Category: pregnancy

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Health Care Labour Doula pregnancy Trauma

Empowering NICU Parents as a Doula: Strategies for Support

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1696077782676{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]September is NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)  Awareness Month. ​This special month is dedicated to acknowledging the challenges families face and providing them with the support and resources they need.

As a doula you will encounter times where families are navigating a baby in the NICU for various reasons. This is an overwhelming and difficult time for all of those involved. It is a traumatic separation of parents and baby. A time where navigating expectations of what parenting was supposed to be and what it is, is up against the fear of will my baby be ok. 

Often times as doulas we feel scared and unprepared in supporting families as they navigate their way through this journey. Here are a few ways you can show up for families in the NICU. 

Listen

Just as you might support someone going through any kind of trauma by listening as they speak, simply lending an open, non-judgmental ear can be of huge help to NICU parents. Focusing on listening ensures that you honor the experience they’re having, instead of clouding it with your insights, birth story, or advice.

Consider starting with, “Do you feel like talking?” before asking any questions about their status or that of the baby. They may really want to share with you how much weight the baby gained that day or how they’re doing on certain good days, or they may really want to vent on some terrible days. But they also may not want to talk.  Asking if they’re open to talking before diving into a conversation is a way to respect their boundaries.

Support them in establishing communication with their baby’s care team: 

NICU parents often feel insecure about how to provide care for their baby who is in such a fragile condition.  It is important for them to know they are just as needed in the NICU as the medical team. 

  • Remind them they are their baby’s best advocate
  • Help them formulate the questions they want to ask
  • Remind them they can provide care to their newborn, changing diapers, taking temperatures, etc. The nurses will support them. 
  • Encourage them to keep a daily journal of their babies progress. keeping track of  baby’s individual body systems, like breathing, digestion, heart, brain, eyes, and any special conditions the baby has.  Keep track of milestones and ask the nurse what the baby’s current goals are.  Sometimes the goals will change daily, and sometimes they will stay the same for weeks.

Offer Practical Support 

As a doula this is our wheelhouse. Just as we would in the home, offering clear and concise suggestions about the type of support you can offer will help overwhelmed parents get what they need. 

  • Work with their support system to arrange food delivery for in hospital support and those at home. Gift cards for restaurants in and around the hospital, premade easy to heat up meals and snacks or even e-transfers will be greatly appreciated. 
  • Offer to do a load of laundry and bring it to the hospital ( or arrange for a family member to do so) 
  • Offer to be a communication liaison between the family and their extended family and friends, or help them find their person
  • Remember that the birther is also dealing with recovery, help them with practical recovery strategies like pain management, pumping, etc. 

Remember that the fear does not end when baby comes home 

 There is a lot of excitement when baby comes home however this doesn’t mean that the fear and concerns have ended. Often parents have not fully processed the trauma of being in the NICU and coming home creates a space for all of that to surface. 

Find the parents counselling and peer support resources. Expect some hypervigilance when it comes to caring for baby. Patience and listening will continue to be important. 

What strategies and tools do you use to support families in the NICU? 

 

Sondra Marcon (she/her). Education and Administration Coordinator
Sondra’s background in family therapy and mental health work drives her to create environment for her clients and students that is both supportive and challenging of bias and assumptions. Teaching and development of curriculum drives her to continue to grow. Sondra’s drive to become a doula came when she saw the impact of early childhood experiences and parenting has on the wellness of both the infant and their parents.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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birth community Health Care pregnancy

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Day

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1693401592473{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) are as prevalent as Autism Spectrum Disorders, but they are less talked about and wildly misunderstood. If you work with babies, you are likely to encounter one with FASD, but it often goes unrecognized and untreated. We’re going to do some myth-busting and share some facts that all birth workers should know and be prepared to share with clients.

