Blog

  • The Three (Actually Four) Reasons I’m Opening a Doula Agency

    January 19, 2016 | designadmin | Uncategorized

    I’ve had such a positive response – from parents, providers, and doulas – about my plan to open an agency of postpartum doulas to serve the families in North County, San Diego. It’s a wonderful affirmation of the need, as seen by all of the stakeholders. I’ve also had some questions. Most are just to understand better. Some come tinged with a hint of suspicion (of what I’m not sure), or skepticism. So I’ll just lay it all out there. I’m doing it for the parents. Parents who don’t exactly know what a postpartum doula is, but they DO know they need help. Think about the amount of time that must go into googling the term, surfing around on various sources (that are also highly variable in terms of quality and accuracy). Then, once they’ve figured out if it’s something they want to pursue, the time that goes into researching…

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  • Tips for Feeling a Little Less Lonely with a Newborn

    January 9, 2016 | designadmin | Uncategorized

    As I talk about in this post, Jennifer Senior in All Joy and No Fun tells us that women’s contact with people in their networks shrinks in the early child-rearing years, and that a study in 2009 found that 80 percent of mothers surveyed believed they didn’t have enough friends and 58% felt lonely. Here’s a list of just a few simple steps you can take to make your time with a newborn less lonely:

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  • It Takes a Village – But You’ll Have to Build it Yourself

    July 15, 2015 | designadmin | Uncategorized

    The last three clients who enlisted my postpartum doula services had something in common: their level of isolation as new parents. The first couple has moved here from out of the country and all of their family is abroad. The second couple hasn’t found friends since moving to a new location. The third couple also moved recently, haven’t had a chance to make any friends yet, and family is not nearby. (A few people from their church have offered to help but they don’t know them well and feel awkward taking them up on their offers). Two out of three of these families also had a spouse return to work after just two weeks. This made for some long and frustrating days for the mothers who were trying to figure out feeding issues, and/or longing for the autonomy they had before baby arrived, and/or dealing with sleep deprivation and powerful…

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