Doe, a Dear Doula

10/08/2020

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

07/16/2020

🌿Sacred Postpartum Tincture🌿⁣
-Made with motherwort, passionflower, dandelion root, stinging nettle, and red raspberry leaves.⁣
-Supports hormonal changes, helps calms nerves, and promotes healthy iron levels.⁣
-Always organic and sustainably sourced.⁣
⁣
**Contains organic alcohol and is not meant to treat any medical conditions**⁣

07/10/2020

Unsure if you will be able to have in-person doula support or maybe you just want a bit of help planning your birth? Look no further! I’d love to help you plan for your dream birth and provide you with the education you need to advocate for yourself. Knowledge is power! Email me at doeadeardoula@gmail.com for more info!

06/24/2020

“A grandparent’s grief is like a fork in the road, going in two different directions. One road represents the loss of your grandchild and the other represents the pain of seeing your child suffer. Therefore, you have two tasks. The first is to work through your own grief and the other is to feel helpful to your bereaved child.”

Red Nose Grief and Loss 5 min read Recommended by Staff and 8 others Grandparents’ Grief is Unique ‘My grief, unique to me, but oh how unfortunately common. I used to think about the legacy I was leaving my grandchildren when I died, what would they remember about me? I never thought I would hav...

05/27/2020

The prettiest (and simple) cake made for my postpartum class this morning! Whole oranges, ground almonds, ginger, egg, turmeric, baking powder, raw sugar, and dark chocolate chips.

05/10/2020

💜💜💜

05/10/2020

Newly postpartum folks need all the help and love they can get! This “Carrot Bliss” soup is nourishing, healing, warming, and so yummy. After birth, the body just wants to rest so something easy to digest and quick to heat up is the perfect first meal. Whether you’re a doula or a loved one who is part of a postpartum meal train, you’ll want to save some of this for yourself too! It’s loaded with cumin and coriander to promote milk production and turmeric for it’s anti-inflammatory properties. Lime is the definitely the secret ingredient and makes everything come together so nicely! 🌿🥕🌿

04/29/2020

Now offering virtual services, including a la cart options! Maybe you aren’t able to have an in person doula due to COVID restrictions, maybe you don’t want a doula at all but would like help organizing a birth plan, and maybe you want a mini doula crash course to help your partner better support you. Reach out to schedule a free virtual 30 minute consult with me! You deserve to have an empowered birth!

Full spectrum support for any outcome of pregnancy.

04/16/2020

Hi! Motivation is always hard to find when it’s on my own time, but I found some over the past few days. I’ve updated my website with services, prices, and resources for pregnant folks and those experiencing loss. Please reach out if you’d like to talk about your experience being pregnant during the pandemic, if you are unsure how to support your partner, if you don’t know about your options, if you need access to safe abortion, or if you’ve experienced a loss and need to be seen and heard. 🌿🧡🌿

Full spectrum support for any outcome of pregnancy.

04/10/2020

Birthing people: we are here for you. We see you. We want to support you.

04/03/2020

I want to share this Brene Brown quote with you all today: ⁠
⁠
"Empathy is not finite, and compassion is not a pizza with eight slices. When you practice empathy and compassion with someone, there is not less of these qualities to go around. There’s more. Love is the last thing we need to ration in this world. The refugee in Syria doesn’t benefit more if you conserve your kindness only for her and withhold it from your neighbor who’s going through a divorce."⁠
⁠
I am seeing so many people downplay their feelings of sadness and anger and grief right now because it "could be worse" or "everyone is having a hard time". ⁠
⁠
Here's the thing though it's ok to grieve YOUR loss. You can freely grieve the fact that you don't get to have your doula with you, or that your mom can't come to visit, or that you won't get the birth pictures you had planned on. You can grieve those things simply because you had hoped for them and now they're lost. You don't have to be in the "worst" of circumstances in order to earn your right to grieve. ⁠
⁠
In fact, when you grieve and process and acknowledge your circumstances you allow yourself to heal and come out the other side stronger. ⁠
⁠
"When we deny the story, it defines us. When we own the story, we can write a brave new ending." - Brene Brown.⁠
⁠

03/31/2020

1 in 4 people who are assigned female at birth experience miscarriage. 1 in 3 people who are assigned female at birth experience abortion. 1 in 100 pregnancies end in stillbirth. Your pregnancy joke is not a joke to those who have experienced a loss or who have trouble conceiving.

