I’ve always encouraged my doula clients to use affirmations to foster positivity and self-belief. Reflecting on and integrating messages of strength and optimism can truly build resilience – a quality that’s essential for weathering the unpredictability that’s inherent in pregnancy, birth and parenting. Earlier this year, I had the great pleasure of providing doula support to […]
The Sacred Work of Yoni Mapping Therapy
November 6, 2017 by
If Yoni Mapping Therapy is a new concept for you, then I’d like to introduce you to Freya Graf, a qualified practitioner of this sacred work. As Freya explains below, Yoni Mapping Therapy offers significant benefits for all women, though it is an especially powerful healing modality for those preparing for or recovering from birth.
Preparing to Breastfeed Your Baby
June 27, 2017 by
Feeling ready to breastfeed? Or thinking you’ll just figure it all out once your baby’s born? The time to learn about and prepare for breastfeeding is in pregnancy, NOT after the big day has arrived! Learning to breastfeed is like learning to dance with your baby – you both have natural instincts but you’ll need […]
2015 – A Year Around the World
April 2, 2015 by
So, what would you say if your husband suggested taking a family gap year, a whole year off to travel the world with the kids – no job, no school, just the four of us on the road? Sounds like a dream come true, I know, and that’s how I’m looking at it now. But, […]
World Breastfeeding Week 2014 1-7/8 – Support a Breastfeeding Mum Near YOU!
July 30, 2014 by
World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) 2014 is just around the corner, running from 1 – 7 August. The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) theme for WBW 2014 is “BREASTFEEDING: A Winning Goal – for Life!” and asserts the importance of increasing and sustaining the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding. In the spirit of the […]
Why Women Who Fear Childbirth Spend More Time in Labour
October 25, 2013 by
An article appeared recently in Time magazine entitled ‘Why Women Who Fear Childbirth Spend More Time in Labour’. The research findings presented weren’t particularly surprising. This study showed that women who fear childbirth are more likely to labour longer, have an instrumental delivery (birth assisted by forceps or Ventouse vacuum extraction) and have a Caesarean […]
Responding to Baby Cues
June 20, 2013 by
This is an excellent position paper from the Australian Association for Infant Mental Health (AAIMHI) on the importance of timely and appropriate response to babies’ cues (“Position Paper 2: Responding to Babies’ Cues”). Based on their research, the AAIMHI highlight that “Babies become distressed if left to cry alone, and this can precipitate negative long […]
Mothers, Babies & Bedsharing
June 20, 2013 by
Researchers from Murdoch University’s School of Health Professions are urging health organisations to reconsider their attitudes to mothers and babies bedsharing (co-sleeping). As this article highlights, “… there is no research that shows an inherent risk for bedsharing and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)”. Furthermore, the article states “what we should be focusing on is […]
Electronic Fetal Monitoring (EFM)
June 18, 2013 by
This outstanding article – ‘Electronic Fetal Monitoring (EFM): A Bridge Too Far‘ comes from The Journal of Legal Medicine in the US. It provides a very clear argument against the use of electronic fetal monitoring in labour, saying, “EFM’s scientific basis is not only weak, it is almost nonexistent. Its interpretation has been proven to […]
