Birth with the Doula

Congrats to Baby K being born 💕
She is so loved by her parents 🥰

This is an odd day for me as I went through a loss less than 3 months ago but I am sending so much love and light to anyone who needs it 🙏🏼💛

I could not go without acknowledging Nurses Week! I am proud to be a nurse and celebrate with my fellow nurses and all whom share the sentiment. I am grateful for the community I get to work with and am proud to be part of this special profession 💛

Congratulations to Baby C on being born. He is oh so loved by his parents 💙

*Trigger warning*

Hi everyone,

I know it’s been a while. I hope everyone is doing well and either loving on their babies or getting ready to be the best parents they can possibly be to their tiny little human beings 💛

I have been meaning to make a post but with my new job this year and other life happenings, I haven’t gotten around to it. Now that I’ve just gone through something, I probably should give everyone a quick update.

This past week my husband and I had a miscarriage. We found out i was pregnant the moment I miscarried. It came as a shock as we didn’t know we were expecting but somehow I kind of knew without finding out until the end. I’m doing okay, we’re going to be okay but I wanted to share this with you all because I love and appreciate all our birthing families. Even though we didn’t know, it’s devastating because we’ve been discussing starting a family this year and of course we never would have imagined such a thing like this would happen to us. With all this being said, I love being a nurse and I love being a doula but for now I need to take some time off to collect myself.

Since starting a new position this year, I was focusing on postpartum clients and was hoping to perhaps help out a family, ideally a single parent or deployed-affected family, in April because that’s when I will be off again. However, with this being so recent, I feel it is best I take some time off. I promise, I will still be around to answer any questions and help out as best as I can. I want to continue wishing everyone an abundance of love and light. May you all be happy and healthy and may your babies be the happiest little beings they can possibly be.

I do believe this experience will only make me stronger and will also have an influence in the direction I choose to continue serving families. I appreciate everyone’s support since starting my business and I look forward to coming back and supporting you and your families in the near future.

With love,

Stephanie 💛

I would like to take a moment to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season. I am grateful for the families I have met and have been able to assist through my work as a doula.

With this announcemen I’d like to share that I am currently away visiting family and friends for a few weeks and although I will not be active, I am still available for inquiries.

Thank you for understanding and I wish you and your families a happy and safe holiday season. I look forward to continuing this humbling line of work in the new year ✨

Quick update everyone. I have now taken on the roll of Financial Director with Mom2Mom TriBase UK chapter. I’m so excited to bring my experience and knowledge as well as learn from my fellow mates as I continue serving our military community. Grateful is an understatement 🙏🏼💛

I have some exciting news to share. I am officially a Level 2 Reiki Practitioner! I cannot express how grateful and ecstatic I am to continue this path of Holistic practice. I was fortunate to have Renee with not only be my friend, but also be my mentor and teacher.

If you never heard of Reiki or aren’t sure what Reiki is, I’d be happy to share a bit more about what it is.

Reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing. It encourages relaxation and helps reduce stress and anxiety through gentle touch. Reiki promotes emotional, physical, and spiritual healing.

I will now be incorporating Reiki into my doula practice and will also see clients for Reiki consults. I feel blessed to be able to assist you with your journey to healing. If you would like to learn more about Reiki and how I incorporate it into my doula work, or you would like to book an appointment for a Reiki session, please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you. Wishing you all love and light 🙏🏼💛

I should have started this sooner but I want to say happy born day to Baby A. this week. Grateful for his arrival 💛

Living overseas is tough and it’s so much harder when you’re expecting and have little to no support system.

If you are expecting and are interested in doula services, I am a birth and postpartum doula and offer a free consultation.

“Research shows that women who use a birth doula are:
* less likely to need Pitocin
* less likely to have a cesarean birth
* less likely to use any pain medication
* more likely to rate their childbirth experience positively”

-DONA International

I offer special services for deployed-affected families, single parents, families E-4 and below, and BIPOC parent/s.

Please message my FB or business page to set up a free consultation. I would love to support you 💛

FB: facebook.com/birthwiththedoula/
IG: instagram.com/birthwiththedoula
Website: www.birthwiththedoula.com

A friend shared this and I could not agree more. I always tell people not to forget the mamas that just created life 🙏🏼♥️ Love on them too because Mamas are Magic ✨

Admire the Baby, But Don't Forget to Nurture the Mother - Her View From Home The postpartum mother is recovering and trying to settle in with a new baby. Admire the infant, but please nurture and see the new mom too.

https://www.facebook.com/1877876242503258/posts/2776456952645178/?d=n

What is a doula and how can a doula help you?