03/31/2020

So grateful to be attending a training with this Sunday to be one their pro-voice talk/text support volunteers. They provide a free, non judgmental, and safe space for people who need to talk about their (or their loved one’s) abortion. If you’d like support, please visit www.exhaleprovoice.org for call/text hours and for more information on post abortion self care.

03/29/2020

Happy World Doula Week! I figured I’d take some time to reintroduce myself. I’m Ashley (she/hers)! I’m a full spectrum doula who provides inclusive and sliding scale services to those in the greater Boston area. Full spectrum includes any outcome of pregnancy including (but not limited to) birth, miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion, and infant loss. Some of my services include helping you plan your hospital or home birth and supporting you during the delivery, crafting a healing ritual for the loss of a pregnancy or child, supporting you through an abortion, as well as educating you on all of your options. All clients of mine have full access to my resources including my personal library. As a doula, one of my greatest gifts is empathy. I am here as a companion, a support person, an educator, and most of all, someone who does not judge. In addition to birth work, I enjoy fiber arts, traveling, dreaming of adding “end of life doula” to my resume, and learning about all things plant medicine. 🌿🌿🌿

03/24/2020

03/20/2020

Always know your options!

03/20/2020

So important! I am working on defaulting to more inclusive and affirming language and always mirroring the client’s language. This post by .autonomy is helpful for people like me who tend to stumble on their words when incorporating new terms. Using these words isn’t a preference for some people, it’s affirming!

03/11/2020

Amazing art by .cola 💛

03/03/2020

And remember that every loss is different. ❤️ (Art by Zea Ink)

02/27/2020

😉😉😉

02/14/2020

Recycle, reduce, reuse!

Everlove by Ergobaby is the first-of-its-kind buy back and resell program for baby carriers, and it's kind of amazing.

01/04/2020

We won the rights to safe legal abortion in 1973 after so many people (including men!) fought for our reproductive rights. You don’t owe an explanation to anyone. Did you know that “spontaneous abortion” is another word for miscarriage? 1 in 3 people with childbearing capabilities has had an abortion. If not you, someone you know has. Let’s go over a few (of the many) various reasons people choose termination/abortion. Each one of these situations deserve the same compassion and sympathy that would surround a miscarriage.
-They don’t want to be a parent.
-They are too young and want to continue their education.
-They have a medical condition and they would end up miscarrying.
-They are taking medication that would cause deformity. (Look up Sherri Chessen)
-The partner isn’t supportive and they don’t want to be a single parent.
-They are a victim of sexual assault or an abusive relationship.
-They want to be financially stable before having children.
-They want children, just not right now.
-Pregnancy could be life threatening to them.

12/31/2019

A group of Canadian teenagers wrote the first popular text on contraception.

12/21/2019

I chose full spectrum work because every single experience and every single body is valid. You deserve support in fertility, birth, miscarriage, abortion, stillbirth, adoption, and in any other situation. It’s your body and it’s your choice. We are here to empower you and to stand with you. Beautiful artwork done by 🌿

12/18/2019

An amazing article from my PAIL (Pregnancy and Infant Loss) class. To some, abortion or termination is an obvious and easy choice. For others, it is the same as miscarriage and a very hard choice. Whatever you choose and however you feel about your choice is 100% valid.

“ There is a common misconception that the mom who miscarries is a very different person than the woman who aborts, but I'm here to say there is no difference.”

Right now, I am miscarrying. I woke up with severe abdominal cramps and blood in my underwear. And after two phone calls, a 20-minute train ride, and a five-minute wait, a kind OB-GYN confirmed what I already knew to be true: I was experiencing my…

12/18/2019

12/17/2019

Support is everything ❤️

Doulas not only support people having abortions but also demystify abortion in the wider world.