A great short film by Birth Matters Virginia about why women choose to hire doulas.

I saw this on Bloody Show. It is such a great video of a midwife. I love the first image of the woman breathing too fast and bouncing too fast on the birth ball, and the midwife comes and calms her. That’s what doulas do, too.

Great video on couples who choose to hire a midwife, debunking common myths about hiring a midwife being more dangerous than an OB.

At a blog I read a lot, That Wife, the author, Jenna, just gave birth to her first child, a beautiful son. Jenna had a homebirth and she did so well. She has been posting the birth story and recently answered frequently asked questions about the birth, including sharing this incredible video of the sounds she made during labor. She does a great job keeping her tons low which help open up the cervix and keep the pressure and sound focused low, on opening up and getting the baby out. High-pitched sounds, with the tension up high, in your head, are counter-productive. Near the end of the video, we see Jenna during the “ring of fire” moment of crowning and she expresses that it hurts. This might seem scary if you’re unfamiliar with natural childbirth, but sometimes just being able to express how she’s feeling–this hurts like heck!–is what a mom needs. Her midwife Sarah responds appropriately, honoring Jenna’s feelings, but encouraging her to keep going. Jenna trusts her body to know when to push and when to relax and moments later she birthed a healthy boy in the water with her husband’s support. This is one of my favorite videos (taken by Kelli Nicole, I believe) of a woman in labor:

Sounds of Labor from Jenna on Vimeo.

Here is a great video by Penny Simkin about the importance of distinguishing between pain and suffering during birth.

She talks about how there are productive kinds of pain, like the pain we feel during exercise, mountain climbing, athletics, body modification (piercing, tattoos, etc). It is so important to realize that just because we feel pain doesn’t mean we are suffering. It is important to employ various comfort measures during your labor so that you are able to deal with the pain and avoid suffering.

I just saw this great trailer for a movie releasing in June that follows three birth doulas around. I love the teary-eyed doula speaking about what a privilege it is to be allowed to attend births. It really is, and I am so thankful to all the parents who allow me to be present at the birth of their children. Honored, privileged, in awe.

This is a great video that shows how well a doula can help a woman and her partner giving birth in a hospital.

Thanks to Jenna, a mama in Dallas, Texas, for the link love on her blog That Wife. I read her blog often, for her fabulous photography (she’s an excellent one), and to hear about her pregnancy. I love reading about pregnancy, birth and mothering in a woman’s own words, and when I read in her fabulous birth plan that she shared a few weeks ago that she wanted to avoid vaginal exams during labor (something I’d just been studying!), I emailed this link to her, from the blog of a doula in Israel. It covers all the information I read in my doula studies. Here is what Jenna posted:

Assessing Dilation without a Cervical Exam

Valerie, a doula in SLC sent me this link to a post that talks about clues to pay attention to during labor to get an idea of how dilated you are. If you are pregnant you may already know that having cervical exams after your water breaks can be harmful, as it can potentially introduce infection. Also, I’ve heard they are nasty to experience pretty much anytime, but especially during a contraction. I’ve read the article several times now and plan on going over it with TH as well so we both can have an idea how far along I am without relying on internal exams!

Why avoid vaginal exams during labor? Well, as Jenna points out, for one, they are uncomfortable. And two, they can be dangerous, because they push bacteria into the vagina and can cause infection, especially after your water breaks. Jenna is a great example of a woman who has taken control of her pregnancy, doing all the research to understand her options and choosing the kind of birth that’s right for her and her husband. It has been so fascinating following along as she decided to have a natural home birth with a midwife. Jenna is expecting to go into labor any day now, so I am sending lots of gentle labor thoughts her way!

Welcome to Blooming Within Birth Services, offering the doula services of  Valerie Wetlaufer, educated through DONA and the Aviva Institute.

On this site, you can find out more about what a doula does, how to hire me, and read my blog posts about the experience of being a doula, from training, certification and beyond.

I believe that everyone deserves to experience birth as an empowering, affirming and joyous experience, whether you choose a homebirth or prefer the hospital. I would love to be at your side, supporting, relaxing, encouraging and helping you have the best birth experience.

The name “Blooming Within” comes from one of my favorite poems by Audre Lorde:

Now That I Am Forever with Child

How the days went
While you were blooming within me
I remember each upon each —
The swelling changed planes of my body —
And how you first fluttered, then jumped
And I thought it was my heart.

How the days wound down
And the turning of winter
I recall, with you growing heavy
Against the wind. I thought
Now her hands
Are formed, and her hair
Has started to curl
Now her teeth are done
Now she sneezes.
Then the seed opened.
I bore you one morning just before spring —
My head rang like a fiery piston
My legs were towers between which
A new world was passing.

From then
I can only distinguish
One thread within running hours
You. . . flowing through selves
Toward you.

You Begin
By Margaret Atwood

You begin this way:
this is your hand,
this is your eye,
that is a fish, blue and flat
on the paper, almost
the shape of an eye.
This is your mouth, this is an O
or a moon, whichever
you like. This is yellow.

Outside the window
is the rain, green
because it is summer, and beyond that
the trees and then the world,
which is round and has only
the colors of these nine crayons.

This is the world, which is fuller
and more difficult to learn than I have said.
You are right to smudge it that way
with the red and then
the orange: the world burns.

Once you have learned these words
you will learn that there are more
words than you can ever learn.
The word hand floats above your hand
like a small cloud over a lake.
The word hand anchors
your hand to this table,
your hand is a warm stone
I hold between two words.

This is your hand, these are my hands, this is the world,
which is round but not flat and has more colors
than we can see.

It begins, it has an end,
this is what you will
come back to, this is your hand.