I’m Jade and I’m a Birth and Bereavement Doula specialising in Hypnobirthing and Home birth
(7)
11/04/2023
Out of the womb and into the light,
A brand new being, pure and bright,
A tiny body, delicate and small,
With endless potential, and love in thrall.
A cry echoes through the air,
Announcing a new life, beyond compare,
The joy and wonder, that fills the room,
As a new family is born, in love to bloom.
The miracle of birth, a wondrous thing,
As a new soul emerges, with a heart to sing,
A future filled with endless possibility,
And a journey of growth, with hope and tenacity.
So let us celebrate this miracle of life,
With love and joy, and without any strife,
For every birth, a new chapter starts,
A precious gift, that fills our hearts.
- J Wood
03/03/2023
Join me for 12 hours of childbirth education from the comfort of your own home! Classes take place online, via Skype every week for 4 weeks!
PLUS you get access to me as your virtual doula for the duration of your pregnancy, birth and postpartum journey 👼
Group Course dates for March/April:
27 March, 3 April, 10 April, 17 April
6:30PM - 9:00PM
Private Classes are held in a time that is suitable for your schedule.
Please feel free to dm me if you’d like to find out more or if you’d like to make a booking.
Jade ###
07/01/2023
😂 it’s funny cause it’s true!
That’s why re-birthing is so special 🥹💖
28/11/2022
I'm so grateful for our birthing session with you Jade. Not only did you guide us and give us the tools to help us plan and prepare for the birth of our baby girl, you truely embody what you teach.
Your on going support after the session is also something that is so rare these days. Helping us integrate and giving us the support and courage to stand in our truth and ask for exactly what we wanted from the doctors for the birth of our baby.
You gave us all the resources to show our doctors exactly the type of birth we wanted. It's because of these tools that we were able to have the exact birth we hoped for.
The doctors completely respected our birth plan and honoured everything we asked for. After the birth we had three of the professionals thanking us for showing them a different way.
They were so grateful to us for helping them see a different perspective and for giving them an opportunity to meet the needs of their client.
They thanked us as they know that the way they delivered put daughter India, will appeal to so many future clients, focusing on a more gentle approach, where the family is in complete control over the birth of their baby.
I’m grateful that this will open up to future soon to be parents too in Bali. I'm forever grateful to you Jade. My birth process was everything I hoped for and it allowed me to move into motherhood with ease.
It felt like such a graceful process for me and I believe with every fibre of my being that is was because of your incredible guidance in creating our birth plan and standing our ground, it was exactly as we anticipated.
Thank you for sharing your light, you are a gift to this world 🤍
With love, Sherri
🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
14/09/2022
Top Tip Tuesday 🤞
Labour can be many things that you want it to be but the truth is we don’t choose when we go into labour and we (sometimes*) don’t choose how long it will take for our baby to be born, in some cases we don’t even know who will care for us on the day of our birthing if we don’t have a private midwife caring for us.
Here just a small handful of advice I personally found helpful as a birthing mother - and which I now pass on to everyone that asks me for advice or that attends my classes 👌
*there are women that have used hypnobirthing techniques to choose how long their labour would be and on occasion, it was spot on to their experience. Mind over matter 😍
Do you have a tip to add or a question as a birth partner? 🥰
12/09/2022
It’s no shock to me that the Love Hormone, Feel Good hormones and Fight or Flight hormones are some of the primary hormones working to make birth happen effectively.
Birth is a process with many moving and working parts. When you look at it as a whole, it’s really very simple. It would be natural that when we unnecessarily interfere with the natural flow of birth hormones, birth becomes complicated.
Meet some of your Birth Hormones🥰
02/08/2022
Leisle is an amazing Support for mommies and of course their babies! ❤️
Boobalicious! Just for your baby. Ok husbands and partners to😜
If you are not sure if you can or want to breastfeed. Why not come for a chat💕
19/07/2022
It is baffling that women of colour have a higher chance of dying during pregnancy and childbirth- due to a lack of adequate care from the system meant to protect women and babies.
