Update on the Status of Midwifery in Newfoundland & Labrador

This letter is taken from the July edition  of DONA’s eDoula newsletter.

Greetings from your Newfoundland SPAR
By Jillian Hand Humphries, CD(DONA)

Hello from Newfoundland and Labrador!

 There have been a lot of changes happening
here in the city of St. John’s lately. Let’s start with the good news!

 Midwifery legislation is finally in the works for our eastern province. The first reading
of the bill to legislate midwifery as part of an umbrella legislation occurred on
May 6. Two more readings are needed and will likely happen before the summer. A
core group of professionals will be ready to take this on in the fall and then the
act will be proclaimed into law. This is a great first step; however, we still have
a long way to go. The continued lobbying for midwifery services implementation will
be a key factor in moving forward and offering midwifery as an equal choice for
women.

On a sadder note, St. John’s is losing its only midwife. This remarkable woman has
been offering women the option of homebirth despite the lack of legislation, and
in June she will be moving on to another province. As a Doula Collective, we wonder
what the impact of this may be for those women who are determined to have their
babies at home. One can only wait and see. All the same, we wish her the best of
luck and can only hope for her return in future.

The Doula Collective NL continues to remain busy with doula requests and lobbying
efforts. A gap we have identified is the lack of postpartum doulas that are available.
We are hoping that within the next year, there will be more postpartum doulas trained
and ready to assist in filling this gap for the women and new families of this
province.
For more information about the Doula Collective NL, please visit our web site
http://www.doulacollectivenl.ca/

A note from me: For those of us in Nova Scotia the above scenerio sounds all too familiar. If you are a doula, a midwife or a self-avowed birth junkie please send a note of support to our sisters in Nfld & Lbr. *sorry for the crazy structure of the letter, it didn’t translate well from email to blog :) *

Posted on July 15th, 2010 by Shannon
Filed under: Canadian Birth Community, International Birth Community, Medical studies & updates | 2 Comments »

It’s Not the Stork- a book review

It’s Not The Stork- a Book about Babies, Bodies, Families and Friends

Written by Robie H Harris

Illustrated by Michael Emberley

As a mother, a doula and a sex educator I feel a lot of responsibility when it comes to raising sexually healthy kids.

I want them to be informed but not overwhelmed, and, I want what they learn to be age-appropriate but not prudish or shame-based.

Luckily, I waited until just the right book came into the store.

“It’s Not the Stork” is a well put together, well researched, fact based primer on the birds and the bees. The illustrations, while cartoony, are all anatomically correct & they’ve tried to include as many types of families and ethnicities as possible.

I was thrilled that they talked about both vaginal and surgical birth, as well as the sperm & egg meeting in a petrie dish (they talk about the more common way of fertilization too). There is even a picture of tandem breastfeeding!

Most importantly, my boys loved the book. They are only 2 and 5 years old so we skip a lot but that is the beauty of “It’s Not the Stork”. The book is designed to be used in the way that is most appropriate for your child(ren).

I know we will still be reading and learning from our copy of “It’s not the Stork” for many years to come.

Review written by- Shannon Hardy, CD(DONA)

Posted on July 4th, 2010 by Shannon
Filed under: Doula & Parenting Books, SEX, birth | 2 Comments »

The Business of Being a Doula Part 2

Hi everyone,

We will be meeting at my house on June 30th at 3:30 to talk about “The Business of Being a Doula”. We will be talking about contracts, fees, accounting, partnerships, anything related to the businessy side of doulaing (is that a word?)

I have set up a FB event page if you’d like to RSVP. (you can RSVP here too but it would be best for my scattered brain if they are in the same place)

*CHANGE OF DATE* The date has changed for the BoBD, we will be meeting at my house on Tuesday July 6th at 3:30*******

Posted on June 26th, 2010 by Shannon
Filed under: Canadian Birth Community, Dailies, Halifax Birth Events & Classes, Halifax birth community, New Doulas | No Comments »

Call for Submissions: Queer Erotica

Call for Submissions: Queer Erotica

Venus Envy will be mounting an art exhibit for Pride Week and is putting out a call for submissions, in any medium. The subject of the exhibit will be Queer Erotica. Pictures of your work should be sent to the show’s curator, Shannon Hardy: info@halifaxbirth.com

Deadline for submissions is July 6th and the exhibit will be held at Venus Envy- Halifax, 1598 Brrington St.

Our mandate is to showcase Nova Scotian/Canadian artists.

Posted on June 14th, 2010 by Shannon
Filed under: Canadian Birth Community, SEX, venus envy | No Comments »

The Business of Being A Doula

I am hosting a gathering on Tuesday July 6th to discuss the Business of Being a Doula. We will be meeting at my house, at 3:30.

We’ll talk about fees, contracts, accounting, insurance and all things businessy.

