#doulainparadise

[liveinyourbody]

Being in a high touch profession requires a high level of commitment to one's health and well-being. I'm grateful for my health coach training giving me a basic foundation of wellness along with my accountability coaches and members of my wellness collective who remind me of why I got started in this work in the first place. Your current situation should be enough motivation, but having a supportive team also helps. #ultimatewomenshealthcoaches #ultimatedoulas #inspirejoy #iinhealthcoach #doulainparadise #birthworker (at Kailua, Honolulu County, Hawaii) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwLJrCrASV7/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1h26i7lr9kbo9

[liveinyourbody]

Got out of my #Kailua bubble to attend a black-owned business event today. Met @heartshelddoula and looking forward to growing the black #birthworker hui with her on #Oahu. #blackdoulas #birthworkersofcolor #doulainparadise #doula #luckywelivehawaii (at Halsey Navy Housing)

[liveinyourbody]

The other day in a doula support group I pointed out a scarcity mindset in response to a very basic question about offerings. One woman felt like doulas who tried to be all the things were taking business away (from her and other women). LOOK HERE: As long as there are folks making choices that don’t serve their best interests, as long as there are folks interested in making and having babies, as long as you like wine and I like whiskey, there will ALWAYS be someone in need of your services. There will always be someone that resonates with you over someone else. There is MORE THAN ENOUGH to go around. #RealTalk: Scarcity is a myth perpetuated by our heterosexist patriarchal society. Scarcity is oppressive and harms women the most, as it pits them against each other in competition for mates, resources, and likeability. That a woman, whose own body is capable of creating another human with her own blood and still have enough left over for her own body to do what it needs to do can attach to scarcity is indicative of the INNER WORK that needs to be done. Scarcity thinking makes you desperate and people can FEEL that, even if they can’t (and don’t) articulate it. And it’s that feeling that keeps business away. So unless someone is actually passing out business cards in front of your business or using the comments on your social media page to direct traffic to their business, NO ONE IS TAKING YOUR BUSINESS FROM YOU. MOTHERS ARE DYING BECAUSE BIASED HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS ARE NOT LISTENING TO THEM! MOTHERS ARE SUFFERING BECAUSE WE LIVE IN A CULTURE THAT ONLY SEES THEM AS BABY MACHINES AND NOT FULLY EXPRESSED HUMAN BEINGS NEEDING A VILLAGE TO SUPPORT THEM UNCONDITIONALLY SO THEY CAN SHOW UP FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES and your ass over here complaining that someone is taking business that hasn’t even come your way?! GTFOHWTBS and grow the fuck up! If this is the kind of energy you’re bringing into #birthwork than maybe this isn’t the right work for you. #DoTheWork #MotheringMothers #DoulaInParadise #Doula #BirthworkersOfColor #BirthworkersOfIG #Motherhood #WomensWork

[liveinyourbody]

There's a misperception/misunderstanding about a doula's role in labor and postpartum. I've seen a number expectants feeling like their doulas didn't DO enough or DO more during the labor and birth, that having a doula somehow means the birth will be perfect or better or somehow free of all the traumatic stories others have gone through. Anyone who is calling themselves a doula and speaking like this is being dishonest. This is why I require anyone who works with me to take a childbirth education/preparation course. There isn't anything for me to DO, as I am not the one laboring and giving birth. I am not the one who will be responsible for the rest of a new human's life. I have information and resources that I can share, but I can not tell an expectant what to do or how to feel. I can not guarantee that my presence will be enough for them to have the birth they planned for or prevent something they don't want from happening. I have a responsibility to not overwhelm the expectant with the information I have, because too much can be just as disempowering as not knowing. But the expectant and their partners, they have a responsibility to themselves to develop the skills needed to cope with the birth they are planning for along with the birth that may happen. So what do I DO as a doula? My job is to simply BE present. To hold space and bear witness, to guide and facilitate, to support them and to remind them that they are not alone. There is nothing for me to DO. #doulainparadise #doula #birthworker #birthworkersofcolor #healthcoach #womenshealth #oahubirthsupport #hawaii (at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children)

[liveinyourbody]

On my way to a birth, stopping to appreciate the beauty around me. #doulainparadise #inbloom #pregnancy #childbirth #howdoyoudoula (at Kailua, Honolulu County, Hawaii)

[liveinyourbody]

I've been spending a lot of time in birth support groups lately and some of the major themes that come up for women around pregnancy are 1) Pregnancy is treated as a condition/illness/emergency instead of a natural process 2) Many expectants are highly uneducated or miseducated about pregnancy and birth and therefore do not know their options, which leads to unsatisfying or traumatic birth experiences 3) Few expectants actually prepare their bodies and their lives for pregnancy and parenthood 4) Women do not trust their bodies nor their own wisdom 5) Well-meaning people, including other expectants, can spread confusion and exacerbate an expectant person's fears about childbirth While you can’t guarantee that you’ll have the birth experience you desire, educating yourself via childbirth education classes, seeking out nutrition guidance specific to your needs while pregnant and even before you get pregnant, and hiring a doula or other birth support worker to support you throughout your pregnancy, labor, and postpartum is the best thing you can do for yourself and your newborn(s). Your pregnancy and your birth is setting you up for the rest of your life. What kind of experience do you want to have? I've partnered with two amazing childbirth preparation courses in addition to the ones I'll be offering to help you have an informed, empowering, and satisfying birth and postpartum. Visit doulainparadise.info/childbirth or click on the link in bio to learn more. #childbirth #doula #postpartum #fourthtrimester #4thtrimester #pregnancy #birthpartner #birthworker #maternityleave #motherworthlove #postpartumdoula #motheringmothers #motherbaby #doulainparadise #oahu #pregnant

[liveinyourbody]

Loving this week's finds at @hawaiilibraryfriends #Kailua! #luckywelivehawaii #doula #oahu #howdoyoudoula #doulainparadise #goodreads (at Kailua Public Library)