Rhiannon Carmichael, IBCLC, Birth and Postnatal Doula

29/10/2025

29/08/2025

Ma. Mama. Mommy. Mom. Mam.

No separation. Even in sleep she is pressed by them, presses them, impresses them, heart and mind filled as body was once filled. Even in sleep, she fills us, knows us, senses us, our needs, our desires, our demands.

Ma. Mama. Mommy. Mom. Mam.

Never alone. Someone always tugging, at sleeve, at heart, at patience. No separation.

Mommy. Mommy. Ma, ma, ma.

She dances, she sings, she is beautiful in her desire. But even in that dance, that song, even that desire, even then she is plural: another, others, always with her, within her, she, never without. And we, never without her.

Ma. Mammy. Mommy. Mom.

Always the need, hurt, demand. Always the fullness. The press, the plurality. Always someone tugging. Never alone.

Ma. Mama. Mommy.

Feeling need as it rises. At a cry, milk comes. At a sob, arms stretch. Like bursting, to hold back. She floods, she reaches, she holds, she touches, she touches, she touches. She becomes us; we become her; no separation. Need answering need answering need.

Mammy. Mommy. Mom.

Matter, mater, material, materialize. Flesh of woman. This our body, this our blood. Never alone. No separation.

Ma. Ma.

The open mouth. The full breast. The surge of connection. The matrix: core of being.

Ma.

~ Patricia Monaghan, Mother, from Seasons of the Witch

Art: Marileen Lewis
Flor do Mar

28/08/2025

“They told you about the contractions but did they tell you about the expansion?
Did they tell you how your body would open to make way for the whole universe to pass through?
Did they tell you how your heart would explode with a love bigger than anything you’ve ever known as you pulled your baby to your chest

They told you about the ring of fire but did they tell you about the crown of stars?
Did they mention that there is a moment when your baby enters the world and you leave your body and touch the heavens and become the light of a million galaxies?
Did they tell you how the pain of stretching to receive your child would be more exquisite than any sensation you’ve felt?

They told you you would scream but did they tell you about how you would roar?
Did they tell you about the power that would rise up from your belly as you called your baby forth with your mighty voice?
Did they tell you how you would embody the wild woman within you and breathe fire with your song?

They told you you would bleed but did they tell you how that sacred blood wouldn’t scare you?
How you would feel grateful for that magical liquid of life as it trickled down your leg?
How you would honor its flow and how it would help you heal a lifetime of hating your body’s bleeding cycles?

They told you these stories and taught you to fear birth, to fear your power, to fear yourself.
But you’re stronger and wiser than that mama.
You know that birth is your divine dance, your soul’s song, your moment with God, and you walk fearlessly into her open arms.”

~ Catie Atkinson
on Instagram

Art: Paz Treuquil, “Pulliwen”

https://www.paztreuquil.com/

NOTE: Not all pregnancies and births are the same. Some are fraught with complications, trauma, and heartache. Our hearts go out to these with compassion, support, and love.
💞Rebekah

28/08/2025

Do you remember the
sound
of the hips that cracked
to birth you
echoing all the way back
to the First Mother?

The ten thousand secrets
whispered into your blood
by every woman
that came before you.

The blessings of your lineage;
how to know yourself
how to live a life
how to heal.

The burdens;
how to hold your tongue
how to carry your pain
how to pass it on.

You look just like your mother's mother's mother
when the sun hits your face
and her voice slips through your lips
when you stand firm-footed
and say;
I remember.

You look just like your daughter's daughter's
daughter
when the moon reflects in your eyes
and her voice drips from your tongue
when you stand firm-footed
and say;
this ends with me.

Don't you realize
that you can midwife your own birth
as often as you need to?

Listen closely
to the pulse of silence
in the deep velvet of your womb
until you hear a gentle voice
that whispers
"this is the way!

~ Gina Puorro, "Mother"
https://www.facebook.com/gina.puorropuorro

Art: Amanda Greavette
Amanda Greavette Fine Art

28/08/2025

24/08/2025

This week MoMa mourns the death of Dr Michel Odent. He was a champion for mothers & giving birth “back to women”. His advocacy reminded us that birth is a physiological, deeply instinctive process, with a natural integrity which should be protected from unnecessary intervention.

He drew an unbroken line from birth to breastfeeding, naming what mothers and babies truly need. He had a deep understanding of the mother-baby dyad and wrote on many related topics, empowering women to make their own choices.

He was an inspiration to the founders of MoMa Breastfeeding and we acknowledge his legacy in our work. A life well lived, by a remarkable man who will be greatly missed.

https://momab.org.uk/dr-michel-odent-1930-2025/

21/08/2025

We are deeply saddened to hear news of the passing of Michel Odent, whose vision and writing reshaped the way we understand human birth.

Michel Odent reminded us that birth is not a medical procedure to be controlled, but a primal rythm to be respected. He advocated for home-like maternity units, warm water births, protecting the birthing woman's privacy and honouring her instincts, undisturbed contact between mother and newborn; he was among the first to discuss the importance of the microbiome, and question many of the practices that had (and have) become normalised in overmedicalised maternity systems globally.

"The first intervention in natural childbirth is the one the woman does herself when she walks out the front door of her own home in labor". - Michel Odent.

We thank you, Michel, for your passion, vision and committment to women and newborns.

05/08/2025

World Breastfeeding Week (1st–7th August) is a time to recognise mothers and to draw attention to the systems, relationships and experiences that make breastfeeding possible.

‒ Health professionals and practices that understand, value and support the mother-baby dyad
‒ Workplaces and wider communities that are supportive and accommodating
‒ Family and friends who support the breastfeeding mother
‒ Time with other breastfeeding mothers to learn and share experiences

All these contribute to an environment where breastfeeding can thrive.

MoMa supports mothers to breastfeed their babies, however long that journey lasts. World Breastfeeding Week is a chance to honour them, and to commit ‒ again ‒ to building structures that support breastfeeding.