Empowering Birth Doula Services

03/30/2026

This is heartbreaking. Two mothers named Cherise Doyley and Brianna Bennett were ambushed by doctors, attorneys and a judge who held a virtual hearing – while they were in labor — to force them to undergo a C-section. The Florida hospitals that did this need to be held accountable. Will you join me in signing the petition?

03/24/2026

03/16/2026

Take the hat off.

The first hour after birth isn’t just sentimental.

It’s hormonal. It’s biological, and it’s powerful.

Right after birth a mother’s body is flooded with oxytocin, the hormone that helps:

💎the uterus contract and slow bleeding
💎the placenta separate and be born
💎the mother and baby bond
💎the baby begin breastfeeding

And guess what helps drive that hormonal cascade?

👉🏾Touch. Warmth. Skin-to-skin. And smell.

When a baby is placed directly on their mother’s chest, mothers instinctively touch, kiss, and smell their baby’s head.

That newborn scent isn’t random.

It’s a powerful sensory signal that stimulates oxytocin and activates bonding behaviors in the brain.

Now here’s the part most people don’t question.

The hat that gets immediately placed on the baby’s head interrupting all the signaling.

Hospital hats were originally introduced to prevent babies from losing heat through their heads.

But research on immediate postpartum care shows that skin-to-skin itself regulates a baby’s temperature extremely well.

In fact, a 2023 study found no measurable difference in hypothermia rates between newborns wearing hats and those without hats during the immediate postpartum period.

Because when babies are skin-to-skin, something incredible happens.

The mother’s chest actually adjusts temperature in response to the baby, warming or cooling to keep them stable. Researchers call this thermal synchrony.

So if skin-to-skin already regulates temperature…

Why are we still covering the baby’s head during the most hormonally sensitive hour of life?

Covering the head may reduce the very sensory cues that drive the oxytocin feedback loop:

🔁 smelling the baby
🔁 kissing the baby’s head
🔁 full skin-to-skin sensory contact

In physiologic birth settings, like homebirths and out of hospital birth centers, we often have a different approach:

⭐️ Baby naked on the mother’s chest.
⭐️ No hat during the golden hour.
⭐️ A warm blanket over baby’s back.
⭐️ Everyone stepping back while mother and baby find each other.

Because birth physiology is delicate.

It responds to touch, scent, warmth, and connection.

Sometimes routines become so normal that we stop asking whether they actually help.

And sometimes the most powerful intervention is the simplest one.

Skin-to-skin, access to baby’s head and scent while the mother and baby learning each other.

Hats are interrupting this very important process for healthy term babies.

03/16/2026

advice I’d give to new parents just trying to keep the baby alive (the first 30 days edition):

1. you will google “is my baby breathing weird” at least 47 times. they all breathe weird. sometimes they grunt for fun. sometimes they forget. it’s terrifying. welcome.

2. if you have to ask “is this too hot?” it is. their bath, their milk, your emotional state… let it cool down.

3. wake windows are a scam. your baby’s only “window” is their eyelids. open or closed. that’s it.
4. The little blue stripe on the diaper is how you know it’s time to change them.. blue is good, it means they’re hydrated. you will change approximately a million dollars worth of diapers.

5. you don’t need to sterilize the bottle after the first week. you’re not running an operating room.

6. you’ll think your baby hates you. they don’t. they just can’t talk yet. or smile. or regulate emotions. or let you p*e alone.

7. you don’t need a bedtime routine. you need a survival routine. which sometimes means feeding them while you cry in the dark. that’s okay! If you’re still crying when the sun comes up, it’s time to talk to someone

8. cluster feeding isn’t a problem. it’s a hostage situation. Your negotiator is a drunk raccoon. good luck. I have no advice.

9. you will google “how long can a newborn go without pooping” and then immediately “why is my newborn pooping so much.” both are normal.

10. don’t overthink the temperature of the room. if you’re sweating, they probably are too. if you’re freezing, same. you’re both confused.
11. this is not the time to “get them on a schedule.” if all you did today was feed them and stare at them,
that’s keeping them alive. that’s the job.

You really do have this, I promise.

03/16/2026

03/16/2026