Saturday 8 September 2012

What does a doula carry in her bag of tricks?

I've been very, very excited about the upcoming birth of an already much loved member of my friend's family, and packing my Doula bag for the event!




Let's take a look inside at Motherfunker's nature cabinet should any of these be asked for/required ....

These all have a long shelf life so if they're not required they'll keep for later birthings!



Essential Oils :  Rose, which can help relax and soften ligaments/pelvis for a smooth birth
Geranium, which enhances circulation and is good for labour management in-synch with breathing techniques
Neroli, which can help reduce fear, tension and anxiety

Bach Rescue Remedy:  "To comfort and reassure"as it says on the bottle - has never failed me so far and used in my own birthings to great effect!

Mimulus: The flower essense of the Mimulus flower for courage (This flower manages to grow in places where all others would have given up - good for grounding and giving renewed strength) 

Arnica 30 - From the amazing Arnica flower, these little tasteless white pillules can have a miraculous effect on healing bruising (As I discovered after all my birthings - restored my yoni from swollen to, er, unswollen in a matter of days!)


A Morroccan bowl with two flannels to either cool or soothe as appropriate, and a beautiful, delicious Cocoa Butter Massage Bar from Lush, which you can make wet and it goes all ooozy and creamy and smells and feels like heaven!


Raspberry Leaf tea does taste like shit on its own, I'll admit. But whack in a generous drizzle of blackcurrant/fruit squash to a hot cuppa, or have it with some honey, and this is quite a nice drink! 

According to askbaby.com 

"Sipping raspberry leaf tea during and after the birth is said to help the uterus contract back down to size, reduce after birth bleeding and help initiate the let down of breastmilk. 

So a pretty good friend to mamas!

Pukka are just fab and I love their LOVE teabags, perhaps I'll be sipping on some o' that! Ditto the Purdey's Rejuvinate drink - A doula has to keep her strength up!

If it gets quiet, there's some lovely reading material.....


And a bunch of other practical bits for myself that I won't bore y'all with. Snacks. Camera. Warm socks. Spare t-shirt. Stuff like that.

It may stay in the bag and none of it be required at all - no problem! It's not my birth. Every mama is different!

The REAL toolkit of a Doula is whats inside - it's an attitude, a way of being.

The main things in the real live Motherfunker heart and soul Doula kit-bag will be....

..... humour.... faith.... encouragement....praise.... compassion.... and mostly....

LOVE!

:-)

7 comments:

  1. lovely taking a peek at your supplies. Are you a midwife also? How have you found it acquiring Doula business with that in mind? Just interested given something similar is my ambition :0
    Much love X

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi there Rose - No, not a midwife, just a holistic-minded Doula :-) We are about to take a wee European tour from mid October. When we return, I'll be advertising 'proper' if you know what I mean! At the moment, my details are on Doula UK, here: http://doula.org.uk/content/paula-cleary-doula-profile. Goig by your blog, looks like you'd be a lovely doula or midwife - go for it! X

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bach Rescue Remedy! That's what I am needing at the moment! (Having a busy time and getting stressy). Thanks for the reminder. I love your bag by the way. Did someone make it for you?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Julie - sending you lots of calm vibes! Something that calms me down also is Weleda's Calendula Baby oil -grown biodynamically and smelling like hay, which I find very comforting as it reminds me of my Granny's barn, only without any pooey smells!!! It makes for a realy healing massage oil - with a few drops of rose essential oil and rubbed on your heart/chest it has an incredibly nurturing and calming effect :-) Lots of love X

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh I love RLT,especially that Heath and Heather one. I have been drinking it as is since week 28 and Ivy is now over 3 weeks old. She is our ninth baby and the midwives were stunned at how easily I laboured and how quickly my uterus contracted after birth, and also how quickly my bleeding stopped. They expected recovery to be prolonged after so many pregnancies. I put it all down to exercise, positive thinking and the RLT, I would never NOT drink it in the laer stages.
    Love your bag too :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow Becks- if that isn't testament to the almighty raspberry leaf I don't know what is! Thanks so much for sharing your experience, it's great to hear from you :-)

    ReplyDelete