Hatchlings Doula Services

30/05/2025

Our Anaesthetic and Maternity colleagues have joined forces to create a new suite of patient information videos about epidural pain relief.

Developed in response to a dedicated survey conducted in antenatal clinics, the series directly reflects what women told the team they most wanted to know.

By focusing on their priorities and concerns, the videos aim to inform, reassure, and empower patients to make confident decisions about their care during labour and birth.

The video series addresses common myths and offers clear, evidence-based information about epidurals in a supportive and accessible way.

We’ll share the videos on our social media channels, but in the meantime you can watch them on our YouTube channel ⬇️

🔗 https://orlo.uk/1hWxZ

06/04/2025

Using expressed milk.

There can be lots of variations in the times given for breastmilk to be ‘safe’ with storage.

I find the 6-6-6 pattern an easy one to use and apply.

Thinking of breastmilk as food can be helpful. Breastmilk is alive and constantly adapting to its environment, so we can be more relaxed about its storage and use, than we can be with formula. This is why the guidelines differ so much.

As with the storage of any food or drink, there needs to be an element of common sense; for instance ideally you’d refrigerate milk on a real hot day, rather than leave it at room temp if it’s going to be out a while, whereas on a cooler day it would be ok at room temperature for longer.

And bear in mind, unless massively exceeding these guidelines your milk won’t go bad as such, it’s more about the nutrients declining over time.

I hope this is reassuring!

24/03/2025

The best bit of advice I could give an aspiring midwife?

It’s not about you.

Leave your ego at the door.

Learn how to hold space.

Forget the word “allow”.

Know what true informed consent is.

It’s not your pregnancy, it’s not your “catch”, you didn’t “deliver” that baby. You don’t want families to say they couldn’t have done it without you. You don’t always even need to be a memorable part of that birth experience - as lovely as that is ❤️.

Learn to become a chameleon and be what the family in front of you needs - maybe they do want you to chat with them, guide them through contractions and hold their hand. Or maybe they just need you there to clean up and ensure everyone is happy, healthy and safe.

They birthed their own baby. They made choices that felt right for them and their baby. It’s a huge day in their lives and you are so lucky to be able to share in that special time. It’s about them.

Reframe the way you see yourself as a midwife and the families in your care will feel empowered to make the choices they want to make.

Yes. Midwives are highly skilled, degree educated professionals and experts in holistic care. Yes, we do react to emergencies and safety is a priority. But the person with the power in a birth room, is the person giving birth.

It’s not about you.

It’s about them and their baby.

And last tip - always butter their postpartum toast!

06/03/2025

Have you heard of the purple line?

It's a line of temporary skin discolouration that can be seen on some women in labour.

In simple terms, the line gets longer as labour becomes more advanced, so it's one of a number of non-invasive approaches that we can use to see how a woman/baby is progressing in labour.

I've written about the purple line a few times over the years, so I was really interested to see a new piece of research.

I've just shared the details with the lovely people on my newsletter list, and I've also added the study, and some explanation of the key concepts, to my 'evidence for the purple line' blog post.

You can read my blog post and find out more at https://www.sarawickham.com/questions-and-answers/evidence-for-the-purple-line/

29/01/2025

We are sharing this story from the 'How I Got This Baby' series by The Cut, which invites parents to share their journeys to parenthood.

Dr Bayo Curry-Winchell’s story highlights the challenges of pregnancy with both lupus and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS)—a condition that increases the risk of blood clots. Despite careful planning, she faced life-threatening complications after her C-section. Her experience underscores the importance of advocating for yourself in medical settings, particularly for Black women, who face higher risks during childbirth.

We are thrilled to hear that Jaylin is now a healthy 8-year-old! Congratulations to Dr Curry-Winchell on her journey to motherhood, and thank you for sharing your powerful story. 💜

📖 Read more: cutt.ly/Xe4BclpS

09/01/2025

Great post by Lucy Webber Feeding Support - IBCLC

I'm going to try and get a video of this as soon as I can.

#

13/11/2024

📢 New Research on IVIG for High-Risk Pregnancies with Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS)

This systematic review explored the impact of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment for women with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL), who are at high risk of miscarriage. The findings? IVIG treatment may triple the chance of a successful live birth in these high-risk pregnancies! However, further studies are needed to fully understand the best treatment options.

This brings hope to families facing APS challenges, but more research is key.

Find out more 👉 cutt.ly/9eH1Zryq

04/11/2024

Breech birth is a lost art. When we’re not educated about something, it’s natural to fear it. Most doctors and midwives don’t receive proper training on the normalcy of breech birth or how to handle rare complications, so the fear of breech birth runs deep, and many prefer to avoid it entirely. Even those who gain skills independently often can’t practice them in a hospital setting due to restrictions. This is why breech birth remains misunderstood and feared by so many.

For anyone wanting more info on breech then I highly recommend Dr Stu at and Dr Rixa & Dr David

Words
Found on
🎥 credit to

05/02/2024

21/01/2024

A drop of colostrum.

*In all mammals the first milk is called "colostrum".
*It is thick and sticky in consistency, a bit like runny honey and is super concentrated.
*It is often called "liquid gold" due to its golden colour, but it can be all sorts of colours. It is very precious!
*It is produced continually from around the second trimester of pregnancy. It is just reabsorbed into your body if not used.
*It is full of nutrients and disease fighting antibodies and provides everything that a new baby needs.
*Colostrum is also a laxative and encourages the baby to do their first meconium poo.
*A newborn baby's stomach is tiny and the small volumes of colostrum are the perfect amount. Baubes need to latch effectively and frequently.
*If your baby cannot latch onto the breast for whatever reason, you can hand express your colostrum into a syringe, teaspoon or cup and feed it to your baby. You can also hand express in betweenbreastfeeds if baby us sleepy or not feeding very effectively to give them some extra colostrum.
*Frequent feeding and/or hand expressing of colostrum will help you make lots of milk when your milk comes in by stimulating the prolactin receptors in the milk making cells.
*If you wish, you can harvest your colostrum whilst you are still pregnant if you wish to get a head start. It is safe to do this from 36 weeks of pregnancy and may be ok to start earlier, ask you health care professionals if your baby is due to be born early.

📷

26/12/2023

resolving shoulder dystocia

Looking out of the door of my hut in Acholiland, northern Uganda, I could see a tree spreading its branches out underneath a cloudy sky. The red earth was wet, everything was green and growing, and cheeping chicks were trailing around after mother hens as roosters crowed. It was the rainy season.

20/11/2023

A key reason why healthy women – including those with a higher BMI – have better outcomes, less intervention and higher levels of satisfaction in less medicalised environments is because those who work in these environments tend to focus on optimising physiology, and working with the hormones of the female body.

The female body is designed to give birth, and most women will do this very successfully without the need for intervention if they just have a bit of support, which is about having the right environment as much as anything.

We know that labouring women need privacy, low levels of light and disturbance, and to feel that they can trust themselves and those around them.

When women are supported and surrounded by people expressing belief in their ability rather than introducing doubt by talking about how they are at risk, or not progressing well, or that interventions may be needed, it is perhaps inevitable that they will make better progress and have better outcomes.

Imagine warming up for a sporting event or some sort of activity that you haven’t tried before.

Do you think you will do well if you’re in an exposed, semi-public place full of strangers who are getting in the way of your body being able to do its thing, shaming you for its size, and expressing doubt in your ability?

How about if you were instead getting ready in a warm, safe, quiet place where the people around you are cheering you on, following your cues, and telling you that you’re amazing and can do this?

It’s the same with birth.

Find out more in my book on Plus Size Pregnancy, at https://www.sarawickham.com/plus