RCM Reports new Doula UK Initiative
During World Doula Week, a new doula initiative is announced. Reported here by the Royal College of Midwives – doulas are working to provide support to those most in need....
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Nibbling the Biscuits, or, Why I Love Waiting
A rather lovely-looking plateful! At the risk of you all getting the impression that I only ever think of my stomach, I am reminded today of the way I used to eat biscuits when I was a child – still do...
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Planning a Wedding
This is a guest blog post from my dear, imaginary friend Janet. She wrote me a letter recently with the happy news that she is expecting to get married in the spring. It is copied here verbatim. “Dear...
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The ‘C’ Word
Choice in Childbirth. What is it, what does it mean and why is it so important? As doulas, we talk about choice all the time, sometimes in a rather casual, throw-away kind of way. We all know about...
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The Politics of Breastfeeding: Partnerships, Parameters, Taboos and Pecadillos
The following was, more or less, a speech I gave at the 2014 Doula UK conference. I am passionate about breastfeeding and the ways in which doulas fit into the breastfeeding support landscape. I’d...
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Doula-Sherpas: Finding Your Way through the Maternity Maze
The road less travelled 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...
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Book Review: All That Matters, by Rebecca Schiller
Rebecca Schiller, campaigning for woman-centred care 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...
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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...
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No pain, no gain? What EXACTLY do we mean by breastfeeding pain?
This article is inspired by a post I wrote on facebook. The post prompted a very long thread of thoughts and feelings. Here is what I wrote: The breastfeeding myth about pain being normal is a tough...
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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...
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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...
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Inducements For Induction: is it really a choice when push comes to shove?
INDUCE: verb gerund or present participle: inducing succeed in persuading or leading (someone) to do something. “the pickets induced many workers to stay away” Of course, the definition we usually use...
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Birth Choices: Shopping Around
I am frequently told stories by clients, or witness conversations between pregnant people and their care providers that perplex me. On one hand, care providers often seem to feel they have a duty to...
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