Lactation education is in higher demand than ever. Social media has allowed for mass promotion of breastfeeding. This visible acceptance and saturation on the web, coupled with continued public health agencies echoing the importance of breastfeeding has families searching for high-quality, available classes in their areas. Breastfeeding can be the great equalizer. It is imperative …
One BILLION users! That is the number of people using Instagram. Approximately 60% of those users are aged 18-29 and are heavily influenced by businesses on Instagram. About 58% of users identify as women. With the average age of birthing persons being 26, this gives us a clue as to why this platform can be useful for birth workers. …
Traditionally the scope of practice for doula support whether prenatal, labor or postpartum has been emotional, physical and educational support for mom and her family. “Mothering the mother” is an outstanding obligation giving women among other things a voice, empowerment and education assisting them in having the best birth outcomes possible. How would birth outcomes change …
Shifting the Philosophy of Care to Support Dad and the Non-Birthing Parent Continue reading »
Breastfeeding is what makes humans mammals, and in some ways is the most natural of acts. If you’ve ever seen a parent nurse their baby while keeping up with a toddler at the playground, you know that. But breastfeeding and chestfeeding are also learned. And for most of us, because we haven’t spent our lives …
On a recent trip to London, one opportunity that, I had hoped to have, was to meet well-known UK midwife, Jenny Smith. I became acquainted with the work Jenny has done in the field of maternity care, through a YouTube video about the natural caesarean (aka family-centered caesarean) protocol. I have included this video in …
My Visit with a Birth Visionary, Jenny Smith, UK Midwife Continue reading »
It’s a common occurrence that, after Doula training, the energy of the last few days is excitedly stirring. Your mind is racing a mile a minute and all of the tasks you want to achieve are running circles through your thoughts. You set a plan of action and tell yourself, this week I am going to …
The Defeated Doula: 3 Things You Can Do to Conquer Self-Doubt Continue reading »
Everyone who owns a business of any kind will be asked this question at some point: “Can I get a discount?“ What makes our business unique is that we know the crucial difference that our services make to families’ physical and mental health, and we don’t want anyone to miss out on them! So, how …
12 Ways to Respond When Your Client Asks for a Discount Continue reading »
7 Questions to Ask Your Future Client, and 7 Questions to Practice Answering as a Doula Having now done over 2000 interviews over the past 19 years (either in person or over the phone) I have been asked the same questions hundreds of times. Not surprisingly families often don’t know what to ask during an …
How to Find the Perfect Postpartum Doula Client! Continue reading »
(This article was written before the COVID-19 Pandemic, but it still has a lot of great insight to offer. Be smart and safe out there!) A couple years ago I served a lovely family, providing private childbirth classes, labor doula services, and postpartum doula services. On paper, they had done everything right, read the books, …
Presentation Developed by Kimberly Bepler, Senior Program Advisor – Lactation Educator Program. Download these slides as a PDF!