Finding Comfort During Labour
Labour is intense, to say the least. But does it have to be painful? It can be helpful to reframe the sensations you are feeling. In the words of Ina May Gaskin “labour is an interesting sensation that requires all of your attention”. Many people prefer to refer to surges or rushes as opposed to contraction, HypnoBirthing […]
Informed Consent
Informed consent: What is it and why is it important Informed consent: Informed consent is a process in the medical system that helps you make decisions. Your care provider provides you with information and answers questions for you. Ultimately, this is so you can decide what is done to you and your body and in this case, your baby. […]
My Birth Didn’t Go As Planned
I had a very easy pregnancy. Other than the usual first trimester fatigue and nausea and a long baby who kicked me in the ribs a lot, things went very smoothly. Because my pregnancy was so smooth I was lucky enough to be able to have midwives as care providers and to be able to […]
I felt guilty about loving my birth
While my birth didn’t go 100% according to plan (read about that here). I had an amazing experience. I laboured at home and at the Toronto Birth Centre. My husband caught my son and after he was born the 3 of us curled up on a king sized bed for a nap. I was back […]
The best tool I had without realizing it.
Enter your text If I could recommend one purchase to every pregnant person, it wouldn’t be baby gear or maternity clothes. It would be a yoga ball. Like these ones. Dirt cheap and SO useful! My son was a very long baby. Like “kicked me in the ribs while I was in labour” long. People kept […]
Formula is Medicine
My mom formula fed me. She did this because she was told it was the best decision for me. This was really common, if you breastfed 30 years ago you were consider a tree hugger! I turned out just fine. I hardly ever got sick as a kid, I was put in the “enhanced class” […]
Orgasmic birth?! Tell me more!
Wait did you say orgasm during birth? This is a very taboo topic, while writing this article anyone I spoke about it with was totally shocked and confused. Isn’t birth supposed to be painful? That is what you would think from the way that birth is portrayed in the media, but that isn’t always the […]
Postpartum Depression or Baby Blues?
Most people get pregnant for the first time with very little idea about what life with a new baby will be like. We have a vague idea that the first few weeks and months will be a bit chaotic, but not much more than that. This often leaves us feeling totally unprepared, even wondering if […]
Prenatal Nutrition
Maintaining good nutrition is an important part of a healthy pregnancy. But it’s sometimes hard to make the best food choices with hectic lifestyles. Most people have questions about how much weight they should be gaining. It’s also important to realize that an poor diet can actually contribute to common issues that arise in pregnancy. […]
What to expect postpartum
Pregnancy and birth are such intense emotional events. Often prenatal education classes focus solely on getting you through birth and into breastfeeding. If you are under the care of an OB here in Ontario, then you’re first follow up may be up to 6 weeks after birth. This leaves a lot of a huge care […]
What do I do with my placenta?
To encapsulate or not to encapsulate, but is that really the question? There are actually a ton of things that you can do with a placenta! Let’s call it a perk of living in a big city like Toronto. Be aware that more hospitals put placentas in the biohazard as a matter of course, so […]
Self care during pregnancy
Real talk, the pregnant body is a weird place to live. Your skin stretches in ways you have no control over. You leak, if you're lucky it's just increased vaginal discharge and colostrum. If you're unlucky it's peeing a bit when you sneeze. Sometimes you sleep, sometimes you don't, and sometimes you wake up so […]
Skin to skin care
Skin to skin contact is one of the things that makes me really pumped up. Babies do better when they are skin to skin with their parent, birthing persons do better when they are skin to skin with baby. Yet, it’s still really common place to see parents and baby separated following birth! So, let’s talk about the wonders […]
What to bring to your birth
Whether you’re planning on giving birth at home, in a birth centre or at a hospital, it’s important to have all your supplies ready to go before hand. Here is a good place to start. Remember to pack your essentials together in advance of your due date so everything is in one place and easily […]
VBAC is a safe option
First time parents usually have tons of questions, fears and concerns; with second and third children prenatal visits tend to go a lot quicker! One of the biggest hurdles families have the second time around is for parents who have had previous C-sections. I get so many families questioning the safety of a vaginal […]