I am ashamed at how long it's taken me to start writing this review. My head space and time has been taken up with the publication of my own book on doulas, so I come to this later than I wanted. I have to start by being transparent. This probably won't be the most objective review you ever read. Continue Reading
Breathing Out!
That's what I seem to be doing at the moment. With all the whirlwind around publication of the book, family stuff, teaching new doulas and, somewhere in the mix, planning (probably stupidly) to embark on a house extension, I kind of forgot to breathe there, for a while! So this is me, breathing Continue Reading
The Roar Behind The Silence, edited by Soo Downe and Sheena Byrom
When I first discovered Sheena Byrom, I had no idea she was the midwifery queen of Twitter, passionate and expert in bringing mothers, midwives and all interested in maternity care together to debate, share and raise their voices in unison. She was the author of 'Catching Babies', a life story of a Continue Reading
Emma’s positive birth story: Hands off my baby!
This is a guest post, kindly donated by Emma, who decided to decline the kind offer of induction and await spontaneous labour. She does not offer this story to persuade you to do the same, should your pregnancy proceed past your 'due date', but to counter-balance some of the pressure society can put Continue Reading
Yo No Soy Una Bruja: or Nobody Expects The Spanish Inquisition
Yes, you heard right; I am not a witch, nor any kind of cannibal. Or part of a sect. Neither am I a fraudulent con-artist out to sting you out of your hard-earned cash or break up your family by undermining your relationship. I haven't got a 3rd nipple. Or warts. The only love potion I could mix Continue Reading
Book Review: All That Matters, by Rebecca Schiller
This short book written for the Guardian by writer, human rights activist and doula, Rebecca Schiller, is easily digested in an hour or two. But don't be misled by its brevity; Schiller has given us an important document. As a breastfeeding counsellor, a core part of my education was reading The Continue Reading
Doula-Sherpas: Finding Your Way through the Maternity Maze
Sometimes it seems to me that much of the world has firmly grasped the wrong end of the stick about doulas. I suppose us humans have quite a propensity to over-complicate and over-think things but in reality, this doula thing isn't so weird when you look at us in the same light as you Continue Reading
Why Doulas Matter: the book is born! (well, nearly)
So, some of you will know I've been writing a little book. It'll be little in size and word count - just 40,000-odd rambling words about what it has meant to me to be doula and what I have learned about how doulas make a difference. It's a little peek behind the scenes of our rather obsessive, crazy Continue Reading
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
The debilitating symptoms of PTSD are often mistaken for postnatal depression. Milli Hill investigates the causes of this trauma and what needs to be done to raise awareness and provide support for the parents Continue Reading
Because…by Maddie McMahon
Because birth isn’t like extracting a rotten tooth. Chemically, emotionally, it’s more like making love. Because when babies are born in fear and trauma, mothers are broken. Because women need to be treated with respect and love and be given choices. Because black mothers are more likely to die Continue Reading