“AFTERSHOCK”, will premiere on Hulu, Disney+ and Star+ NEXT Tuesday, July 19, 2022
AFTERSHOCK depicts the tragic and preventable death of Shamony Makeba Gibson who died in 2019, just died 13 days following the birth of her second child. The film picks up two months following her death, as Shamony's surviving mother, Shawnee Benton Gibson, bereaved partner, Omari Maynard, their family and community begin navigating their new normal.
Amber Rose Isaac, a 26-year-old first time mother, died due to an emergency c-section after medical providers failed to address a treatable condition that she had during her pregnancy. Within weeks of Amber's death, Omari reaches out to Amber's surviving partner, Bruce McIntyre, and a lifelong bond is formed. Together, Omari, Bruce and Shawnee begin the fight for justice for their lost loved ones while caring for the children that were left behind.
Through the film, we witness two families who become ardent activists in the maternal health space, seeking justice through legislation, medical accountability, community, and the power of art, ritual and healing. Through their collective journeys, we find ourselves on the front lines of the growing birth justice movement that is demanding systemic change within our medical system and government.
IMPORTANT: We encourage every person who is able, to watch Aftershock individually to amplify the views on the Hulu platform and to demonstrate that we are committed to stopping the scourge of black maternal morbidity and mortality.
Please visit hulu.com to access the film. If you don’t have an account, create a free trial today!
It took becoming a mum, for me to finally find my rebellious side. I've been described as 'nice' and 'inoffensive' my entire life.
But with motherhood came a realisation, an awakening. Because as much as I love being his mum, I’m not so enamoured by the institution of motherhood.
And I’ve discovered that I'm not so good at following its rules. Or its books. But what I once saw as failure, was in fact failure to comply to an imagined framework of impossible ideals written by somebody else.
So, forgive me, but I will feed to sleep. I will rock to sleep. I will (god forbid) indulge in eye-contact with my child at bedtime.
I will embrace the danger nap.
I will skip a bath tonight if we are both beyond it.
I will let go of 'he should be doing this by now'.
I will stop beating myself up for not having arts and crafts available at every turn.
I will let him get bored occasionally.
I will let him snack just before meals to avoid the mother of all meltdowns. I will choose my battles.
I will buy the shop-bought birthday cake.
I will incorporate 'lazy' moments into the course of our day, so that I am not left spent by the end of it.
I now revel in these quiet acts of rebellion; with the knowledge that he is fed, he is safe, he is LOVED.
They don’t teach you how your body works in school
Why would they want to?
The less you know, the more it benefits them.
Your skin is bad at 16? Take this contraceptives pill, we won’t tell you about the side affects.
Every month she writhes in agony, “it’s the Curse of Eve” they say.
But they failed to mention Lilith who chose to do things her way.
They didn’t teach you that you’re the Earth, too. That every month you go through four seasons. They didn’t tell you that you can track your cycle and avoid falling pregnant other ways, too.
They didn’t tell you what happens when you miscarry a baby, or when you need to terminate. They don’t prepare you, for labour - because that’s what it is.
They don’t offer support, I mean, why would she need it? “She chose to have unprotected s*x, right? She chose to open her legs and let a man in. She chose to put her own life first, again- that’s a sin”
I’ve seen how they mistreat women, regardless of where she’s at. She can be birthing the very same baby she was forced to keep and she will still be treated like trash on a dirty street.
Unless she’s privileged with a doula that knows how to manoeuvre the red tape. Women also hire doulas to support them through their abortions, yet so many are afraid to publicly state that they serve in this way- how dare you walk that fine line between life and death? How dare you support a woman regardless of her choices.
How dare you go against the plan set out against us? Take our autonomy, bit by bit. Ignore the issues as they spit poison at those who have no options but to sit with it.
Do not crumble under the pressure, do not become stifled by the words they utter. Remember that we are all standing up, together, my sisters ❤️
25/06/2022
Your God and mine cannot be the same
21/06/2022
I always mention this in my hypnobirthing classes!
There is such a deep and beautiful conmection between the throat and the pelvic floor- allow them to be open in a way that feels most natural to YOU ❤️
I think it's time for these births to receive some admiration too 💪
While we mostly focus on & admire all the "calm & gentle" births, I feel like it also sets the stage for your more aggressive & intense births to be disregarded or even frowned upon; it's like we're all silently saying "if you don't have a calm, gentle birth, then you didn't do it right."
