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Birth Together Doula Services

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24.01.2022 DID YOU KNOW? Soft breasts do not mean you have lost your milk Many mothers worry that they dont have enough milk if their breasts feel soft, or if they cann...ot feel their let-down reflex. After the early weeks, your body adjusts to your babys needs. The full feeling that you may have had in your breasts in the early weeks disappears. This simply means that your milk supply is now in sync with your babys needs. Some mothers never feel their let-down reflex. Fortunately there are other ways to tell when your let-down reflex occurs. Your babys sucking changes from a shallow, quick suck to a deeper, more rhythmic suck and milk may drip from the other breast. https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au//breastfeeding-fact-or-fi See more

23.01.2022 "It occurred to me that a circle of women, with a mission, can save the world."

22.01.2022 Why You Dont Have To Choose Between Your Own Mental Health Or Your Babys I am a postnatal doula and I want all mums to feel empowered and supported in their d...ecision making. I support mums who choose natural birth or plan a caesarean. Some of my clients, bottle feed and some breastfeed. Some of them vaccinate their babies on schedule and others delay. I try and share information rather than my opinion and whatever your decision if you feel positive about your parenting then my job is done. What really worries me though, is when I see mothers driven to parenting decisions they are unhappy with. If you feel like you are leaving your baby to cry because your own mental health is suffering then something is wrong. Where has our culture arrived if mothers feel driven to choose between their own mental health and their babies? Dont get me wrong, I am well aware of the issues surrounding control crying, but what I want to express today is my grave disappointment with our society for finding another way to vilify women, rather than supporting them. We have abandoned our mothers, and then blame them when they abandon their children. If someone you know is leaving their baby to cry (in your mothers group or on Facebook) before you judge them please try and see it as a mother crying for help. As a community, we need to find ways to support mothers so that they do not have to make this awful choice. Here are some of the ways we can support our new mums. Avoid Emotional Vampires Every month I offer a free workshop to pregnant parents in Perth. A hot topic that comes up time and again is dealing with the visitors. There are too many women reporting the kind of visitors interfere with their parenting style, force unwanted and outdated advice on to them, eat their food, drink their tea and leave new mums with a big mess (practically and emotionally speaking!) Whilst the stereotype scenario involves the dreaded mother-in-law, an emotional vampire is anyone who drains your energy and leaves you feeling bad. If you are a mum dont worry about offending people, politely find a reason why these people cant visit or cant stay for long (medical appointments is a simple white lie), or only invite them when your best friend or partner is there to support you. If you know a mum, please dont be an emotional vampire, the key is offer practical help, and dont talk too much! Get Practical Help Traditionally babies are brought up in villages. Childcare, cleaning, cooking and shopping are shared amongst friends and family. The benefits are two fold, you dont have to do it all yourself, and the work is much more enjoyable because you have someone to do it with. If you know a new mum bring a meal, ask what groceries they need on your way over or offer to take the baby so they can shower or sleep. Never turn up empty handed! If you are a new mum join a MamaBake group, get a cleaner, or find a friend and help each other with cleaning or shopping. Better still get a postnatal doula, but there are not many of us working in Australia yet. Live In The Moment & Laugh With Friends A great mums group is one of the best things about being a mum. A bad mums group however can fit into the emotional vampires category. Shop around till you find a mums group you really love, and this will get the oxytocin flowing. I always recommend facilitated mums groups, ask your local birthing centre, womens health centre, library or local government if you dont know where to start. Dont depend solely on your child health nurse, they are drastically over worked and under-funded, particularly in WA. Be Grateful I know sometimes it just feels too hard, over 80% of new mums report feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, but sometimes you have to fake it till you make it. I dont mean you should put on a good face, or suppress your emotions. I mean that practising relaxation, guided meditation or positive affirmations can help you feel really good. The practise I most commonly use with clients is gratitude. Countless studies have found gratitude improves emotional and physical health, relieves stress and strengthens relationships and community. Are you grateful for your partner or mothers support? Are you grateful for the challenges you face as an opportunity for service and growth? Are you grateful for the dinner you thoughtfully froze whilst pregnant? If you cant find anything to be grateful for maybe its time to see you GP to ask about postnatal depression. Cry With Your Baby Time and again research has found that babies who cry in loving arms do not release the same hormonal stress response in their brains. If a baby cries whilst being held the brain does NOT show the same level of HPA-axis activation, if it show any activation at all. What this means is that if its all too much, its ok to hold your baby and cry together. This is release crying, and its not just control crying rebranded, its about sharing and expressing your emotions t

