Innate Birth & Postpartum Doula

08/06/2025

Umbilical cord TRUE KNOTS 🪢⁣
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A true knot forms when the baby moves in a way that loops the umbilical cord and tightens it into a knot. It happens in approximately 1% of pregnancies.⁣
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Most true knots do not cause harm because the cord is protected by Wharton’s jelly. Wharton’s Jelly is a slimy gel-like substance that surrounds the blood vessels in the umbilical cord. It’s made mostly of water, collagen, and special cells that help cushion and protect.⁣
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⚠️ In rare cases, if the knot becomes tight enough to restrict blood flow, it can lead to complications. However, most true knots are found after birth and do not affect the baby.⁣
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Risk factors for true knots can include:⁣
– Long umbilical cords⁣
– High amniotic fluid⁣
– Twins⁣
– Small babies⁣
– Excessive fetal movement⁣

📸 yours truly

08/05/2025

WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK 🤱

Breastfeeding is more than just feeding…
It’s an incredible biological process that supports bonding, immunity, and development. While every feeding journey looks different (and that’s okay!), here’s what the evidence tells us about its benefits:

🧠 Supports brain development
🛡️ Protects against infections, SIDS, and chronic illnesses
❤️ Lowers risk of breast & ovarian cancer for the mother
🌿 Promotes bonding and postpartum recovery

Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first 6 months, then continued with solid foods for up to 2 years or **MORE** (WHO, AAP).

Every journey is different. Whether you nurse, pump, combo feed, or wean early;
you deserve support and zero shame.

🤱
📸 yours truly

07/25/2025

There is an inexplainable kind of softness in birth… a quiet yet powerful surrender. This is not a sign of weakness, but rather the manifestation of innate wisdom & knowing.

You can roar and release.
You can push and open.

You can be both the storm and the calm.

Find your strength in the softness ✨

🤰
📸 Yours truly

07/24/2025

Your postpartum body is not a “bounce back” project. In fact, it’s a sacred, living memory of everything you’ve just walked through.

You held, made & delivered life and now you’re left with a body that feels unfamiliar, tender, maybe even unrecognizable.

But this body… This soft, strong, stretched, aching, bleeding, leaking body…
She is a warrior.
She is a story.
She is whole.

You are not “ruined”.
You are becoming.

The marks, the swelling, the sagging skin, the exhaustion—they are not flaws. They are proof of the miraculous vessel of life. A testament to your transformation into motherhood.

Please don’t rush to erase the evidence and don’t shame the parts of you that are healing.
Honour them. Nourish them. Speak gently to them.

Just like your sweet baby, you are also brand new.

There’s power in meeting yourself again—raw, undone, and completely transformed.

You deserve to be celebrated.
Right here, exactly as you are.
This is a sacred beginning

🤰Myself - circa 2022
📸 my beautiful friend

07/18/2025

✨ OXYTOCIN—the powerful hormone behind the magic of labor. ✨

Oxytocin, often called the “love hormone,” plays a huge role in childbirth. It helps your uterus contract, your cervix open, and builds the deep connection between you and your baby.

During labor, your body naturally releases oxytocin to keep contractions going and help labor progress. Skin-to-skin contact, loving support, massage, and even dim lighting can all boost your body’s natural oxytocin levels—supporting a smoother, calmer birth.

As a doula, part of my role is to help you create an environment that supports your body’s incredible ability to birth—naturally encouraging the flow of oxytocin.

Trust your body. Support your hormones. Birth with love. 💛

🤰 Brie from
📸 your truly

07/14/2025

✨Did you know?✨

When you hire me as your doula, you also get a 2.5-hour hands-on Comfort Measures Class—and it’s a game-changer! 💆‍♀️💪

We’ll cover massage, counterpressure, acupressure, using a TENS machine, rebozo techniques, essential oils & more. 🌿All designed to help you feel empowered and supported during labour.

This class is ESPECIALLY important & beneficial for your birth partner—to help boost their confidence and turn them into the ultimate support person. Let’s get you BOTH ready to rock your birth! ✨

🤰Émie
📸 yours truly

07/12/2025

🌿 Homebirth: A Safe, Empowering Choice 🌿

For low-risk pregnancies, planned homebirth with a skilled midwife is a safe and evidence-based option. Studies show it leads to fewer interventions, higher satisfaction, and similar outcomes to hospital births.