Women work so hard at all of these breathing & relaxation techniques with hypnobirthing, meditation & endless practices on how to have a 'calm birth' but it can also lead a woman down a road of potential disappointment & subtle feelings of failure or weakness if this was not achieved. We NEED to embrace & acknowledge the beauty & power of aggressive births too so that women can feel confident going into the birth room regardless of the type of birth she has - whether she breathes her baby out or screams.
I love telling ladies to "be aggressive" during labour, especially towards the end of transitional phase & more so if that phase is taking long & she is beginning to feel exhausted, defeated or losing a bit of hope. Almost always, I find that once a woman releases tension through acts of aggression (growling, shouting, screaming & even swearing; whatever suits her, individually), there is a sudden shift in progression of the last stretch of labour which enables her to birth her baby more easily.
Not remaining calm does not make you a failure.
Being loud & frustrated does not make you weak.
Shouting at your baby to "GET OUT!!!" does not make you a horrible mother.
Growling, screaming or shouting instead of gently breathing does not make your birth any less beautiful!
Vocalization is IMPORTANT for the release of endorphins & more often than not, acts of aggression can be a more effective mode of tension release for some women than what we've been told otherwise with relaxation methods.
You CAN be aggressive & it should be more encouraged & invited in the birth room. As long as you're not hurting anyone, aggression can be a very useful tool for coping too.
Were you aggressive?
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To find out more about my Gauteng doula services or products, you can visit my website here: www.yourdoula.co.za
“I am a Full Spectrum Doula and Childbirth Educator residing in Jeffrey’s Bay in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
I have had a varied range of experiences in my own birthing having had an elective Caesarean at 19 years old - followed by a healing Vaginal Birth after Caesarean and then Home birth after Caesarean.
I was completely uninformed with my first born, thus my choice to have an elective caesarean. I was separated from my son for 6 hours after birth and was told I had the wrong ni***es for breastfeeding by nurses attending to me post birth; I simply believed them. I developed postpartum depression and struggled through motherhood and later lost my son in a tragic accident as a toddler.
When I fell pregnant with my second born, I knew how critical every decision I made was in the bigger picture. I immediately scoured the internet to find out if vaginal birth after caesarean was possible and found out that I would benefit from hiring a doula.
In my search for a doula I came across a local organisation running bereavement doula training and my heart swelled with a knowing - it was my purpose to support other parents through child loss. I was also lucky to find my own birth doula at the training and walked away a very pregnant bereavement doula.
The beginning of my VBAC journey was frustrating, I was told I would die if I attempted a VBAC but that only made me more determined. I went on to birth with a midwife, my doula and my husband at a birthing centre. I had a beautiful birth and I was fuelled with passion to help other women experience a healing birth, too. Within a few months I was a certified birth doula and pregnant again!
This time I knew that I wanted to birth at home and attended the My Birthing Kit practitioner training during my pregnancy. It was wonderful that the training coincided with covid lockdowns and my own pregnancy; as I could truly feel the benefit this level of childbirth education provides in such a vulnerable time. I birthed my daughter at home and she was born in her caul, I finally managed to exclusively breastfeed and had what many called a “unicorn baby” - she just didn’t cry! She was the epitome of the “calm” I focused on so much in my own childbirth preparation.
I love supporting women as they come into the awe-some realisation that their body is fully capable of birthing. I adore listening to birth stories, birth hopes and desires - and I really, really love helping families navigate a system that is somewhat flawed.
It is my hope to support as many families as I can, so that they may have the same privilege I have had to have an informed, positive birth”
14/06/2022
A little girl was born
And the first words she ever heard
were the words she asked to hear first
“I love you
I love you so much“
Words uttered through tears of joy, emotions gushing out of a heart newly burst
Burst open by an experience of pure divinity
Granted to me by some Wise Creator
How could one describe the power of creation as it moves through you?
How could I make it believable that one could feel a tide swell and choose to ride each and every single wave- even when it feels like they could knock the breath out of you?
Could I ever make it tangible, the sensation of the sheer force of Apana energy as it drives downward, as a baby comes spiralling out of you?
