The double hip squeeze … the darling of doulas?
If, like us here at the OBC, you are a fellow birth geek, I’m betting that you have come across many posts on social media describing the benefits of counter pressure and biomechanics when used to support the body during labour and birth.
Social media platforms are flooded with videos and posts demonstrating these techniques, often portraying them as miracle cures for labour pain and the solution to an easy straightforward birth.
What’s in your doula kit?
So this is a question I get asked a LOT!
And the answer does vary from time to time depending on what kind of births I’ve been attending and what new and wonderful things I’ve found useful in supporting people.
The first thing that I probably use the most is a birth pool, liner,
Failure to progress or just normal - how doulas can support and normalise physiological plateaus in labour
A physiological plateau or pause during the process of labour is something we see a lot as doulas supporting people to have physiological births (that’s unmedicated and unaugmented). There are many reasons they can occur and can occur at different points within labour … naturally not because something or someone has intervened.
Doulas work for you … and no one else
It’s World Doula Week 2024 and this year's theme is “Doula Support You”!
People often ask me what makes doulas unique within maternity care and my answer is that doulas work for you and no one else.
We only work for our clients and no one else. We are not responsible to an employer (NHS or private company) or a professional body setting out exactly what we can and can’t do. for our registration which means we have true autonomy in our work.
This means the support we provide is as unique as you and your pregnancy are. We are able to advocate for your needs and wishes. That is our only agenda. We have no judgement around how you should give birth, where or with whom.
Where our Doulas work. Pt 1. Leanne of Doula Diary- Lake District
Blog feature highlighting where in the UK you can find OBC Doulas, and what it’s like for them where they work. Part 1, Leanne of Doula Diary in the Cumbria, Lake District
Supporting people through their fertility experiences.
From Fertility - a course in reproductive experiences for doulas and birth professionals
Guest blog …The Wonder of Home Birth and Overcoming Negative Stigma
I myself, was born at home. 1987, New Year's Eve, my parents getting ready to go to a party.
Fast forward 28 years and there I was, in the Midwife Lead Unit of an inner city hospital, birthing my first baby. It was an 'easy' birth, or so I kept hearing. From floor, to shower, to wheelchair - where I was finally given my new baby to hold, for the first time.