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Shame and Blame in the Birth Game: Part 2

13th July 2022 By doulamaddie 1 Comment

'I have failed.' I hear it almost every day. It's women who whisper this. Men don't. Men say, 'I was robbed', 'It wasn't fair', 'There wasn't enough time', 'Ah well, that's just the way it is.' Our bodies are branded. Labelled and judged: “Failure to progress” "Incompetent" "Lack of Continue Reading

All That Matters is a Healthy Baby

11th April 2022 By doulamaddie Leave a Comment

It matters. Of course it matters, more than anything else. When you give birth, the most important thing is that you and your child come out the other side, alive. Alive is GOOD. It's the BEST, for most of us, most of the time. But is that ALL that matters? Really? Does it matter that you Continue Reading

Are You Sure She Wasn’t Asking For It? Shame and Blame in the Birth Game: Part 1

19th May 2021 By doulamaddie 2 Comments

The story of the female holiday maker in Cyprus who was raped and then not believed has brought back some strong memories and emotions for me. It's more than 25 years ago now, half a lifetime. And yet, the fear and fury can still be brought to the surface so easily. This poor woman has been Continue Reading

Modern Birth: The End of Pregnancy As We Know It?

19th May 2021 By doulamaddie Leave a Comment

The great feminist Gloria Steinem once said, Democracy begins with owning our bodies. By that measure, women have rarely lived in a democracy When I think about birth, and more specifically, the politics of  the modern, mechanised birth factories, that quote often comes to mind. Recently, I've Continue Reading

Being Loved in Abobo: What Africa has to Teach us About Supporting Mothers

4th February 2020 By doulamaddie 1 Comment

I am honoured to host this article by my friend and colleague Becky Young. Becky is a doula and breastfeeding counsellor who recently travelled to the Ivory Coast. Read on for her reflections on parenting in this wonderful country and how it throws our way of life in Europe into stark relief.  Continue Reading

Complementary Therapies in Maternity Care: are we blind to the bias?

12th November 2019 By doulamaddie 4 Comments

I was scared. VERY. I am dreadfully phobic of enclosed spaces and didn't know how I was going to cope with an MRI. For a while I considered putting it off but I realised that being a doula has given me a number of useful tools. First, I reached out to a friend who was able to use her Continue Reading

Pat & Archy of The Patriarchy

18th May 2019 By doulamaddie Leave a Comment

Oh Pat&Archy, you have the lion's share. You're playing footsie with the FTSE, Stuffed shirts on all the boards you Chair. Oh Pat, why are you so greedy and so fat? Oh Archy, why must you always play the autocrat? Dear Pat&Archy, why do you hate us so? You rape and take, or turn away Continue Reading

Breastfeeding: How Society Makes a Difference

4th April 2018 By doulamaddie 2 Comments

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

Women’s Voices

22nd October 2017 By doulamaddie Leave a Comment

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

Interview with Paula Cleary, Mother-of-five, Doula and founder of Birthplace Matters

7th September 2017 By doulamaddie Leave a Comment

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

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