Category: Uncategorized
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Hydration in Pregnancy
On World Water Day, I’d like to take a moment to talk about the importance of water while pregnant. It was a struggle to decide whether to talk about water therapy during labor (getting in the shower or tub for pain management), about the research and safety of water birth, or about hydration. In the…
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Repeat After Me: I Can & I AM!
Your body has been growing these tiny cells into a human being for months now. Your body was smart enough to do what it needed to do in order to bring about another life. Your body was designed to birth. Your instincts tell you what calls need to be made throughout your pregnancy and during…
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What Partners Should Know About Hiring a Birth Doula
Not only does the statistics from birth outcomes highly recommend hiring a birth doula for birthers, but birth partners also benefit from their support as well. As your birth doula, I don’t replace partners. The team members need to work together to achieve the goal at hand. There needs to be a mutual respect and…
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Birth: The Start of Life
It’s been nearly 46 years since my mother went into labor a whole month early. My two older brothers were carted off to her sister’s while she went dutifully to the local hospital to lay in a bed and listen to the nurses tell her what to do and how to do it. She tells…
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That Time I Was Cut Open
Ten years ago today, I found I was pregnant. It would be a few more weeks before finding out it was twins. My husband and I had similar reactions to the news: feeling both dismay and elation. We were beyond excited to be having our, not one, but two rainbow babies! The pregnancy was touch…
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Postpartum Mental Health
When we talk about postpartum mental disorders too often the air leaves the room. The cliche response from loving family members can at times be well-meaning, but unhelpful at best, and demeaning or even further depressive at worst. Careful wording, offering support in the form of actual help with daily chores, feeding the family, taking…
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Statistics on Birth Doulas
“If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it.” ~ John Kennel Below is an excerpt taken from the Evidence Based Birth website about the statistics in supported birth outcomes. As you can see by these numbers, in nearly every aspect of birth, it matters if the birther is alone…
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Trust is Essential
“Trust is an essential factor for successful communication that needs to happen between human beings. We have to trust the source and we have to trust the … receiving end is also there… paying attention.” ~ LeVar Burton Whom do you trust? Why do you trust in that person? What is it that drives you…
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Who Attends Your Birth
When looking for someone to care for you and your baby, it’s important that the person you hire respects you, trusts you, and listens to you. In many places (such as the town I live in, Frankfort, KY) there is only one local place, and with a bit of travel, there are few semi-local offices…
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“At Least You’re Both Fine…”
… Except you’re not “fine.” Alive? Sure! But life isn’t simply about continuing from one intake of breath to the next. You see, when we try to make everything “okay again,” by qualifying or justifying changes to the birth plan, or by brushing the emotional side of birth and life under the rug, we’re stripping…
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