  • Alcohol is a known teratogen (birth defect-causing agent). There is no known amount of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) or time during pregnancy when alcohol can be consumed without risk to the fetus.
  • 45% of pregnancies are accidental. Often, prenatal alcohol exposure occurs before pregnancy is detected. Early detection of pregnancy reduces the likelihood of PAE.
  • Not all PAE causes FASD to develop. The development of FASD is influenced by the amount of alcohol exposure and a mix of genetic and epigenetic factors. FASD affects people from all walks of life, races, and ethnicities
  • Social determinants of health influence the development of and treatment of FASD. For example, people who have had limited access to education, are less likely to be aware that consuming alcohol can harm their babies. People experiencing poverty and racism are less likely to disclose their alcohol consumption and seek timely treatment for themselves and their children due to fear of incarceration and having their children removed. 
  • While FASD is diagnosed based on the presence of specific facial characteristics, FASD can manifest in a variety of ways, with a range of symptom severity. Treatment needs to be tailored to the individual.
  • Newborns with FASD are often have heightened sensitivity to light and other environmental stimuli. They benefit from being cared for in a dark, quiet environment, and may need more soothing than other babies.
  • Many children with FASD struggle more with emotional regulation than other children. They can benefit from an established routine and early and active guidance on emotional regulation strategies such as breathing exercises. 
  • People with FASD often have specific strengths. For example, many people with FASD are highly self-aware, hopeful, collaborative, loving, and kind. Treatment that focuses on strengths rather than deficits is more effective.
  • Many people with FASD lead happy, fulfilling, and rewarding lives. This outcome is more likely with early, strengths-focused treatment. 

In recognition that we need to talk about FASD, the Canadian Government declared September FASD awareness month in 2020. The theme for 2023 is Uniting our Strengths: Finding Solutions Together.

As birthworkers, we can be part of the solution by informing ourselves of and celebrating the strengths of people with FASD. We can also hold non-judgmental, compassionate space for our clients to talk about drinking. Stigma is the leading reason why people don’t ask for help. 

You can also honour the achievements of people with FASD by wearing red shoes this month! “Red Shoes Rock” is a grassroots movement that started in 2013 with FASD educator and advocate RJ Formanek wore shoes on an international stage. 

In his own words: “Red shoes were critical to my narrative, they were the key to it all. They were all about being different… They spoke of speed, of freedom of thought and being different, and red running shoes with the power suit sent a message out there to the world.”

For more information on supporting families navigating FASD, check out our posts from 2021 and 2022.

 

Keira Grant (she/her) brings a wealth of experience to her EDI Co-Lead role. She is a Queer, Black woman with a twenty-year track record in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) education, projects, and community building initiatives. As a mom and partner she uses her lived expereince to provide support and reflection for her clients and her work. Keira is the owner of Awakened Changes Perinatal Doula Services.

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Anti-Oppression Anti-racism work balance birth Business collaboration community connection Equity fear gratitude Health Care pregnancy rebranding shame starting fresh Trauma Volunteering vulnerabiliity

Using Doula Care as Community Aid: The Giving Equation

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1684151324317{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]As I’ve been going through our Truth and Reconciliation Action Plan, I’ve been continuously thinking about doula care and community aid, and how we can continue to decolonize our practices. As doula care becomes more “trendy” in current society, as it continues to dominate mostly higher-class spaces, how do we reflect on the roots of doula care, and stay true to community work? Of course, as doulas we do not feed ourselves and pay the bills off of warm and fuzzy feelings, but I think it is realistic to say most of us enter the field with a certain amount of passion and drive to create change in our communities. Whether that be being inspired by our own birth experience, or noticing how much of a difference our own doula made, most of us come to doula care for a deep reason.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1684151342874{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]However you identify, birth work has the ability to bring folks together. The birth and the postpartum periods are intimate and vulnerable. Individuals from marginalized communities may wish to hire someone with the same identity or lived experience as them. As someone from a certain background you may possess a set of skills, knowledge or spiritual/cultural teachings that someone from an outside identity may not. For example, a Muslim family may choose to hire a Muslim doula who may better understand their traditional customs and practices surrounding birth. An Indigenous family may choose an Indigenous doula who understands and celebrates their practices and understands the risk of violence within the medical system.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1684151427232{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Below are some tips on using your practice and voice as a doula to help your community:

  1. Marry your interests

An easy equation for finding what population you want to serve is this: identifier + lived experience + passions and skills.

Between your lived experiences and passions/interests and skill, lays your intended community. For example, as an Indigenous mental health practitioner who grew up low-income, I chose to narrow my focus on low-income families and trauma survivors. Think about the spaces you frequent, the groups you are a part of, your professional training and hobbies.