22.01.2022 In a world where we rush around and try to fit too much in, a babys due date has come to be seen by some people as a kind of appointment. Statistically, only... 4% of babies are born on their due date and many healthy babies are born after this. I sometimes suggest that people plan to do something nice on their babys due date; theres a high chance that youll be free to do it! But the important thing to remember is that, on the whole, our bodies and our babies bodies know what theyre doing. If youd like more information, see www.sarawickham.com #midwife #midwifery #doula #birthdoula #childbirth #childbirtheducation #childbirtheducator #drsarawickham #evidence #birthinformation #pregnant #duein2019 #duein2020 #positivebirth

20.01.2022 An interesting article about how not to give advice, very important in our work as doulas.

19.01.2022 The 5 love languages are an incredibly powerful way of communicating love to important people in your life, worth checking out

19.01.2022 If you are pregnant in 2019, the best thing you can do is get to a Breastfeeding Education Class. It will take all the mystery out of breastfeeding, and put you on the path to success! There is also an AMAZING deal on at the moment, with a 50% rebate for both the class and ABA membership. Why not check it out!

16.01.2022 I would say that 90% of the behavioural, sleep and eating problems I’m asked to help with on a daily basis are developmentally appropriate and entirely normal. ...Ie: babies acting like babies, toddlers acting like toddlers and so on. The problem this presents is that very often there is no magic solution. Because you can’t fix something that isn’t broken and you can’t speed development and make a child act in ways that are far too mature for their age. This presents two difficulties for me - how to break this bad news without seeming patronising and/or dismissive and uncaring (something I worry about constantly!) and how to help parents cope with the realisation that the only real answer to their concern is time and patience. . Our world is obsessed with quick fixes, life hacks and revolutionary solutions. These just don’t exist in parenting though - whatever the ‘problem’. The only real thing we have control over is ourselves. We can’t make our baby or toddler (or even teenager!) behave like an adult, but *we* can be the adult! We can change ourselves. We can take a breath and control our responses, we can make simple changes to avoid tricky situations, we can compromise and we can contain big emotions and difficult behaviour, we can also clear up the ‘mess’ after (be that physical or emotional), we can take better care of ourselves, we can ask for help and we can reset our expectations. This last point is the (frustratingly) real answer to most of the issues parents face. . unknown (found on google)

16.01.2022 Why am I having trouble getting the hang of breastfeeding? Is nipple pain normal? What can I do about it? Where can I get help with breastfeeding? This video an...swers some common questions about breastfeeding. A lactation consultant says you have to learn breastfeeding, and it can take time to get the hang of positioning, attachment and reading your babys cues. The video has advice, websites and phone numbers for getting help with breastfeeding. This content was produced in collaboration with the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA). Raising Children Network thanks Renee Kam, ABA breastfeeding counsellor and private lactation consultant, Yasna Blandin de Chalain, maternal and child health nurse and counsellor, and Simone Casey, ABA breastfeeding counsellor and private lactation consultant. Sourced from the Raising Children website, Australias trusted parenting website. For more parenting information, visit raisingchildren.net.au.

15.01.2022 Control the things you can, let go of the things you cant

13.01.2022 It’s okay to want to make a birth plan

12.01.2022 They told you about the contractions, but did they tell you about the expansion? Did they tell you how your body would open to make way for the whole universe ...to pass through? Did they tell you how your heart would explode with a love bigger than anything youve ever known as you pulled your baby to your chest? They told you about the ring of fire but did they tell you about the crown of stars? Did they mention that theres a moment when your baby enters the world and you leave your body and touch the heavens and become the light of a million galaxies? Did they tell you how the pain of stretching to receive your child would be more exquisite than any sensation youve felt? They told you would scream but did they tell you about how you would roar? Did they tell you about the power that would rise up from your belly as you called your baby forth with your mighty voice? Did they tell you how you would embody the wild woman within you and breathe fire with your song? They told you would bleed, but did they tell you how that sacred blood wouldnt scare you? How you would feel grateful for that magical liquid of life as it trickled down your leg- how you would honor its flow and how it would help you heal a lifetime of hating your bodys bleeding cycles. . They told these stories and taught you to fear birth, to fear your power, to fear yourself. But youre stronger and wiser than that mama. You know that birth is your divine dance, your souls song, your moment with God, and you walk fearlessly into her open arms. ~ Catie Atkinson of Spirit Y Sol www.spiritysol.com Art by Amanda Greavette Fine Art www.amandagreavette.com