As a new doula, having mentors who were willing to share their paperwork and knowledge with me was invaluable, so I hope every doula who can attend will be here.

We will also be discussing the importance of back-up arrangements, networking and safety.

See you soon :)

Posted on June 10th, 2010 by Shannon
Filed under: Canadian Birth Community, Dailies, Doula news, Halifax Birth Events & Classes, Halifax birth community, New Doulas | 2 Comments »

Perineal Massage

A lot of clients  (and random people who find out what I do for a living) ask me about perineal massage. So here’s the 411…..

First, decide whether you feel more comfortable going solo or with a partner.

Next, the person performing the massage should wash their hands and trim their nails.

Gather up your favourite lube and a hand towel. I suggest a glycerin free lube as they are less likely to cause a yeast infection, but my #1 choice would be an organic, glycerin free, water-based lube, like Sliquid or YES.

If you would rather use a vibe, lucite dildo or a Kegel exerciser to massage your perineum bring that too. Vibes and dils work wonderfully for perineal massage but if you’d like to use a Kegel exerciser I suggest the Isis. This is not an endorsement for Dr. Laura and I have no invested interest in selling her product, the Isis just happens to be well designed for perineal massage.

Lube, toys and Kegel exercisers are all available at Venus Envy.  Full disclosure: I work for Venus Envy and I think our store rocks!

Find a place where you feel comfortable, some women swear by the bath, some women prefer a a bed & lots of pillows. It’s important that you choose a private spot, where you feel safe because you want your vagina to be as relaxed as possible. The same advice goes for your birthing space.

Squeeze a dollop of lube (maybe a nickel size, definitely not a loonie) onto your fingers or your toy.

Place your thumbs or toy approx. three to four centimeters inside your vagina. Press downward and gently slide your toy or thumbs to the side. Gently but firmly keep stretching until you feel a tingling sensation. When you feel the tingle, hold the pressure steady for about two minutes.

If anything hurts STOP. If the massage doesn’t feel comfortable STOP. I know I just wrote to wait until you feel a tingling but if it feels BAD, it is time to STOP. If you are the partner performing the massage check in with mom regularly.

As you keep pressing with your thumbs or toy, slowly and gently massage back and forth over the lower half of your vagina, working the lubricant into the tissues for three to four minutes. Reapply lube as necessary.

As you massage, pull gently outward (and forward) on the lower part of the vagina with your thumbs hooked inside. This helps stretch the skin much in the same way that the baby’s head will stretch it during birth.

Massage you perineum once or twice per day, starting around the 34th week of pregnancy.

There is no evidence that 100%, scientifically proves that perineal massage ensures a tear-free birth but what it will do is help you and/or your parnter become intimately acquainted with the strong and perfectly designed muscles that will be helping to birth your baby.

Remember, a slow, peaceful, upright delivery are all keys to an intact perineum.

Posted on June 3rd, 2010 by Shannon
Filed under: Dailies, From one mom/woman/wife to another, birth | No Comments »

I am Vegan

On Saturday May 22, 2010 at approx. 2:15pm I became a vegan.

I was attending Doula at the Zoo in Moncton, but at that exact moment I was listening to Line Belanger give her the talk “Nothin’ But Mammals”.

She explained how we’ve bred dairy cows to the point they can’t give birth without the use of chains (***note***this is not always the case) and how the calves are immediately whisked away and are never allowed to drink their mothers milk because it is too valuable a commodity. (there was more but I don’t want to misquote Line so I’ll leave it at that)

I don’t think Line had any intention of turning us vegan. She managed to come across as passionate about animals, compassionate for all living beings, yet not preachy in the least.

But as I listened and as a ruminated (unintentional cow reference) on the title of the talk I realized, we ARE connected. I can no longer separate my beliefs surrounding the sacred feminine & the power of creation between human and animal.

We are all living beings & we are connected. That’s enough for me.

Posted on May 25th, 2010 by Shannon
Filed under: Did I really just do that???????, Doula thoughts....., From one mom/woman/wife to another, I'm not just a mommy and a doula | 3 Comments »

Program Assistant needed at the Single Parent Centre

Home of the Guardian Angel/Single Parent Centre

Program Assistant

Term: 30 hours per week/16 weeks

The Single Parent Centre is operated by the Home of the Guardian Angel.  The Centre opened in 1980 to respond to the increasing number of young single mothers in need of basic community support.  Since then, the Centre’s programs and services have evolved to meet the changing needs of the community.  Today, the Centre provides a continuum of support for all families and their children with a particular emphasis on supporting and nurturing parents through pregnancy, infancy and the early childhood years.

Position Description:

The Program Assistant helps with childcare and the overall work of the centre.  He/She also provides assistance to the Early Childhood Educator/Playroom Facilitator in providing motivation, education and fun for the children while their parents are participating in programs at the centre. 

