World Doula Week is coming!
Every year, from March 22nd to March 28th, the global birth community comes together to celebrate World Doula Week—a time to recognise and appreciate the invaluable role that doulas play in supporting families during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. This special week highlights the impact of doula care and spreads awareness about the many benefits of having a doula as part of the birth journey.
Teaching Hypnobirthing at my home on Sydney’s North Shore has many benefits. Classes are comfortable in my large lounge area, couples learn about becoming a family in a family home and I cook delicious food for the whole class.
I am often asked for the recipes so I am sharing them here, making it easy to add a link for this page to the post class email.
All of these recipes freeze well, have been favourites for my family for many years and it’s my pleasure to share them with other people as they become a families too.
I recently attended a workshop hosted by Hazel Keedle on Giving Birth After Caesarean, it was an impactful day full of research, information and stories that led to a better understanding of the unique journey that women who have had a caesarean birth face in their subsequent pregnancies. The workshop included a copy of Hazel’s wonderful book "Birth After Caesarean: Your Journey to a Better Birth" and this blog is my review of this work.
This blog is one for my fellow doulas…
At the start of every year I sit down and think about direction and goals for my business. Part of this process is noting down significant days in the upcoming year that might be relevant for social media and blog posts. Having dates as a pillar for content creation is really useful - now, whether I remember to action some of these content posts is, of course, another matter!
This year I’m sharing the list in the hope that it helps other doulas. The last few years have been challenging for many of us, so lets start 2023 with some positive vibes ;)
Oh, and if you know of a day that I might include then please let me know, I’ll happily edit the list to keep it as comprehensive as possible.
Some of my clients plan a caesarean birth. As a doula and hypnobirthing for caesarean educator, my clients ask me all the time what they should be packing and taking to hospital, sometimes I even go through their bags with them. So I’m writing this blog in an attempt to keep all the information in one place, and give you a resource that you can revisit if you need to.
Giving birth and becoming a new parent during a pandemic has unique challenges. This blog is the second in a series that covers preparation for birth and parenting at this time - because with restrictions in place for many of our health services, the way you prepare matters more than ever.
This blog is part of a series focusing on how you can empower yourself ahead of your birth. There are currently restrictions on additional birth support in Sydney hospitals and you can expect staff to be working harder than usual with resources being stretched. You will need to be proactive in approaching your birth with knowledge and confidence, this blog series contains suggestions on how to do that. This part is focusing on Communication.
Giving birth and becoming a new parent during a pandemic has unique challenges. This blog is the second in a series that covers preparation for birth and parenting at this time - because with restrictions in place for many of our health services, the way you prepare matters more than ever.
This blog is part of a series focusing on how you can empower yourself ahead of your birth. There are currently restrictions on additional birth support in Sydney hospitals and you can expect staff to be working harder than usual with resources being stretched. You will need to be proactive in approaching your birth with knowledge and confidence, this blog series contains suggestions on how to do that. This part is focusing on the important topic of Partner Preparation and Support Tools.
This blog is part of a series focusing on how you can empower yourself ahead of your birth. There are currently restrictions on additional birth support, such as a doula, in Sydney hospitals and you can expect staff to be working harder than usual with resources being stretched. You will need to be proactive in approaching your birth with knowledge and confidence, this blog series contains suggestions on how to do that.
I love the TENS machine as a comfort measure for birth. I’ve used one for all 4 of my births and have seen many women use them successfully in labour. Most women love them but they don’t suit everyone - and unfortunately no one knows how they’ll feel when they’re in labour. So I recommend giving them a go, having the maximum number of tools at your disposal is a great thing.
This blog explores how and why you might want to use a TENS machine as part of your birth.
I make bone broth for all of my postpartum clients - unless they have a diet restriction that prevents it! Why do I do this? Because it’s amazing for healing and I’ve seen how effective it is in supporting postpartum mums. I’ve helped new mums feel calmer, stronger and experience obvious changes in their breastmilk just from taking regular bone broth.
I often get asked more about it… so this blog discusses what it is, what the benefits are and ways to incorporate it into your diet.
There are many reasons why breastfeeding difficulties might occur in the early days and weeks. Getting the help of an experienced IBCLC can help overcome these difficulties. It can also help to identify some common physical problems that can make breastfeeding difficult for babies, such as torticollis (wry neck), neck tension and jaw issues - muscle and joint problems affecting the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). These issues may be improved with Osteopathic treatment.
The rate of induction in Australia (and many other countries) is increasing. I won’t address the reasons for this increase here but instead aim to provide tips to those who choose to go ahead with one so that they can have the best experience possible.
Having an induction may mean having a very different labour to the one you’ve been preparing for but you can still have a positive birth. Here are my 9 tips for a positive induction.
I recently completed my training as a Baby Massage Instructor with IMIS and am excited to get started using my new skills! I used massage myself with my first child to help with constipation (an issue that lasted for years), despite this being my personal motivation for starting to massage my child we both experienced benefits in many other areas.
So, what are the benefits of baby massage and how can you build it into your day with your child?
I see metaphors for birth and parenting in a lot of everyday life, most recently I was struck by one when I was preparing to attend a one-day course in another part of the city….. I knew where I was going, I also knew that traffic and parking could be a real issue so I set about researching my transport options. Why? So that I could set off to the course feeling very confident and relaxed, knowing that I had options no matter what I encountered - which is just how I like my clients to feel when they work with me!
So, how did my preparation relate to birth? Let’s break it down a little….
To be clear, no ‘special foods’ will dramatically improve your milk supply, if you’re having supply issues then focus on baby’s latch, your hydration and your nutrition overall - but good quality, wholefood snacks will support your system in many ways.
As part of my support I make my birth and postpartum clients snacks to support their recovery and breastfeeding - they are so yummy that I am regularly asked for the recipes so I thought I’d publish them here in one place!
If you’re considering or have decided on private obstetric care for the birth of your baby, the next steps are to choose an obstetrician and book into a hospital. Choosing a care provider is one of the most important decisions you’ll make during your pregnancy – and it’s also one of the first you’ll have to make. So how do we go about choosing an obstetrician that will suit us best?
This blog explores some questions that may prove useful to consider when choosing your obstetrician.
