Rowan Louisa Birthworker

Rowan Louisa Birthworker Doula and antenatal teacher in Edinburgh.

I offer birth doula services, holistic birth prepartion classes and a free monthly coffee morning for expectant and new parents.

🌾 a wee tarot spread for Lughnasadh/Lammas 💐Can any witchy/tarot pals help with that first card please? Any input would ...
01/08/2025

🌾 a wee tarot spread for Lughnasadh/Lammas 💐
Can any witchy/tarot pals help with that first card please? Any input would be so appreciated ✨



✨Just some things from the last few days🩷
30/07/2025

✨Just some things from the last few days🩷



Just some things from the last week or so...
23/07/2025

Just some things from the last week or so...

Lots of lovely times this weekend, more of this weather please 🙏🏻
13/07/2025

Lots of lovely times this weekend, more of this weather please 🙏🏻

🐣 April Social 🐰🌿 Come and hang out with us on Sunday for birth chat, building community and breakfast rolls.🌷We'll be ...
21/04/2025

🐣 April Social 🐰

🌿 Come and hang out with us on Sunday for birth chat, building community and breakfast rolls.

🌷We'll be between 10.30am and 12pm. We have the comfy sofa and plenty of chairs, and we always bring a selection of birthy books you can have a wee browse of.

🐇 All pregnant people, partners, pals and wee ones welcome.

Are you coming this month?

🧘🏿‍♀️ What to expect at Relaxation for Pregnancy and Birth 🤰🏼🩷 When you arrive I'll welcome you in and invite you to ch...
13/04/2025

🧘🏿‍♀️ What to expect at Relaxation for Pregnancy and Birth 🤰🏼

🩷 When you arrive I'll welcome you in and invite you to choose a mat. I'll make you a cup of tea (if you'd like one) and show you where the toilet is.

💛 Once everyone has arrived we'll introduce ourselves, names and pronouns are enough but you can share anything else you'd like too.

💚 We'll chat a little bit about birth preparation, I like this to be a discussion between everyone who would like to contribute but you are also welcome to just listen.

🩵 We'll do some gentle seated movements and I'll guide you through a breathing technique.

💜 I'll then read a guided relaxation. You are welcome to lie down for this section.

🤍 Finally there will be time to chat over more tea and snacks.

🧘🏼‍♀️ Relaxation for Pregnancy and Birth sessions take place on Tuesdays at Portobello Health Hub. 5pm til 6.30. £10 for the first class then £14. Suitable for any stage of pregnancy. You can find the link to book in my stories, bio or I can DM it to you x

✨️Get ready for your birth with Holistic Birth Preparation Group Course - join us for support, education and some new pa...
12/03/2025

✨️Get ready for your birth with Holistic Birth Preparation Group Course - join us for support, education and some new pals!✨️

🤰🏼Your body - How it works during labour and birth. The Uterus, hormones, optimal positioning,
🧠 Your mindset - How your brain works and building a positive view of birth using hypnosis meditations, visualisations, affirmations and anchoring techniques.
💪🏻Your choices and rights - Finding information about any specific circumstances, making decisions and navigating the NHS.
🫱🏻‍🫲🏼Your birth partner - Preparing them to be the best possible support.
📝 Your birth plan - Planning for your ideal birth and contincency plans for if things change.
🤱🏿Your postnatal period - The Golden Hour(s), feeding and bonding, and the first few weeks with baby.

✨️ We'll meet over two Saturdays, 26th April and 10th May, from 10am until 4pm at Tribe Porty.

🎫 There are three tickets options depending on how many birth partners you have. Please choose the correct one for your circumstances.

📝 You NEED birth plans ✊🏻I will always suggest writing multiple birth plans and this is why....Many people will plan to ...
10/03/2025

📝 You NEED birth plans ✊🏻

I will always suggest writing multiple birth plans and this is why....

Many people will plan to 'go with the flow' for their birth for fear that everything will 'go out the window' with any change in circumstance.

The truth is that it will not be YOUR flow! The NHS is a system that has guidelines and policies which help them but might not be what is best for your and your birth/baby/family.

If you have ANY preferences at all, I strongly encourage you to write these down and make sure your birth partners know them back to front.

