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Call me counterculture
A local nurse midwife recently attended one of Birth Kalamazoo's meetings and declared afterward that she was glad to see the birth counterculture was alive and well.Counterculture? At first I was a...
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Birth Kalamazoo honors mothers!
In honor of Mother's Day, Kimmelin Hull of Lamaze's Science and Sensibility blog recently asked birth professionals to share how they honor mothers. We are so blessed to work with such amazing women,...
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What do new mothers need?
What do new mother's need in those tender postpartum days? We examined that topic at a recent "Birth Matters" meeting here in Kalamazoo. Here's the list our birth and postpartum doulas came up with......
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Letting go
This post is written by Birth Kalamazoo's Beth Hawver, CD(DONA)Reading Ina May Gaskin’s new book, "Birth Matters," I was struck by a passage in one of the birth stories. A woman recalls a moment during...
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Reducing the cesarean rate for first-time moms
A new study from researchers at the Yale University of Medicine pinpoints two primary reasons for the skyrocketing cesarean rate in the United States: more c-sections in first-time mothers and...
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“Be Flexible:” Red Flag, Wise Advice, or Both?
Do you know this scenario? A woman takes her birth plan into her doctor or midwife for discussion. The provider reviews it and tells her, “You need to be much more flexible than this.” It makes me...
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Juliet's Birth: Joanna's Story
Early labor started for me around 2:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning. I was only having one to two contractions an hour that were strong enough to wake me up. My husband, Neil, brought a futon into our...
View ArticleChildbirth Classes and Natural Birth: One Mom's Perspective
Dawn took our natural birth class several years ago and also had a Birth Kalamazoo doula with her at her birth. She wrote us this sweet note today, which we're sharing with her permission. Thank you so...
View ArticleBirth through the lens of time
I stopped by a local office recently to drop off some brochures a former client had requested. The receptionist looked at my materials a little skeptically, and asked if doulas were like midwives. I...
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Your doula: Shake it like Shakira
by Jessica EnglishWatching this season of NBC's "The Voice," I've been amazed by the way pop superstar Shakira has doula'd her team members. She nurtures, supports, encourages and praises with the...
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