Bask Family Wellness

04/20/2023

No matter who you are or how you wish to birth, my core beliefs remain the same:

* You deserve to be safe.
* You deserve to be heard.
* You deserve to heal at your own pace.
* You deserve space to process WTF just happened to you.

Read my latest blog post AND buy my book to learn how to advocate for the birth of your dreams. I want you to bust through birth anxieties, build boss bitch confidence, and learn how to navigate the waves of labor and new parenthood like a pro! 💪🏾

Buy Bask: An Evidence-based Blueprint to the Birth of Your Dreams NOW! Available at https://tinyurl.com/baskbook



 
 
 

04/04/2023

Location Update 🚨
Join us for a restorative yoga session in honor of Black Maternal Health Week as we center Black women, mothers, and families and our right to autonomy and joy. This year, 's theme is "Our Bodies Belong to Us: Restoring Black Autonomy and Joy," and we're excited to create a space for relaxation, rejuvenation, and restoration.

Whether you're pregnant, postpartum, or simply in need of some self-care, this session is for you. Save the date and meet us at (2915 N Blvd, Tampa, FL 33602) on April 13 at 6:45 pm- we can't wait to see you there!

Click the link in our bios to RSVP on Facebook! 

xoxo,
Christan Orr,
Angel Whaley,
Danielle T. Ochieng,


 

03/30/2023

Join us for a restorative yoga session in honor of Black Maternal Health Week on April 13 at 6:45 pm as we center Black women, mothers, and families and our right to autonomy and joy. This year, 's   theme is "Our Bodies Belong to Us: Restoring Black Autonomy and Joy," and we're excited to create a space for relaxation, rejuvenation, and restoration. 

Whether you're pregnant, postpartum, or simply in need of some self-care, this session is for you. Save the date and stay tuned for more details on location - we can't wait to see you there!

Click the link in our bio to RSVP on Facebook! 

xoxo,
Christan Orr
Angel Whaley

 
 

03/07/2023

You have questions about birth. You probably have fears about birth, too…
Maybe you’ve even had nightmares. 
I can help you conquer your fears and teach you how to advocate for the birth of your dreams. ✨

As a pregnant person, you are constantly growing and shifting. As a certified doula, I can help you through one of life’s biggest shifts. You should feel in control of the decisions being made about your body and your baby because YOU are the BOSS of your birth!! 💪🏾

My e-book, Bask: An Evidence-based Blueprint to the Birth of Your Dreams is now available for purchase. You can purchase the Kindle e-book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/85Gcmgt

Click the link and I’ll share my personal birth story with you. It's the story of how I was intentional about picking my provider, how the plans I had for birth shifted, and how it was still the birth of my dreams. Bask is packed with evidence-based information and coping techniques to help you navigate the waves of labor and new parenthood like a pro! 💪🏾
•
•
•


 

02/24/2023

Bask: An Evidence-based Blueprint to the Birth of Your Dreams is now available!

With a focus on mindfulness and evidence-based practices, I offer practical tools to prepare for labor, postpartum recovery, and parental wellness and self-care. You deserve to BASK during your journey to parenthood. BUY YOUR DIGITAL COPY NOW: https://a.co/d/85Gcmgt

Bask: An Evidence-based Blueprint to the Birth of Your Dreams

02/23/2023

YOU are the BOSS of your birth!! 💪🏾

I want you to bust through birth anxieties, build boss bitch confidence, and learn how to navigate the waves of labor and new parenthood like a pro! 💪🏾

Buy Bask: An Evidence-based Blueprint to the Birth of Your Dreams NOW!

You can from my site https://tinyurl.com/baskbook and also purchase on Amazon https://a.co/d/dta5EP4
•

02/23/2023

NEW BLOG ALERT: I've been rearranged.

You have questions about birth. You have doubts about birth, too.

02/09/2023

Join us as we dive into the powerful connection between your mind and body during labor and the transformative impact of breath work. Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn how you can empower yourself during your journey through pregnancy and parenthood.

Breathwork is a powerful tool for tapping into our body's inner strength and resilience, and it can be particularly helpful during labor. By focusing on our breath and using it as a tool for relaxation, pain management, and mental clarity, we can have a more positive and empowered birthing experience.
•
•
•

02/06/2023

Becoming a parent is one of life’s biggest shifts. So, how can you thrive during this major life transition? 🤔

Remind yourself that change is a natural part of life, and an integral part of childbirth and new parenthood. Still, it’s normal to find this shift stressful, even though birth is considered a joyous life event. The good news is you don’t have to hurry through this season of life. You can pause and bask with us! Join me and for a discussion about avoiding burnout as we share strategies for finding your footing as a new parent.
•
•
•

