally by doctors and registered midwives is a swab for Group B Strep (GBS). If the swab is positive, the woman will be offered antibiotics during her labour. When it comes to GBS during pregnancy, you have choices in: whether or not to test for it prenatally […]
Your doula and prenatal instructor may have suggested you prepare a list of priorities and preferences to discuss with your birthing care provider so the two of you can see if you have the same ideas about what kind of care you can expect during your birth. So, you’ve educated yourself about options, know type […]
I don’t blog too much about cesareans, as most of my focus is on educating women on how to maximize their chances of having a healthy vaginal birth and there is only so much time in the day! However, one of my favourite topics is the importance of delayed cord clamping. Normally when I speak about […]
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 […]
Getting more protein into your day First, make sure you are eating protein for breakfast. Many people skip out on protein in the morning, and this can result in sugar cravings later in the day. Have eggs for breakfast, or make sure there is a good protein source such as nut butter or seeds in […]
