In many childbirth classes, and sometimes, in a doula’s prenatal visit with a client, there are ice cubes. I saw ice cubes in my training when I became a Lamaze educator and ice cubes in various professional development workshops. So what gives? The ice is given to pregnant people and their partners to simulate the […]
On the Transformative Power of Pain During Childbirth
Pain is a part of human existence. We experience physical pain or discomfort and mental or emotional pain or discomfort on a fairly regular basis. How we choose to deal with that pain is entirely up to us. Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. This is true of the pain of labor as well […]
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 […]
Our babies tell us what they need, we only need to listen
I believe: Our babies choose us to be their parents. They know that we are the perfect people to raise them in the way they need to be raised. We are a stage of their journey, and they are a stage in ours. Our babies choose their time to be conceived. Whether they are conceived […]
The Space Between, Finding the Stillness in Labor
There is a moment; one small moment that opens into stillness before it closes and brings us back to the work at hand. It is the space between the inhale and the exhale. It is the space between the exhale and the inhale. It is the briefest moment of stillness and quiet before the cycle […]