01/12/2023

Breastfeeding is an important way to nourish and bond with your baby. It has countless benefits for both parent and child, including reducing the risk of infections and chronic illnesses, and providing emotional and psychological benefits. ☝🏾 But breastfeeding can also be challenging, and it’s essential to have a community of support to help you through the journey. 🫂

Join and next Wednesday on IG live where we'll be dishing out tips and strategies for you to gain the support you need to succeed in your breastfeeding journey. We welcome breastfeeding parents, expectant parents, and anyone interested in learning more about infant feeding.
•
•
     
     
   

11/10/2022

I want Logan to develop a life-long love of nature and the outdoors so we OUTSIDE! Daycares and schools are closed today due to Tropical Storm Nicole, but the learning don’t stop! 🍂🍂🍂

I’m a certified Birth Doula…AND I majored in Human Development & Family Science at The Ohio State University. Over the last decade, I’ve worked in daycares, elementary schools, middle schools, and even taught one year of high school. I’m passionate about showing parents how fun, easy, and FREE it can be to have meaningful learning experiences at home.

It’s never too early to expose your child to nature. Yup, even infants and toddlers can play and learn in nature. Logan was touching tree bark and hearing me discuss smooth and rough textures before she could walk and talk. Nature offers opportunities to engage the five senses, talk about textures, use gross and fine motor skills and SO much more!

Today Logan used hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills to grasp different objects in the yard. Touching prickly acorns, hearing raindrops, and feeling the wind activated a few of her senses. Then, she picked up a leaf and said “Yellow!” so I encouraged her to find something green as well. She’s been interested in acorns lately so she easily found something brown. We went inside to collect, sort, and compare our items.

Visit https://tinyurl.com/BFWsignup to sign up for updates from Bask! Be the first to know when my e-book and course launch!

10/15/2022

October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. This candle burns to remember the babies born sleeping, those we carried but never met, those we've held but could not take home, and those that came home but could not stay.

🕯️Resources for you or someone you love 🕯️


https://pregnancyloss.info/
www.facebook.com/NationalShare


RemembranceDay

10/14/2022

When they ask me what I do and who I do it for?! There is a debt owed to Black women.

A debt due to Anarcha, Betsy, Lucy and the unnamed enslaved Black women that J. Marion Sims performed experiments on, without anesthesia, to develop gynecological surgeries and tools. They are rightfully memorialized in Montgomery, AL as the “Mothers of Gynecology.” There is a debt is owed to Henrietta Lacks, the source of the HeLa cell line, one of the most important cell lines in medical research to this day. Johns Hopkins is erecting the Henrietta Lacks Building on their campus, but what are posthumous buildings to the women who built this country?

There is a debt owed us, as the descendants of seemingly expendable Black bodies. Black bodies that were America’s largest financial asset—bodies that quite literally built America from a fledgling agricultural economy to one of the largest industrial powers in the world. As the authors of Reproductive Justice point out, “The fertility of the enslaved woman was an essential, exploitable, colonial resource. Her pregnancies, whether the result of r**e or love or something else, engrossed the holdings of her owner.” America’s earliest infrastructure and commodities including cotton, to***co, and f’ing PEOPLE, arguably an entire labor market —was built on the backs of Black women.

So where are we today? We are dying during or shortly after bring new life into the world, and it’s preventable. What are you doing to protect the safety and care of Black women and girls?

While I’m grateful for the birth experience I had, and SO happy to share on    Good News Thursday (Mama, I’m officially a citizen of !) we have GOT to do better. My calling is to walk beside birthing people on their journey to becoming parents, healing during postpartum, or experiencing loss. How will you care for the pregnant and parenting people in your lives?

10/14/2022

I believe birth is a revolutionary, world-shattering act for Black people who live as we grieve and attempt to parent in the age of the slayings of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Sandra Bland, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and a legion of others both named and unnamed. Kimberlé W. Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality” nearly 30 years ago and in recent years launched the campaign.

Intersectionality highlights the fact that Black people and other marginalized groups have unique experiences with multiple layers and types of oppression. And you guessed it! Any form of oppression is particularly impactful during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Yet despite living as we weep, through valleys of grief, despite mountains of statistics that Black people die at 4X the rate of white birthing people and other counterparts—we press on. Despite all that we’ve been through, we fight back, we defy obstacles and continue to live, birth, and transform. If that’s not revolutionary I don’t know what is.