Qualifications:

 (service Canada requirements) 

  • A full time student returning to full time study in the fall of 2010
  • Must be between the ages of 15-30
  • A Canadian citizen or permanent resident or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred
  • Legally entitled to work in Canada

(HGA requirements)

  • Respect for children and Adults
  • Ability and willingness to work with children
  • Ability and willingness to welcome all who come to our centre

 

Duties:

Direct Service

  • Assist in facilitating the childcare component of the Centre
  • Assist in creating attractive bulletin boards with the children’s work
  • Be with children initiating activity with them and preparing activities every day.
  • Prepare snacks with and for the children
  • General housekeeping tasks
  • Assist the Playroom Facilitator in preparation for children’s programs

 

Administration

  • Log the names of children attending including any notes re: allergies
  • Assist with clerical work when possible
  • Record monthly stats

 

 Community Outreach

  • Know assets of the community
  • Participate with others in projects

Posted on May 20th, 2010 by Shannon
Filed under: Canadian Birth Community, Halifax birth community | No Comments »

A Review of Rebirth:Our Fertile Planet by Domina Doll

Rebirth: Our Fertile Planet Art Exhibit

Wed, 05/05/2010 – 09:41 | by Domina Doll

An art exhibit exploring the connection between birth and the earth

Being an artist, I am thrilled when an exhibition opens in town that pertains to sexuality or erotica.  Unfortunately, Halifax is so conservative, erotic art shows or art exhibitions that contain sexual themes are rare.  Thankfully, Venus Envy (Halifax’s favorite sex-positive sex toys shop) has various art exhibitions throughout the year to satisfy the need to feed our erotic imaginations.

On May 1st (just in time for Masturbation Month) a new show opened, Rebirth: Our Fertile Planet which is an exhibit that explores “the connection between birth and the earth”.  Curated by Shannon Hardy, the initial idea came out of her work as a practicing Doula at Halifax Birth.

“I am very passionate about birth & women and I’m fascinated by a woman’s capacity to not only birth a child but to simultaneously take on a new identity (that of mother).  I also believe there is a strong connection between our (women) ability to create and sustain human life and our role at the forefront of the environmental scene.”–Shannon Hardy

Not surprisingly, women and their bodies in art and ancient cultures have often signified nature, earthly desires, birth, abundance and fertility.  So, the theme of this show comes rather “naturally”.  However, unlike much art created by the virile “masters” where women were usually objects or muses, the works in this exhibit celebrates female sexuality.

Philip Doucette is a Halifax glass artisan who created as series of Yonic Plates for the exhibit.  These clear, sandblasted or colored fused glass plates are about the size of salad plates and square in design.  Each one features an image of a Yoni, some linear and stylized, while others are more realistic and “painterly”.  One in particular has three smears of red and droplets like blood, which are reminiscent of women’s menses.

JJ Steeves works are colorful mixed-media paintings on canvas with lush backgrounds with expressive nude portraits of women.  In one, the subject has her head thrown back with abandon as she masturbates provocatively, her vulva wide and exposed to the viewer.

Evyeneia Manolakos, owner of Foxy Moon Hair Gallery, uses natural light to highlight her subjects, enhancing the texture and shape capture to beauty in the world around her in black and white photographic portraits.  The series depicts fine art nudes of a woman in a self-embracing, healing poses.

Kiersten Holden’s installation piece “Making Maybes” is curious and unusual. As a multidisciplinary artist and musician who works with metal, ceramics, and sound, Holden’s work features strangely organic ceramic shapes, unglazed and white, that are reminiscent of teardrop-shaped alien pods.  Some of the pods have long, umbilical cord appendages curling upward, broken off or tangled on top of the pod.  In her artist statement, she states that she “utilized the unpredictability of material and process as a daily practice to foster acceptance of impermanence, chance, and change with the goal of addressing issues of fear, control, trust, and connectivity in relation to fetal development and childbearing.”

Rebirth: Our Fertile Planet will be on display at Venus Envy, 1598 Barrington St. Halifax, NS, the entire month of May, so go out and get your erotic art fix.

Posted on May 14th, 2010 by Shannon
Filed under: A Very Doula Pregnancy, Canadian Birth Community, From one mom/woman/wife to another, Halifax Birth Events & Classes, Halifax birth community, I'm not just a mommy and a doula, SEX, feminism | No Comments »

Movie Afternoon

Who wants to watch Orgasmic Birth with me? Everyone is welcome, moms, dads, doulas, birth junkies and everyone inbetween!

Come on over, Mon April 26th at 1pm, I’ll have snacks :)

If you aren’t able to make it in the afternoon, we could get together in the evening, later in the week.

Email me info@halifaxbirth.com for my address

Posted on April 19th, 2010 by Shannon
Filed under: A Very Doula Pregnancy, From one mom/woman/wife to another, Halifax Birth Events & Classes, Halifax birth community | 2 Comments »

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