There is one choice that affects your whole birth experience. It sets the tone for your prenatal visits and affects all further choices you have during pregnancy, labor and birth. Choosing your care provider is the most important choice you can make. Do you choose an Obstetrician, Family Practice physician, Maternal Fetal Medicine or a Midwife? […]
The Practice of Mindfulness During Labor
This is a guest post by our doula, Amanda Guntrum. If you have picked up a book on labor or attended a birth prep class, you probably have come across the term “mindfulness.” When I started studying for my doula certification I came across this term often, but having no background in meditation I merely […]
A doula softens a mother’s fears about her upcoming birth.
When a first birth doesn’t go as planned and a mother feels hurt, lost and afraid, she turns to her doula, Anneliese, for mentoring and support. Through her compassion and attentiveness, Anneliese lights this mother’s path so her fears are dissolved and she can move forward with grace and confidence to her upcoming birth with […]
An unintended guest at a birth mitigated by a Doula’s grace.
Sometimes we want additional friends or family members to join us for our births. Other times, we’d prefer birth to be a more private event. Margaret, one of our Shining Light Doulas, shares a story of an unintended guest and how she gracefully managed a challenging situation and turned it around to be a positive […]
A Doula story of empowerment and calm from Amanda
Birth stories, from all perspectives, are integral into a mother’s perception of labor and childbirth. Stories connect us and bind us in joy, sadness, anger or elation. It’s the stories that humanize an experience. Shining Light Doula, Amanda Guntrum, has a story for you. She tells us of a recent birth she attended and how profoundly […]