Happy Hatchings Doula Services

11/06/2025

As a L&D nurse- we watched and studied fetal heart tracings like hawks for any signs of concern. Never once did i question the status quo-or the evidence behind continuous fetal heart monitoring.
It was a beautiful paradigm shift for me, as a doula, to step into the world of low intervention birth, home births, and intermittent monitoring with midwife groups.
This is a very interesting read about the history and evidence (or lack of)behind the standard hospital birth protocol of continuous monitoring.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/health/electronic-fetal-monitoring-c-sections.html?unlocked_article_code=1.zE8.Ue0R.nh5ONYnshqUD&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&fbclid=IwdGRjcAN5y19leHRuA2FlbQExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR4f6zg2P8KKmc1tqrm2ub5KOG7xb2pFnVSBBzAtbGSrWmYAH9qJoOpJjxwYTA_aem_5OLBz7C3T43pvnvlwb0VTw

Round-the-clock fetal monitoring leads to unnecessary C-sections. But it’s used in nearly every birth because of business and legal concerns, The Times found.

09/07/2025

Have you heard of the 5 P’s of labor progress?There are 5 major factors that contribute to the natural progress of labor to the desired outcome of a safe, vaginal delivery. When labor does not progress as expected- each of these areas can be looked at and adjusted so progress may continue.
***Passenger-the baby! While we can’t change the baby’s size, the position of the baby(which way they are facing), the flexion or extention of their neck can determine how easily they pass through the the birth canal. We can help baby move into a better position! And the baby itself is made with a moldable head it changes shape to fit through!- Our miraculous bodies were designed for this!
***Passage- The bony structure of the pelvis, and the soft structures of the pelvic floor muscles and perenium. Many people think of the pelvis as one solid bony structure- but it’s comprised of three articulating bones-your flexibility going into labor, and the way you move during labor (position changes!) can absolutely make more space, helping your baby to more easily fit through.
*** Power. Contractions. How strong and frequent are the contractions working to move the baby down, and through? There are natural, and medical ways to increase the power of contractions, and interventions that can help us assess if the strength is adequate so this can be perfectly balanced.
***Position- closely relate to passage- the position of maternal body from arms, to back and hips, even the rotation of your legs and ankles changes the space baby has to move through. Laying on your back in the bed for hours is NOT helping your birth progression!
***Psyche. Maternal mental and emotional state.
Our bodies can only be in the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight-upset/afraid) or in the parasympathetic nervous system (feed & breed-relaxed, where oxytocin in produced). If we are upset and feel unsafe- our body literally slows or stops our labor progress!
Each of these vital pieces help determine if labor progresses fast, slow, or not at all. As a doula, I’m trained to help laboring moms maximize what can be adjusted in each of these factors, helping you reach for your best birth.
Is it any wonder that research shows mothers with experienced doulas have shorter labors, with fewer interventions, less pain medications, better birth memories, and up to 30% lower csection rates?

07/23/2025

As a mother who has received donor milk both for adoption as I built my supply, and a critically ill baby with a congenital heart defect, I can attest to the miracle that donor milk can be!
The time and dedication she sacrifices to save the most vulnerable among is awe-inspiring!


https://www.facebook.com/share/p/159616sbsU/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Alyse Ogletree, a 36-year-old from Flower Mound, Texas, has indeed set a new Guinness World Record by donating 2,645.58 liters of breast milk, surpassing her own 2014 record of 1,569.79 liters.

Her donations, primarily to the Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas, have helped nourish an estimated 350,000 premature babies, as each liter can feed approximately 11 preterm infants.

Ogletree began donating in 2010 after her first son, Kyle, was born and she noticed she was producing an unusually large amount of milk.

She continued donating after the births of her other sons, Kage and Kory, and as a surrogate mother.

Her dedication, supported by a strict pumping schedule, healthy diet, and hydration, highlights her commitment to helping others despite not having a medical condition to explain her overproduction.

She’s also donated to Tiny Treasures Milk Bank and friends, with an estimated total of over 126,000 ounces.

Her story inspires many to consider breast milk donation as a way to support fragile infants.