Home allows for:
✨ Freedom to move
🕯️ Comfort and calm
💗 Personalized care
👩‍👧 Continuous support

It’s not about natural vs. medical—it’s about informed choice and respecting your instincts.
Your birth, your way. 💫

🤰
🩺 - midwife Liddy
📸 yours truly

07/11/2025

Capturing the chaos, the calm, and everything in between 📸

Whether it’s belly kicks, newborn snuggles, or golden-hour giggles — I specialize in in-home and outdoor lifestyle photography that tells your real story. Let’s freeze these fleeting moments together ✨

Maternity, newborn & family photos:
$250 for 15 photos

Birth photography:
$450 with the purchase of a doula support package

🤰the gorgeous
📷 yours truly

05/05/2025

International day of the midwife 🫶

So much love, gratitude and appreciation for the incredible midwives who dedicate their lives to supporting women, babies and their families. To the midwives who continue to practice traditional midwifery, who are trauma-informed, who know how to respect the process, who are more keen on observing rather than “doing”, who trust women’s intuitions, who honour informed consent & who respect the sacredness of birth; THANK YOU 🩷 We need you. We need more of you

Don’t forget to thank our local midwifery groups in Ottawa 🫶





•••
🤰 Pascale
🩺 midwife Marie-Eve from EOM
🏡
📸 Yours truly

05/02/2025

Short umbilical cord 🤏

In the majority of uncomplicated healthy births; we see baby be brought up to mum’s chest right away for skin-to-skin. However, in some situations, the umbilical cord is too short to allow that to happen. Short cords can be a variation of normal, although in some cases it can have medical implications.

In this beautiful unmedicated hospital birth story; baby was immediately brought onto mum’s belly for the first few minutes. Afterwards; the midwife gently held baby up against mum’s thighs so that mum could get a good look at her beautiful baby while they waited for the cord to stop pulsating before being cut.

It’s important to be mindful of cord length upon delivery. Accidentally pulling on the cord too strong could potentially lead to injuries such as cord avulsion (tearing/rupturing), premature detachment of the placenta, hemorrhaging, and uterine inversion, just to name a few. Bottom line; take your time bringing baby up to your chest!

P.s. how beautiful is midwife Grace’s smile 🥹

🤰Émie (photos shared with consent)
🩺 Midwife Grace from
🏥
📸 yours truly!

04/23/2025

UNPLANNED HBAC (Home Birth After Cesarean) VICTORY 🎉

I asked my client one thing she’d like to share about her birth and this was her reply; “I should have listened to Karine when she told me to prep home birth stuff just in case” ☠️😂

Something in my gut told me this babe would come quickly.. and I was right! This amazing mama was planning a hospital VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) with midwives. But birth had something else in store for her; A surprise precipitous unplanned HBAC!

When the midwives arrived she was already 9.5cm dilated and there was no time to transfer to the hospital. Baby was well on their way.

The environment remained calm, supportive and peaceful! No running around stressing, no fear, no huge mess, no panic… just faith in the process & a beautifully powerful birth.

If you’ve been interested in attempted a VBAC but aren’t sure where to start, here are some amazing resources:




🤰Sarah *photos shared with consent*
🩺 Midwife Grace from
📸 Yours truly

02/15/2025

I am sharing this in my role as their Cat & Dan’s doula. I watched this sweet baby be born. Any help is appreciated.

I’ve created a GoFundMe to help support Dan & Cat Laska as they navigate a medical emergency aboard. They are trying to organize a transfer for their 13 month old baby (Esmeralda) who was unexpectly hospitalized to the pediatric ICU in Costa Rica. She has been unconscious for 3 days and was put on a ventilator for respiratory distress while travelling from from Chili to Ottawa.

Your prayers and generosity are appreciated.

My name is Karine, and I was lucky enough to witness, baby Esm… Karine Halle needs your support for Help bring baby Esme home - International medical transfer