Seraphina Birth Doula

11/22/2022

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

Birth is an opportunity to transcend. To rise above what we are accustomed to, reach deeper inside ourselves than we are familiar with, and to see not only what we are truly made of, but the strength we can access in and through birth.

https://www.instagram.com/vida_for_mamas/


Words by: Marcie Macari
Photo credit: Martha Grace Birth Photography

10/13/2022

Some great ideas on supporting a new momma after delivery! Even something as simple as a supportive and encouraging text can mean so much in those first few weeks. Let’s face it, the postpartum period, the 4th trimester, is hard y‘all! Even if it’s your first or 5th baby, there are challenges and it’s hard! I’ve heard so many times “hey, I was going to text, but I didn’t to bother you”, but that text would have meant everything in that moment. Let this be your sign to reach out to a momma with encouragement, love and support! Trust me, she needs it. Motherhood is a beautiful thing, but far from easy ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤍

Some things you can do to support a new mama, bingo edition!

- Make nourishing foods for the new mama 🥑
- Do the dishes or a load of washing when you go to visit the new baby 🧼
- Ask the mama how she’s feeling!
- Make a cuppa for the new mama and yourself instead of holding the baby while mama does it ☕️
- Instead of just buying the baby a toy as a present, buy the new mama a massage voucher or voucher for a food delivery service too!🥦
- Call the mama and ask if she needs any groceries on your way over for your visit 🛒

E-Coh Health

10/12/2022

That first latch. Whether it was minutes or hours after birth. Whether your baby took to the breast like a champ, or needed help in finding their way. Whether they guzzled and slurped hungrily or lazily napped like my little nursling did. Whether you’re a nursing pro or a beginner. That first latch, though. Such an empowering and beautiful moment. A moment that cements the bond between you and your baby. Nothing is as sweet as that first latch.

10/12/2022

Look at these STUNNING birth photos. Love that these mommas are birthing their babies their own way with support from their midwives, doulas, birth partners etc. ❤️

📷 Birth Stories by Alexandria Mooney Photography

08/25/2022

Today is the first day of 2022! We're celebrating black doulas, midwives, lactation consultants, and medical professionals who are the frontline workers in a maternal healthcare system wrought with systemic racism and racial disparity. While policy changes to close these gaps lag far behind, you're saving the lives of black moms and babies every. single. day.

To all of the black breast/chestfeeding and pumping parents out there, we know that the lactation journey is hard. It's tiring. It's relentless. On some days it may feel downright impossible. But your body is beautiful, strong, and making miracles happen around the clock. We see you, and we've got your back 👏👏🏻 👏🏼 👏🏽 👏🏾👏🏿

08/19/2022

THIS!! 👇🏼👏🏼🙌🏼

A fearless birth isn’t about courage. It’s about informed consent.

So much fear is derived from the unknown. In a world that is driven by fast facts and media depictions of dramatic births, we need to slow down and acknowledge that you don’t need to be a super woman to have a natural birth, or any birth for that matter.

When a woman and her birth team are knowledgeable about the process, have a plan (A, B and C) and are respected in their decision making, the level of apprehension felt by women drops dramatically.

And when fear is released, space is created for the natural flow of birthing hormones that will naturally facilitate birth.

Being able to communicate with your care providers in an informed intentional way is key to having the birth you desire. And knowing that your team will respect your wishes when the time comes is integral to creating the sense of felt safety needed to facilitate natural birth.

If you want to learn more about how you can have a fearless birth, click the link 👉🏻 https://amzn.to/3Q8FjAr to grab a copy of ‘Release The Fear Of Birth: The Mind Body Integration Method’.

Temple Wellness and Yoga

08/17/2022

🗣Let’s Talk Affirmations🗣

An affirmation is a short power statement that allows you to consciously be in control of your thoughts. When you think them or say them out loud, they can become your reality. Affirmations can be powerful and push away negative thoughts or feelings.
During the course of labor it can be easy to get frustrated and discouraged. Preparing affirmations to repeat to yourself during labor and delivery is a good way to stay grounded and present🧘🏼
What are some of your favorite affirmations?

08/17/2022

The power of “NO”! As a birthing person you have rights. You have the right to choose your birth setting, whether it be home, birthing center, hospital etc. You have the right to choose your provider. You have the right to refuse certain medical procedures/ interventions like episiotomies, unnecessary or excessive cervical checks, membrane rupture or use of an epidural. Most importantly, you have the right to informed consent. Meaning, you have the right to receive information and ask questions about procedures or treatment so you can make an informed decision.

Use your BRAIN!
& I don’t really mean it literally.