RAF Lakenheath MBRN has several doulas in the tri-base area who are available to help you through pregnancy, birth, postpartum and breastfeeding. If you need support please contact us. You can find doulas and other birth professionals through this link: https://www.militarybirthresourcenetwork.org/lakenheath-professionals

Resource taken from: Evidence Based Birth

I just wanted to take a moment to thank Deploy The Doula for letting me help with the Better Birth Partners class that she hosted yesterday.

It was a total success! We are so please that we could help so many couples out and that you all felt like you learned something from it. We hope that we can host another class in the near future.

I wish I would have gotten a group photo but we were so involved that it completely escaped us. Next time though 😉
Thank you again Katherine, it was a pleasure and an honor ♥️

I wanted to share this because this image is the true embodiment of a village and it is also my culture. Birthing is one of the most sacred things we have on Earth. That saying is true, “It takes a village to raise a child” and in my culture this happens even before pregnancy.

However, as military families we move often and we have to find our “people.” We rely on knit communities and birth workers to look after, care, and protect mother and baby.

Looking at this image reminds me where I came from and where I’m going. It also reminds me of my ancestors who made it possible for I to be here and now continue the work that they started as a doula and nurse.

There is a petition on this post. If you feel compelled to support and protect the work that Birth workers do, please sign and donate. Wishing you all love and light 🙏🏼💛

https://chng.it/CqNrn4PGyV

Breathe then, as if breathing for the first time,
as if remembering with what difficulty
you came into the world, what strength it took
to make that first impossible in-breath,
into a cry to be heard by the world.

Your essence has always been
that first vulnerability of being found,
of being heard and of being seen,
and from the very beginning,
the one who has always needed,
and been given, so much invisible help.

This is how you were when you first came
into the world, this how you were when you took your
first breath in this world, this is how you are now,
all unawares, in your new body and your new life,
this is the raw vulnerability of your
every day, and this is how you will want to be,
and be remembered, when you leave the world.
— From ‘A Seeming Stillness’ by David Whyte

Please sign Petition protecting Traditional Birthworkers and Healers, https://chng.it/CqNrn4PGyV

ART: “Parto," childbirth. Painting by Mario González Chavajay, 2009. Collection: Arte Maya Tz'utuhil.

Hey everyone, it’s been a while! I’m sorry I haven’t posted much but I promise I have been working really hard on doing some things to better support your families.

I am happy to share that I have joined the Mom2Mom Tribase UK chapter as a volunteer and I will also be working on becoming a Military Lactation Counselor(MiLC) to better support our breast/chestfeeding parents ♥️ I am grateful to be the recipient of one of Mom2Mom Global’s scholarships. This will allow me to further my education as a MiLC.

I also have started my Master’s program in Nursing, which has been a long time dream of mine. I am grateful to you all for your support and understanding and I look forward to helping you and your families on your parenting journeys. I wish you all love and light 🙏🏼💛

I am excited to share that I have taken on the role of chapter leader of Lakenheath’s Military Birth Resource Network chapter. I am glad to be able to support the military community and be part of people’s journey to parenthood ♥️

Lakenheath — Military Birth Resource Network Providing resources for families at RAF Lakenheath and surrounding areas.

and are excited to present our free prenatal yoga class!

If you are in the local Tri-base area, we will be hosting this class on 19th August, 2021.

I will teach some comfort measures for labor and birth and Renee will lead a yoga flow that accommodates for baby bumps of all sizes.

Please bring your own mat and water bottle.

Sign up here! https://m.signupgenius.com/ #!/showSignUp/10c0f4cafa82aa0fec61-free

What are comfort measures? Comfort measures may help relief labor pain and make you feel more relaxed. They can be very effective during labor and birth. We will briefly go over movement changes and positioning, the use of a birth ball/peanut ball, counter pressure, and the use of heat and cold. Come find out what’s the best technique for you.

Birth with the Doula now takes appointments on their Page.

