Parenthood

The Five Things Your Baby Needs Most from You

Because you are the most important person to your baby! As doulas and educators, our job is to educate our clients so they can simplify and focus on what’s important and let go of the rest. During all the excitement and exhaustion, many new parents are understandably overwhelmed with information about caring for their newborn.

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Prenatal Psychological Support Can Positively Impact Baby’s Emotional Well-being

Prenatal mental health can significantly affect the unborn child and its future development. According to research, women experiencing depression or anxiety before or during pregnancy may be at greater risk of having a baby with cognitive, social, and behavioural problems later in life. It highlights the importance of perinatal mental health support for both parents

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How To Become A Certified New Parent Educator And Why It Might Be Right For You

If you have patience and communication skills and a drive to fill an important role in supporting new parents, becoming a CAPPA Certified New Parent Educator (CNPE) might be your calling. Have you ever wondered how to become an educator for new parents? You don’t need to know everything about parenting to be a CNPE

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Helping Clients Process Emotions After Birth

As postpartum doulas, one of our major roles is that of communicator/coach/counselor. The skills we develop to successfully fill this role can greatly enhance our support as we become enmeshed in the family’s life. This role of communicator/coach/counselor enables us to be one of the best lines of defense against some of the emotional and

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Trauma-informed Approach

What is trauma-informed? Be trauma-informed is to recognize that trauma is very common in people’s lives. Simply put, “There’s a story behind every person. There’s a reason why they are the way they are. They aren’t just like that because they want to be. Something in the past created them, and sometimes it is impossible

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Supporting Single Moms by Choice

As a labor and postpartum doula, I have supported a number of single moms by choice, helping them navigate the challenges of birthing and parenting without the benefit of a partner.  The unique needs of these clients can sometimes be challenging both emotionally and physically for anyone supporting them during this life changing time. First

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Shifting the Philosophy of Care to Support Dad and the Non-Birthing Parent

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

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Applying the Foundational Attitudes of Mindfulness to Your Doula Practice

Mindfulness meditation is one of the fastest-growing health trends in the United States, according to the CDC. But what is mindfulness, and why might it be helpful for your work as a professional doula? Mindfulness is “The awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, in Purser, 2015).

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Teaching and Activities for Baby’s Development 0-12 Months

Although our roles as educators and doulas don’t typically extend for the first 12 months, I’ve found that parents LOVE learning about what’s coming, what to expect, and how to support their baby’s development.  Here is some information about physical, emotional, and cognitive development in the first year.  In 12 short months, there are leaps

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Successfully Finding a Babysitter for Date Nights

This article presented by Christine Sabol and Babysits. Babysits is an online platform that allows parents to find babysitters in their area. We also help babysitters find families who need them and share resources they can use! We have an enormous network of babysitters in Canada, with over 4,000 active babysitters. Our mission statement is

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Am I A Good Mom?

When women become Mothers, there is great expectation about our ability to care for, nurture, protect and respond to our babies and children.  There may even be an assumption that we all know how to do this.  It’s in our DNA, right?  When I work with Moms on day 2 or 3 postpartum; parenting toddlers, school-aged

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CAPPA’s New Certification Program – The New Parent Educator

At the CAPPA Conference in September, a very exciting announcement was made—training and certification for a brand-new program would begin in 2018! After years in the making, the New Parent Educator program was introduced to the world. The New Parent Educator is a one-of-a-kind training and certification. Unlike anything currently available, this program will prepare

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Evaluating Credibility in Everyday Sources of Information

As critical consumers of information, it is necessary to evaluate the credibility and legitimacy of resources, especially on the Internet. In a world of free information, which is without guidelines, monitoring, and representation, truth and lies can be as difficult to determine as the supermarket tabloids in the checkout stands. Anyone can post anything in

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