Filed under Why a postpartum doula …

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 →

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 →

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 →

Darker Feelings Postpartum

At the first new moms support group I attended, as other moms began to discuss the baby trifecta (eating, sleeping, pooping), I began to have that creeping hot, embarrassed, and out of place feeling. I thought, We can talk to any woman on the street about all that. Didn’t anyone want to talk about what … 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 →