Under The Fig

A sneak peek of some beautiful little treasures I’ve been working on recently...

✨Australian Native Smoke Cleansing bouquets✨

Whether their beauty and scent simply bring you joy and uplift your birthing space... or are used to smoke cleanse energies ready for a positive birthing experience, these beauties (well ones just like these - these 2 are for my own home ☺️) will be available for purchase soon.

Did cleansing your birth space and setting your intentions,ahead of your birth, cross your mind? I do believe every positive action helps 💗

✨Beautiful Australian natives
✨Sustainably foraged from my own gardens.

Gosh it’s been a minute since I posted to social media. I have been so very intensely occupied in many ways (I want to avoid the term ‘busy’ where possible)

Thought I would share a sweet photo from Mother’s Day just past. The children and I took a visit to our special spot and thought about all of my children, those who hold my hand and those I can only hold in my heart... until we meet again.

Much love to the mothers of angels, I see you 💕 and to every mother today who needs a reminder that they are appreciated and loved # #

This cord keepsake turned out so amazing! It’s just beautiful 💕

Tiny little 36week placenta today 💕

This is baby number 6 for this Mum and I just can’t wait to get her capsules to her tomorrow so she can start benefiting 🙌🏻

I’ve been following Derry’s photography of Lake Cakora for a while now. He never disappoints! Do you see what I see?

So much love 💕

If you were wishing there was a way to prolong to benefits of your placenta indefinitely... I have the answer!

Placenta Tincture!


A placenta tincture can be made at the same time as I process your pills. I use a piece of raw placenta and it is steeped in alcohol over 6 weeks.

Many women, after experiencing the great benefits of their placenta pills, come to the last few and wish they had a never ending supply. If this happens to you, just send me back some pills and I can even use them to create a tincture for you that will last you a life time.

Your tincture is best used during times of emotional or hormonal imbalance. You can to ease postpartum hormonal fluctuations, to treat PMS when your cycle returns and during menopause!

Your tincture may also help you during times of stress or to improve energy levels.

A tincture is very popular with women who know that their baby will be their last and want to have the benefits of their placenta prolonged.

For those of you who have had a tincture made, what were the benefits you noticed?

So much needs to change in our maternity care for all women, but especially for our indigenous sisters 💔

Australia doesn’t have a great record on human rights. Our approach to human rights in childbirth is even worse.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the maternity care our Indigenous sisters receive. There is an unconscionable disparity of health outcomes between black and white Australia - maternal mortality is 3.5x higher, and Indigenous babies are twice as likely to die after birth.

In rural and remote areas, we have a policy of removing Indigenous women from their communities before their due date to give birth far from home, often against their wishes. Despite the tireless work of many Indigenous activists, there is little political will to implement Birthing on Country models of care, despite the community desire for these models and the success of these models elsewhere.

As Rebecca Schiller writes in Why Human Rights in Childbirth Matter, for many Indigenous women, the only way to avoid evacuation is to “opt out of care all together, or to go a local clinic so late in labour that they cannot be transferred. Even then, routine practice is to stop a low-risk, full-term, well-progressing labour with drugs and airlift the mother to Darwin. A birth that has been interrupted by drugs and transfer may be difficult to restart without the use of significant intervention, with potential for serious impact on mother and baby.”

Some Indigenous women are choosing to conceal their pregnancies to avoid the trauma of our maternity system. It is an indictment on maternity policy in this country, that for many Indigenous women, the only way to receive care that is culturally safe, is to not receive any antenatal care at all.

Today as we reflect on our nation, let us turn our hearts towards our Indigenous sisters and brothers, and seek to understand their experiences under invasion and colonisation. Let us hear their voices and follow their lead, as we work towards healing and justice.

Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.

Photo credit: Bobby-Lee Hille - an Indigenous photographer from Perth, mother and creator of the amazing Milyali Art project.

A little guide to my services 🍃 if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. I am always happy to discuss your individual needs and create a package to suit you.

