Doula Rae

10/01/2023

SURPRISE!!!!! The LINK IS OPEN to order !!!! Are you seeing all of your friends and family posting about their bracelets and wondering how you can get one ?!! Here’s all the info-

💙💕 ORDER YOUR PINK AND BLUE AWARENESS BRACELET NOW!!!! 💕💙

🐳 Click on the link below to order!

Free string bracelets-

https://www.thecooperproject.org/pink-and-blue-project

Silicone bracelets-

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1281238498/

🐳 Orders will remain open until we’ve reached the max amount of orders for today, then they will shut down and a new order date will be announced

🐳 Wear your bracelet the entire month of October, to raise awareness for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. 1 in 4 women have suffered a loss, and this is a great way to support them and talk about topics that have always been taboo

🐳 We strongly believe that awareness and education can help more moms bring home a healthy baby, and reduce the number of pregnancy losses.

🐳 This year, we also have silicone bracelets available for purchase!!!!!

🐳 You will need to place a SEPARATE order if you are ordering more than one TYPE of item (meaning if you want 5 free string bracelets and 2 silicone bracelets, you will place one order for the string bracelets and one order for the silicone bracelets)

🐳 ANYONE CAN WEAR A BRACELET!!!! Last year, over 35,000 people participated!!! Yes, even if you haven’t been affected by a loss, even if you are a man or a child, we invite you to join with us and wear one too!!

🐳 Larger BULK orders (for Medical Providers, hospitals, businesses and Organizations) are currently full. If there are any changes to that I will post on social media!

🐳 USA ONLY

🐳 This project is simply not possible without the help of all of the amazing volunteers-this year we had over 450 volunteers, and I am grateful for every single one of them !!!

04/28/2023

National Infertility Awareness Week

QOTD: If you have struggled with infertility what was most helpful during your process of coping with the diagnosis, IVF and/or adoption? What do you wish other knew about infertility and how to support you?

(P.S. If you know someone dealing with infertility and you're not sure how to respond, how to help, what to say or not say...check out this helpful post from RESOLVE: https://resolve.org/get-help/helpful-resources-and-advice/infertility-and-relationships/for-friends-and-family/?fbclid=IwAR3saQPDFpaMohwL6nbCwC4H_d3ZiBrfq9ui_XZYBRk4A9qcS3pAOi48t9Y

Although infertility is widely acknowledged as a crisis for individuals and couples, it is less recognized as a trauma that impacts their families.

04/27/2023

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (aka SAAM). Not only is consent always mandatory in every sexual activity, but it is required in the birth world as well.

Doctors, nurses, midwives, doulas, and any other medical and birth professionals must ask for permission before touching you. That means getting consent for small things like, massages, hand holding, applying counter pressure, and checking your pulse. It also means they need your permission for bigger things like, pelvic exams, inserting an IV, administering medications, and any surgical procedure. It's your body and you are in control of what happens to it.

Unfortunately, this is often overlooked. Abuse and nonconsenual practices happen all too frequently in the birth world. This is not okay and it shouldn't be on you to have to stand up for your basic human rights. You should be able to expect all medical professionals to respect your rights, wishes, and body.

But until we get real change in our systems, here are some things to keep in mind...
➝ You have the right to hire whoever you want for your birth team. You can fire them too and at any time. Some women have fired their OB or midwife during labor! They work FOR YOU and if they are not serving you well, you can always fire them and get someone new.
➝ Make sure you articulate what you want in your birth to your care provider. Find a provider that shares similar views and someone that you trust to respect your wishes.
➝ Have trusted advocates (like a doula) that will speak up for you when you're at your most vulnerable.
➝ If you are the survivor of sexual abuse (from a birth experience or not) there are resources. RAINN is an excellent resource that provides facts & stats, a national 24 hour hotline, and ways to stay safe. Just visit rainn.org to learn more.

Lastly, sexual violence is never your fault. You are not alone. We will make it better.

04/26/2023

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week!

Currently 7.3 million Americans are facing infertility, no matter what race, religion, sexuality or economic status you are, infertility doesn’t discriminate. Anyone can be challenged to have a family. Together we should strive to remove the stigmas and barriers that stand in the way of anyone building a family of their own.

Instead of the anecdotes of telling people who face challenges in building a family “You should just,” how are some ways change the status quo?

04/25/2023

April is Cesarean Awareness Month and we want to celebrate all the amazing Mamas who brought their babies into the world by c-section.

May you always know the strength & beauty surrounding your birth experience ♥️

Let’s celebrate our c-section babies! Feel free to share a picture of you child/children with us in the comments!

My not so little C-section babies all grown up.

04/24/2023

April is International Cesarean Awareness month!✨ We'll be talking about it all month long and to kick it off, we'd like to hear from you!👇🏻👇🏽👇🏿⁠
⁠
Have you:⁠
💗had a c-section?⁠
💕had more than 1 c-sections?⁠
🧡had a VBAC or VBA2C (or more)?⁠
💜had a planned c-section?⁠
❤️had an emergency c-section?⁠
⁠
Experiences with cesearean sections are very different from person to person!🤰🏽 Share an emoji with us in the comments and tell us what your experience was like!

04/23/2023

It’s National Infertility Awareness Week 💛

The journey to try to conceive can be a long and difficult one for many. It can be isolating. It can be scary. It can feel confusing.

And the impact can change your relationships. It can require you to invest everything you have both mentally and financially. It can be filled with loss and disappointment.

For many it can include a variety of emotions—anger, resentment, anxiety, fear, and sometimes shame...

And on top of that, many facing infertility challenges have to face the unsolicited advice from others, the invalidation from family/friends or care providers, and the immeasurable mental load.

So this week is dedicated to those who have been touched by infertility.

Did you experience infertility challenges? If you feel comfortable, can you share your story down below to help others feel less alone in this? Shame has a hard time surviving in connection and vulnerability. We are here for you 💛

04/22/2023

Happy Earth Day 🌎

In honor of earth day we are happy to announce we are now 100% paperless for all of our intake forms!!

04/21/2023

🧡

April is cesarean awareness month and we want to acknowledge the absolute bravery, strength and resilience in those who give birth to their babies via cesarean.

Surgical birth is not an easy path and often not your preferred way of giving birth. The surrender and grace it takes to open yourself up willingly for your baby to be born is immeasurable.

Cesarean Mamas, we love you, we see you and honor you this month and always.

04/20/2023

A little laugh for you guys! 🤣

Not the goggles 🤣

04/20/2023

April is cesarean awareness month ✨

Did you know?
Scientists have found fetal cells in scar tissues, specifically scars left by cesarean birth. These cells make collagen, meaning that the baby could actually be helping mom recover from birth by repairing her wound. These cells left behind by baby stay with mom forever. How amazing! ✨

04/19/2023

What is one thing you wish you had or wish you knew about postpartum?