 

Identifier: Indigenous, Queer

Lived experience: Poverty

Skill: Social work background

Passion: Trauma

           _______________________________

Target communities:

Indigenous families

Queer Families

Low Income Families

Trauma Survivors

 

2. What can you afford to give?

Whether that is your time, or money, or expertise. Some doulas choose to dedicate acouple of births per year pro-bono or sliding scale. Perhaps, you decide to attend protests and events as a community member that are relevant to your population. You may have resources you don’t mind sharing.or books to loan out. Be creative!

 

3. Advocacy

What issues are impacting your community? How can you use your voice in a way that helps others? Perhaps you can assist in social movements regarding reproductive health.How do you use your social media. What current issues are really important to you?

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These are just a few of the ways that you can take your profession, and use it for social change. What other ways can you make waves?

 

Here are some exploratory journal prompts for you:

  • Why did I choose to become a doula?

  • What social issues am I passionate about?

  • What can I afford to give?

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1684154527320{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]-Kayt Ward, EDI Co-lead, BSW[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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birth Comfort Techniques fear gratitude Labour Doula pregnancy

Doula’s Toolbox: Why Birth Affirmations Matter!

[vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1679509016754{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]So let’s talk affirmations. The concept of self-affirmation isn’t by any means complex or far-fetched. Positive affirmations are statements or phrases that, when repeated daily, can help challenge negative thoughts and boost self-confidence.

First, a little science. 

To understand how positive affirmations work and how you can make the most of them, we have to familiarize you with neuroplasticity, which is the ability to rewire the brain. Despite being one of the most sophisticated and complex structures in the known universe, the human brain can get a little mixed up on the difference between reality and imagination. This very loophole serves as the basis of self-affirmation. To elaborate, when you repeat affirming statements daily, you’re helping your brain create a mental image of the goal you’re trying to achieve or the version of yourself you are aspiring to become.

Affirmations require regular practice if you want to make lasting, long-term changes to the ways that you think and feel, even for birth. There is MRI evidence suggesting that certain neural pathways are increased when people practice self-affirmation tasks (Cascio et al., 2016). If you want to be super specific, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex—involved in positive valuation and self-related information processing—becomes more active when we consider our personal values (Falk et al., 2015; Cascio et al., 2016). There is also some reasearch asserting that affirmations can reduce the rate of medical interventions during childbirth.Empirical studies suggest positive affirmations can:

  • Decrease health-deteriorating stress (Sherman et al., 2009; Critcher & Dunning, 2015);
  • Help change the way we view “threatening” messages with less resistance and perception (Logel & Cohen, 2012);
  • Self-affirmation has been demonstrated to lower stress and rumination (Koole et al., 1999; Weisenfeld et al., 2001).

Think of it this way. When you repeat the same thoughts in your head, positive or negative, you start to believe them and your brain forms a pathway of neurons. There is a popular saying: Your words become your world.

Anyway most importantly the purpose of affirmations in labour is actually quite simple: Birth affirmations are sayings or statements designed to change your mindset and help you maintain a positive outlook or mood regarding the birth process.

Preparing your mind for labour and birth is really important, and it is no different from eating well or working on specific exercises to prepare your body for labour.

In order for birth affirmations to work, you need to keep a few things in mind:

You  have to believe what you’re saying

When you have a negative thought or fear, recognize it and deal with it first. This study found that participants with low self-esteem who repeated the phrase “I am lovable” actually had more negative emotions and still didn’t feel lovable because they didn’t really believe what they were saying.

Try to get to the root of your fears or negativity around birth.  Talk to a counsellor, listen to or read positive birth stories and surround yourself with other positive influences.

Keep in mind that sometimes we have to keep saying affirmations over and over again until we do believe it, which brings me to my next point.

Repeat, repeat, repeat!

Create a plan to practice your birth affirmations daily or a few times a week leading up to your birth. Find an affirmation meditation you enjoy, write them in a journal, and practice with your partner, doula or support person, you can even record your own voice memo practicing your affirmations to listen back. Practicing during your pregnancy will make using these affirmations during labour more effective.

They are not just for vaginal birthing.

There’s a common misconception that affirmations or hypnobirthing tracks are only helpful for people planning for an unmedicated birth experience. Plus affirmations are a great tool to complement other forms of pain management in your plan (think about that long drive to the hospital before you get an epidural).

Make them visible: Once your contractions pick up, channelling your focus on affirmations will be more challenging. Print out a copy of your affirmations, save them to your phone, or pack affirmation cards (see the downloadable pdf)  in your bag will give you a visual point of reference to help keep your focus on your affirmations as you ride the waves of labour.

Now that you’ve got a sense of how affirmations work, where can you find the right positive messages for you?  We have a downloadable PDF with a few ( ALSO for doulas this deck is customizable you can add your logo) you can google, or you can ask friends and family to help you out.

What matters is that they are meaningful and believable for you![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”Customizable CANVA affirmation deck ” color=”turquoise” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.canva.com%2Fdesign%2FDAFd8HHbv8Y%2F_hEn_HPs8cN6DuVZfUaADw%2Fview%3Futm_content%3DDAFd8HHbv8Y%26utm_campaign%3Ddesignshare%26utm_medium%3Dlink%26utm_source%3Dpublishsharelink%26mode%3Dpreview|target:_blank”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Business Canada connection fertility Labour Doula pregnancy reducing stigma Uncategorised

7 things you Should know about Menstruation and Why a Fertility Doula can Help!

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”491531″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1679506139819{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]A menstrual period is the monthly shedding of the uterine lining. Menstruation is also known by the terms menses, menstrual period, menstrual cycle or period. Menstruation is a normal and healthy part of life for most people with a uterus and no matter what you think you know about it age, hormones or even the weather can change how a person menstruates and how it feels ( A reason for why connecting with a Fertility Doula is a good idea!). Period facts are often obscured by myths about menstruation.  Most people with a uterus get their first period between the ages of 10 and 15 and continue to have their period until their late 40s or early 50s.

So let’s talk about some period facts:

  1. You loose less blood than you think you do: First off, you need to know that only approx. 50% of menstrual fluid is blood. ‘Menstrual fluid’ is not the same as ‘blood’, menstrual fluid also contains cervical mucous and vaginal secretions. On average a person loses anywhere between 1-6 tablespoons of menstrual fluid during each period. It can be thin or clumpy and varies in colour from dark red to brown or pink.
  2. It can take up to 3 years from the beginning of menstruation for your period to become regular: It’s common for cycles to be somewhat unpredictable for about two years after the first period. This means periods may not always come at the same time every cycle. Your periods may also look and feel somewhat different cycle-to-cycle. The first period may be quite short, with only a little bit of bleeding and the second period may be longer with more bleeding. After a couple of years, your cycles should become more regular, but may still continue to vary. Most cycles settle into a predictable rhythm about six years after menarche (the onset of your period).
  3. The average menstrual cycle is about 25- 30 days but not always: The average length of a menstrual cycle is 28 days. The days between periods is your menstrual cycle length. However, a cycle can range in length from 21 days to about 35 days and still be normal. Most people have their period (bleed) for between three and seven days. Once you reach your 20s, your cycles become more consistent and regular. Once your body begins transitioning to menopause, your periods will change again and become more irregular. From the time of your first cycle to menopause, the average menstruating person will have around 450 periods in their lifetime.  Added up, this equates to around 10 years — or about 3,500 days — of the average menstruating person ’s life that will be spent menstruating.
  4. Steps of your Cycle: The rise and fall of your hormones trigger the steps in your menstrual cycle. Your hormones cause the organs of your reproductive tract to respond in certain ways. The specific events that occur during your menstrual cycle are:
    1. The menses phase: This phase, which typically lasts from day one to day five, is the time when the lining of your uterus sheds through your vagina if pregnancy hasn’t occurred. Most people bleed for three to five days, but a period lasting only three days to as many as seven days is usually not a cause for worry.
    2. The follicular phase: This phase typically takes place from days six to 14. During this time, the level of the hormone estrogen rises, which causes the lining of your uterus (the endometrium) to grow and thicken. In addition, another hormone — follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) — causes follicles in your ovaries to grow. During days 10 to 14, one of the developing follicles will form a fully mature egg (ovum).
    3. Ovulation: This phase occurs roughly at about day 14 in a 28-day menstrual cycle. A sudden increase in another hormone — luteinizing hormone (LH) — causes your ovary to release its egg. This event is ovulation. However, some people do not ovulate or they ovulate at different times, more about this later.
    4. The luteal phase: This phase lasts from about day 15 to day 28. Your egg leaves your ovary and begins to travel through your fallopian tubes to your uterus. The level of the hormone progesterone rises to help prepare your uterine lining for pregnancy. If the egg becomes fertilized by sperm and attaches itself to your uterine wall (implantation), you become pregnant. If pregnancy doesn’t occur, estrogen and progesterone levels drop and the thick lining of your uterus sheds during your period.
  5.  Let’s talk about ovulation: Ovulation usually happens once each month, about two weeks before your next period. Ovulation can last from 16 to 32 hours. It is possible to get pregnant in the five days before ovulation and on the day of ovulation, but it’s more likely in the three days leading up to and including ovulation. Once the egg is released, it will survive up to 24 hours. If sperm reaches the egg during this time, you may get pregnant. Some people with a uterus do not ovulate regularly. This is common in the first two to three years after your periods start and during the lead-up to menopause. Some conditions, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and amenorrhoea (when periods stop due to excessive exercise or eating disorders) may cause irregular ovulation. Individuals with certain hormone conditions do not ovulate at all. It is possible to ovulate and not have a period after. It is possible to get pregnant without having periods in several months, but the chance of pregnancy of much lower when you are not having periods, compared to when you have regular periods. It is also possible to experience monthly periods without going through ovulation first- this is considered abnormal and is the result of something called an “anovulatory cycle”.
  6. Your periods get worse when it is cold: This is definitely an amazing period fact: cold weather can impact your period, making it heavier and longer than normal. During the winter months, a menstruating person’s flow, period duration, and even pain level are longer than in the summer. This pattern also extends to women who live in colder climates rather than warmer temperatures. The seasons can also affect your PMT too — the darker, shorter days can adversely impact your mood when combined with female productive hormones. This is thought to be because of a lack of sunshine, which helps our bodies to produce vitamin D and dopamine — which both boost our moods, happiness, concentration and all-around health levels.
  7. Periods after Pregnancy: After birth, your periods will return at your body’s own pace. It’s possible for your periods to return as soon as 4 to 6 weeks after childbirth. If you bottle feed or partially bodyfeed your baby, you’ll tend to start having periods sooner than if you exclusively bodyfeed. If you choose to bodyfeed exclusively, your first period may not return for several months. For those who keep bodyfeeding, it might not return for 1 to 2 years. The range of “normal”, is enormous. Experiencing a menstrual period does not mean that your menstrual cycle has returned permanently and without an accurate clinical test, you won’t know whether or not you ovulated (released an egg and could potentially become pregnant). You are more likely to ovulate and resume regular periods if your baby is going for more than a few hours without breastfeeding (for instance, at night) and your baby is more than 6 months old. Many bodyfeeding parents experience a time of delayed fertility during breastfeeding. This is very common and is referred to in many places as the Lactation Amenorrhea Method (LAM) of contraception. However it is important to remember that you can get pregnant while nursing, even without a period.

These 7 facts are just the tip of the iceburg when it comes to understanding your body and menstruation. If you have questions, whether you are trying to get pregnant or not a Fertility Doula can help with that![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”491536″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”Download the infographic here” color=”turquoise” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fstefanie-techops.wisdmlabs.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F03%2F7-things-to-know-about-your-cycle-1.pdf|target:_blank”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Anti-racism work birth Canada community connection decolonization Equity Health Care intersectionality pregnancy Trauma understanding bias

Why Black Futures Begin with Birth

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Why Black Futures Begin with Birth

Written by Keira Grant  – DTC EDI Lead for Racialized Communities

February is widely known as Black History Month. This term has rubbed me the wrong way since I was a kid, but it took me a while to put my finger on why. The reference to “history” is full of loaded assumptions that are highly convenient to colorblind multiculturalism. It suggests that racism toward Black people is something that happened a long time ago, maybe in a faraway place. Then slavery ended and then there was Black excellence.

