May is International Doula Month and we've been celebrating by sharing a doula tip a day on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We have compiled all of the tips here, in one easy to find resource, just for you. From pregnancy, through labour, and into the immediate postpartum period, we hope you find a few tips here that you can put to good use.
Congratulations! You're going to have a baby. That's awesome. And probably, on some level, completely terrifying. You're probably already thinking about the million things you need to get done in the next nine(ish) months.
Breathe. You've got this. I promise.
Our maternity care system can be convoluted. Do you see your family doctor, a midwife, an OB/GYN? And when? What tests and procedures are usually recommended? What choices are available to you?
We wanted to simplify the process for you and have created these two handouts for you to print and use as needed.
Whether you've known since you were sixteen that you wanted to have a midwife attend your birth, or whether you're seven months along with baby #3 and this is the first time the possibility's crossed your mind, here are 5 common myths we hear about midwifery care in Calgary and the truth behind them...
Packing your birth bag is a ritual of modern pregnancy.
Maybe you’re the type of person who packs your bag weeks in advance – you like to feel prepared, with lots of time to spare. Or maybe you’re the type to pack your bag during early labor – a practical busy job to keep you distracted during those first crampy contractions.
No matter when or how you pack your bag, you’ll likely have researched what to put in it. There are many sample lists available online (some of them pages long!) and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
We’d like to simplify things for you.
Woman-to-woman support has been a cornerstone of birth support throughout human history. Whether medically, physically or emotionally, women have long been depicted helping other women as they transition into motherhood.
The recent (in the grand scheme of things) addition of fathers to the childbirth process has been a welcome and needed evolution in birth support. But this can sometimes lead to concern about a trained and professional support person also joining the team.
Common fears/questions from partners often include:
Instead of explaining my very biased (yes, doulas are amazing!) point of view, I reached out to some dads I've previously worked with. Here’s what they had to say...
Seeing the person you love working hard to cope with the intensity of labour as she works to bring your baby earth side can be a powerful, and at times overwhelming, experience. Here are 10 practical things you can do...
Are you planning a waterbirth? Is the bathtub in your house too small or too uncomfortable to labor in? Thinking about buying or renting an inflatable birth pool? Here are 3 reasons you'll love a Passages Birth Pool.
One Love Float, “Calgary’s friendliest float studio”, is owned by Treeka Drake, master herbalist, holistic therapist, intuitive healer, and all around incredible human being...
I love finding out that a client will be birthing at South Health Campus (SHC). Built from the ground up with family-centered care as a guiding principle, they are changing the face of maternity care in Calgary...
Mother's Day. Simple enough, right? It's a day to honor the mothers in our lives. But it seems that as I get older, this day has become a complex mix of celebration, remembrance, and grief.
I am blessed to be able to honor the mothers of my heart this day. The strong and wise women whom I have chosen to welcome into my life and who have walked along side me on my journey. We have shared laughter and tears, great times and damn crappy times. They have imparted wisdom, forgiven foibles, shored up my confidence, and led by example. I am blessed because this list of women in my life is long...
This was the tail end of a text conversation I had recently with a dear friend of mine who was (at the time) in her last few weeks of midwifery school. I threw that last comment out without really thinking about it, until I hit send and re-read it.
What she said really did sound like my life. In fact, most of my adult life could be described that way: "Lots of interest and zero time".
That never really bothered me before. But these days, it's kind of getting under my skin...
As a doula, I love supporting women through transition. If you have never seen transition, here's what it can look like:
