This is a guest post by my lovely friend Izzy. I was honoured and grateful to be one of her doulas, alongside my wonderful friend Becky Talbot. This is long for a blog post, but if you are a doula, midwife or parent preparing for birth, I urge you to read it all. Izzy leaves nothing out, so her Continue Reading
Umbrella of the Love Gods: The Clitoris, Female Sexuality and Birth
Button, Devils' Doorknob, Bald Man in a Boat...the English words for the female clitoris are far and few between and not particularly positive or enlightening. As a woman in her 50s, born and bred in England, I have a suspicion that my lack of vocabulary to describe this part of my body is a symptom Continue Reading
Use Your Loaf: The Curse of the Baby Hat
It's deeply ingrained, this habit of putting hats on newborns. Search online for images of newborns and almost all of them are togged up in a woolly hat, for all the world like they are about to go outside for a snowball fight. So why do we do it? And why do so many midwives and doctors insist that Continue Reading
Looking Back
Sit by the birthing pool: damp sleeves, time stands still, Dozy from heat and lack of sleep. The offering of small bites and little sips. Hand on shoulder, soft words spoken slow, Warm water welcomes babies, washes women, makes tea and milk and tears flow. Each birth Continue Reading
Sweet Sixteen Doula: My 2019
This year I've officially been doulaing for 16 years. And just like my real 16th year, it was full of love, adventure, awkwardness and a looking forward with excitement to what the future brings. There has been joy and heartbreak, beginnings and endings, and most importantly, this year has been Continue Reading
Building Bridges: Questions Midwives Ask About Doulas
Over the years I have been lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to talk to groups of midwives about the doula role on a number of occasions. Sometimes they are student midwives and sometimes experienced, qualified midwives. The last couple of years I have had the pleasure of talking to Continue Reading
Saying Thank You To Midwives: Do you not believe me, or do you not want to?
Today's post is a guest submission written by Ruth Pay, birth and postnatal doula in Kent and South London. Thank you so much for your words, Ruth - your thoughts on gratitude and how it is accepted are so interesting and I'm sure many of us will be able to identify with Continue Reading
A Handful of Gemstones: Doulas Celebrate Wonderful Midwives and Doctors
I recently wrote a post about some of the things that are said to parents to cajole, manipulate or threaten them into accepting interventions. This is a widespread problem but the last thing I would want is for my readers to think that I have an unrelentingly negative view and experience of the way 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
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