If there’s one thing every parent learns on their parenting journey it is the following; sleep is precious. Most adults spend an average of 6-8 hours asleep in a 24 hour period. Sleep creates the building blocks of recovery, brain development and function, mood stabilization, immune strength - you name it, sleep is a key component.

As we are currently in the middle of the Holiday season, there are many cultural winter traditions that you and your family can learn about and celebrate! Here are a few of our favorites from around the world:

We’ve covered what a doula is. We’ve covered how a doula, digital or traditional, can help you during your pregnancy, birth, and during your 4th trimester. We’ve even covered some additional services a Doula would be able to do, such as placenta encapsulation.

The 4th trimester is considered the period of time 12 weeks after a baby is born, where your body is re-adjusting to life after pregnancy. Just as your body changes during pregnancy, there is a period of readjustment after birth where your body returns to its normal state. Except for, it’s not the same as it was. There is a new normal, a postpartum normal, that you will experience.

There have been many rumors around body modifications and their effects on the human body, specifically those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Rumors such as “the ink from a tattoo will infect the baby in the womb” or “if you get your nipples pierced you can’t breastfeed” are some wives tales that have been passed down from generation to generation.

This Labor Day, Beautiful Births & Beyond wants to take a moment to honor stories of labor, birth, and beyond from our clients, our friends, and our families. We can’t help it - Labor Day makes us think about the hardest labor there is - giving birth!

The human body is a wondrous thing. From mending it’s own broken bones to stitching cut skin back together, to clearing out harmful toxins daily in urine, the body is a self-maintaining machine. As long as it’s fueled properly, hydrated, and given enough time to rest, most of the time it takes care of itself.

What about a pregnant body?

One misstep that happens all too often when discussing pregnancy with LGBT+ couples, particularly lesbian couples, is assuming the more feminine presenting partner will automatically carry the baby. This is a heteronormative approach to pregnancy and parenting, and however incorrect, is understandable. For years we’ve been conditioned that the “woman” is the mom and the “man” is the dad. There are plenty of masculine presenting women who decide to carry, and many feminine presenting partners decide they never want to be pregnant.

During the times of COVID, most Doula’s have shifted their services to a digital platform, like much of this new world we’re all learning. This is for a number of reasons, the biggest being most labor and delivery wings do not allow more than one support person in the room with you while you’re giving birth.