11.01.2022 I know what the earth feels like moving a mountain

11.01.2022 I would say that 90% of the behavioural, sleep and eating problems Im asked to help with on a daily basis are developmentally appropriate and entirely normal. ...Ie: babies acting like babies, toddlers acting like toddlers and so on. The problem this presents is that very often there is no magic solution. Because you cant fix something that isnt broken and you cant speed development and make a child act in ways that are far too mature for their age. This presents two difficulties for me - how to break this bad news without seeming patronising and/or dismissive and uncaring (something I worry about constantly!) and how to help parents cope with the realisation that the only real answer to their concern is time and patience. . Our world is obsessed with quick fixes, life hacks and revolutionary solutions. These just dont exist in parenting though - whatever the problem. The only real thing we have control over is ourselves. We cant make our baby or toddler (or even teenager!) behave like an adult, but *we* can be the adult! We can change ourselves. We can take a breath and control our responses, we can make simple changes to avoid tricky situations, we can compromise and we can contain big emotions and difficult behaviour, we can also clear up the mess after (be that physical or emotional), we can take better care of ourselves, we can ask for help and we can reset our expectations. This last point is the (frustratingly) real answer to most of the issues parents face. . unknown (found on google)

10.01.2022 Hi My name is Felicity from Birth Together Doula Services Being pregnant, having a baby and caring for a newborn are the most magical and scary times of our l...ives. There are so many questions and so many different opinions, and so many people giving advice, that navigating this journey can be stressful and confusing. My role as your doula, is to alleviate some of that pressure. I work to ensure that each family can work towards the birth that they want, with all the information and support they need. I am passionate about birth, and creating an environment that allows mums and their bodies to do the work they need to do to have their baby safely and calmly, in whatever way is suitable for her. Get in touch to have a coffee and a chat about what services might be suitable for you. For more information please contact me: Phone: 0455 485 501 Email: [email protected] www.birthtogether.com.au Find us on Facebook: Birth Together Doula Services

09.01.2022 What a wonderful way of explaining childbirth!

06.01.2022 When a birthing woman says "I have to push", it doesnt always mean what you think. This article explains the nuances of a push-y feeling and can help to avoid problems.

06.01.2022 The gift of breastmilk. https://www.thestranger.com//the-more-i-learn-about-breast #australianbreastfeedingproject... #breastmilk See more

06.01.2022 Love the new WHO recommendations

05.01.2022 During these unusual and confusing times some things can change unexpectedly. If you find yourself without a birth partner, or in need of extra support around pregnancy, birth and postpartum, please send me a message.

04.01.2022 I was so excited to have a baby, why am I so worried and sad all the time now? My baby deserves someone better. One in five expecting mothers struggle with an...tenatal (during pregnancy) anxiety or depression. Left untreated, these illnesses can have devastating consequences for women and their families. In the most severe instances it can even cause pregnant women to think about suicide. We want to educate the community about these serious yet common illnesses. Can you help us by sharing this post? Read about the signs and symptoms of antenatal anxiety and depression: www.panda.org.au//symptoms-of-antenatal-anxiety-and-depres

