The Doula Life

12/24/2024

Our baby is here! It’s a boy! Elliott Bowie Bradbury, born at home on 12/18/24 at 2:57am, 8lbs 4oz, 21.5in long. From a tiny frozen embryo created in Greece by me and Daniel Bradbury to the most beautiful baby we have ever seen, we are so in love and overjoyed that he is finally here. We are so happy and proud to have birthed on our terms at home—it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my incredible birth team my doula , my midwife Robyn Pool , her assistant Christy Connolly Cannon the and of course our incredible photographer . And most of all my husband, Daniel, who has been my rock through every injection, contraction, and now every nursing and pumping session as we figure out life as new parents. My birth has changed me forever as a doula, opened my mind and heart and soul in ways that I didn’t comprehend before. I can’t wait to share what I’ve learned with future clients when I’m ready to work again.

08/29/2024

and I have officially launched our Childbirth Ed class, Preparing for birth. It’s a comprehensive 6 week series that’s not specific to one type of birth or coping method, this class is for everyone! The cost is $500 and it also includes an online breastfeeding class! This will be our first time teaching the class but we plan to offer it again in the new year, in multiple locations and hopefully for many years to come! Please share!

06/10/2024

I have some special news to share! After 7 years of helping moms give birth and care for their babies, it’s my turn to have a baby of my own!

03/25/2024

I am incredibly proud to have been interviewed by the lovely and extensively quoted for an article in magazine! If you’re looking for a guide on what you need to prepare for your newborn, this is your ultimate guide!

03/25/2024

I am in Forbes, ya’ll!! I was interviewed for this article about preparing for a new baby!

Get ready for a new little one with our mom-approved list of must-have baby essentials for that first year, from the right number of bodysuits to the best bottles.

12/11/2023

If you are sending out holiday cards, I would absolutely love to be on your list! Especially past clients! Please DM me for my address if you don’t have it!

08/19/2022

Online counseling for new families. Group counseling for postpartum anxiety and depression, birth trauma and more.

05/22/2022

✨Vaginal Exams✨

I was taught by an elder midwife that we must have reverence and respect every time we touch a woman’s body. For we are also touching all of her trauma.

There’s an interesting thing that happens in this culture. We are convinced even if we are interested in out of hospital for our first delivery that it best to wait for the next one. So what ends up happening is we are unraveling trauma from the first delivery. (How about we avoid the 30+% C-section rate and the trauma and do it where you desire the first time… anyway I digress)

I hear all the time about rough exams, bags being broken without permission, not wanting to be checked but feeling like there wasn’t a choice, placentas being pulled out before they were ready, episiotomies without consent or even sometime knowledge, and babies being aggressively pulled from a mothers body leaving her torn open physically and emotionally.

Consensual, respectful exams look like:
*securing a support person or two to be physical and emotional support during the exam
*explaining exactly what we are going to do BEFORE touching any part of the body
*Touching the inside of the woman’s thigh first so she can get use to and communicate if it’s too much
*explaining that we will first insert one finger in the va**na and then two so she can acclimate to being touched in this way.
*being attuned to her responses so you can continue to ask for consent if it seems overwhelming
*letting her know that if she needs us to slow down or stop at anytime to let us know
*when she says “no” or “stop” to immediately follow through

These exams are not life threatening or live saving practices. Birth is not a medical event. We are gathering information to support her in having the birth she desires. None of this should ever happen without respect or consent that this is a very vulnerable, sensitive and sometimes painful experience.

You deserve to have providers who touch you this way.

Prenatal VE in comments

04/11/2022

Tongue Tie Checklist

If you have a tongue-tied baby that has feeding problems, there is a defined list of what needs to happen to change the symptoms for the better.

1) A full feeding evaluation. This can be from an IBCLC, SLP or OT.
2) A full surgical release of the tongue. This means releasing the genioglossus muscle so it has full mobility. Sometimes, a simple anterior release can help, but that needs to be a discussion with the family.
3) Appropriate wound care to guide how the wound tries to heal (this wouldn't apply if just an anterior release was done). We want the wound to heal in a way that allows the tongue to move up towards the palate.
4) Postoperative suck training and feeding support.
5) If body tension is present, appropriate bodywork (this is the only one I feel isn’t a universal need).

You can’t pick and choose from this list and hope it gets better. You can’t have a release without guidance by a supportive feeding team. You can’t have support from a feeding team but have a poor surgical release of the tie. You can’t have support and a good release but ignore the wound care. It’s the whole package. This isn’t rocket science. It is, however, a strenuous process for everyone involved and we need to start acknowledging that. Just like an orthopedic surgeon demands physical therapy pre/post-surgery, the current medical model needs to start addressing this process for what it is: a surgery on an infant who needs guidance.

If there is a failure of improvement, then something in this list didn’t happen.

03/25/2022

Placenta art!

01/10/2022

Folks, that’s not a “problem”, that’s a crisis.
🚨
If you work with new families, it’s time to assume there is a mood or anxiety disorder happening unless proven otherwise.
Bring your best support, your best resources, your best tools.
And if you don’t have any, check out
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Check out for a hotline and groups
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What other pages did I miss? 👇

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