The Wholehearted Doula

08/11/2025

A gentle reminder of what we do and why we do it 💜

Doulas provide non-medical, emotional, physical and informational support.

This is our scope of practice.

07/11/2025

05/11/2025

Your nervous system is powerful and Elle TENS helps it do what it’s designed to do best: balance and heal 🌸

By gently blocking pain signals and encouraging endorphins, TENS therapy helps calm the body’s response, for relief that’s natural and effective.

Read more with our latest blog! Link in bio!

02/11/2025

This incredible image makes me wish I’d inspected Ottie’s cord more carefully. Of course, I was so caught up in him (and exhaling with relief) but I regret not paying closer attention. Perhaps if you have the opportunity, it’s something you might like to think about as you prepare for birth. 

The umbilical cord contains two arteries (umbilical arteries) and one vein (umbilical vein) which are buried within Wharton’s jelly, the gelatinous substance that makes up the cord. By the 5th week of pregnancy the umbilical cord is formed, replacing the yolk sac as the source of nutrients for the baby. It joins the placenta which transfers oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood to the baby. The baby’s heart pumps deoxygenated, nutrient-depleted blood through the umbilical arteries and back to the placenta.

The umbilical cord is a vital, fascinating connection and it’s definitely worth celebrating. Here’s to all the dads who cut their baby’s cord...always a little tricky albeit unforgettable.  

📷

31/10/2025

Looking for gentle sleep support for your baby (and you), check out my book 'Sleeping Like a Baby' (Penguin Random House), Its available on Audible if listening is easier.

https://pinkymckay.com/product/sleeping-like-a-baby-by-pinky-mckay/

19/10/2025

I consider this to be the most important sentence in my book, “What’s Right For Me? Making decisions about pregnancy and childbirth.”

There are 761 other paragraphs in the book.

(Yes, I looked this up. I love numbers.)

But this one stands out for me.

So much so that I repeated it and made it bold.

And turned it into a picture.

This is an important sentence about informed decision making.

Which is just as much about deciding what you don’t want on your pregnancy and birth journey as it is about deciding what you do want.

“What’s Right For Me?” has now been in print for twenty years, and it's in its third edition, which is the longest yet.

Unlike my other books, it doesn’t detail the evidence on a specific topic.

Instead, it helps you to understand and navigate the decisions that you’ll need to make on your pregnancy and birth journey.

It contains tips, tools and ways of thinking to help you approach your journey with more knowledge and confidence.

And, for this third edition, I included a bit of additional information about your rights.

I hope you’ll find it useful.

You can find out more about the book at https://www.sarawickham.com/me

And I have also updated my blog post which deals with an important aspect of this topic.

You can read that at https://www.sarawickham.com/riffing-ranting-and-raving/consent/

It's so important to get informed so that you can make the decisions that are right for you.

15/10/2025

Today, we remember the tiny lives that left footprints on our hearts before they could walk beside us.

To the people who carry invisible grief, to the families whose arms ache with absence —
your love, your pain, and your stories are seen and held.
At 7 PM tonight, we light a candle in honor of the babies we hold in our hearts instead of our
arms.
May the wave of light across the world bring comfort, healing, and connection.
🌹You are not alone.
🌹We remember. 🌹We love. 🌹We honor.

10/10/2025

Look away if you’re squeamish!
Tune in if you want to see how incredible the female body is and what a placenta looks like- an absolutely brilliant organ that only Women can grow and that helps nurture and house a tiny human as they grow and develop inside their Mama for (usually) 9 months! 😍🤩😍❤️

10/10/2025

Your milk is alive! It is constantly changing, adapting, and meeting your baby’s exact needs through every stage. From immunity at birth to brain and muscle development later on, your body knows exactly what to do. That’s the power of breastmilk. 💪🏽💛

06/08/2025