07/15/2025

Labor is a messy experience!
As your body brings forth your little one, from bloody show to your water breaking, there’s constantly something leaking out! Hospitals have you sit half naked under the gown on puppy pads- but anytime you stand up or shift positions a bit more spreads.
A less dribbly, (and more private!) option is wearing pads or incontinence underwear during labor.
Heres a chance to grab some supplies for your birth for free.



https://try.gotoaisle.com/hazel-target-lp?utm_source=meta&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=west&utm_term=menopause&utm_content=5ACS&utm_id=120226191987810633&fbclid=IwQ0xDSwLjValleHRuA2FlbQEwAGFkaWQBqyOeG38eCQEeNb8Z4Q2y3PwxdDyxYtNqFpWFbL45CQPPfWqd9My85jQOEXj4urdsnJe1dZk_aem_mIPqejvaDVKZ3KaPuhpEgQ

06/23/2025

This month, one incredible first time mom I worked with gave birth to her 10 lb, 22+inch baby without an epidural, and without needing a single stitch in repair. Amazing!
She had declined her late term ultrasound for size estimates. No one was expecting an especially big baby, and thus no doubts were in her mind, or that of her caregivers as she labored as to whether or not she would be successful. (Which is why she declined!)
Did you know that 1 in 3 moms in the US are told their baby is going to be “big”? However, when the babies are born, only 1 in 10 actually meet that definition. This overestimation of fetal size causes changes in the way your labor and births are handled, sometimes causing more interventions and problems than they solve. (And leading to many misearble inductions or csections that may not have been needed!)
As I watched this new mom hold her sweet chunky baby after her beautiful birth done her way, I couldnt help but think things would have been different if the growth scan had been done and her big baby diagnosed. Would she have been allowed to go into labor on her own at 41+3 weeks, and labor in the birth pool with minimal intervention? Perhaps.
I’m so proud of her for her commitment to educating herself and advocating for what was important to her for her best possible birth.

06/03/2025

Our bodies are incredible! Dont ever let someone tell you “you can’t” do something big AND be a great mother. Diligence and hard work pay off in whatever arena of life they are applied.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=601300572980016&set=a.128349853608426&type=3&mibextid=wwXIfr

BREAKING: What does it take to win an ultramarathon? For Stephanie Case, it meant covering 100 kilometers over brutal terrain while stopping three times to breastfeed her 6-month-old daughter.

Yes, you read that right.

At the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia in Wales, Case wasn’t aiming for a podium. After a three-year break from competition, she just wanted to feel like an athlete again. Instead, she crossed the finish line as the first female finisher, clocking 16 hours and 53 minutes on a course with over 6,500 meters of elevation gain.

Her journey to this race wasn’t just physical it was deeply emotional.

After two miscarriages and the birth of her daughter Pepper through IVF, Case wasn’t sure if she could ever call herself an athlete again. She had questions. Doubts. Fears. But she kept moving forward. She began running again in her second trimester and carefully trained to maintain her milk supply while preparing for this demanding race.

Throughout the course, her partner met her at 20K, 50K, and 80K checkpoints so she could breastfeed Pepper a logistical challenge that required special permissions and a lot of heart.

Stephanie Case’s story is one of resilience, strength, and rewriting what motherhood and athleticism can look like.

Her next goal? To return to the Hardrock 100 the same race that once felt like the end of a chapter. Now, it marks the beginning of a bold new one.

05/31/2025

With two of my June moms coming early, the past two weeks have been busy with four new births attended! Each birth impressed upon me again the importance of focusing just on making the next right choice.
As we make our “Birth plans”. We are educating ourselves on all the options, and making a conscious effort to select those options that we want as a part of our journey, and those we would prefer to avoid if not necessary. This is an important process that empowers us to reach for our best birth!
However, each birth has its own realities we can’t always control. Intervention we may not have initially chosen may become a helpful, necessary, or even lifesaving choice.
An induction, or prodromal labor that lasts days is very different than a spontaneous labor in your body’s ability to endure. Accepting an epidural DOES NOT mean you failed if you initially planned on unmedicated.
Internal monitors that help doctors manage your progress safely can help determine when a stall in labor means we just need more time, or when a csection will help save lives.
Pitocin, or having the doctor break your water can relieve suffering by quickly helping your body progress.
The key is, seek information and understanding for all your options as you labor. Then make the next right choice for the situation and labor you are experiencing. Make your birth plan more of a guideline than a rigid map you may regret stepping off of. This helps you feel empowered and peace filled both as you labor, and as you look back on the birth of your beautiful child.

