Cygnet Doula Services

03/15/2023

Available for postpartum or nanny clients in North Seattle starting June 2023

08/04/2022

High risk ages for men as well. Important information we need to start talking about with men more.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190513081409.htm?fbclid=IwAR1IHjFd8Q5ll3qvb4mQPWdvKfr5Cp98g44FegBhFpvfx_A4jm0ItF3tVEY

Men who delay starting a family have a ticking 'biological clock' -- just like women -- that may affect the health of their partners and children, according to researchers.

07/02/2022

I think it's culturally time for us to re-frame how we think about the uterus.

It's not a nurturing organ—it doesn't need to be. A fetus is frighteningly good at getting the resources it needs to nurture itself. If they are implanted anywhere other than the womb (most often the fallopian tube, but also sometimes the bladder, intestine, pelvic muscles and connective tissue, and the liver) placental cells will rip through a body, slaughtering everything in their path as they seek out arteries to slake their hunger for nutrients.

Fetal cells will happily grow in any of these places, digesting and puncturing tissue, paralyzing and enlarging arteries, raising blood pressure to feed itself more, faster; but it will be unable to be ejected. It's no coincidence that genes involved in embryonic development have been implicated in how cancer spreads.

Rather than a soft cozy nest, a womb is a fortress designed to protect the person from the developing cells inside them.

Because of our huge and (metabolically speaking) expensive brains, human fetal development requires unrestricted access to a parent's blood supply, which makes pregnancy (and miscarriage) incredibly dangerous for the carrier. The uterus has evolved to control and restrict whether placental cells can get that access, and to eject it before it develops enough to kill the host. THE FUNCTION OF THE WOMB IS TO PROTECT THE PARENT'S LIFE. The very structure of the womb very firmly prioritizes the life of the parent over the life of the fetus.

Even with modern medical care, at least 800 people die EVERY DAY from pregnancy (and childbirth-related causes). Among developed countries, the United States has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, and Texas has one of the highest rates within that. The rate is even higher when viewed among BIPOC only.

Pregnancy may be necessary for the continuation of the species, but it is not a joke. It is a life-threatening event, a parasitic attack on a human body; just one we have romanticized and been desensitized to.

The "miracle" of birth is that we have a protective organ designed to, if all goes well, let us survive it. It doesn't always go well. It is life or death. Someone who chooses to get pregnant, stay pregnant, and carry a fetus to delivery is legitimately choosing to risk their life to do it. Nobody else has the right to make anyone do that, and nobody should be punished or vilified for not wanting to do it. Forcing someone to carry a pregnancy, ANY pregnancy, is attempted murder.

—Anonymous via UniteWomen.org

02/28/2021

All the babies born during this pandemic are getting a really beautiful gift of having one or both parents with them all the time! These babies are going to be so healthily attached throughout their life.

Caring for a new baby can be a challenge, parenting through the pandemic has been tough, keeping relationships solid through it all has had more lows then highs. Remembering that gift of a secure attachment for your child can be the spark that lights the dark.

01/10/2021

I am now available for part time Postpartum and Siblingcare services.

12/02/2020

At times all parents feel lost or without a clue about what our child might need from us. Imagine what it might feel like if you were able to make sense of what your child was really asking from you. The Circle of Security Parenting™ program is based on decades of research about how secure parent-child relationships can be supported and strengthened.

Learning Objectives of the Training:
• Understand your child’s emotional world by learning to read the emotional needs
• Support your child’s ability to successfully manage emotions
• Enhance the development of your child's self esteem
• Honor your innate wisdom and desire for your child to be
secure

10/13/2020

One word can make a world of difference in your relationship with your child. Children are always seeking connection with those they are securely attached to, especially when they tantrum or behave in ways that parents deem unexceptionable.

10/03/2020

"The more pressure parents put on a crying or distressed child, to feel anything other than what they were feeling, would prolong the distress.

Being with a child
is the shortest way to help a child move out of distress." -Circle of Security

09/26/2020

"My advice to parents is not to miss an opportunity to show affection to their babies." -Mary Ainsworth

I would add not to miss that opportunity with you child(ren), teen, significant other, and friends.

08/30/2020

HAPPY BLACK BREASTFEEDING WEEK! 🤩

By our histories and by the truths we know from living, our possibilities are greater than any imagination.

For all the days that have felt hopeless, we invite you to enter a period of nourishment to revive.

Where there has been loss, grief and uncertainty, our restoration is key to being present and imagining healthy futures.

And all through , we reclaim our time, lives and families.

Let’s gooooooo!

07/13/2020

When you can be atune with the most basic needs of a child, the doors for atunement with other people and the world are widened.

07/11/2020

July is cloth diaper awareness month.
"According to National Geographic, one child in disposable diapers will require 715 lbs. of plastic, 4.5 trees, and 5.5 barrels of oil just to manufacture the diapers required for 2.5 years.
Cloth diapers save resources."
My favorite cloth diaper service in Western Washington is Baby Diaper Service. They deliver clean cloth diapers to your home once a week and take away the dirty ones. It's a little less work for busy parents to do ;)

06/15/2020

Perspective.
Black Lives Matter.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/14/opinion/black-mother-to-be-im-already-full-heartache/?fbclid=IwAR2UtxoVxBJBrt4M2YgGFpORqtdefdkeeREJlDnXthqeN_H7GFJ8cGDWpow

When will my unborn son start being viewed as a threat instead of a child?

05/10/2020

To all kinds mother's, celebrate today.

04/30/2020

The best part of cooking for families is creating desserts!
These are chocolate peanut butter lactation muffins.

04/22/2020