My calling is to shift the culture of care provided to Black people who birth. To transform how they experience birth and postpartum and thus how they experience life in America. We deserve better, and doulas can help you birth better. I believe when birthing people are well, everyone they’re connected to is also well. If you or someone you know is preparing to give birth, I’ll help you greet parenthood with a sense of calm and confidence. I’m here to help as you pick up your crown and cross into the threshold of parenting. If you’re new here, I’m a DTI-certified Birth Doula supporting all families on their unique birth journey. 🏝Tampa, FL and virtual support available 💻
•
•
•
Kimberlé W. Crenshaw is a pioneering scholar and writer on civil rights, critical race theory, Black feminist legal theory, and race, racism and the law. And she’s definitely worth at follow

06/06/2022

✨ G I V E A W A Y ✨

Thank you for entering my giveaway! Congratulations to and !
Send me a DM with your e-mail address so that I can send instructions on how to access your book. 🤰🏾📔

Best of luck to you (or your pregnant bestie). Please help me spread the word about my birth doula and childbirth prep services by sharing this winning post!

I’m a certified birth and postpartum doula committed to helping you prepare for and have the birth YOU want, without judgement. I focus on you, providing the informational and emotional support you need to meet this transformative moment with courage and confidence. I’m passionate about helping parents feel present in their bodies, connected to their breath, and informed about what to expect so that they can thrive through pregnancy and the early childhood years. You have everything within you needed to birth your baby. As your doula, I’ll follow your lead and remind you how powerful you are as you take your first steps into parenthood. 

Now accepting births for Fall 2022 and 2023 in Tampa, FL 🏝 and virtual support everywhere 💻

06/01/2022

✨ G I V E A W A Y ✨
Are you expecting or know someone who is? We’re giving away 2 digital downloads of Plumtree’s “Preparing for Birth” complete guide for labor, birth, and postpartum.
That’s right, I got recommended reading for your new mama starter pack! This 80-page workbook covers common childbirth education topics including the stages of labor, comfort measures, common interventions, postpartum recovery, newborn care, and the basics of breastfeeding. Valuable info for my pregnant followers AND their partners. Everyone can be informed!

Here’s what you’ll win:
A single copy of Plumtree’s Preparing for Birth digital book available on any device (an internet connection is required). This book can also be read through the Apple or Google Play (Joomag) app. 📱💻

Here’s how to enter 👇🏾
1) Follow
2) Like this post
3) Tag your friend, bestie, baby mama (each tag = one additional entry)

✨ Sweepstakes ends 11:59pm ET on 6/5/2022. Two lucky winners will be chosen at random and contacted via DM.
Winners will be announced on our story on Monday, June 6 ✨

04/04/2022

Posted • Thank you Heart of Houston Birth Center for having doulas Vero and me come teach the stages of labor to your families! We had a blast!

03/30/2022

Posted • For all you folks planning a pregnancy in the next couple years.
For all of you pregnant people.
For all of you postpartum folks.
For all of you lactating people.
For all of you folks nearing, experiencing or past menopause.
For all of you folks with prolapse.
For all of you folks with urinary or f***l incontinence.
For all of you folks experiencing pain with s*x or pelvic pain.
For all of you folks with a diastasis recti.
For all of you with a pelvis.

Our pelvic health changes. It changes with every year, with every injury. It changes with every pregnancy, every childbirth. It changes when we lactate, when we stop lactating. It changes as we age. Change is the one thing that we can count on when it comes to our health.

We’ve done a decent (not great, but decent) job in recent years of introducing pelvic floor PT to postpartum people suffering from leakage, pelvic pain, prolapse. But if we know change will come, if we know it’s expected, why wait for the pain, leakage, frustrating and debilitating symptoms to occur before seeking help?

Pelvic floor physical therapy can play an active role in improving your confidence while exercising. It can play an active role in keeping your core strong to prevent pain. It can play an active role in reducing the likelihood that you develop or worsen symptoms of leakage, prolapse, and pelvic pain as you age.

When you have your annual visit with your gynecologist or midwife, consider an annual visit with your pelvic floor PT, as well. Consider the benefit that a status check could have for your health, confidence and longevity.

*I acknowledge that access to pelvic health care is a major hurdle to many. Slowly, we’re starting to see this change. More people using these services means more people providing these services.*

03/25/2022

Pictures are worth 1,000 words and to finish out I had to post MY doula to tell y’all that Doulas Make a Difference!

, I’m forever grateful you were by my side during my labor. The day your baby is born is full of SO much. Having a doula by your side means you’ll have steady hands and a calming presence no matter what turn your labor takes. Including a surprise home birth 4 weeks early! 😅

Doulas don’t give you power (you already have it!), they don’t make decisions for you (rather they guide you thru the overwhelming mountain of information during pregnancy) and while they can’t guarantee *specific* outcomes, they often improve labor outcomes and help you surrender and feel at peace with what is.

Doulas make a difference. They make you feel heard, held, and confident during a time when it can feel like you’re falling apart. Your doula is there to literally have your back and hold you (and your family) together.

