by Samantha Olivia | Jul 18, 2023 | Fourth Trimester and Postpartum Doula Tips, Motherhood & Life, Uncategorized
Keke Palmer’s joyful and bold personality is no secret to her fans. However, when she became a mother, her partner had certain expectations of how she should change her demeanor and appearance now that she had a new baby. There are lessons here for Black women...
by Samantha Olivia | Sep 13, 2022 | Birth & Labor Doula Tips, Healthy Pregnancy, Uncategorized
We often hear a statistic that women aged 35-40 will spend a year+ before conceiving and will often fail. But that data on what medical professionals call “advanced maternal age” is from a French study in the 1700s. What’s more relevant than 300 year old...
by Samantha Olivia | Sep 5, 2022 | Birth & Labor Doula Tips, Uncategorized
Most expectant moms I know aren’t hoping for 42 weeks of labor. Sometimes there are medical conditions being monitored like high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia and related issues, gestational diabetes, which might be a cause for induction. Other times, you get tired of...
by Samantha Olivia | May 24, 2022 | Uncategorized
Maternal mental health is important to me. I feel passionate about it, and if anyone ever asked me why, I could give a dozen reasons. I could talk about the importance of mental health for Black women- the birthing people I’ve focused on. Too often,...
by Samantha Olivia | May 19, 2022 | Uncategorized
As I write this, lots of people are feeling panicky about feeding their babies, due to a baby formula shortage. I’m seeing arguments about whether it’s insensitive or helpful to share breastfeeding resources, and advice to just return to homemade...
by Samantha Olivia | May 17, 2022 | Birth & Labor Doula Tips, Uncategorized
When I first speak with a client considering hiring us for labor support, usually at some point in the conversation I ask if she has any idea about her birth plan, yet. Often, she’ll say, “I’d like to avoid a c-section.” And I get that. A lot of the fear around birth...
