Divine Empress Doula

10/03/2020

Your birth experience is not just physical but also mental and spiritual. This is so important that you gain control of your space and who enters it. You want people that are going to be supporting you to align with your energy and views. Choose wisely 💖

09/22/2020

Did you know that you will likely go into labor on your own after your water breaks? It used to be more common to wait, but here in the US most women get induced once their water breaks. In fact, I had to get these statistics from New Zealand!
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Waiting, otherwise known as “expectant management” can be an option provided there are no infections or fever and you maintain strict hygiene (I.e no exams, no tampons, changing pads frequently, no baths, etc.). Pregnant women will continue to make amniotic fluid, so staying well hydrated is important.
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Thank you Paula Skelton, Midwife for making this information available.
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09/21/2020

This sounds crazy because the use of an IV is so simple and normalized.

However, the IV is used to hydrate you and it also hydrates the baby as well. This causes water retention so often times the birth weight taken right after the baby is born is inaccurate.

It is more convenient to take the baby’s weight after 24 hours to give the opportunity for them to urinate the excess fluids.

A lot of times when hospitals see this excess weight loss they tend to push supplementation with formula. This especially happens with black women.

While every mother has a choice on what they feed their baby and formula may be needed in some cases, BREAST IS BEST , which is scientifically proven.

Keep in mind also when supplementing or giving your baby formula that formula fed babies are more likely to endure, eczema, allergies, ear infections, diabetes, respiratory infections, digestion issues as well as SIDS.

It’s always best to make an informed decision about these types of things and it can be hard to do when you have just endured many hours of labor. This is why us doulas are here to help you learn to advocate for yourself and make informed decisions that work best for you! 💗

09/18/2020

Dates are your best friend in the 3rd trimester 🤗

Dates have been used around the world for centuries as a natural approach to preparation for labor. Several studies now support their effectiveness. Though we don’t know exactly why, they do have an impact on the start and progress of labor - likely due to an impact on the hormone oxytocin which helps labor start and progress effectively.⁠
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A 2011 study found that women who ate dates starting at 36 weeks were:⁠
🔸 Significantly more dilated when they got to the hospital⁠
🔸 Had a significantly higher rate of intact membranes⁠
🔸 Were significantly more likely to go into labor spontaneously (i.e. without induction)⁠
🔸 And had nearly half the length of first stage of labor⁠
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A 2014 study found that women who ate dates from 37 weeks on had:⁠
🔸 Greater cervical dilatation at admission⁠
🔸 Higher success rates of labor induction when needed⁠
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A 2017 study concluded that all the above was accurate and yet another study found that eating dates in pregnancy led to less bleeding immediately after birth.⁠
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Any type of dates work! The ‘dose’ is about 2.5 ounces of dates ( ~6 to 8 small dates or ~4 larger dates) daily, starting at 36 or 37 weeks and until labor begins. I love eating them plain, but you can include them in my “herbal bliss bites” (recipe on my IGTV), use them to sweeten cashew or almond milk, or include them chopped in yogurt or oatmeal. Amazingly, they also haven’t been shown to be a problem for blood sugar.⁠
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Did you use dates to prep for your labor? Do you know a pregnant mama who is prepping for labor? Tag her in the comments below so she can learn about the power of this ancient medicine!⁠
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09/17/2020

💥
𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 that you can not birth in a certain position or that 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐯𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬.
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PC:
Mother:

09/17/2020

Make sure you follow our Instagram to be kept up to date on when we will be taking clients 💗

09/17/2020

COMING SOON...
I look forward to helping this community & providing families with a positive and informed birth experience.

WHAT IS A BIRTH DOULA?
- A doula is there to provide continuous physical , emotional & informational support to the birthing person before during and even after labor. A doula is NON MEDICAL.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE A DOULA?
-The US has the highest maternal and infant death rate of any developed country. This mostly includes minorities.

- According to 2017 Cochrane Database Systematic Review “Women who received continuous labour support may be more likely to give birth 'spontaneously', i.e. give birth vaginally with neither ventouse nor forceps nor caesarean. In addition, women may be less likely to use pain medications or to have a caesarean birth, and may be more likely to be satisfied and have shorter labours.”

https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003766.pub6/full