And somehow lands as delicately as a feather on a pond of water, into your arms?
12/05/2022
Sometimes birth requires a lot of intense hard work on both the part of mom and baby.
This sweet girl was shocked by own her quick entrance into the world.
It was an intense fast birth and she weighed - 4,54kgs!
📸 and by
・・・
11/05/2022
It’s so much easier to listen when I am silent ☀️✨
28/02/2022
A testimonial from a client who started her yoga journey referring to herself as obese.
As weeks have rolled by I've noticed less and less negative body talk. I've noticed her fully dropping into self awareness. I've noticed her breathing deeper. I've seen her gently and softly smile to herself while guiding her through an inner child meditation.
It's beautiful to me, how the practice of yoga can transform lives.
It's not about being flexible in the body or looking good. It's about being flexible in the mind and about feeling good. It's about transcending the "I" that often pollutes potential moments of peace.
Being able to guide others through this practice means the world to me. It's such an honour ❤️
If you would like to learn more about beginning your yoga practice, please feel more than welcome to be in contact with me via DM 🙏
Hari Om Tat Sat 🕉️
22/02/2022
Finally on my way to yes
I bump into
all the places
where I said no
to my life
all the untended wounds
the red and purple scars
those hieroglyphs of pain
carved into my skin, my bones
those coded messages
that send me down
the wrong street
again and again
where I find them
the old wounds
the old misdirections
and I lift them
one by one
close to my heart
and I say holy
holy.
~ Pesha Gertler, from “The Healing Time”
18/02/2022
This is so true!
09/02/2022
I'm often asked "what will we learn in your course?
And I want to start with what you WON'T learn.
You won't learn to submit to a system that disregards tha Physiology of Birth.
You won't learn to" take things as they come"
You won't learn to accept interventions without knowing the WHY and the HOW.
You won't learn to disregard your own birth wishes for the comfort of another.
You will learn to reclaim your sovereignty, to reclaim birth as a miraculous Rite of Passage. To stand in your power for the sake of both your baby and yourself.
My next course starts this Saturday 12 February at 8am.
Send me a Direct Message if you have any questions or follow the link in my bio to learn more.
09/02/2022
Continued from previous post
I remember sitting in those Antenatal classes and finding myself correcting everything being said, in my head. I was shocked that people were paying money for classes that were only telling half a story.
I recall we had been given a notebook for the classes and that my notebook was empty after those two days. Part of me felt arrogant and part of me felt annoyed that people were being told half a story about the miraculous nature of birth.
On the second day, when I mentioned that I wouldn't be birthing at the hospital but that I was planning a Water Vaginal Birth after Caeserean at a birth centre - heads spun around. "Aren't you scared?" "what if something goes wrong?"
I just didn't feel that way, even after a gynae laughed in my face when I told him my wishes and said to my husband, "you don't want your wife to die, do you?"
I trusted my body, I trusted the process of birthing. In fact, what I was most afraid of was being a Mom to a newborn again and knowing that my grief journey was going to take a whole new route. I was less concerned about birthing as I was about being a good mom to my newborn. I was more concerned about how I would react to my newborn when my heart was still so deeply aching for my late son.
This came up during my labour and I had to do a lot of mental work before I could surrender fully. I realize this was why I had a very intense 24 hour prodormal labour - there were so many unconscious fears I had around parenting that kept me holding on to still being pregnant.
This is why I absolutely adored attending the very same Antenatal Classes that I now teach, while pregnant in the height of the c-vid pandemic.
Just knowing what is taking place physically is a beautiful way to surrender to the process of birthing - but what really holds us back is the subconscious mind. All the stories we heard about birthing either through our own parents' experience and especially through the media.
This is why Antenatal education that includes rewiring our deep set beliefs is imperative to having a positive birth experience. We have to look deeper to find what our intuition already knows.
Link in Bio for more information❤
04/02/2022
Mindful Childbirth Preparation
When carrying a new life and getting ready for birthing, being prepared is imperative.
Sadly due to the medicalization of birth, many families have been left disappointed and sometimes traumatized by the level of care that they received during their pregnancy and/or birth.
Having worked in this field and having experienced three different types of birth, I myself, have felt the very real benefit of having attended Childbirth Preparation Classes based on Hypnobirthing philosophy.