04.01.2022 One common issue faced by a new mother is that she will be lead to believe that there are specific rules around how to manage her babys sleep and behaviour. Th...ese rules are outlined in great detail in popular baby books. She is given these books during her pregnancy by well-meaning friends and told: you HAVE to read this! So she does. Because she wants to be the best mother she can be. She wants to do the right thing by her baby. According to the books, these rules include, but are not limited to: Babies should sleep 7-7. Babies should not cat nap, they must nap for at least an hour. Babies should only nap in a cot. Babies should not nap at the breast or in your arms. Babies should only feed every 3 hours. Babies shouldnt feed at night, once they reach a certain age or weight. Babies should self-settle and not fall asleep with any assistance. Babies should be fed only if they are doing a hungry cry. But not if they have fed in the last few hours. And if its actually a protest cry they should be ignored... This new mother is extremely vulnerable and impressionable. So of course she believes that these rules are firm. Factual. Based on science. Why would she doubt the authors credibility? If it wasnt true, then why is the book so popular? So without a second thought, she sets out to be a good mother and follow the rules. Except that the rules suck. And her baby must be broken, or maybe she is just shit at this parenting gig because she cant seem to manage to make her baby go 3 hours between feeds. And she cant seem to settle her baby with just a shhh and a pat on the bottom. And she really cant bear to listen to her baby protest for 10 minutes so she can win the battle to make her baby sleep at the proper time, in the proper place. So rather than toss the book in the recycling bin (or the fire), she blames herself and she blames her baby. Misery descends. Desperation creeps in. All enjoyment evaporates. But then one day she realises something. There are whispers out there of another way. A different way. And it blows her mind. There is a woman at her mothers group who holds her baby ALL the time. And feeds him whenever he fusses. Shes not following the rules... And she doesnt seem too worried about it. And then theres the friend who shares pictures on Facebook of her baby sleeping at her breast and in her bed... Shes not following the rules either, and she seems so happy. There is also the blog that talks about how its OK to follow babys lead and respond to them straight away when they cry. Maybe that blog was onto something... And then there is that family member, who mentioned in passing to ignore the book. To just enjoy the cuddles and do whatever you have to do to get her to sleep. Suddenly this new mother realises that actually, the rules in the books arent rules at all. They are just someones opinion of how things should be done. Theyre not evidence-based. They are not set in stone. And best of all... they are not mandatory. This new mother realises that actually, she can do what feels right for her and her baby. She can cuddle, snuggle, feed and indulge in her baby as much as she likes. She can follow her babys lead. She can respond to her babys cries the way her body and heart tells her to respond. She can do it all without a hint of guilt because this is her journey. And she and her baby are the only ones who get to make the rules. Not the books

03.01.2022 These all work for adults too! We all need to know that it is okay to have the feelings that we have.

03.01.2022 Absolutely Beautiful... now where are my tissues?

03.01.2022 How To Survive Christmas As A Newborn Mother Lets face it - its always the silly season with a newborn in the house! I would know, Ive got one right now. Her...e are my six top tips for enjoying the holidays as a Newborn Mother. 1. Stay Home If you have interstate or overseas family, consider spending this Christmas at home. Travel with a newborn is always stressful. And holidays often mean trying to keep your baby happy and relaxed without all your usual equipment and comforts. 2. Only Do One Thing Each Day If you have different branches of the family tree to catch up with, avoid doing it all on Christmas. Maybe visit some people on Christmas Eve, another on Christmas Day and if you still have more to catch up with, try Boxing Day. 3. Be A Lioness Mother Everyone loves babies and everyone is likely to want a cuddle. Chances are you arent so keen on handing your baby around like pass the parcel. If it makes you uncomfortable, try and invoke your inner lioness and dont be afraid to be protective and hold your baby close, even if it means offending your Great Aunt Maude. There will be plenty of time for cuddles when your baby is a little bigger. 4. Resign Yourself To Missing Out Its only temporary, but for now, you might need to accept that this isnt the year to start all those new family Christmas traditions youve been dreaming of. You may need to miss out on some parties or leave a little early. Keep it simple and lower your standards. Its only for one year. 5. Schedule A Nap - For YOU! Most Baby-Christmas survival guides will tell you to plan your day around your babys schedule, but Im going to do the opposite. I LOVE naps for mums! They make the day (and the in-laws) infinitely easier to face. Put a nap for you on the Christmas schedule. 6. Feed In Private Crowds and noisy environments can feel overwhelming for Newborn Mothers. Often your senses are heightened and you feel more introverted than usual. When you need a break, excuse yourself to feed your baby. Take yourself off to a quiet spot in the bedroom and breastfeed lying down. You can use the excuse that your baby doesnt feed well when distracted, and youll find 30 minutes of peace and quiet for you too.

