PUSH by Shoshana

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PUSH by Shoshana

As a Doula, I support women and couples through pregnancy and birth. I aim to be a calming voice and presence to create a positive birth experience. Nonsense!

What is a Doula? A Doula is a person that supports women and couples through pregnancy and birth. At a time when midwives are often stretched running between various women giving birth, a Doula is a calming constant presence from beginning to end. She becomes the labouring woman's advocate and voice, and protects her from all surrounding noise and chaos at a time when she needs to focus most in a place of quiet and calm. A Doula also helps women believe that their bodies were designed for this task and they should therefore embrace birth rather than fear it. The more they relax into it, the more naturally the body will open up. What's critical is to help women/couples achieve the birth they want. Too many women still have the preconceived idea that if they don't have the perfect textbook natural birth, they have already failed as women and mothers. Our role is to support the mum's choice and help her to achieve a positive birthing experience so she looks back with pride and not horror! If it's an epidural she wants, that is her absolute prerogative to do so. A Doula is NOT a medical professional. I work in partnership with midwives and doctors and respect their medical knowledge and professionalism. A Doula is unable to perform examinations or any other clinical task. I help communicate with the medical staff to ensure my clients have all the information they need to make informed decisions throughout their labour.

08/01/2026

Aita - “Tears of love and War” - I came across this image this evening and it absolutely reflects the sadness I feel following the tragic maternity investigation into maternal deaths and failures here in the UK dominating the news today. The figures from MBRRACE-UK are so alarming - quoting official data that 252 women lost their lives between 2022 - 2024 20% higher than 2009 - 2011. I’ve just listened on Sky News to 5 different interviews of women/couples who went though the most horrific treatment whilst in labour - being ignored and mistreated that led to other serious complications or death of their babies. This is 2026 - these stories should NOT be happening any more! The NHS maternity system is broken and needs serious urgent repair to avoid more unnecessary tragedies happening to other families. Midwives are leaving in droves and don’t feel that their hospital care is safe enough to look after their patients. CHANGE IS CRUCIAL

03/01/2026

Muis - “Miscarriage Sculpture” - I read yet another uplifting but painful article in today’s The Saturday Times Magazine about couples desperately trying to get pregnant through IVF and egg donation treatments. Many of these stories thankfully end with happy endings but so many still don’t. Miscarriage, infertility and stillbirth are still super painful features in the birth world. Utter heartbreak for so many. My prayer for 2026 is to read much less about these and hear many more of the positive stories and outcomes 🙏 #2026

17/12/2025

Agazzi - “Mothers - Queens Painting” - this wonderful colourful painting gives shape to a body that holds life. Agazzi states “A pregnant female figure, suspended between fragility and power, wears a golden crown on her head, not as an ornament, but as truth. Her silent wait contains everything: courage, creation, undemanding love. The piping technique gently sculpts curves that are not just forms, but memory, care, origin. She is a mother. She is a queen. She is every woman who carries within her a world that does not yet exist and chooses, every day, to give birth to it”. The artist - whose work is rooted in the belief that art should not only be seen but felt - primarily works with thick acrylics, creating dense textured surfaces that almost look like meringues fresh out of a piping bag. The paint and texture is so thick you want to reach out and touch it. It looks almost edible!

10/12/2025

Yurkova - “She is Pregnant” - I’ve never come across a tapestry before of any art created through embroidery to do with pregnancy or birth. This delicate and subtle work is really beautiful - crafted so imaginatively with the dark colours against the light background that represents and reflects the subtle feelings of the woman with her changing body and impending birth. I absolutely love this!

28/11/2025

van Eyck - The National Gallery shared this famous image of “The Arnolfini Portrait” also known as the “The Arnolfini Marriage” - lots of books have been written about this painting and the meaning of the symbolisms behind it. The husband is assumed to be praying for his wife’s pregnancy and impending birth. The intensity of the image definitely implies fervent wishes and tension in the lead up to what was then a highly dangerous life experience. The numbers of women who died in childbirth then was staggering - how blessed we are today that this has changed

24/11/2025

Scifo - “Motherhood Painting” - I absolutely love this reflective artwork - the contemplation that this wonderful face reflects in that quiet moment - so many conflicting emotions come to mind. Peace, exhaustion, contentment, sadness, fulfillment, emptiness, love, bitterness, joy, depression. I love the mix of the sedate grey colours used, mixed with auburn for simple effectiveness and softness. Just beautiful.