Fear and anxiety are common in both first time Moms and Moms who have previously birthed.
In such a special and vulnerable time, families should be able to embrace and enjoy the journey, relaxing and surrendering to the miracle that is pregnancy and birth. Yet Moms find themselves, suddenly, in a new world entirely!
Well-meaning advice from family can add to the already long lists of questions and moms find themselves overwhelmed.
This is where the My Birthing Kit Syllabus comes in. Along with an in-depth ebook written by Creator and Founder of MBK- Kim Young, printable affirmations and pre-recorded relaxations; the syllabus covers everything (and more) that an expecting family needs to know. Geared toward both the birthing mother and her partner, these classes leave families feeling confident and excited for their birthing.
Classes are held weekly for 4 weeks, online via Skype.
Group Classes are R1800 (including your downloadable materials) for both mother and her birthing partner.
Payment plans available on request. 💐
31/01/2022
Do you want to have a positive, informed birth? 🔜
Something I emphasize in my Mindful Childbirth Preparation Course is how fear and anxiety not only affect our pregnancy journey but the physiology of labour too!
I've seen countless birthing couples begin these classes fearful, unsure of what the best course of action is to prepare for their ideal birth and quite frankly disempowered in a time that they should feel the MOST powerful!
Childbirth Education is proven to improve birthing outcomes, especially when the partner of the birthing person is also fully informed and aware of how the role they play can affect their partner's experience.
4 Weekly Classes- one month to explore, learn and reprogram your mind from fear to confidence. To understand who is the best person to care for you during this time, to feel into what we really want for our birthing and to release limiting beliefs that tell us stories about why we "can't."
My passion is in birthing but there's something quite amazing about empowering women to remember WHO they are without the fear of what is to come.
Link in my bio via my Linktree (which will be updated with some beautiful new offerings for women in all seasons of their life soon!)
Share this post with someone you know that is expecting, check out my website to learn more about what it is that I do and know that NONE of my services will ever be inaccessible. If what I do calls to you, know that I will always do my best to accommodate your situation.
Now is the time to reclaim our sovereignty - sometimes it starts where life does ❤️
20/01/2022
05/01/2022
*Online Pregnancy Yoga*
As a Birth Worker and a Mommy that has given birth 3 times, I have seen and felt the positive benefits of practicing Yoga.
💭What are the benefits of prenatal yoga?💭
Much like other types of childbirth-preparation classes, prenatal yoga is a multifaceted approach to exercise that encourages stretching, mental centering and focused breathing.
Research suggests that prenatal yoga is safe and can have many benefits for pregnant women and their babies.
Prenatal yoga can:
💜Improve sleep
❤️Reduce stress and anxiety
💙Increase the strength, flexibility and endurance of muscles needed for childbirth
💖Decrease lower back pain, nausea, headaches and shortness of breath
All Levels are welcome, I meet you where you're (m)at! 😉
Interested? Pop me a message and let's chat!! ❤️
04/01/2022
Today is 7 years since my Sun went to the water and marks the beginning of the 10 days of his transition from Earth to Heaven.
A few nights ago Malakai asked to sleep in his own room and and I lay down with him so he could fall asleep. Jasmine was sleeping in our room.
Malakai was super sleepy and said "someone... someone is missing" and we asked him l, "Who?" and he said "Sissy!!" We told him that she's okay and that she was sleeping in our room and he felt better. He laid there in between us and I watched his eyes flutter into sleep.
Then it hit me, like ton of bricks. That's how it feels, everyday. Someone's missing.
To feel someone with you all the time but not to feel their warmth.
Someone's missing.
There's a little boy angel boy with blue eyes who likes to cause technical problems on my devices. Yes, he does that.
He is happy, where he is in Heaven, he told me. He eats ice cream EVERY DAY and his Great Grandad never says no to more!
He said that his Mom and Dad have pictures of him and he likes them. He said his Dad has his name written on him and it makes him smile. Our tattoos of him are like a letter written in skin "I can't ever forget you"
He races around leaving a trail of stardust and laughter, carving out raceways in the Heavens. He said that when he left it was easy for him.
