Once I was with a woman in labour. She was labouring at home. It took quite a while for this particular labour to reach boiling point. We were lucky enough to see 6 midwives in that time. All smiling, patient, understanding of her birthwishes and really, really wanting her to get what she wanted. Continue Reading
Coercing with kindness?
'She's so kind, she spent 20 minutes telling me about why the induction is the best choice. I should do it really. I wouldn't want to disappoint her'. 'He was so gentle and caring and understanding. I'm sure what he says must be for the best'. 'She's told me that it would be dangerous to stay Continue Reading
Men, Love and Birth…and a few giggles
Before we start this review, a small disclaimer is probably necessary. I know Mark Harris, the author of this new book on birth and, after a couple of years of online interaction, some lovely chinwags on the phone and a few real world hugs, I would consider him a mate. Still, I hope I'd be a good Continue Reading
I Love You, Even When You’re Closed-Minded
I remember a particular teacher during my school career who used to shout at us, "QUESTION EVERYTHING", "NEVER ACCEPT THE STATUS QUO", "NEVER ASSUME YOU'RE RIGHT". We giggled and pretended to ignore her, too cool for school at the back of the class. But somewhere, sometime, somehow, those words have 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
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