The Gift of Birth is Love Itself
Light and love are inherent in many holidays, especially this time of year. We love to see light and we feel peace when we feel loved. One characteristic of love is attraction. Newborn babies are full of love – oxytocin is the hormone of love and what helps a woman’s uterus contract to birth her …
Become a Kangaroula®
Dive deeper into the Art of Nurturescience! In this advanced training for doulas and other health professionals, understand the key role you can play to determine whether a baby experiences “nurture” or “protest and despair” at birth. Learn about: What is a Kangaroula® ? As well as supporting the mother’s needs, a Kangaroula understands and …
Value of BirthWorks – The reason I Chose to Cross-Certify as a Birth Doula & Postpartum Doula
My inspiration to be part of BirthWorks started with my childbirth educator workshop in 2005 and the amazing mentoring afterward to support my BirthWorks-certification. At that time in my life, I was earning a Masters degree, but honestly felt I did more work for BirthWorks certification, and work that was more valuable! The depth of …
Keeping Doulas at Births in Hospitals During Covid-19
Stages of Grief: Our community was thrown off-kilter mid-March 2020 with the official arrival and acknowledgement of COVID-19 as a global threat in the United States. It was upon us and as with any stressful event, many birthworkers, myself included, walked through the stages of grief in regards to the pandemic. First Stage Denial: Surely …
Quick Vegan Fried Rice
Ingredients:1 cup raw brown rice, prepared and cooked-1 medium onion-1 cup chopped mushrooms-1 clove chopped garlic-1 cup peas-1 cup chopped vegan “chicken”-3 TBSP soy sauce (or more to taste) Instructions:–Cook the brown rice in 3 cups of water and bring to a boil OR use an Instant Pot for faster results-Saute the onion, garlic, and …
Fighting Viruses With Whole Plant Foods
“I’m so afraid of getting the Covid-19 virus!” “What can I do to protect myself?” These are the thoughts on the minds of so many people during these uncertain times of the pandemic. It doesn’t matter if we are rich, poor, famous, male, female or a child. We are all susceptible to this equalizer that …
Book Review: Hold Your Prem by Jill Bergman with Dr. Nils Bergman
This book on best practices for premature baby (prem) care is invaluable. It will be exceptionally useful to empower parents of a prem AND as a resource for birth professionals. The Bergmans share best practices to meet prems’ needs that recreate as closely as possible the experience in the womb. This is quite profound, but …
Risks and Benefits of Fetal Monitoring During Births
In a recent article in the August 1, 2020 edition of American Family Physician which is a peer reviewed and editorially independent journal of the American Academy of Family Physicians, there is an interesting study discussing “Intrapartum Fetal Monitoring.” It explains that continuous electronic fetal monitoring (CEFM) was developed to screen for evidence of fetal …
Book Review: Nobody Told Me About That – The First Six Weeks
Nobody Told Me About That – The First Six Weeksby Ginger Breedlove What a valuable read – this is the most comprehensive book about the postpartum time I’ve picked up. It’s focus on the first six weeks is key! As a mother of first a daughter and then twin boys, and as a postpartum doula, …