With the summer heat comes several things to keep mindful of. Here are some tips I’d like to share:

✨ Stay hydrated! With high temperatures and busy schedules, you may forget to drink fluids. Make sure you are replacing electrolytes. Dehydration is a main contributor to ‘Braxton-Hicks’ contractions
✨Don’t wear anything that restricts circulation, Ex: rings, restrictive jewelry, fitted socks, tight clothing. No need to be uncomfortable. Everything will be back to normal soon ♥️ During pregnancy, you retain more fluid and hotter weather increases your likelihood of swelling. Avoid salty foods as this promotes water retention.
✨Eat cooling fruits and vegetables. Ex: watermelon, cucumbers, strawberries, lettuce, etc…
✨Use portable/hand-held fans, spray bottles, kiddie pools, wet towel behind the neck, etc.. to aid in hot temperatures. Go out for a swim! Not only is it relaxing, but it will keep you cool and happy 🤗
✨ Lastly, show off that baby belly! As women, we can be very self-conscious but remember, you are creating life in the womb and that is amazing and beautiful 🤩

Military Birth Resource Network has partnered up with What to Expect Project to share the importance of having a doula, especially in our military birthing community 🙏🏼💕

We are excited to partner with the What to Expect Project, What To Expect and Heidi Murkoff in 2021 tomorrow. One of our goals has been to raise more awareness and the need for doula support amongst our military community. From providing support to a single active duty mom to a spouse of a deployed service member, so no one has to birth alone.

So I know I have been a bit quiet lately, but all for very good reasons. I have been a busy bee and doing a lot of things and I am so excited to share with you all soon some exciting news. Thank you for supporting me through this time and I can’t wait to share my updates with you soon 🙏🏼💕

Birth with the Doula updated their business hours.

So lovely being part of this 2 week postpartum class today 🥰

Ashley, you will be greatly missed and it will not be an easy task, but I will follow in your footsteps and look forward to continuing helping out our military families here in the TriBase area 🙏🏼♥️

Today was such a bittersweet day for me professionally and personally.

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Back in 2020 before COVID arrived I was presented with the opportunity to participate in a pilot program with our local OB Clinic speaking at a new postpartum class every two weeks. What I didn’t know at the time was how hard isolation would hit these mamas, how important this program would be for our community of growing families, and how close I’d become with the lovely staff at our RAF Lakenheath OB Clinic.

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It was an honor to participate in such an important program and I’m going to miss speaking about how important postpartum care is. I am forever grateful to be invited to participate and asked to add my personal tools for success. I look forward to watching from afar as Birth with the Doula and Fearless Mother Doula continue to speak at this amazing class every few weeks. Thanks for the donuts my lovely friend Vanecia. 🍩 It was a beautiful celebration 🎉 until next time....

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A doula by definition is, " a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to a mother before, during and shortly after childbirth to help her achieve the healthiest, most satisfying experience possible." Why do you need a doula? You may be asking yourself this if you already have your support system or are not a first time mother....

http://birthwiththedoula.com/2021/06/25/what-is-a-doula-and-do-i-need-want-one/

What is a doula and do I need/want one? A doula by definition is, ” a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to a mother before, during and shortly after childbirth to help her ac…

Such a great time supporting LGBT+ Allies Mildenhall at Pride Stride with (L to R) Ashley As You Wish Doula Services, myself , and Katherine Deploy The Doula 🥰🏳️‍🌈 RAF Lakenheath Military Birth Resource Network 💕

Hi, everyone! So today I found out that messages on FB business page aren’t being received. If you've had similar issues, please drop a comment below or email me at [email protected]
I will get in touch with you as soon as I can. I'm so sorry this is happening and would hate to have messages unanswered. Thank you 🙏🏼💕🌸

A doula is, “a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to a mother before, during and shortly after childbirth to help her achieve the healthiest, most satisfying experience possible.” So why should you have a doula? You may not be a first time parent, you may have your mother, sister, partner, or in-laws there to support you. As a doula, I will provide you with evidence based information and am here to support you without any biases or judgement. “Research shows that women who use a birth doula are less likely to need Pitocin, less likely to have a cesarean birth, less likely to use any pain medication, and more likely to rate their childbirth experience positively” (DONA International). If you wish to find out more about my doula services, please reach out via my website www.birthwiththedoula.com or any of my social media pages via 🌸 I offer a 30 minute complimentary session and will be happy to discuss how I can support you throughout your pregnancy and after birth ☺️

✨Monday Motivation ✨ Whether you are a first time mom or a mom of 2,3,4,5+ children, we all need to hear it sometimes; you are a great mother! You become a mom/parent the moment you find out about your pregnancy. Sometimes it is planned and sometimes it is a surprise. Nonetheless, you begin to feel the hormonal changes. You will have your ups and downs but I am here to tell you, YOU GOT THIS! I want to remind you that even when you feel down or feel like you aren’t doing enough for you or your baby, you are amazing! You are creating life in the womb and that is beyond phenomenal! If you would like to have someone to support you through pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and/or breastfeeding, please feel free to message me. I look forward to speaking with you and congratulations on your new bundle of joy ♥️