He said he just went to sleep. He didn't feel any pain. I always wondered what it felt like, for him. He just fell asleep. He just fluttered away from here. From me, from us.
The warmth of his body now replaced by a warm breeze, a tug on my dress from one of his siblings..
That's how it feels when you lose your child, like something is missing from you. A chronic longing even through the acceptance of it all.
I am always missing, you Kaeden. Today we will go get ice cream for your brother and sister and you will show us something to remind us how true it is, when we say that you are alwaaaays with us.
Please forgive me as I shed tears for you. As I hang out in the love I cannot physically give to you. As I thank God for giving you to me, even though you went back earlier than I could have know.
I love you, forever.
27/12/2021
If there is anything I witnessed this year as a birthworker, is that women birth beautifully when they have been thoroughly educated in their beautiful and sacred physiology.
They birth beautifully because there is no room for fear when we are in awe of the sacred dance of our hormones and anticipate, instead of fear, the beauty of a time suspended between heaven and Earth.
They birth in a manner that brings peace to their hearts and to their minds. They understand the duality of the transition from Mother to Maiden and they are prepared. First, by knowing what we all go through in those first few days. They prepare their loved ones by holding fast to their worthiness to bw fully held and to relax into Motherhood.
They do not feel imprisoned by this experience but inflated in love and awareness of their own sacred nature.
They feel God present in every moment, in every tear shed, in every drop of blood spilling from the Sacred Portal that manifested as a flower blooming, coursing with electricity.
I've spent so much time, this year- watching women bloom. Maiden to Mother. I've watched women take the birth they want, just with a tiny nudge as God works through me.
I've stepped out of my role as a teacher and asked women to question if they are making decisions from a place of fear and seen how so many of us already know that we can do whatever we truly want in this life. So many of us feel the need to seek permission and yet, birth doesn't work that way.
Birth comes when it wants, birth takes it's time- like a rosebud or it comes hot and heavy like a lightning storm being pulled from the edge of the Earth- by the force of Air.
I am in awe of women. I am in awe of the shift taking place in the world of birth. I am in awe as I see, feel and hear Mother Earth rejoice each time a baby is born gently.
I am so grateful to every mother who trusts me to guide, hold space, to lay hands on them in such sacred moments. I am so grateful to be a channel from the Divine, enabling me to step into my power ❤️
An art collaboration between myself and my beautiful husband and my favourite birth companion ❤️
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🚩Let’s book your Caeserean just in case🚩
As a Childbirth Educator and a Doula that instantly translates into
“I don’t care about your birth wishes”
I’m here to remind you that it’s never, EVER too late to change your care provider. I always tell my clients “you should feel excited when going for a check up, not anxious!”
Your body knows things the mind cannot comprehend, anxiety, wasps in your tummy and straight up fear are all signs that your care provider is NOT the right person for you. I will always, always recommend that a birthing person hire a Midwife as their primary care giver for a Vaginal Birth, with a Gynaecologist as a back up.
My Gynaecologist Dr Sikakane is exactly the type of Gynaecologist every person deserves. She has been my back up for both my VBACs and both my husband and I adore her. We walked away from my check ups beaming with excitement and confidence 🤭
I also refer all my clients in Johannesburg to her and if I could clone her for all the world to access her care, I would do it and be proud about it 🤭😂 It interests me as to why some gynaecologists just GET it🤔❤️
BUT if you can’t find a supportive care provider here’s a tip: Tell them “no thank you.” End. Of. Story.
#childbirthchoicesmatter #childbirtheducator #childbirth #childbirthclass #doula #doulalife #doulasupport #doulalove #doulas #doulaservices #hypnobirthing #hypnobirth #vbac #vbacwithoutfear
@thepositivepregnancyjourney
@doulajade
Your husband won’t let you have a homebirth?
I’ve successfully converted 5 Dads from hospital-cause-it’s-safer to full on home birth advocates.
Most of the time Dad’s won’t even hear the mention of it because they wonder “what if something goes wrong?” But did you know that even if a birthing person needed an emergency caeserean, they would still need to wait for the theatre to be prepped which can take anything between 30 min to 70minutes?