B- What are the benefits?
R- What are the risks?
A- Is there an alternative?
I- What does your intuition say?
N- What happens next? (Or if I do nothing)

When you know all of the above about a procedure. You are only than able to make an informed decision.

Many mothers forget that they have rights in pregnancy and during birth. Just like any other situation, nobody can touch you or do anything to you without your permission – if they do, they run the chance that you could charge them with assault or sue.

YOU also make decisions for your baby. ⤵️

“The freedom to accept or refuse recommended medical treatment has legal as well as ethical foundations. . . . In the obstetric setting, recognize that a competent pregnant woman is the appropriate decision maker for the fetus that she is carrying” (ACOG Committee on Ethics Committee Opinion No. 390 Ethical Decision Making in Obstetrics and Gynecology; Dec 2007, reaffirmed 2013).

It’s recommended you talk to your medical team well before giving birth so everyone is on the same page. But please don’t be afraid to speak up. You are always allowed to say NO, even if things are strongly recommended.
Did you have a birth plan? Did your birthing place respect your wishes? Is there anything you wish you did differently?

Share with us below!👇🏼

08/05/2022

🗣 Intro Time 🗣

My name is Elizabeth (She/Her pronouns) and I am a BEST certified Doula serving Trumbull, Mahoning and Mercer counties. *Travel beyond those counties is possible, but will be on a case by case basis*. This little beauty in my arms is the inspiration for my business, but that’s a story for another post!

I am so excited to be a part of your pregnancy and birth journey, no matter what that looks like. I am here to support you whatever your birth plan includes or doesn’t! My services include, but not limited to:

⭐️Prenatal visits
⭐️24 hour on call support at 37+ weeks
⭐️Continuous, unlimited support for the duration of your labor
⭐️Postpartum visit
⭐️Postpartum support
⭐️Breastfeeding support
⭐️Resources for all things related to pregnancy, childbirth and feeding.
⭐️Use of your preferred pronouns/titles
⭐️Judgement free support 🫶🏽

I can support:
🪷Hospital or birthing center births
🪷Home birth
🪷Medicated or unmedicated birth
🪷Multiples (twins, triplets etc.)
🪷VBAC or Caesarean Birth
🪷LGBTQ+

E-mail Seraphinabirthdoula@gmail.com or message for more details. I can’t wait to hear from you ❤️

08/05/2022

All the feels 🥹

An absolutely beautiful twin birth to a gorgeous momma 💕💕.

These birth photos are stunning!

📷: The Bump Birthing Center

07/26/2022

Beautiful words and art by

“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.”

07/13/2022

Is your baby due in July or did you have a baby born in July? If so, here are some fun facts for your summer baby 👶🏼 ☀️

07/12/2022

Oh my goodness… ALL the feels! ❤️❤️ It’s the little lips for me!

Have you ever seen a baby born en caul? En caul births, or births where the baby is born still inside or partially inside their protective amniotic sac is a rare occurrence only happening in about 1 in 80,000 births! En caul births are also known as “mermaid births” or “veiled births”.

Video Credit: Ative

lideraoficial • Original Audio

07/12/2022

Delaying your baby’s first bath has so many benefits to both mom and baby. In addition to the benefits for baby’s skin, delaying that first bath increases bonding time and reduces stress on baby. A calm baby and mom will have a much easier time initiating breastfeeding.

Being born is stressful for babies and being separated from their parents right after birth can increase that stress. A baby who is taken away to be bathed shortly after birth is likely to release stress hormones which cause the heart rate and blood pressure to rise and blood sugar levels to fall. A distressed baby will find it harder to initiate breastfeeding.

Read more: https://www.lllc.ca/delaying-babys-first-bath-helps-breastfeeding

07/06/2022

Fetal Development Week-by-Week

1st Trimester

Week 7: Baby's head develops

Seven weeks into your pregnancy, or five weeks after conception, your baby's brain and face are growing. Depressions that will give rise to nostrils become visible, and the beginnings of the retinas form.

Lower limb buds that will become legs appear and the arm buds that sprouted last week now take on the shape of paddles.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/prenatal-care/art-20045302

06/22/2022

Fetal development Week-by-Week

1st Trimester

Week 6: The neural tube closes

Growth is rapid this week. Just four weeks after conception, the neural tube along your baby's back is closing. The baby's brain and spinal cord will develop from the neural tube. The heart and other organs also are starting to form.

Structures necessary to the formation of the eyes and ears develop. Small buds appear that will soon become arms. Your baby's body begins to take on a C-shaped curvature

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/prenatal-care/art-20045302