Birth, Baby & Beyond Blog
How Doulas Benefit Partners
Bringing a child into the world is quite a feat! It deserves respect, and much of our job as doulas is to help with whatever is needed to make that happen. Our job is bigger, though- we care about the entire family thriving, including the new dad or non-birthing...
Statistics About Birth in the United States
When you look at pictures of pregnancy, Black women, plus-size women, queer families and older folks giving birth are not the norm. This is one of the first things that usually happens when we talk to families that hire us as their doula- we reassure them that they’re...
Improving the Fourth Trimester for Black Women
People often find us because they’re looking for doulas of color, or Black doulas. They are often especially concerned about being pregnant as a Black woman and looking for a labor doula. I’ve been on a soapbox lately though- we need to talk about postpartum and...
Where to Get Unbiased Pregnancy Information
Finding unbiased information during pregnancy or as a new parent is hard. Everyone has an opinion, and all opinions are not created equally. Lots of people (loved ones and even strangers) will share their own experiences or beliefs, and they may not be right for...
Support Doesn’t Stop at Birth
Your experience of pregnancy doesn’t end when a baby leaves your body. Whether vaginally or via cesarean your labor and baby’s birth don’t magically mean that one thing has stopped, and something new is starting. There's no record scratch, or quick page turn. Let's...
What to Expect Soon After a Cesarean Birth
We've described what to expect in the hospital after vaginal birth. But we know that babies get here in more than one way, and we want you to be able to write a good birth plan, no matter what. There are a few differences in what to expect after a cesarean birth (a...
What to Expect in the Hospital Soon After Birth- A Guide
As you’re creating your birth plan, it’s important to consider the time immediately after you’ve given birth. There are decisions to make, and things you should know are coming! This is a little different for a vaginal or cesarean birth, so we’ll discuss those...
Our Year-End Review of 2020
It’s the end of 2020, and this doula is feeling relieved and accomplished. It’s been a hard year, but a big one, and as I’m doing the year in review, I want to share it with our clients, supporters and anyone else on the interwebs who’s curious. Here’s...
Can You Have a Safe Hospital Birth?
Most of our labor doula clients are Black women, families of color, or white women who fall outside of an “easy” pregnancy (they are often over 35, high risk, have had previous pregnancy or infant losses, or of larger body size). And for families like this, who may be...
Home Birth or Hospital Birth- How Do I Choose?
This is a post about considering home birth rather than hospital birth. While we've tended to support most of our clients in the hospital, we're seeing an increase in interest about homebirth. Some of this may be because of COVID-19, but we also think that...
In giving birth to our babies, we may find that we give birth to new possibilities within oursleves.
– Jon Kabat-Zinn