Of course, there have always been excellent Black people, but that’s not really how the story goes. The beliefs that made slavery possible for centuries are part of the fabric of society. Even when we are excellent by eurocentric, capitalistic standards, it could still go the way it went for Tyre Nichols.

The violence that brutally ended the life of Tyre and so many others like him flows through all social institutions, not just policing. In countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom where race-based health data is collected, these data show that Black birthers are anywhere from 3 to 4 times more likely to die in childbirth than their white counterparts. Our babies are also at a significantly increased risk of death. This holds true, independent of education and socioeconomic status. The birth stories of celebrities like Beyoncé Knowles, Serena Williams, and Tatiana Ali, (whose story we’ll be discussing at March’s Equity Watch Party), bring these statistics to life.

At this time, many players in the Canadian healthcare system are calling for the collection of disaggregated race-based data. In the US, the collection of these data, and the resultant evidence of disparities has led to increased funding for programs that improve Black maternal health, including a proliferation of programs for accessing a Black doula. It has also supported requirements that health professionals receive training in implicit bias.

It’s been widely reported in the news that Tyre Nichols called out for his mom during the brutal attack that ended his life. Every Black person who dies as a result of structural violence is someone’s baby. When systemic disrespect and harm toward Black birthers and babies is normalized, rationalized, and justified it is the start of a pattern that impacts Black people across the lifespan. Emerging research is actually demonstrating that racial stress accelerates the aging process of Black women.

Creating a circle of love and support around Black birthers and their babies that is honest about what we are up against, and that celebrates our lives and well-being can have a profound impact on how someone’s life starts. It can affect how their life continues by showing them and their families that it is possible to create spaces where Black people are affirmed and nourished.

We talk about equity, diversity, and inclusion in this work all the time. During February, we have additional opportunities for our members to learn and engage in dialog about anti-Black racism and racial health equity in perinatal care. We are using the language Black Futures Month, “a visionary, forward-looking spin on celebrations of Blackness in February”.

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birth Business Canada collaboration community Equity fertility Health Care Labour Doula LGBTQ2S+ Menopause pregnancy research sex

2023 Social Media Event Calendar

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”484291″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”484292″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”484293″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”484294″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”484295″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”484296″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”484297″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”484298″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”484299″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”484300″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”484301″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”484302″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”484303″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”Download the PDF version here” color=”default” size=”lg” align=”center” button_block=”true” css=”.vc_custom_1676052454054{background-color: #5b6e74 !important;}” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fstefanie-techops.wisdmlabs.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F02%2F2023-dtc-awareness-calendar.pdf”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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About Us birth Business Childbirth Educator community connection Members pregnancy Uncategorised Virtual Webinar

Doula Canada’s Event Calendar November 2022 – January 2023

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1666959463057{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Looking for the upcoming events at Doula Canada all in one place? Look no further! This is a quick look at the upcoming Booster Workshops, Course Start Dates and Webinars for November to January. Check out our website for any updates or additions.[/vc_column_text][vc_images_carousel images=”467896,467897,467898″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_button url=”https://stefanie-techops.wisdmlabs.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/nov-jan-dtc-event-calendar.pdf” align=”center”]DTC Event Calendar PDF[/mk_button][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Anti-racism work birth Business Canada Childbirth Educator collaboration community connection Equity fear intersectionality Postpartum Doula pregnancy reducing stigma research shame Trauma understanding bias vulnerabiliity

Recognizing Asian Heritage Month and Jewish Heritage Month

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1653215730289{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]May is Asian Heritage Month and Jewish Heritage Month. It’s a great opportunity to reflect on what we mean by “heritage” regarding the history of these two communities in “multicultural” Canada, and what this means for creating cultural safety in birth work.

I’ve lived in the GTA my whole life. Here, a “heritage festival” typically amounts to a street party with food, live music and dance, and other culture-specific entertainment. I am actually a great lover of a good street fair. The food and performances are usually lit. I have also learned a lot about Jewish and Asian history and culture at events like the Ashkenaz Music Festival and Taste of Asia. I also understand that many communities are not fortunate enough to have this level of exposure to culture and diversity. But these cultural displays are not only far from telling the whole story of the “heritage” of Asian and Jewish people in Canada, but they also contribute to “false peace” – the illusion that multiculturalism is working out, that we are all getting along, and that we are all equal.