This would mean that even if you did need an emergency transfer from your home birth (which studies indicate happen between 0% to 5.4% :2014 Blix et al) you would have enough time to transfer from home to your local hospital.
In mentioning this, women birth easier when in their own environment, as long as there is no presence of fear - which is usually the product of childbirth education and absolute trust in the body’s ability to birth!
Want to know more? DM Book a FREE 30 minute discovery call with me to find out more about my Childbirth Education Classes and other birth services.
#homebirth #waterbirth #naturalbirth #birthwithoutfear #freebirth #hypnobirthing #unassistedbirth #midwife #doula #birth #empoweredbirth #birthmatters #homebirthmama #vbac #midwifery #birthdoula #homebirthbaby #homeiswherethebirthis #birthphotography #childbirth #midwifelife #positivebirth #birthkeeper #childbirtheducation #orgasmicbirth #birthpool #homebirthmidwife
This video perfectly describes what exactly happens in Childbirth.
The Pink Surges - Oxytocin, the love hormone. Responsible for the "contractions" that bring baby down and out- but also, that is the magic that allows Breastmilk to pass through the "gate" of the nipple! Stimulated by skin-to-skin touch and eye contact, this is why having a birth companion that you trust and love with you is so absolutely beneficial.
The Blue Starry Sensations- Endorphins, the Relaxation hormones. Stimulated by staying in a state of focused relaxation- pain relieving, stress blocking and made for your body, transferred to your baby by your brain. Did I mention that they are stronger than morphine and pass through the Placenta go to your baby?
See how when the lights go on and a stranger walks in- the Physiology of birth halts? Oxytocin is indeed a shy hormone, if you can't orgasm in a room full of people, odds are that birthing with a room full of people may well halt your labour as it sends a signal of "hey! This isn't safe!"
Dimming lights, playing calm music and having a loving and calm support companion is one of many ways to provide the perfect environment for birthing. Have you ever seen a cat birth in thr light of day? We're mammals, too!
I teach all of this and so much more in my Mindful Childbirth Preparation Classes. 10 hours of Childbirth Education- fear release, tools for your birthing partner and so much more for only R1800 per couple (Group Classes) or R4800 per couple (private classes at a time that suits you better.) These prices include downloadable materials and tools that are yours for life!
Our next Group Online Class Series begins on Thursday 28th of October and believe me, they are FUN and for a lack of better words Awe Inspiring ♥️
To find out more reach out to me via email or give me a call on 079 298 9628 and we can chat about which options will suit you best!
@all4birth thank you, thank you and thaaank you for creating this beautiful short film
An Underwater View of a Water Birth 😍
𝘽𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝😍
This video has taken the breath right out of me! As a Mama and Doula who has had two VBACs in water and who has attended multiple water births, seeing this just send a surge of endorphins through my body (in lamens terms- I've got goosebumps!)
I don't feel like one can ever not feel in absolute awe of this miraculous moment, whether on land or in water.
But since you're here, let's talk about the The Evidence around Water Birth:
- 𝙇𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙮
A randomized trial from two hospitals in South Africa (Bovbjerg et al. 2016; Nikodem 1999). The Nutter et al. (2014a) review looked over the evidence and concluded that waterbirth is indeed linked to a decreased use of episiotomy compared with land birth.
- 𝙇𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙛
The Nutter et al. (2014a) review looked at eight studies that included this outcome and found that people who give birth in water use less pain medication than people who give birth on land
- 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙇𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙧
In the Gayiti et al. (2015) randomized trial of 160 first-time mothers, researchers found that the total length of labor was shorter for the people giving birth in water by 50 minutes on average compared to the people having land births.
Personally, I just adore labouring and birthing in water. Perhaps I was a mermaid in a previous life🧜♀️😉
@laurenanddouglas.birth you captured this moment beautifully! To this Mama, well done! And to this precious life, welcome Earthside! ❤️
I hope that this video and evidence encourages anyone who feels this type of birthing to be for them abd their baby, to seek out the support they may need to birth in the way that they feel is best!
Isn't birth just so, so beautiful?
Choose a care provider with whom you feel safe to ask for help, from!
I recently arranged an information session for a HypnoBirthing Class with a respected Midwife and she said something that stood out to me- "We are facilitators."
