Gentle Touch Doulas Collective of Springfield, Illinois

04/25/2024

📣 LER Live! Real Talk: The Realities of Being and Becoming an IBCLC

❓ What is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC)?
❓ What does it mean to be an IBCLC?
❓ Where do IBCLC's work and what does that work look like?
❓ How does one become an IBCLC?

✅ Get your answers to these questions and more in this live event.

Led by Angela Love-Zaranka, BA, IBCLC, RLC, and Sekeita Lewis-Johnson, DNP, FNP-BC, IBCLC.

Thursday, May 9, 2024
8am PDT / 11am EDT

📚 Free registration required at: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/970208399038973789

03/29/2023

01/16/2023

Need Doula illustrations? Get the best on Praeclarus Press: https://stores.praeclaruspress.com/birth-and-doulas-1/?sort=newest

12/21/2022

Build a postpartum support network within your community. Seven Sisters for Seven Days is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MTW8RF0/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

12/16/2022

Phew my baby is head down....
That is a relief isn't it? But then you get back ache or pelvic pain and baby being head down is only part of the picture!
Many women believe that as long as the baby is head-down in the womb, the baby is ready for birth. It is a big relief to find out the baby is not breech (buttocks coming through the pelvis before the head is born), especially when so many women are told that their babies are breech at the 20 week scan (this causes massive anxiety and the reality is that most babies are at this stage!)
But baby presenting head-down is only the first step. To get rid of that backache and to give yourself the best chance at a natural birth baby should also be doing the following:
👶Baby should have his or her chin tucked in.
👶Baby’s back should be to the mother’s left (or directly in front) with baby’s feet in the right.
This is known as the LOA position and is the best position for baby when they are moving down through the birth canal.
Baby's move ALL THE TIME and so they should but as baby gets bigger (after about 32 -34 weeks) the movements change as they run out of room so the best chance of keeping baby in a good position after 34 weeks is to adopt more upright, forward leaning positions.

Be educated. Be informed. Be in control.

12/16/2022

Battling Over Birth presents years of research into the racial maternal health disparities in the US. Available on Praeclarus Press and Amazon: http://ow.ly/cPzX50LRfhR

11/27/2022

11/09/2022

10/30/2022

09/22/2022

Mom,⁣
⁣
I never understood why you seemed grouchy on some days 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 and realized how bone-tired you were and underappreciated you felt.⁣
⁣
I never understood why it took so long for you to get ready 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 and realized you were too busy doing everything to get 𝘶𝘴 ready, and you came last.⁣
⁣
I never understood why you would say give me five minutes when I wanted to play 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 and just wanted a second to breathe in-between tasks.⁣
⁣
I never understood why you would lose it over the smallest things 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 and realized it was a buildup of frustration, anxiety, and stress that had you snapping and not the spilled cheerios all over the floor.⁣
⁣
I never understood why you got mad at me when I got out of bed every ten minutes on loop because I wasn't tired 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 and realized how many things you needed to get done while we were sleeping. ⁣
⁣
I never understood why you were always worried 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 and realized it's because your love for me was so strong the idea of anything bad happening hurt your soul.⁣
⁣
I never understood why you hugged me extra tight some days 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 and realized the world is hard, and I was your reminder that everything was worth it.⁣
⁣
Entering motherhood has given me a changed perspective on everything, including you.⁣
⁣
And becoming a mother made me⁣
love you more.

📸:
Words: Living FULL

09/21/2022

Congrats on your Baby News!

But now you may be wondering what you should eat and how you should supplement to have the healthiest pregnancy for you and your baby.

Text "pregnancy" to 618-776-2626 for a short Pregnancy and Nutrition 101 Class!

09/21/2022

The day of your birth will be one of THE most influential and life changing days of your life.
It will literally transform you.
I don't know many people who want to experience a life transforming experience without any understanding or tools. Let me help you get fully prepared. In this 7.5 hour workshop, we will spend time together working towards reasonable expectations for your labor and birth.

November 5, 2022 - Bloomington, IL - 9am-5:30pm.
Hosted by: Jordan Spine & Rehab Center
This workshop will equip families preparing to birth in the hospital, Birth Center, or home! Due Dates of November, December and January are great, but any pregnant families are welcome to attend!

GET REGISTERED: https://www.bloomingtonnormalbirthdoula.com/childbirth-education

07/24/2022

Beautiful beyond words.

♥️ “What if we told women the truth about birth
We’d have to tell them that contractions will probably be more than “surges” or “sensations.”

That they’ll probably rock your f✨cking world and leave you begging for salvation as you clutch the edge of the tub or the hospital linens

That your gentle breathing exercises and your Spotify soundtrack will be left in the dust as you sweat and pant and sway and swear your way through it

That you’ll trip harder than any mushroom you ever did in college and vomit with the same ferocity and travel to places deep within yourself that you didn’t know existed. That you’ll float above your body and simultaneously be trapped in it with an intensity you’ve never tasted

And in that intensity, in the sweating and the swearing and the swaying and the vomiting and the endless hours of contractions crashing down upon you
You’ll find your strength
You’ll find a resilience you’ve never known
You’ll find the power you need for the journey of motherhood ahead

In the messy humanity of it all
You’ll find that you are holy
A portal to the divine
Capable of indescribable miracles
A vessel of sacred life

What if we told women the truth about birth?
We’d have to tell them they are capable of anything
Worthy of being treated like goddesses
Made to walk through the flames
Surf the tidal waves
Dive into the underworld
And come out alive

Not unscathed
Not unchanged
But whole
And healed
And ready to take on the world

If we told women the truth about birth
We’d have to admit that we’ve lied about everything else
And that they are more powerful
More fierce
More capable
More beautiful
Than we’ve ever let on.

If we told the truth about birth?
We’d shatter the world.”

Spirit Y Sol

07/13/2022

Essential reading for all Doulas. Birth Ambassadors is available on Amazon: http://ow.ly/SnYz30smbT6

06/06/2022