In truth, there is anti-Asian racism and anti-Semitism at the core of Canada’s heritage. Those of us who remember “Heritage Minutes” from the 1980s and 90s may know about the lethal exploitation of Chinese migrant workers that occurred in the 19th century to support the construction of the trans-Canada railroad. There are many other examples, including the head tax, and internment camps during WWII. 

Anti-Semitism is equally a part of the fabric of Canada’s history. Wide-spread belief in a Jewish conspiracy to achieve global economic domination that originated in Europe and spread to North America made Jewish Canadians an easy scapegoat during the great depression. Additionally, to limit the economic advancement of Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century, Canadian universities implemented quotas that restricted the number of Jewish applicants who could be admitted to the school.

It’s easy to hear these stories and think “this has nothing to do with me”, “this is ancient history”, “I didn’t do these things”, and “let’s focus on the positive and how far we’ve come”. While these sentiments are understandable, the reality is that the present arises from the past. These uglier parts of our heritage are directly related to more recent attacks on synagogues and the hate crimes experienced by Asian Canadians during the pandemic. 

Moreover, this heritage underpins the modern assumptions that manifest more subtly as microaggressions that affect the day-to-day navigation of society and impact the long-term mental and physical health of equity-seeking people. Some of these stereotypes may seem harmless or even positive. But in reality, they fuel the construction of whiteness as the social norm, put people in boxes, and create false impressions regarding people’s realities.

As birth workers, we can create cultural safety regarding the beautiful and the traumatic aspects of each client’s heritage. We can create space for them to share whether they have any cultural or religious traditions that they would like to honour. And we can also be mindful of things like how common stereotypes about Asian women may influence provider perceptions of client autonomy. Or how the intergenerational trauma of Holocaust survivors may impact pain management. There are a number of ways that our identities can impact our pregnancy and parenting journey. Shining a light on the good, the bad, and the ugly of our heritage sets us up to ask the right questions and facilitate the needed conversations with all of our clients.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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birth Canada Equity fertility pregnancy shame vulnerabiliity

Fat.

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1644624893514{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Fat.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1644624846918{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Read the word.  Read it once, twice, and then again.

How does reading the word make you feel?  How about saying it aloud? 

Most of us have learned to treat fat as a bad word and, beyond that, a bad thing to be.  We hear this from our friends and our peers, our families, our communities, the media we consume, and the healthcare systems we turn to when we’re unwell.  Fat is the punch line of countless jokes, the subject of over 40% of New Year’s resolutions[i], and the fuel of a weight loss industry worth $332.8 million in Canada alone[ii].

Fat people are scrutinized everywhere—in clothing stores that stop at size 14, on airplanes with too small seats, in conversations with relatives that always begin and end with comments on our size.  More than anywhere else, you can find this scrutiny in healthcare.  “Obesity” is listed as a risk factor for almost everything.  Any fat person who has been to a doctor’s office can tell you this. Depressed? Lose weight. Ear infection? Lose weight. Infertility? Lose weight.

When somebody is pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or even just a person between 20-40 with a uterus, their body is monitored in a whole new way.  They might be told that their weight will stop them from getting pregnant, that it will cause them to miscarry, that gestational diabetes will be inevitable, that they will need to be induced early, that their baby will be big, and on, and on, and on.

While any of these things might happen to a fat person, they won’t happen because the person is fat. Intentional weight loss is not a magical cure.  In fact, dieting could even lead to further issues with conception or pregnancy, where a nutrient-rich diet is important and weight gain is linked to the healthy development of the placenta, fetus, and pregnant person.

Over the past several years, there has been a shift in popular culture towards body positivity. Championed by celebrities and social media influencers, body positivity tells us to embrace and love our bodies (and other people’s bodies) as they are.  If this seems like a stretch goal, then we can be body neutral, accepting our body (and other people’s bodies) as they are, as the tools we use to engage with and experience the world.  These approaches can feel revolutionary when we’re used to hating our bodies and can absolutely improve our relationships with ourselves, but they aren’t enough.

Sofie Hagan, author of Happy Fat, explains, “I am not a body positivity campaigner, I am a fat liberationist. I do not care if you love your body or not, I care about abolishing the systemic discrimination and abuse that fat people endure on a daily basis.  Body positivity is fine, but it doesn’t at all fix the problem.” (Twitter, October 25, 2021).