Birth happens best when undisturbed, with continuous support. It's okay to plan a hands-off birth and ask for help! In fact, it should be something we all learn to do as mothers.
Closing of the Bones Ceremony at a client's home ❤
A little blessing altar for a Closing the Bones Ceremony I did for a VERRRY special lady. In the same room (and almost the same spot) she gave birth to her last born baba 😍
Mama says she is ready and open for her next little love to come to her 😍❤😁 Super Special!
😂😂😂
"Oh my Goddess!"
That moment your hopes and dreams are fulfilled ❤
Congratulations to the incredible Nurturing Nova family on the birth of your Aluna. May her brothers Zion and Phoenix protect her and may your family continue to live out your Truth ❤
Katya waited a long wait for spontaneous labour to begin and is one of the sisters of the Freebirth Society, giving birth to her 3rd baby at home at 41 + weeks, unassisted with the go ahead and support of her care provider.
Follow Katya on Instagram, she is an amazing conscious mama with all so much wisdom ❤
@nurtingnovas
Meet Gabriela. Or Stephanie. Or Yana.
The same little baby, born into 3 different realities. The possibilities, the realities, the beauty of choices and our ability to keep going.
❤️
Short Film by Toby Lloyd & Connor Deedigan
At the tender age of 18 years old I fell pregnant with my late son, Kaeden. Being young and having very little support, I opted for an elective caesarean with little expectations for his birth as the idea of being a young, single Mom, alone, was frightening and consuming all my energy.
When Kaeden was born, I felt overwhelmed, out of the loop and highly offended by common chit chat about coffee and traffic by the surgical staff as my son came into the world. I gave birth to him at 7:20am and met him for the first time at 5pm that afternoon. I was left alone, scared and confused. I was told I had the incorrect ni***es for breastfeeding and never had the chance (or the knowledge) to breastfeed him.
On the 14th of January 2015 Kaeden passed away after 10 days in Paediatric ICU due to a near drowning accident. This tragic event changed my life and shook me to awaken to the reality of how sacred life is. I began my very own path to spirituality, redefining everything I knew of myself, about my life and what I had experienced and created and vowed to live each day in gratitude for each breath I take. When I fell pregnant with my second child, a lovely little boy who we named Malakai- I felt a tremedous amount of discomfort knowing he would be brought into the world in a way that seemed, to me, to be cold and not respecting of his soul’s journey.
I did my research and found myself with a gynae who told me I would die if I tried to give natural birth, however, I had already educated myself on the statistics and decided that I would prefer to have a midwife led-birth in a birthing centre with a Doula I had met while training as a Bereavement Doula.
As a woman who has never had feminine support on this level, I was blown away by the confidence and ease I felt birthing, even though everyone said I was crazy! I was able to use my pregnancy to focus on my mental state, while still doing appropriate research to inform myself of my birth options. For the first time, I felt truly safe in something that was utterly unknown.
48 hours of labour, an incredible Doula, a supportive husband, brilliant midwives and a stunning birthing unit and I had achieved my dream of having a Sacred Birth. What made it sacred? The fact that I felt I could draw power from the woman who supported me and all the women that they had supported before, I felt aware of what was taking place. I felt empowered, in a way I had never imagined I could feel.
All my life I have wanted to make a meaningful contribution towards society and the greater collective. I spent many years in frustration in not having the means to make powerful contributions and after a few months at home with Malakai, I realized that I so deeply wanted and needed to be a doula. I realized that if my experience could be so profound, to the point where I feel that I was reborn in strength, patience, courage and the ability to surrender to what will be- surely I could assist other women in this experience, too?
My vision of birth is that it is special, sacred and that the woman birthing is treated with utmost love and respect, as if it were her own loved ones attending the birth of her baby.
I am a certified WOMBS Birth Doula as well as a Bereavement Doula trained with Mama Nurture.
It is not about having a birth unmedicated, or having a homebirth- it is about a soon to be mother making choices that she is happy with, that will bring her a sense of peace and that she is treated with love and dignity at all times. It is about realizing that Motherhood and the ability to create and birth life, is a responsibility and gift that was granted to Womben because we are so able to fill each and every role that comes with it- especially so when we do not have to do it alone.