Midwife and Doula Services, LLC

11/06/2025

Such good insight!!!

This post discusses va**nal birth after caesarean (VBAC) and explores the rates of uterine rupture.

10/23/2025

The 2025 Cochrane review on immediate and early skin-to-skin contact after birth highlights that further randomized controlled trials comparing skin-to-skin contact with ‘usual care’ are no longer ethical.

The findings show there is now enough evidence to make immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth the global standard of care, and as WHO already recommends skin-to-skin the standard of care, the authors argue that randomizing the separation of mother and newborn may no longer be justifiable.

Read more:
https://centerforbreastfeeding.org/cochrane-review-2025

10/20/2025

10/19/2025

great story!

My beautiful girl has quite the amazing birth story, and I promise to never stop shouting it from the rooftops.

10/11/2025

very very VERY needs to be done! Opt for VERTICAL Birth! get up off your back!

Episiotomy :The incision of the perineum to aid delivery by creating more room. Not performed routinely, but can be performed in special cases such as shoulder dystocia or operative va**nal deliveries. The classification of episiotomy is the same as perineal lacerations. The incision can be either midline or mediolateral.
1. Midline: The incision is made in the midline from the posterior fourchette. Most common. ↑ the risk of a fourth-degree laceration.
2. Mediolateral: The incision is oblique starting from 5 o’clock or 7 o’clock position of the va**na. Causes more bleeding and pain.

10/06/2025

Pick the/your child up!😊

Research shows that when children ask to be carried, even though their legs can walk, it’s not laziness. It’s longing.

They’re not incapable.
They’re reaching for closeness.

Because here’s the truth:
A child can run around the playground for hours.
They can climb stairs, chase friends, and jump without hesitation. But suddenly, with mom or dad nearby, they raise their arms and plead, “Carry me.” And in that moment, it’s not their legs that are tired. It’s their heart that needs holding.

Why?
Because physical closeness is emotional fuel.

🧠 Attachment research shows that touch, holding, and closeness regulate a child’s nervous system, lowering cortisol and strengthening their sense of security (Feldman, 2010). Being carried tells them, 'You are safe.' You belong. You don’t have to do life all alone.

Why does this matter?

Because when we don’t understand it, we believe the lie: They’re spoiled. They’re manipulating. They should be independent by now.

But science is whispering: Independence grows out of secure dependence first.

Here’s what supporting that can look like:
→ Offering to carry them when you can, without shaming.
→ Meeting their need for connection through cuddles, hugs, and presence.
→ Remembering that “carry me” today becomes the inner voice of “I can carry myself” tomorrow.

The truth is, children don’t ask to be carried forever. But they will never forget how it felt to be held.

So maybe the question isn’t,
“Why can’t they just walk?”
Maybe it’s,
“What if their raised arms are really saying, ‘Hold me close so I can keep going?’”

Because the world doesn’t just need kids who walk strongly, it requires kids who know the strength of love that carried them first. 🤍

10/05/2025

Hands off! No pulling! Trust the Process!!!!👶🏻😊

.
🌿 The Moment Between Worlds 🌿

Right here, this baby is halfway between worlds, born to the shoulders, still fully supported by their parent’s body.

✨ Notice the thick, creamy coating on their scalp?

That’s vernix caseosa, a protective substance babies develop in the womb. Vernix:
🧴 Acts as a natural moisturizer for newborn skin
🦠 Protects against infection
🌡️ Helps regulate temperature
🌊 And even assists with passage through the birth canal

In this moment, the baby’s head has emerged, but the body is still inside, the umbilical cord is still delivering oxygen, blood, and nutrients. There’s no rush. No pulling. Just patience.

💫 The body knows exactly how to guide this transition, the baby rotates, the shoulders slip free, and the rest follows naturally.

The presence of vernix and the slow emergence tell us this baby’s body was protected and born in their own time.

Trust the process.

Every second has purpose. Every pause has wisdom.

-Love,
Flor Cruz
/ .like.a.badass

𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, & 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭!les.yeux.de.julia

09/29/2025

Truth here!!

09/29/2025

Terrific graphic and explanation!
We women are AMAZING!

✨👶🏽 Did you know that pregnancy doesn’t just grow a baby… it reshapes the entire inside of the body?! 🤯💡

Here’s how the organs shift as the uterus expands to full term:

🫁 Lungs & diaphragm → Pushed upward, making it harder to catch your breath 😮‍💨
🍔 Stomach → Moves higher and gets squeezed, which is why heartburn & nausea can happen 🤢🔥
🍪 Intestines → Shift up and around the baby, getting tucked away in every available space 🌀
🩸 Bladder → Flattened & compressed beneath the uterus, which explains the endless bathroom trips 🚽💦
🫀 Liver & pancreas → Nudged up toward the ribs, changing how digestion and blood flow feel 🩺
🍑 Re**um → Pressed back and down, adding to constipation struggles 🚫💩

All of this happens while the uterus grows from the size of a 🍊 orange to a 🏀 basketball (and beyond!).

💪🏽 The body is absolutely phenomenal in the way it adapts, shifts, and makes room for new life. 🌎💖

-Love,
Badassmotherbirther

09/27/2025

So with studying this if planning a VBAC!!!!

09/23/2025

I highly recommend giving birth in water!

🌊 Birth and Water: A History as Old as Humanity
For centuries, water has been a place of life, oceans, rivers, and springs.

In Nicaragua, this mother chose the shoreline as her birth space, embodying something ancient yet radical.

✨ The first documented water births in Europe appeared in the early 1800s.
✨ By the 1970s, pioneers like Igor Charkovsky (Russia) and Dr. Michel Odent (France) began experimenting with water birth as we know it today.
✨ Today, families worldwide return to the elements finding comfort, autonomy, and strength in water.

Birth belongs everywhere: in homes, in hospitals, and sometimes… at the edge of the sea 🌊👣.

-Love,
Badassmotherbirther

𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, & 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭!
on IG