Shaw Doula

02/04/2025

Calling all moms, doulas, birth workers, and mental health providers! If you're looking for a supportive space to connect, learn, and grow, I invite you to join Shaw Doula Collective—a community built for open discussions on fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and raising children with intention and care.

This is a space for:
✨ Expecting and new moms seeking guidance and sisterhood
✨ Doulas and birth workers passionate about supporting families
✨ Mental health professionals invested in maternal wellness
✨ Open, honest conversations about the realities of parenthood

Whether you're on your journey to parenthood, navigating postpartum healing, or supporting others through birth and beyond, you don’t have to do it alone. Let's build a village together!

Drop a comment or DM me if you're interested in joining. Let’s support, educate, and uplift each other! 💕

👉🏽 https://discord.gg/jkCqbAZE

01/21/2025

Scrolling today, I came across a post from a woman sharing her story about losing her eyesight during pregnancy. It hit me hard because that’s a real thing—it can actually happen.

Pregnancy is often romanticized, but the truth is, it’s not just a beautiful journey—it’s also one of the most physically and emotionally demanding experiences a person can go through. Conditions like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and in rare cases, serious vision loss are all possibilities.

As a doula and someone passionate about maternal health, I’m constantly reminded how important it is to support and uplift birthing people through their unique challenges. Pregnancy and postpartum care cannot be treated as routine or one-size-fits-all. We must continue to educate ourselves, advocate for comprehensive care, and honor every individual’s story—because no one should feel invisible when it comes to their health.

To anyone out there navigating pregnancy or the postpartum period: Your struggles are valid, and your health matters. Let’s keep sharing these stories to shine a light on the realities of maternal health and work toward safer, more compassionate care for all.

01/01/2025

Hope to see you there!

11/20/2024

Repost from
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This is a crisis that needs to be immediately addressed in many different levels. Certified Professional Midwives are already stepping forward to provide care in many of these maternity care deserts, but we need MANY more midwives.

Posted • A new report from the March of Dimes found that over 5.5 million women live in U.S. counties with limited or no access to maternity care resources, including hospitals, birthing centers, or obstetric care.

Approximately 35% of all U.S. counties are now considered maternity care deserts, having no birthing facilities or obstetricians.

The report is the latest to highlight a worsening state of maternity care in the U.S.

Read more at the link in bio.

11/15/2024

Repost from
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Scroll all the way through to see all the birth related inventions and innovations. What else did they miss?

Posted •

November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate and recognize the important contributions of Native Americans in the U.S. ⁣
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Birth control, syringes and mouthwash are just some of the many common innovations Native Americans invented but rarely receive credit for. These advances helped them survive and thrive, regardless of where they lived. ⁣
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President George H. W. Bush first designated the month of November as "National American Indian Heritage Month" in 1990. Similar recognitions, such as "Native American Heritage Month" and "National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month," have been issued each year since 1994.⁣
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In the U.S., there are about 574 federally recognized tribes. However, they only make up about two percent of the entire U.S. population, or 6.79 million, according to the U.S. Census.⁣
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Before European colonizers arrived in what became the U.S., estimates say about 10 million Native Americans lived in the region. But colonization, war and disease greatly reduced the population.⁣
⁣..⁣
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Produced by: Allison Vosloh⁣
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11/14/2024

Repost from
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November is National Diabetes Month! This month, we’re drawing attention to gestational diabetes, or GD.

Developing during pregnancy, gestational diabetes involves an excess of sugar in the pregnant person’s bloodstream, which has a direct impact on the health of both the parent and the baby.

These side effects can be life threatening. Gestational diabetes causes macrosomnia, which is a condition where the infant in utero becomes much larger than the size they would typically grow to. Macrosomnia can lead to severe birth injuries, stillbirth, and can cause the birthing parent to hemorrhage—among many other issues.

Sadly, like with many conditions, Black people are more at risk for GD than white people. This is likely because of social factors, such as the chronic stress of living in a racist society, exposure to pollution because of living in poorer income areas, and a lack of access to healthy food options. Some health conditions, such as PCOS, prediabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, can also increase your likelihood of developing GD.

If you’re at risk for GD, make your healthcare provider aware of it during your pregnancy. If treated, your baby’s and your outcomes improve greatly—reducing risks of future health issues and keeping you and your baby safe during labor and birth. Advocating for ourselves is sometimes the only way that we can ensure our needs are met.

Make sure that you and your baby are properly cared for if you’re at risk for gestational diabetes!

11/13/2024

Lanugo is a soft, thin, and usually unpigmented hair that covers a baby’s body in the womb.

Lanugo has several functions, including:

• Stimulating growth

Lanugo sends vibrations to a baby’s sensory receptors when they move, which stimulates growth.

• Hormone production

The combination of lanugo and vernix may play a role in healthy hormone production.

About 20-30% of all full-term babies are born with some visible lanugo.

If your baby is born before 37 weeks, they have a greater chance of having lanugo.

It may take several weeks to go away, but lanugo will fall off on its own.

Lanugo typically falls off in utero during the last eight weeks of pregnancy.

Was your baby born with lanugo???

11/05/2024

Let’s GO!!!!!!!!

10/24/2024

PLEASE SHARE!!!!!!!!!
A media outlet did a write up about my personal birthing trauma and my work as a doula and a maternal health advocate.

Black women suffer from higher rates of pregnancy and delivery complications.

10/09/2024

Exciting news!!

The Uk is developing the world's first ovarian cancer vaccine,which could potentially eliminate the disease. This groundbreaking research aims to boost the immune system to target and destroy cancer cells, offering hope for improved survival rates in patients.

09/25/2024

The math is not mathing 😫🤦🏾‍♀️

09/11/2024

Did you experience this after your delivery?