One Step Closer Doula Services

23/09/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1A6Xb76f9M/

29/08/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1aHxSmVYyf/

there was a time they called childbirth the
“knock ‘em out, drag ‘em out” era. can you image ?

mothers weren’t given a choice.
they were drugged into twilight sleep
morphine to dull the pain.
scopolamine to erase the memory.

they were strapped into padded beds.
blindfolded. ears stuffed.
sometimes bound in straight-jacket-like shirts
so they wouldn’t move while giving birth.

the neighbors could hear them screaming.
and when it was over,
many mothers didn’t even remember if the baby was theirs.

this is the history we come from.
a history where women were silenced,
where control over our bodies was stripped away.

and yet, even then
when they woke to a baby in their arms,
their bodies still made milk.
still created the perfect food,
drop by drop, cell by cell,
as if to say:
“you took everything from me,
but you cannot take this.”

mama, never doubt the power you hold.
breastfeeding is resistance.
it is survival.
it is legacy.

share this to remind the world
how far we’ve come
and why we should never stop fighting for birth and breastfeeding freedom.

19/08/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/19ueazPW1r/

16/05/2025

19/07/2023

17/07/2023

10/07/2023

27/05/2023

Well this is a very timely pic from Rachel, given that I’ve just posted about normal variation.

Similar sized hens.
Different size eggs.
Variation is normal in nature.
This is not rocket science.

Now we just need to help proponents of the technocratic approach to birth to understand that the same is true for pregnancy length in humans 😊

Also for length of labour, estimated size of baby, BMI of women and quite a few other things that we gaily measure and compare and use the results of to make recommendations that aren’t always evidence based but have lasting effects, and not always good ones.

(Not saying we’re all hens btw, before anyone decides to comment 😆🐥).

For more on normal variation, have a look at my website www.sarawickham.com and Rachel’s, which is www.midwifethinking.com

Reposted from Similar sized hens = different sized eggs. Nature is full of normal variations. Just like childbirth.

06/03/2023

“I Won’t Hold Your Baby

…unless you ask me to, in which case, I will snuggle and cuddle your baby as much as you want me to.

I never ask my clients if I can hold their baby. In fact, I rarely ever touch my client’s baby if I can help it. Sounds sort of like the opposite of what you might picture of a doula, right? We must all be birth crazy, baby obsessed women who just want to cover babies in kisses and love and get an emotional high from attending births?

Not this doula.

I LOVE attending births. Call me crazy, but getting those middle of the night calls is one of my favorite parts of this job. I get to listen to someone at their most vulnerable times - the excitement, the hesitation, the nervousness of the unknown. Being able to provide some comfort, reassurance and continuity of care to the people I work with is so important to me (and them!)

Rushing off in the night, quietly getting myself ready, getting in the car and heading off to their home or hospital makes me feel like I’m on a secret birth mission that nobody around me knows about. When I arrive I fall as seamlessly as I can into the rhythm of the birth and start supporting my clients in whatever way they need most.

When the baby arrives I step aside and leave room for the new parents to discover their baby. I try and grab some photos (I’m not a birth photographer though, so keep your expectations in check!) and then I only step in if my client needs me for some reason.

Why does that matter? Why won’t I ask to hold your baby? Simply because: they are yours, not mine. I want you to be able to hold your baby as close as you want, for as long as you want without anyone interrupting that time. There will be enough people coming along in the next few hours and weeks who need to take that baby out of your arms for whatever reason, and tons of friends and family who will offer help by “holding the baby”.

Instead, I want to hold you, whether that’s in my arms, in my heart or my thoughts. By supporting and “holding” you, I don’t need to hold your baby. But if you ask me to, I would LOVE to.”

Written by

23/02/2023

It Really Depends...

04/02/2023

Giving birth the Addams family way...