I thought maybe it would be nice to do a little post about... me 😬 the face behind Under the Fig 🍃

- I’m a mum to 5 children. 3 boys 2 girls. And 5 angels.
- I spend as much time in nature as possible with my children. Creeks have my heart 💕
- I decided to be a Doula when my first child was around 1... that’s over 13 years ago!
- I love moths. They’re so mysterious and enchanting
- I dream of travelling around Australia in a caravan but I’d like to end up living off grid and self sustainably on a lovely green piece of land
- I have a degree in music and drama and a post grad in teaching
- My house is always clean and tidy. Always. I cannot function if it isn’t
- Late afternoon is my favourite time of day. My most favourite simple pleasure in life is a late afternoon walk
- I’m a chocolate and coffee addict 🙊
- Horse riding, touch football and music were my whole world growing up. Would love to get back to doing all 3
- I have a thing for placentas and trees. Life is not possible without them.
- I was born in Mount Isa. My fathers family migrated from the Netherlands to work in the mines and my Mothers family owned sheep and cattle stations out west
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- I’m not sure I’ll ever feel done having children
- After enduring many losses myself I am very passionate about honouring and supporting mothers and their babes through miscarriage. I know first hand that it is an area very lacking. I have always planned to grow my service to encompass specific supports for women enduring loss.

Well that’s probably enough random facts about me! Hopefully it goes a little way towards creating a comfort in knowing your encapsulator and some of her quirks ✨

Medical intervention is wonderful when it’s needed. Unfortunately, most times, it isn’t.

💯 Agree!!


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We completely agree!!

Look at this beautiful cord 💕 did you know your placenta is still serving a very important purpose even after baby has been born? Your placenta supports your baby’s transition from womb to earthside by continuing to pump oxygen rich blood to your baby. If the cord is prematurely cut, before your placenta has finished it’s job, your baby misses out on the benefits of full blood volume. You can observe this process... as the cord pulsates, it changes from what you see in this picture with its thick, telephone cord appearance, to white and empty of blood.

Did you practise delayed cord clamping? Was your caregiver supportive?

One of the most common questions Placenta Remedy Specialists get asked is if parents can still have their placenta encapsulated and delay cord clamping.
The answer is a very firm YES.
IPEN trained specialists fully appreciate the importance of the cord blood reaching baby ❤️

with
・・・
How could you possibly clamp this cord when it is still assisting baby transition to life outside the uterus? But immediately and early cord clamping is widely practiced across the world (including the UK) leading to babies that just aren’t as healthy as they could have been.

What do you see? The intertwining rivulets of the Channel Country or the amazing vessels of the placenta?

Both life sustaining. Both beautiful. 💕

Caption this 😍😍😍

The amazing shot was taken in the heart of Channel Country near Innamincka.

📷: Cloncurry Mustering Company

The last day of 2020 and I’m finally getting around to posting!

December has been such a big month in so many ways for me. I only just now realised is was the last day of the year and only because a friend reminded me!

What a year - but also what a month! This month saw me commemorate 3 of my children’s births. On December 5th and 11th I remembered my sons, Isaiah and Isaac who were both born sleeping 9 and and 8 years ago. Joyfully on the 8th I got to celebrate my earthside son, Grady’s 5th birthday.

During this month and the festive season I am very aware that among the people busily going about their holiday preparations and celebrations, many of us are carrying great loss and sadness.

To anyone who has quietly remembered loved ones these holidays, or who has suffered loss recently or many years ago for that matter. Know that I see you and feel you. Please take time these holidays to care for yourself and take time out to do something special to remember your loved one.

This is 4 of my 5 on Christmas Eve. Taking time out in our most special place. Remembering and spending time with their angel babies, who my children remind me, are waiting for us in Heaven.

If any of you need any support through miscarriage or loss, current or past. Please get in touch. I would be only honoured to hold space and support you.

What a brilliant capture by of this amazing umbilical cord and all its wonder 💕

Posted • This photo shows so beautifully, the 3 vessels that are hard at work within the umbilical cord.

