This week’s blog post comes from Emerald Doula, and resident foodie, Vanessa. Vanessa is, in addition to being an incredible doula, an amazing home chef. She can make nearly any meal Instagram ready (and her InstaStories back up that claim!). Today, she’s sharing some of her favorite recipe links to help pregnant people consume the fabled “6 Dates A Day” for a possibly easier birth …
Read moreBirth Doulas: Support for Birthing People AND Their Partners
Photograph by Kallyn Boerner, Heart in Hands NC
Most often as birth doulas, we’ll talk about and share ways in which we support the birthing person during pregnancy and birth. That’s fair, though, right? Birthing people are doing a good portion of the work, and will need that support as they move through the process.
But did you know? Birth doulas also provide a lot of support specifically for partners, too!
How? Find out more …
Read moreMeet the Emerald Doula: 5 Questions with Vanessa
Editor's Note: Meet one of the newest members of the Emerald Doulas team! Birth Doula, Vanessa Safie, joined the EmDo Team this summer when she moved to North Carolina from Florida. She brings a wealth of experience, calm, and quiet confidence to her clients and their birth spaces.
You can read her full bio on our "Meet the Team" page, and learn a few extra, fun tidbits below!
1: Give us a three word summary of who you are.
Caffeinated. Witty. Efficient.
2: What drew you to a career as a doula?
What drew me to a career as a doula was the trauma my best friend felt during her first birth. I wanted to be there to hold her hand. So, I stuck my encyclopedia cd into my computer and found the definition a doula. I knew I wanted to be in service to anyone who would have me.
3: What's rocking your world right now, in birth or in parenting?
What's rocking my world in birth right now is the conversations happening around black maternal mortality, inclusion of trans people in the community, and the voices of those who have suffered trauma and assaults during their births being raised.
I'm doing a lot of reading and listening because it feels momentous.
4: When you're not doula-ing, where are we most likely to find you?
When I'm not doula-ing you can likely find me at one of my favorite coffee shops or playgrounds with my toddler. If I'm not there I'm in my kitchen baking something up!
5: What's your Top 5 Registry Must Haves for new parents?
- A Ring Sling! (I would say any baby wearing apparatus, but a ring sling is my all time favorite because of how long it can be used.)
- Halo sleep sacks
- Side car/co sleeper
- Manual breast pump
- Travel high chair
Bonus Fun Facts: In addition to English, Vanessa is also fluent in French and Spanish (she's conversational in Haitian creole, too!). She's also the mother of a micropreemie, Jackson, who was born at 26 weeks, and spent 86 days in the NICU before his homecoming.
All In Good Time: When Should I Hire A Doula?
For most things in life, timing is everything, they say. When it comes to hiring a birth doula, we’d have to agree… well, sort of.
It may surprise you to hear that there is no “perfect time” to hire a birth doula. That said, of course, you’ll get more out of the relationship with your birth doula team, by researching and finding you perfect match sooner rather than later.
But don’t worry, we’ve got your back, if you wait until the last minute too!
Read moreFinding community within our communities…
The biggest post-baby change somehow sneaks up on you. You see, having a newborn can mean you’re always surrounded by people, and yet you also feel very isolated at the same time. A former client once said, “I’m never alone. I’m alone all the time.”
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