Early on in our birth doula training program, we ask students to complete an assignment that asks them create a handout explaining the role of a doula. This in turn allows our students to have piece of marketing material to … Read More
As a nurse and a doula, medical inductions for non-medical reasons are at the top of my list of things that make me cringe. In the birthing community, I have seen the concern growing with others also. More and more, … Read More
I’ve been contemplating this post for a while as I’ve thought about my previous births. With my first five children, I didn’t have a doula. Before I began working as a doula, I had heard about what a doula does, … Read More
I just finished watching Rebecca Dekkan’s (from evidencebasedbirth.com) webinar on “How to Debunk the ACOG/AAP Statement on Waterbirth.” For those who are not familiar with it, you can find the full text here. Having just had a waterbirth, this has … Read More
Contraction – a shortening of the uterine muscles occurring at intervals before and during childbirth. Labor and childbirth is a difficult process to describe. Searching the Internet for other’s opinions about this is an interesting exercise. Most describe contractions … Read More
UPDATE: The webinar is available from October 7th through November 6th, 2014. It’s still not too late to sign up! New Beginnings Doula Training is hosting an online webinar from AWHONN (the Association for Women’s Health, Obstetrics, and Neonatal Nursing) … Read More
More often than not, birth stories are related in a linear fashion, but my experiences of birth have never felt linear. The memories come back to me in episodic moments of emotion and inner thoughts. Like flashes of light, I … Read More
“Chill out girlfriend. Pregnancy is a natural part of life. Our bodies were designed to carry and deliver a baby. Being stressed puts you at risk of preterm labor and having low-birthweight babies.” In the training unit on anxiety, we … Read More
Editor’s Note:Since we first published this article in 2014, we’ve done our own due diligence and it appears that this image probably didn’t originate with one of our students, but rather it was found online as early as 2013. The … Read More
As I studied stress and how to help alleviate stress in a birthing woman, I came across this concept of where stress comes from. I thought it was a pretty accurate representation of what makes a labor stressful. Women are … Read More
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