Filed under Asking for help …

How I Prepared for Birth and Postpartum

As I mentioned in his birth story, I prepared in a myriad of ways during the months before my son’s birth. This preparation and the week-long build-up helped me cope with his super-fast birth! Having learned from my daughter’s birth, I most wanted to change two things this time: to have a birth team that was empowering rather … Continue reading →

Baby Brother’s Birth

Ten weeks ago, I gave birth to my second child, a boy. We are told in so many ways that birth and motherhood should be blissful, perfect, happy, wonderful. Or that birth is going to be a medical emergency and a nightmare. In reality they are both positive and negative all wrapped into one. The … Continue reading →

Why Stop Working before the Birth?

I haven’t found time to write since the birth of my new baby boy, 8 weeks ago. I hope to, soon! But I did manage to respond to this email from my sister, due to birth her first baby in the coming weeks. Our sisterly correspondence will have to suffice for now! From my sister, … Continue reading →

Asking for Help: Me This Time

I’ve written before about asking for help: how hard it can be for a new mom to feel confident rather than inadequate when she asks; how hard it can be to ask friends and family while fearing rejection. I’ve encouraged women to seek support from postpartum doulas to ease this. In response, women have wished … Continue reading →

Give Some Love to a New Mom

Moms tend to take on the care and nurturing of everyone around us. Especially during the postpartum time, we need someone to care for and nurture us! When a friend had a new baby, I used to walk into her house and think, I want to be helpful, but what do I do? Through my … Continue reading →

Building Support around You: Parent-Child Classes

New parents can feel so isolated — even the most well-meaning people around us can be ignorant about our experiences and our needs. We can feel invisible or even devalued. I’ve written about facing the outside world as a new mom. How can we find a safe place, where we feel understood, and where we are … Continue reading →

How Long does ‘Postpartum’ Last?

Pregnant women in the US are exposed to many widely held beliefs about birth and the postpartum time that — they discover with shock and possibly pain, guilt, and sadness — are so very false. I believe we need to talk about these beliefs to prevent the shock and ease the other painful emotions that … Continue reading →

Asking for Help Feels Strange

As a postpartum doula, my job is to nurture and care for the vulnerable, new family; most especially the new mom. Some people ask, “Isn’t that just for people who need extra help? Like with twins or medical issues or depression?” While many women have said to me, “I didn’t know I could ask for … Continue reading →