02.01.2022 Doula Support For Pregnant Women Could Improve Care, Reduce Costs TARA HAELLE A doula is trained to provide advice and support for women through pregnancy and c...hildbirth. A doula is trained to provide advice and support for women through pregnancy and childbirth. Mike Harrington/Getty Images Childbirth historically involved a support system of women who assisted a woman from her pregnancy through the birth and in the immediate postpartum period afterward. Today, obstetricians and midwives provide prenatal care and help a woman deliver her baby. Doulas continue to fulfill the historical role of emotionally supporting a pregnant woman through labor and childbirth, helping her advocate for herself and communicate with her caregivers. A study published online Thursday by the journal Birth suggests that offering women the support of a certified doula could save Medicaid and perhaps private insurers real money nearly $1,000 a birth by reducing cesarean and preterm births. Previous research has shown lower rates of cesarean births, more satisfaction from mothers and better newborn Apgar scores a measure of a babys condition at birth among mothers who use doula care. In fact, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says in guidelines for safe prevention of cesarean births that doula care is "probably underutilized." This is the first study, however, to show a reduction in preterm births and a net savings for public insurance. Cesarean births about a third of all U.S. births cost about twice as much as vaginal births, and the 1 in 10 U.S. infants born preterm (before 37 weeks) incur medical costs 10 times greater than those of full-term infants. "What is coming together now is a research consensus and a professional consensus of the benefits of doula care," said lead author Katy Kozhimannil, an associate professor in the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. "The barriers to access are financial, cultural and geographic. The financial barrier ought to be the first to fall." Her analysis compared 1,935 women in Minnesota who accepted state doula services covered by Medicaid with 67,147 Medicaid-covered women throughout the northern and midwestern U.S. who didnt get help from doulas.The doulas visited with the mothers four times leading up to the birth, provided support during labor and delivery and made two postpartum visits to the women. In comparing the groups, 4.7 percent of the women using doulas had preterm births compared with 6.3 percent of the women who didnt get doula help. Similarly, 20.4 percent of doula-supported women had cesarean deliveries compared with 34.2 percent of the women without doulas All told, an estimated $986 per birth would be saved if all the women received doula services, the analysis found. How doulas decrease the odds of a cesarean birth isnt entirely clear. One way might be by reducing cesareans recommended out of convenience, such as during a more slowly progressing labor. "One of the questions doulas are trained to help women remember to ask is, Is this an emergency or do I have time to think about it? " Kozhimannil said. "If its an emergency, its outside the doulas scope of work. If its not, thats an opportunity for the doula to help the woman come to a decision with her clinician." However, there is a potential risk if inadequately trained doulas practice outside their scope of care, says Aaron Caughey, chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. "I cant think of a lot of negatives fundamentally in the routine use of doulas," he said. "But in my clinical experience, the one possible negative is that a lot of the time the individuals who use doulas have a certain mindset about birth, and the doula can sometimes serve to block the clinician from practicing in the way the clinician might wish." For example, a doula might discourage a woman from agreeing to a rupture of membranes recommended by a clinician even if breaking her waters is medically indicated, he said. If physicians, midwives and doulas work together from the start, disputes over care are less likely. Why doula care might affect preterm birth is also uncertain but might partly result from a reduction in stress because of the support of a doula during prenatal care, Caughey said. Kozhimannils team analyzed preterm births and cesarean births separately, but another analysis that combined them revealed no reduction in cesareans among preterm births. She said thats a good thing because it means the reduction occurs among healthy deliveries and not the complicated ones more likely to need a C-section. Although the researchers adjusted the analysis for mothers age and race/ethnicity and having high blood pressure or diabetes during pregnancy, the groups may still have been too different for adequate comparison, wrote Adam Powell, a health economist and president of Payer+Provider Syndicate, in an email. He pointed out that the larger control group may have included some doula-assisted births, albeit a small number, but that the better health of the women in the doula group may not have been fully accounted for in the statistical adjustments. "It is not surprising that the intervention group was in better health than the control group as the intervention group had to be proactive about their health in order to be included in the group," he wrote since only 15 to 20 percent of the mothers eligible for Medicaid-covered doula services used them. The studys findings would be stronger if the women had been randomized through a lottery to receive doula support or not, Powell said. Even so, insurers can look through their own claims for answers. "Medicaid programs and health care companies generally have the data to conduct these analyses with their own data," Kozhimannil said. "There is no reason they shouldnt consider adding doula care or at least exploring that option." She pointed out the importance of this studys findings in terms of the racial disparities in poor birth outcomes in the U.S. "Its important in an equity context because preterm birth is so much more frequent among black women compared with white women and preterm birth is the largest contributor to infant death," Kozhimannil said. "The infant mortality rates and the disparities in infant mortality are something weve been reckoning with as a country for 100 years without good progress. Any identification of interventions that can help address issues related to preterm birth and especially disparities in preterm birth is urgently needed." Tara Haelle is a freelance health and science writer based in Peoria, Ill. Shes on Twitter: @tarahaelle

02.01.2022 Its okay to want to make a birth plan