This is a guest post from my lovely friend and doula trainee, Rosie Spampinato. I have encouraged her to write this post to illustrate the power that society has on our breastfeeding journeys. We do not nurse in a vacuum, but are prey to all the influences, good and bad, that society can throw at Continue Reading
My Doula Year: banging the drum for justice
It's been quite a year. Not just for me, but for the wider birth world. This year heralded the beginnings of the implementation of the Better Births report. Continuity of Carer is really on the horizon - for those not in the know, that means the prospect of all women being able to get to know a Continue Reading
Myth Busting, Booby Traps and Breastfeeding Success
As a Breastfeeding Counsellor and Doula, I spend a lot of time talking to women (and men) about breastfeeding. I also hang out online rather a lot, reading forums and blogs about my favourite subject. Here are a few of the statements about infant feeding I hear most…and my thoughts in response. Continue Reading
Women’s Voices
Where to, Love? said the taxi driver. Up with the lark, ain't yer? Station, please. Tickets please, next stop, Kings Cross. 30p for a wee, then mind the gap, tube to Baker Street. Past tourists gathering outside 221b Leafy streets and round the bend, the Royal College. The rarefied air and Continue Reading
Linda Goes to Dunkirk Again
My latest trip to the Dunkirk refugee camp, now christened The New Jungle, was a depressing but satisfactory visit. This time l went with some other doulas and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, who needed to visit the camp to assess the conditions for mothers either Continue Reading
Breathe, They Said
Breathe, they said, as I was born. Lungs inflating, first rush streaming in, stinging my insides. Cough, splutter, wail in fury, as I struggle to catch my first breath. Breathe, they said, as I am rubbed dry, every nerve ending screaming, eyes screwed shut, Fists tight, I am fighting. A familiar Continue Reading
Interview with Paula Cleary, Mother-of-five, Doula and founder of Birthplace Matters
This latest offering in my irregular series of guest posts is this interview with the inspiring Paula Cleary. Doula, Birth Activist and Founder of Birthplace Matters, Paula manages to find time in between home educating five children to support birthing mothers and raise awareness of the disparities Continue Reading
Hunting for the Truth: Birth in the Age of Fake News
This week there has some been some very random, and very mysterious news headlines in the media. Without warning, the media began reporting that the Royal College of Midwives was no longer going to be promoting 'normal birth'. None of the offending journalists seemed bothered by the fact that this Continue Reading
Sorry: A Midwife Speaks
Today's post is an anonymous contribution from a midwife working in the NHS. I publish this to help her find an outlet for her feelings and to draw attention to the looming crisis that maternity services face as more midwives are leaving the profession than joining, funding is being cut and morale Continue Reading
Godsibs, Gossip and Social Media
Have you heard the old story about the origins of doulas in the British Isles? We were once the 'Sisters-in-God'; the village women who bustled around when a new baby was on the way. We would arrive, nattering in a good-natured way, shooing the menfolk out of the house as we tidied, organised, Continue Reading