Eleanor, You have made a difference for me and my family and you continue to make a difference in so many lives. Thank you today and always. Yeah this s**t is hard, but we got you 💛

•
•
•

03/21/2022

Two months ago, my clients welcomed a beautiful baby boy into their lives. ’s t-shirt says all that needs to be said. One 👏🏾 Badass 👏🏾Black 👏🏾Woman👏🏾

I’m so proud of the way she advocated for herself and remained in control of the direction of her birth. As we kick off World Doula Week tomorrow, the evidence is clear: Continuous support from a doula before, during, and after labor improves birth outcomes. Don’t take my word for it, listen to my client and so many others who believe having a doula is one of the best decisions you can make during pregnancy as you prepare for labor and postpartum.

Doulas are for errybody. 🗣 Having a doula isn’t for ‘crunchy’ hippies, white women, or rich people. You, yes YOU deserve a doula! When doulas attend births, parents have better outcomes and often need fewer interventions. I’m a certified supporting all families on their unique birth journey. I’ll help you exhale, bask, and greet parenthood with confidence. Available for in-person support in Houston, TX 🤟🏾and virtual support everywhere 💻
•
•
•

03/18/2022

Posted • Premier Doulas of Houston] We’re so excited to share our new monthly newsletter, The Drip 🍼💧with you! New parenthood is just dripping with so much. Love, anticipation, worry, excitement, overwhelm, and more! Check out our recent blog post (link in Premier Doulas of Houston] bio) and while you’re there, sign up for our newsletter on our website!

03/05/2022

https://baskfamilywellness.com/blog/f/you-deserve-a-doula

Doulas are for errybody! 🗣 Doulas aren't exclusively for white women, or rich people, or hippies. You, yes YOU deserve a doula!

When doulas attend births, parents have better outcomes and need fewer interventions. A doula cares for you as you welcome a newborn into your home. A doula is there for you, judgement-free. Ready to care for you in the ways that are most impactful for YOU and your unique family.

What advice would I offer any pregnant person I know, including Rihanna? You are the boss of your birth space. You deserve to be safe, to be heard, to recover, and to process what just happened to you.

03/04/2022

The National Association to Advance Black Birth- NAABB created the Black Birthing Bill of Rights to give Black birthing people a tool to know and confidently exercise their rights in any birth space. Here are a few examples of your rights as a birthing person. Visit thenaabb.org to download the full PDF (advocacy tab).

03/02/2022

You don't want to miss this! On Monday, I'll be joined by , a registered nurse, certified doula, and certified lactation counselor to discuss how doulas and nurses can work in partnership with you to achieve the birth you desire. Join me and my sister as we discuss birth safety and advocacy and how you can ensure your voice is not just heard, but centered, throughout your birth and postpartum experience. 🗣

Lunch with us & share with a pregnant friend! 💛💛💛

•
•
•

03/01/2022

If I Were Rihanna's Doula, Part 4: YOU DESERVE TO RECOVER + PROCESS

You deserve to recover at your own pace and to take time to process your birthing and new parenthood experience.

02/25/2022

If you've watched video #3 you know one of my core beliefs is that "You deserve to be heard." If you missed last night's video, scroll down and watch now!

Your OB or midwife must respect your basic human rights and provide informed consent for any procedures. Your provider must explain the benefits, risks, and alternatives to any procedure suggested. Then, you need time to consider your options. Ultimately, YOU get to decide. YOU are the expert of your body. You are the BOSS of the birth space.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS! Click below to view the Birth Rights Bar Association Birth Rights resource.

https://birthrightsbar.org/resources/Documents/BIRTH%20RIGHTS-%20A%20resource%20for%20everyday%20people%20to%20defend%20human%20rights%20during%20labor%20and%20birth.pdf

02/25/2022

Important read: postpartum red flags 🚩

Postpartum recovery can be an intense time and there are certain red flags that warrant immediate support and attention.

02/25/2022

If I Were Rihanna's Doula, Part 3: YOU DESERVE TO BE HEARD

You have the right to informed consent which means your provider MUST explain to you the risks, benefits, and alternatives for any and all medical procedures suggested for you and/or your baby. You deserve time to consider your options. You have the right to voice your opinion and you're allowed to deny any procedures.

LIKE, SHARE, and FOLLOW Bask Family Wellness to learn more about informed consent and how to advocate for yourself before, during, and after you give birth!

Share with a pregnant friend 💜

02/24/2022

If I Were Rihanna's Doula, Part 2: YOU DESERVE TO BE SAFE

Picking a medical care provider and birth location is the first and possibly THEE MOST decision important you'll make at the beginning of your pregnancy. Watch NOW to learn how to use your B.R.A.I.N. when an intervention is suggested, questions to consider when choosing a birth location, and other decision-making tips.

LIKE, SHARE, and FOLLOW Bask Family Wellness to learn about informed consent and how to advocate for yourself before, during, and after you give birth!