Mountain Mama Doula Services

03/22/2022

Check out my next venture! Soon I will be a certified Placenta Encapsulator! Discounts offered for my doula clients!

11/23/2021

https://www.virginiamercury.com/2021/11/22/in-a-push-to-reduce-maternal-mortality-virginia-is-expanding-access-to-doulas/

Kali King could sense something was wrong during her last pregnancy. She had gone into labor, but when she went into the hospital on a Sunday, her cervix wasn’t dilating. She wanted to see her OB-GYN the next day, but one of the doctors there was insistent she could wait until Thursday for a check...

11/16/2021

10/23/2021

https://www.facebook.com/530199587129075/posts/2131704526978565/

“When pregnant, the cells of the baby migrate into the mothers bloodstream and then circle back into the baby, it’s called “fetal-maternal microchimerism”.⁠

For 41 weeks, the cells circulate and merge backwards and forwards, and after the baby is born, many of these cells stay in the mother’s body, leaving a permanent imprint in the mothers tissues, bones, brain, and skin, and often stay there for decades. Every single child a mother has afterwards will leave a similar imprint on her body, too.

Even if a pregnancy doesn't go to full term or if you have an abortion, these cells still migrate into your bloodstream.

Research has shown that if a mother's heart is injured, fetal cells will rush to the site of the injury and change into different types of cells that specialize in mending the heart.

The baby helps repair the mother, while the mother builds the baby.

How cool is that?

This is often why certain illnesses vanish while pregnant.

It’s incredible how mothers bodies protect the baby at all costs, and the baby protects & rebuilds the mother back - so that the baby can develop safely and survive.

Think about crazy cravings for a moment. What was the mother deficient in that the baby made them crave?

Studies have also shown cells from a fetus in a mothers brain 18 years after she gave birth. How amazing is that?”

If you’re a mom you know how you can intuitively feel your child even when they are not there….Well, now there is scientific proof that moms carry them for years and years even after they have given birth to them.

I find this to be so very beautiful.

10/18/2021

"Watching the cervix to tell the time of birth is like watching someone's mouth to know when dinner will be served"
Gail Tully, Spinning Babies

10/14/2021

This is a fantastic episode! So much useful information! Even with epidurals, movement in labor and birth is essential!

EBB 196 – Pelvic Biomechanics and Movement in Labor with Brittany Sharpe McCollum by Rebecca Dekker | Oct 12, 2021 | Podcast Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes | Stitcher On today’s podcast, we’re going to talk with Brittany Sharpe McCollum about pelvic biomechanics, mov...

10/04/2021

Interesting article!

https://www.facebook.com/100044290876294/posts/434644014688624/

Gestational diabetes has long been a controversial topic.

The controversy is well summarised by an opinion paper that was published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology last year.

The author pointed out that, "Despite the increasing numbers of women diagnosed, there is little to suggest outcomes are improved."

“Evidence‐based benefits from treatment are much less than is generally believed."

"While few babies can benefit, all babies treated, particularly pharmacologically, are exposed to potential harm."

"All treated babies have their growth and lean mass reduced, which may be detrimental, particularly as the majority are already of normal or small size."

"The pharmacological intensification of treatment is not based on sound evidence, is probably unnecessary, potentially harmful, and should be ceased until there is better evidence for benefit and safety."

"If parents are not correctly informed about these matters they cannot properly consent to GDM‐related interventions in their otherwise normal pregnancies, and this becomes important if interventions lead to problems.” (Hegarty 2020).

This is just one reason why it's so important to get informed. So you can make the decisions that are right for you.

More info and a link to the original article in my blog post at https://www.sarawickham.com/articles-2/gestational-diabetes/

09/03/2021

The updated guidelines now allow for the mixing of cold and warm pumped milk, and even recommend pooling milk pumped within 24 hours together to help "even out the variability in nutrients due to pumping time or breast emptying."

The new recommendations were first noticed on Reddit.

09/02/2021

Look at this birthing suite, look at it!!! Way to go Ecuador!!!
https://www.facebook.com/unina.com.au/photos/a.1180307348798981/1326145414215173/?type=3

Wow!! Imagine a hospital where vertical birth was not only practiced.... but preferred! The hospital in Otavalo, Ecuador has a 90% vaginal birth rate (vaginal!), of which approximately 75% are born vertically! The other 15% are birthed in a clinical room similar to North American standards. This means that only 10% of births are cesarean, which is 5% below the national Ecuadorian average of 15% cesarean births. Oh, and if THAT didn’t blow your doula mind... they are an intercultural institution where the Indigenous midwife (partera) has her own prenatal room, that resembles the inside of a home - with a fire place, beds, stove, and more! For over 20 years this hospital has been promoting these relationships and practices. The community feels supported, listened to, and connected through option and shared respect for their diversity.
Reposted from

08/08/2021

Funny little reminder!