The problems that Hagan is talking about are systemic fatphobia and sizeism. 

Fatphobia tells us that fat bodies are undesirable, unhealthy, and repulsive.  It includes fat jokes in the schoolyard and your grandmother telling you how much weight you’ve gained, but also means that fat people are less likely to be hired, less likely to be seen as attractive, less likely to be taken seriously by their medical providers.  It doesn’t just make people feel bad, it can be a matter of life or death: when Ellen Maud Bennett died of terminal cancer in 2018, her obituary named fatphobia as the cause, explaining, “Over the past few years of feeling unwell she sought out medical intervention and no one offered any support or suggestions beyond weight loss.”[iii]

Sizeism privileges smaller bodies over larger ones.  Not just through beauty ideals but through the systems and structures that we interact with every day.  This can include everything from insurance policies that have a body mass index (BMI) cutoff to hospital gowns and beds that don’t fit larger bodies.

To confront fatphobia and sizeism we don’t just need increased confidence in our own bodies, we need a different approach to size and weight.

The health at every size (HAES) movement is pushing medical providers to recognize that people can be healthy at every size, that fat shouldn’t be treated as an illness, that weight loss shouldn’t be treated as a cure, and that there needs to be (literal and metaphorical) room for fat people in our healthcare system.  It’s an important movement, but still prioritizes health. Fat people can be healthy or unhealthy, thin people can be too. All of us, regardless of size, will experience variations in our health throughout our lives.  We don’t owe anybody good health, and we don’t need to be healthy to deserve respect.

We need fat positivity: a mental and systemic shift that includes and embraces fat bodies, regardless of health. [/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”white”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1644624383626{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]So, as a doula, how can you provide fat positive support?[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1644624485528{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]1. Don’t ask about or comment on your client’s weight.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645143545782{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]2. If your client asks about how being fat will impact them during conception, pregnancy, or birth, share evidence-based information and resources that are size inclusive.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1644624540161{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]3.Support your client through their healthcare experiences.  If your client is worried about weight checks, let them know that they have a right to refuse or to ask why they are being weighed.  If they are worried about whether a hospital or birth centre will accommodate them (from weight limits on hospital beds to BMI limits on epidurals), contact the birth location to find out.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1644624580474{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]4. Provide emotional support, recognizing the trauma that many fat people have experienced in healthcare.  Your client might feel anxious, avoidant, or upset when having to interact with healthcare providers or entering doctors’ offices or hospitals.  Validate these feelings.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1644624610152{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]5. Recognize that everything from common birth support positions to equipment like birth balls or birthing pools haven’t been made with fat people in mind.  Consider in advance how to adapt your support to include fat bodies.  If your client is comfortable, this can include practicing support positions to see how they feel for you and your client, as well as any other support people involved.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1644624639055{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]6. Examine your own biases.  We grow up in a fatphobic and sizeist world, and internalize these beliefs from a very young age. Ask yourself what you think and feel about fat bodies, then ask yourself why.  This is hard, ongoing, and crucial work.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”white”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645287465765{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Fat people deserve to have our pregnancies and births treated with respect and care. We deserve health systems that see us as whole people and not as problems. We deserve to have our strength and capacity recognized.  We deserve partners, healthcare providers, and doulas who support, affirm, and hold us as we are.

Interested in learning more?  Sign up for Doula Canada’s webinar on Addressing Sizeism and Fatphobia in Birth Work, happening on February 27th from 12:30pm-1:30pm EST.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_btn title=”Click here to register for our FAT: ADDRESSING SIZEISM AND FATPHOBIA IN BIRTHWORK webinar” color=”mulled-wine” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fstefanie-techops.wisdmlabs.net%2Ftraining%2Ffat-addressing-sizeism-and-fatphobia-in-birthwork%2F|||”][vc_separator color=”white”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645287477111{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][i] https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2020/01/03/canada-new-year-resolutions

[ii] https://www.ibisworld.com/canada/market-research-reports/weight-loss-services-industry

[iii] https://www.legacy.com/ca/obituaries/timescolonist/name/ellen-bennett-obituary[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]