The centre vessel is the umbilical vein. It's job is to send blood rejuvenated with oxygen and nutrients, and devoid of waste products from the placenta to the baby.

The two arteries which surround the vein, carry blood pumped by the babies heart back to the placenta.

They are then perfectly protected deep within a thick layer of Wharton's Jelly!

Did you check out your placenta and umbilical cord after birth?? 🤓

This placenta was just picked up from a client, ready to begin the process of encapsulation. 🥰 Follow this link to find out all of our placenta services on offer and how they cam benefit your post-partum journey!

https://www.letstalkbirthtownsville.com/placenta-encapsulation

Working on some flyers today as I’ve been lucky enough to have a few birth workers request these to hand out to their clients. So so grateful for their support. If you’d like me to send you some, or you are curious to know more about my services, please do get in touch 💕

Such a powerful image ✨

Nullah, born on country. Laying safely in his coolamon, still attached to his placenta 💚 just perfection.

May many many more women and their babes experience this right.

Happy NAIDOC Week. Always Was Always Will Be. 🖤💛❤️

Posted • The most powerful NAIDOC week photo you will see.
Beautiful Nullah was born on country, the same way our people have done for generations. Congrats you are amazing sis.
Our next generation being born strong in culture & who they are, into their mother’s hands, on her country, her way, Yuin way.

Repost
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NAIDOC week. Always Was Always Will Be.

🖤💛❤️

With the deepest respect and love and with the family’s blessings, we share these images of and her family, Birthing on Country....Yuin Country.

Words can’t describe the profound honour it was for and to attend as midwife and photographer/videographer, along with beautiful second midwife

As so eloquently written in the joint Birthing on Country position statement -
“Respecting individual choice is central to the BoC model. The identification of ‘risk factors’ is viewed through a cultural lens inclusive of the individual woman’s needs and cultural birthing practices, which enriches and informs their choices, assessment and planned care”.
YOU DID IT TEISHA, may this just be the beginning.

Teisha’s words....
“Birthing on Country and what a glorious day it was. BoC is the way our woman have always given birth to her child, on the lands of ancestors, ensuring a spiritual connection to the land for her baby. Yesterday we birthed our baby son Nullah Rungatahi Mulligamiriyara Toi out on country where my songlines sing many songs of the past, present and future, where the fresh water meets the salt water and the mountains meet the ocean. HAPPY NAIDOC WEEK MY PEOPLE MY PEOPLE 🖤💛❤️. In our family we celebrate who we are and where we came from every single second of every day. Thank you to our private midwives who were also part of this amazing experience”.

Love my packaging 💚 Feeling proud. It’s lovely to see all my effort coming together.

I truly believe that ‘love is in the detail’. From packaging to processing your placenta, I keep this little phrase in mind.

If you’ve ever considered placenta encapsulation please do get in touch. I’d love to hear from you and help you benefit from your amazing placenta ✨

Nourishing goodies for lovely new Mummas
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I came across these photos recently that show a phenomena in trees called Crown Shyness whereby the tops of individual trees avoid touching each other!

Now I don’t know about you, but upon sighting this picture and before I read the info.... I saw something else.... yep, the maternal side of the placenta and it’s amazing lobes! (Swipe👉🏻)

Isn’t nature utterly amazing! Nature mimicking itself in varying forms? Oh, it’s a deep rabbit hole 🙈

Once again the placenta earning its label as the tree of life!

Thank you this shot is amazing!

Hello and welcome to Under The Fig 🍃 thank you so much for visiting my page. I hope it is informative and inspiring ✨

My name is Chantel and I am a Mum of 5 wonderful children 💕 as well as a trained and certified placenta encapsulation specialist (IPEN) and Doula (Childbirth International) servicing the north side of Brisbane and beyond.

If you have any questions about how I can support your pregnancy journey and postpartum recovery please do get in touch, I’d love to help # # #