05/11/2025

Happy Mothers Day!
To those with little ones gathered around you, those feeling those little bumps and kicks. And those with mother-hearts waiting and hoping for the day. Birth mothers, adoptive mothers, and foster moms who show that love, and families come in so many, many ways. You are ALL so beautiful, and so amazing just the way you are.

04/28/2025

When are you DUE?
Every expectant mom gets that question over and over- as if she were a library book with a fixed date her baby will have to return the borrowed space by.
But let’s talk about due dates.
When figured by the first day of your last menstrual cycle, it has you count back three months, and add 7 days (plus change the year!)
So if your first day of your last period was Sept 1st 2024, you due date would be June 8th, 2025.
The problem with this is: It assumes every woman has a 28 day menstrual cycle, and ovulates on day 14, immediately getting pregnant. (This is a wild assumption!)
If you have a very early ultrasound, (7-10 weeks) these can be more accurate in assigning a “due date” because cell growth and development are more uniform, with less variation based on genetics, diabetes, etc.
But what does your due date actually mean?
Only 5% of mothers actually deliver on their due date-so it isn’t like when your school paper is due!
50% of first time moms are still pregnant five days after their due date, with the percentage jumping up to 75% just three days later. However there are outliers to this. In the days before routine inductions, my mother delivered her first baby at 43 weeks. (Of her 6 children, I was the “earliest“ at 41+1).
On the other end of the spectrum, 1 in 10 women give birth to their babies prematurely (before 37 weeks gestation). Just last week, one of my clients brought her 35+ week baby girl into the world weighing in just about 5 lbs. (baby was fine, and only needed a night or two in the NICU to stabilize her blood sugars)
So mathmatically-the other 40% of first time babies come between 37 weeks and 40+4 days.
What does this all mean? Generally, you should:
1) Circle a “due month” rather than a due date.
2) Pack that hospital bag around 36 weeks, just in case
3) Don’t stress if you are still pregnant past your due date- trust your body to bring your baby when he/she is ready! Your baby’s lung maturity sends your body the signals to prepare for birth. Every woman gestates and labors differently, so there is no use comparing.
4)Do those fetal kick counts every day! They help you know if baby is well, and you can continue to patiently wait for your big day.

04/17/2025

My page has been unusually quiet the past two months- not because there’s been nothing going on- but because it’s been too busy to eek out time to write! 9 births, and my husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with a two week trip to Thailand! It’s been an amazing time.
However I thought I’d at least share these few beautiful pictures from my most recent birth with a photography package. This sweet baby girl was welcomed into the world in such an amazing, family centered way!
Her momma chose to have her other children join her and her husband at Hoag Irvine with them for the birth. They helped hold her hand and cheer her on as she labored in the water, and finished her beautiful, unmedicated labor birthing in a hands and knees position.
The ability to give birth your way is there, even in a hospital setting when you research and advocate for your dreams!

03/06/2025

I know trust with mainstream medicine and vaccines has geatly declined since 2020, but as a nurse, mom, and doula, I reaffirm: Vitamin K is by far the most important of the newborn routine hospital choices you make. Know what the research says!

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1102038088603669&id=100063924635667&mibextid=wwXIfr

02/25/2025

“It was a wild and stormy night”. . . .

Is a big storm headed your way? Batten the hatches and pack your bags, because if you body is ready, the storm may just carry you into labor/break your water!
While the actual research on this topic is not conclusive- from my years on a high volume L&D unit, our stormy nights were always hopping-and usually with women coming in from their water breaking! The change in barometric pressure the storm brings is hypothesized to affect the bag of water.
Earlier this month we had a big storm system roll in, and once again fulfilled the cliche’.
One of my clients (first baby) had her water break. When she called, no contractions had begun, so I suggested a quick dinner and bedtime so when labor began, she would be rested! However, within just two and a half hours, contractions began, and intensified to the point I was asked to join them. By the time I could reach their home-they had already needed to leave for the hospital. As we all reached the hospital, the exam showed she was completely dilated and it was time to have that baby! Her beautiful, unmedicated labor and birth was less than 5 hours! Just as I lay my head on my pillow at 1:30 am, another mom (second baby, not due for a few weeks) texted contracting. I caught a cat nap until contractions built. Braving the stormy roads, we went to the hospital for a second beautiful unmedicated birth in less than 10 hours!