It is also a really good idea to have a plan B, C etc which details your preferences incase of a change of plan. For example - your plan A might be a waterbirth in the birth centre. Plan B could detail which induction methods you'd be willing to try - so a move to labour ward might need to happen but you can still request a room with a pool and remain mobile with low lighting as you would have in the birth centre. Then your plan C could be if you decide you'd like a ceasarean or it is recommended then you can detail that you'd still like immediate skin-to-skin with your baby, your own music playing in theatre and your partner to tell you the s*x.

You ALWAYS have choices and your wishes should be respected as far as possible.

If you'd like help with birth planning, I currently have availability for private support. Just pop me a DM

02/03/2025

Babies ALWAYS cry for a reason.
Babies can NOT self soothe.
Babies can NOT be spoiled.

Now that we've addressed those three points, lets dig a bit deeper...

I think we're falling into a detrimental trend of putting adult expectations onto children at younger and younger ages, in which we're even seeing these expectations placed in early infancy.

- We expect babies to self soothe.
- We expect toddlers to be speaking full, intelligible, sentences and be potty trained.
- We except preschoolers to sit for prolonged periods of time, know how to read and write, etc.

But I wonder where this rush is coming from?

1. Is it that parent's are feeling a sense of pressure?

If you're feeling pressure, please remind yourself that parenthood and childhood is not a competition of who does what first, well, better, best, etc.

2. Are we comparing and thinking that one child's development is representative of how all children should and could be?

Please know that every person is different, and these differences are present from the start. How you baby sleeps, eats, communicates, plays, their interests/approaches to learning etc. are all unique, and we must respect who they are and how they're growing. Just because one baby has begun walking at 10 months, doesn't mean all babies could, should, or will hit that. This does not mean the 10 month old baby who has become walking is a gifted person, and it doesn't mean your 10 month old baby who isn't walking is "beyond." They're simply different. Of course we have developmental milestones that we can use as a guide to ensure possible developmental delays are addressed, but let's not get wrapped up in unhealthy and unnecessary expectations. Back to point 1, it's not a competition.

3. Do we think pushing development translates to advanced development?

Pushing children to do things before they're developmentally able to do so can have both immediate and longterm negative psychological and physiological effects. This is shown when we ignore our babies cries, force potty training, force academics, and so on and so forth. Please note, just because a baby's cry has been ignored (resulting in an overall reduced amount of crying), it does not suggest they are "soothed." Similar concept, we can say we "teach our children x,y, and z," but teaching does not suggest learning.

We must remember that certain stages of development happen at just that; stages! and should never be rushed or forced prematurely.

We must also remember that our expectations, experiences, perspectives, decision-making skills, abilities, etc. are drastically different from that of a baby or child. Something you think they should do or know because you're able to, is setting everyone up for failure.

The attached image is really wonderful chart created by Sarah Ockwell-Smith (I just revised it a bit, making the text a bit bigger). Read more about her ideas regarding Self-settling here: https://sarahockwell-smith.com/2014/06/30/self-settling-what-really-happens-when-you-teach-a-baby-to-self-soothe-to-sleep/

At the core of healthy development is a baby/child's sense of security and love. It's an absolute necessity we must honor and provide from day one. So let's close with where we began...

Babies ALWAYS cry for a reason.
Babies can NOT self soothe.
Babies can NOT be spoiled.

02/03/2025

You can’t spoil a baby — no such thing!! Babies don’t have the ability to self soothe and need to co-regulate with a caregiver. Babies also need physical contact as much as they need food. You can pick up your baby, comfort them, and put them to the breast anytime they cry. This builds trust and helps your baby feel safe!





🤰🏾 However you feel about your birth experience is absolutely VALID 🫶🏻It is ok to feel disappointed in how your birth un...
24/02/2025

🤰🏾 However you feel about your birth experience is absolutely VALID 🫶🏻

It is ok to feel disappointed in how your birth unfolded and/or how you were treated.

You can feel grateful for your baby AND struggle with how they arrived.

I'll tag some resources in the comments.

Address

Abercorn Road
Edinburgh
EH87DD

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Rowan Louisa Birthworker posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Rowan Louisa Birthworker:

Shortcuts

Share