Who is your birth link?

There is a survey up on the Independent Childbirth blog asking who your “birth link” is—your primary connection to information about birth. Traditionally, women learned about birth from other women—informal, woman-to-woman birth sharing. Culturally, we’ve moved away from this as our primary information source (often to our detriment!).
Of course, I think independent childbirth educators and [...]

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Rolla Area Doula Listings

Here is a listing of doulas serving the Rolla, Missouri area:
Sarah Covey

I am a contracted doula with the Doula Foundation of Mid America and service mothers from the Rolla area,  to the Springfield area.  My services include 3 prenatal visits (one per trimester), being on call for the family two weeks prior [...]

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Right Brain Learning Activities

I have mentioned several times that I strive to orient my classes to “right brain” learning activities. I like this explanation of “why” to take this approach, from Family Centered Education: The Process of Teaching Birth by Trish Booth:
“In the past, much of childbirth education has been weighted toward left hemispheric functions of analysis and [...]

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Why Honey Sticks During Labor?

I have already shared here about eating during labor. One of my suggestions is honey sticks–but why honey sticks and where to buy them? Honey sticks, also called honey straws, are plastic tubes of honey similar in size to a drinking straw. During labor, honey sticks can provide an instant energy boost for a laboring [...]

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A Father’s Role

I recently finished reading the new book Labor of Love by Cara Muhlhahn and I was struck by this quote:
“Anyone would cry to see the way families interact around a homebirth. In a home environment, the intimacy and integrity of the family, especially the father or partner, often have pivotal roles to play. In the [...]

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More Thoughts on Birth as a Creative Process

I am reading a book from the late 80’s right now called Giving Birth: How it Really Feels. It is by Sheila Kitzinger and I had never heard of it until this week. Some time ago I posted a quote about birth as a creative process. I’m only a few chapters into this book and [...]

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Sprouting Up Natural Baby Store in Rolla

Yesterday I had great fun going to the grand opening of Sprouting Up, in Rolla. The store sells natural baby products like cloth diapers and baby carriers and is located in the owner’s home (separate from the living space). It is set up SO cutely in there! It was great. I bought some Klean Kanteens. [...]

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