17/11/2025

Latka - “In One Heartbeat Rhythm” -
I absolutely love this colourful image - probably because it combines two things I love - flowers and pregnancy! Flowers are widely associated with pregnancy and birth, primarily symbolizing new beginnings, purity, innocence, and motherhood. One hears of mothers “blooming” whilst pregnant - a common metaphor for their vibrant appearance (the “pregnancy glow”). The opening of the cervix during birth is also symbolic of flowers opening and expanding. Lots of varieties of flowers have strong birth and pregnancy symbolisms - Daisies, Baby’s Breath, Orchids, Peonies and Daffodils amongst others all signify purity/hope/innocence/beauty and promise

10/11/2025

Geunther - “Pregnancy Delivery” - I just came out of a fantastic birth where the couple were so in sync - it was a joy to watch. We took turns swapping with each other to allow the other to have some time out - and both spent hours massaging, holding, supporting and breathing with this rock star of a woman who birthed her baby so beautifully.

On a seperate note - I’ve always toyed whether I like the phrase “delivery” for birth. The word reminds me of takeaways, Amazon deliveries and general things like that. In most hospitals still today, the term delivery is still very much used and often you’ll hear the staff saying “she’s delivered” or “a few minutes to go till delivery’

03/11/2025

Zita “Motherhood” - this abstract artist from Mozambique has simply and beautifully illustrated leaking breast milk - the body’s incredible natural process for mothers to feed their babies. But If only it was always as simple as this. For some women, breastfeeding is easy, comfortable, enjoyable and practical. For others, it’s the opposite. Difficult, painful, uncomfortable, not enjoyable at all. This image to me also portrays tears - tears I see so often falling out of exhausted bodies. So much pressure is still put on new mothers to be expected to breastfeed - but it doesn’t always work for so many women. The frequent question about milk supply and latch can be so frustrating. It can lead to new mums feeling like failures when that’s the last thing they are. They’re all hero’s whether they’re breastfeeding or not - deranged by exhaustion and juggling to stay afloat and keep their babies alive! My advice is always to get a great lactation person come to your home who can sit with you and help guide you what to do. And make you feel like a winner - even when you can’t or don’t feel like one 🤍

26/10/2025

Hudson - “The Dishes are Never Done!” This must be one of the most common frustrations generally for men and women! But particularly for new mums who are constantly juggling the needs of new babies, small toddlers, bigger kids, having to get little people out to school or nursery, getting to work or just managing a normal day! So many new mums, particularly single mums, feel it’s practically impossible to manage both the demands of taking care of a newborn - plus the simple domestics of home life. Something has to give. The dishes can wait! However irritating that may be - or not! It’s all about finding the rhythm of life that suits you, and managing as best as you can to save your mental health

22/10/2025

westermann - “40 weeks” - Since birthing her first child, the Norwegian photographer has been intrigued by the quiet and magnificent fragility of motherhood, pregnancy and birth. She was shortlisted for the Portrait of Humanity by the British Journal of Photography in 2022. This photograph exquisitely personifies the pregnant woman at full term - ready and waiting for the baby to make its way out into the world. The calm before the storm. The wonder of nature and the human body at its finest #40

09/10/2025

Goodwind - “Light” This week is the annual national BABY LOSS AWARENESS WEEK 9 - 15th October - where we commemorate lost lives for pregnancy, stillbirth, neonatal death, and ectopic pregnancy - and to raise awareness about the impact of it. The week serves as a time for bereaved parents, their families, and friends to unite and remember babies who died during pregnancy, at or soon after birth, and to promote understanding and support for those affected. To continue to shine their light and memory

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http://www.ukdoula.com/

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