The Doula Vita

08/12/2025

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uew_1SjRUy4&feature=youtu.be

In this episode of the MamasteFit Podcast, hosts Gina, a perinatal fitness trainer and birth doula, and Roxanne, a labor and delivery nurse and student midwi...

08/05/2025

08/03/2025

08/02/2025

This. I will join you whenever you want me there. If that’s from the moment of your first contraction, I’m there 💜

07/29/2025

In a groundbreaking medical milestone, eight healthy babies have been born in the UK using DNA from three people—a revolutionary IVF technique designed to prevent inherited mitochondrial diseases.

These disorders, passed down only through the mother, can severely damage the brain, heart, and muscles, often proving fatal in early childhood. To prevent this, doctors at Newcastle University used mitochondrial donation treatment (MDT), which involves transferring the nucleus from a fertilized egg of the parents into a donor egg containing healthy mitochondria—effectively creating an embryo with nuclear DNA from both parents and mitochondrial DNA from a third donor.

The eight babies, born to seven mothers, are all healthy and meeting developmental milestones. Genetic testing confirmed little to no presence of the mutated mitochondria that would have caused disease.

This breakthrough offers hope to thousands of families affected by incurable mitochondrial conditions. Importantly, it also demonstrates the ethical and scientific success of the UK’s cautious, decades-long effort to bring MDT to patients.

As one mother said: “This treatment gave us hope—and then it gave us our baby.”
A new era in reproductive medicine has begun—one where science not only prevents disease, but gives life a second chance.

The research appears across two papers published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Follow Science Sphere for regular scientific updates

RESEARCH PAPERS 📄
Louise A. Hyslop et al, "Mitochondrial Donation and Preimplantation Genetic Testing for mtDNA Disease", The New England Journal of Medicine (July 2025)

Robert McFarland et al, "Mitochondrial Donation in a Reproductive Care Pathway for mtDNA Disease", The New England Journal of Medicine (July 2025)

07/28/2025

Curious about Hustle Group Fitness? Try Hustle Day is your chance to have a real workout- free- on Thursday August 7. No demos. No pressure. Just the actual energy and people that make Hustle what it is.

🎯 Full class schedule
🎉 Snacks & good vibes
🎟️ Raffle for those who attend

RSVP now- spots are limited!
Click the link to reserve and see the class schedule: https://share.fitdegree.com?f=597&co=566

07/26/2025

Check out this video for an upstate birth center about an hour away.

They have midwifery care, they offer tubs, large rooms, nitrous oxide, and lactation services.

The Upstate Community OBGYN Family Birth Center offers you—the expectant mother and your family—a comfortable, relaxing environment for the birth of your bab...

07/22/2025

Don't miss out! Entry photos are due this Wednesday, July 23!

Learn more here: https://bit.ly/40NLRv1

07/17/2025

07/13/2025

Got to travel the past few days to retrieve placentas for encapsulation. Found this awesome Spinning Babies poster at Guthrie Corning Hospital and look how cool Bassett Hospital Cooperstown looks!

The sun was rising beautifully as I went to Cooperstown for retrieval this morning.

Have a wonderful week!!

07/10/2025

“We are told we need to rest in the postpartum, but so many birthing people arent told WHY. And sometimes it's the WHY that makes the difference between deep rest and deep regret. ⁠⁠
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The average diameter of a placenta is 22cm/8.6 inches. ⁠⁠
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You could say that it's the size of a side dinner plate, an average watermelon🍉 paper plate or a soccer ball ⚽️ for reference. It's also the size of the average placenta that we have just grown for 9 months. ⁠⁠
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After we birth the placenta, we are left with a wound inside of our uterus where the placenta was attached. If we had this wound on the outside, say on our back or chest, EVERYONE would be telling us to rest and they would help us! Also, the placenta is an organ, that we just expelled from our body, if we had lost a kidney or an appendix, 40 days of recovering would be pretty minimal and probably unheard of. Our doctors and family would expect us to rest longer.... ⁠⁠
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The wound site from the placenta is one of the main reasons for postpartum bleeding/lochia 🩸We lose about 1/10 of our blood supply from this open wound! So whether you had a c-section birth or vaginal, everyone has this bleeding wound. ⁠⁠
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It takes on average 6 weeks for this wound to heal. And this is just an average, because it depends on how much we rest, the nourishment we receive from food and support. So mothers who receive less may take longer, and mothers who prepare and set themselves up may heal quicker. ⁠⁠
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The longer the wound site is left open, the higher risk we have for infection and hemorrhage, even if you had a safe vaginal delivery or zero complications from birth. But because this is an internal aka hidden healing part of the postpartum recovery we don't always take it seriously. And neither does our community. ⁠⁠
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After birth we are hormonal, exhausted, emotionally vulnerable, learning to feed our baby AND our body is working hard to heal this huge wound. It's a lot. Do yourself a favor and REST and ask for help!
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If you are a partner or friend or family member, take this information in, SUPPORT is what they need.”