Dina the Doula offers Death Doula and Pregnancy/Infant Loss Doula Support in the Kingston, Ontario area and Everywhere else Online. In-person vigiling.
Stillbirthday Doulas (SBD® Doulas) can support families experiencing:
Pregnancy, Labour, Birth, and Postpartum support
Pregnancy and Infant Loss
Termination of Pregnancy for any reason
Difficult Fetal and Infant diagnosis
Supporting clients anywhere on the spectrum of birth and loss
Birth in any trimester and with any outcome
Unconventional loss, which may include adoption or surrogacy
Abortions
NICU care
Live births after pregnancy/infant loss (ie: rainbow babies)
Death Doulas can:
Support any point after a difficult or life-limiting diagnosis. Provide emotional, physical comfort measures and an objective viewpoint. Support in the weeks and days leading up to the death. Planning for rituals and care of the body post-death. Helping facilitate conversations between family and friends with the dying. Planning legacy projects
Help planning for and attending death vigils and end of life concerns.
12/20/2024
Pet loss can be so hard. Some people need time to grieve before they can bring another pet into their lives. When I lost my boxer, BeBe, it was only a month before I knew that I needed another pup. It was still many months before we found our Octavia. Her energy, love, and silliness have been such a balm for my broken heart.
She has allowed me to grieve with shared happy stories and memories. It gives us the ability to talk about BeBe and remember the joy. We are able point out the ways they are similar and so very different and smile about it. How long after your pet loss were you ready for another pet?
12/07/2024
Holiday survival tips from Refuge In Grief.
11/26/2024
As I closed my eyes to sleep that night
I did not know I would wake up in the morning
and you would not
As I closed my eyes to sleep that night
I did not know you would take your last breath
and your beautiful heart would stop beating
As I closed my eyes to sleep that night
I did not know that the truth of that
day had eluded me,
and I lived that day with a profound
unawareness of the irreversible life
shattering change that was about
to take place
As I closed my eyes to sleep that night
I did not know the sun had set on your last day
As I closed my eyes to sleep that night
I did not know
Louise Reed
Artist Credit: Unknown via Pinterest
11/25/2024
11/25/2024
Have you ever noticed that grief shows up even during the most joyful moments? How do you experience that? How do you honor the grief and the joy?
Loss, the feelings of loss, are not linear. They do not start big and overwhelming and then taper off into nothingness over time.Loss is a heartbeat or the waves of the oceans. It comes and goes. Sometimes there is stillness and then sometimes something blows in like the wind and the waves grow larg...
10/23/2024
"When we're in grief, the past can haunt us.
People often ask why some people find their way to healing more quickly than others after a devastating loss.
We may have developed unhelpful beliefs based on our old wounds."
Join David Kessler for a free online discussion on:
The Old Wounds That Keep Us Stuck in Grief
Tuesday, November 5th, 2024
12 pm PT / 3 pm ET
Join us for this free live event with David Kessler - Dealing with the Emotional Wounds of Yesterday
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So what is a Doula anyways? A Doula is someone that supports you through pregnancy, birth, and beyond emotionally; physically; and informationally. A Birth Doula might help you prepare for birth, help you during birth, and in the hours after birth. A Postpartum Doula might help you adjust to having a new baby, provide relief from basic chores, watch the baby so that you can get a quick nap in, or help you navigate breastfeeding.
There are also other kinds of Doulas for things like adoption, bereavement, fertility, and other life events that can be overwhelming. I am a Full-Spectrum Doula, which means that I support clients through birth experiences that may include the loss of a pregnancy, the loss of an infant, or in cases of termination.
Now onto some facts!
A Birth Doula:
• Recognizes birth as a key experience the client will remember all their life.
• Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a person in labour.
• Assists the client in preparing for and carrying out their plans for birth.
• Stays with the client throughout the labour
• Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures and an objective viewpoint, as well as helping the client get the information they need to make informed decision.
• Facilitates communication between the labouring person, their partner and their clinical care providers.
• Perceives their role as nurturing and protecting the client’s memory of the birth experience.
• Allows the partner to participate at his/her comfort level.
(This information was adapted from the DONA International Website - www.DONA.org )
Doula Support Can:
• Shorten first-time labour by an average of 2 hours
• Reduce the need for pain medication by 36%
• Reduce rates of instrumental delivery by 57%
• Reduce the use of caesarean section by 51%
• Increase your success in initiating breastfeeding/chestfeeding
• Increase satisfaction with the birth for both you and your partner
(from Mothering the Mother by Klaus, Kennell & Klaus, 1993)