What I am 'do-ulaing' right now

Well, it seems summer has officially left the building! And as much as I love the transitions of the seasons and autumn always feels like home to me...I miss the warm weather!

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But with autumn comes my birthday and this often feels like the start of a new year for me, one that I start by going inward and checking in on myself and nourishing me from the inside out. I am planning a solo retreat that will allow me to put down some of the things and focus instead on what I want to bring forward in the spring and nuture during the darker months of winter. It feels like a much needed time for me after a busy year and one that has brought its own personal challenges.

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Before this much needed time off however I will be supporting 3 families to birth their babies. One of whom I supported during their first birth. The familiarity of working with this family again has allowed us all to relax back into the connection and the comfortableness we feel with each other. It is also amazing to witness their older child going through big life transitions like starting school.

It has been a little while since I supported a solo mum, so it has been a pleasure to work with my next client who is preparing for a physiological hospital birth. Working with a mother who is navigating the parenting journey solo, brings other considerations for birth especially who will play and fulfill the many roles that help a woman or birthing person to give birth feeling held, seen and safe. It is a special experience as we often form a closer connection especially in the birth space.

My final client of the year is planning for a home birth with their first baby and has asked for my support to help navigate the system. As a Black, neurodivergant woman, she really sees the value in having someone to hold and protect her birth space whilst also benefiting from the understanding of having a fellow Black woman support her.

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I am really looking forward to walking alongside and witnessing the births of these different woman and continuing to learn about birth through their experiences.

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My work at Birthrights is continuing to grow and as well as supporting people through our advice service, I am also be attending a local Community Conversation session with Leeds Involving People later on this month. The aim of this session is to hear from womena and birthing people who are most marginalised by the system and ask them what they would like their maternity care to look like. This is such powerful work and will help us to campaign and advocate for changes to the way the maternity care system operates not just on local level but nationally too

I am not just a doula...