Kokua Doula

02/20/2022

Cesarean birth is hard. Recovery is sometimes awful.
Here's to all the moms who wanted a vaginal delivery, but made a difficult decision to change plans when they needed to.
We see you. Struggling to care for a baby after major abdominal surgery. Struggling with feeding when it hurts to move. Wondering if you'll ever not look pregnant, because your abdominal muscles were ripped apart. Wondering if the cramping will ever stop after someone like me literally held your uterus in my hands for what probably seemed like hours.
Maybe this wasn't the birth you hoped for, but never stop being proud of what you DID. You made a human. You sacrificed so very much to keep your baby healthy and safe. You chose the well-being of your child over everything else. That's what good moms do.
You're amazing, and I just want you to know that we see you. ❤️

06/08/2021

It’s been a minute since I’ve posted anything, but this needed to be shared! Doc & Doula

03/05/2021

When you’re the doula & the grandmother it’s pretty awesome!! ☀️❤️

02/18/2021

Heehee

10/31/2020

A couple months ago, I was called to a birth during the night. I walked in to see this sweet mama, a friend of mine by now, laboring silently, curled up on the couch, while her midwife and husband scurried around to get things ready as quietly as possible.

Sometimes as a doula, I am squeezing hips, lifting bellies, holding mamas (and sometimes daddies) while they cry, and running around getting everything in order.

Then sometimes, there are moments like this, where mama is so internal, doing the hardest work she will ever do, and I barely dare even breathe so as not to disturb the peacefulness.

One of the hardest things for me to learn as a doula is that when things are going well, let them be, even if that just means watching for a bit. Sometimes parents are sleeping, sometimes the birthing person and partner need some time alone, together, and sometimes everyone simply needs quiet to process all the things.

Being a good doula means a lot of things. Recognizing when to just leave things alone is one of the most important lessons I have learned.

What is the quality that you believe a doula needs to have?

Photo cred: Julie Francom Doula Services

10/15/2020

Wave of Light
Light a candle at 7:00 pm in your time zone to remember babies who were lost through miscarriage or infant death.

10/12/2020

Home birth YOUR way; not the Pinterest, mommy blog, or other social media way that shows you *the perfect way* or *must haves*. The Birth Hive

09/15/2020

When my baby is having a baby. 🥰 😭❤️

08/31/2020

THIS!

So many myths to bust about consent!

"Consents"--the forms patients are expected to sign in their healthcare--are not the same as "informed consent"--the legal and ethical responsibility of the care provider to perform treatments only with the full knowledge and permission of the patient.

Informed consent is a DISCUSSION that brings the patient and provider closer around the patient's goals and health circumstances, and an agreement around how to proceed.

The FORM merely DOCUMENTS the DISCUSSION.

Signing a form that *may or may not* have involved a discussion around risks, benefits, and alternatives to a treatment, and where the patient may or may not have had the chance to ask any questions they have, is NOT adequate informed consent.

You can have true informed consent without a form... but you should not have a signed consent form without true informed consent.

Doulas and birth pros, I want you to be confident teaching your clients about their rights and standing beside them as they navigate their care. In two hours, you’ll change the way you practice: Legal and Human Rights in Childbirth for Birth Pros and Advocates @ bit.ly/birth-rights ❤️

08/16/2020

Original post, Lorena TheDoula A Natural Minded Mama

08/12/2020

Haven’t listened to this yet, but I’m betting there is some good good stuff for encouraging women of all ages!