The Doula's Guide to... Preparing For Your Birth

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1 episode 27 all about homebirth - one of my fave topics. This is another solo episode chatting about giving birth at home, I cover how safe it is to give birth at home, who can have a home birth, how to decide whether it's right for you or not, what you need, what happens and how to ensure you're attended too! Love the podcast? support me by leav...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1 episode 26 all about big babies, fundal height measurement and third trimester growth scans. This is another solo episode chatting about the big baby dilemma, a topic I'm incredibly passionate about because I see day in day out clients, friends and followers being told their baby is "too big" despite us not really being able to tell whether a ba...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1 episode 25 all about preparing to breastfeed. This is a solo episode which is for you if you're currently pregnant or in those hazy newborn days still figuring everything out. If you're planning on breastfeeding or haven't yet decided then hopefully this will help you feel a little more confident about what's to come. I'll give you a whistle sto...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... podcast, season 1, episode 24 with my incredible guest - Fi AKA The Family Organiser. We’re talking about easing the pressures of parenthood by decluttering your mental load (and physical space too). Fi gives us some top tips so get started and really validates how many of us feel in those overwhelming and chaotic parts of parenthood. I hope you enjoy listening a...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... podcast, season 1, episode 23 with my incredible guest - Alice AKA The Suffolk Doula. We’re talking about the incredible healing and nourishing properties of food in the postpartum period and where to get it. We discuss what you should be eating immediately after giving birth to ease the transition into motherhood and encourage rest, replenishment and recovery wh...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... podcast, season 1, episode 22 with my incredible guest - Torie of Torie Louise Coaching. We’re talking the benefits life coaching can have on the way we parent, and the wider ripples which bring peace, clarity and space to our lives. In the episode we discuss societal issues with parenting which perpetuate shame and guilt and how life coaching tools can help us t...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1 episode 21, all about releasing fear during pregnancy. We'll chat about why this is important, touch on how you can do it and then I'll guide you through how to do a fear release exercise which you can practice throughout your pregnancy. We'll end with another absolutely delicious guided relaxation entitled "Release for Birth Confidence and Calm...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 20 with me, myself and I. No guest this week just me chatting about my top 5 things I think all pregnant people should do, from birth prep (obvs) to sustainability - give it a listen and let me know if you agree! Click here to find out more about my brand new prerecorded online courses : thedungareedoula.co.uk/onlinecourse Use code 'POD...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 19 - just a midweek quickie before our regular scheduled programming recommences as expected on Friday. I just wanted to quickly let you know about a free workshop I'm running this week and a couple of fab masterclasses I have coming up in May - see links below. Links mentioned in the episode: FREE preparing to breastfeed workshop - cli...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 18 with my incredible guest - Megan of Southsea Birthing. We’re talking about her positive birth last August where she freebirthed her second daughter Rosemary alongside her partner Ben and doula Sophy, I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did! Links mentioned in the episode: What is freebirth: click here Southsea Birthing wesbite: c...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 17 with my incredible guest - Nikki of Your Red Tent. We’re talking all about menstrual cycle awareness - what are the benefits, how you can get started, living cyclically when you're not menstruating, menarche and so much more. Links mentioned in the episode: Nikkis Menstrual Cycle Awareness chart: click here Blood Rites, The Spiritual...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1 bonus episode, an absolutely delicious guided relaxation for you to relax, connect and bond with your baby as you prepare to meet them Earthside. This guided relaxation is suitable for any stage of pregnancy and can be built in to your weekly routine as you journey through pregnancy. I really hope you enjoy, if you enjoy this and would like to h...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 16 with my incredible guest - Eve, founder of reusable brand Baba & Boo. We’re talking all about the joy of reusable nappies, and touching on reusable wipes, breast pads and cloth sanitary products too, listen to us dispel the common misconceptions, chat on how to get started and how they're more than just a nappy! Links mentioned i...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 15 all about optimal foetal positioning AKA the optimal position for your baby to be in at the beginning of your birth experience. Let's chat about the different ways your baby might be positioned within your womb and easy activities you can be doing daily throughout pregnancy to help them wriggle into an optimal position. Links mention...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 14 all about tearing, stitches and healing. In this episode I'm chatting about just how common tearing during childbirth is - but how it's really nothing to fear (yes you read that right!). We'll also discuss caring for tears, stitches and preventing tearing. Links mentioned in the episode: Podcast ep "The Evidence on Prenatal Perineal...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 13 all about the golden hour. In this episode I'm chatting about what happens immediately after giving birth - from cord clamping to placenta birth, vitamin K to initiating feeding we cover those initial considerations you want to be planing for once your babe is Earthside. **Huge apologies for the blunt ending of this episode - the fil...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 12. In this episode I'm talking through my first birth story from almost 5 years ago. I prepared with hypnobirthing and used it to get me through what turned out to be an incredibly frustrating birth experience. On paper it looked positive but the way the system continuously meddled left me with a lot to handle - come find out how hypno...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 11, the first podcast of 2023! ahhh exciting, it feels good to be back. In this episode I'm chatting about birth rights, we discuss your rights in pregnancy and birth, how to make decisions and navigate advocating for those decisions, how to find reputable up to date research and loads more. It's a juicy episode full of truth bombs that...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 10, the final podcast of 2023! ahhh. I'm chatting about all sorts in this episode, it starts with a little chat about Christmas whilst preggo, the best non alcoholic booze for the festive season as recommended by my followers on Insta, there's also a lil listener Q&A which includes questions on inductions, attending births, balancin...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 9 our first episode with a guest! In this ep we're talking all things Queer fertility support with the lovely Deva also known as Braw Birth. Deva discusses her own lived experiences of navigating fertility services within a queer relationship, why outside support may be important for those going through a fertility journey, barriers fac...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 8 chatting all things breathing! In this episode we'll be talking about the 2 main breathing techniques you can use during the first and second stage of labour to deal with the sensations, distract your mind and release tension. Enjoy! Click here to find out more about my brand new prerecorded online courses : thedungareedoula.co.uk/onl...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 7 all about creating a birth plan! In this episode I'll be guiding you through creating a birth plan that suits YOU, make sure you download the free birth plan template linked below to get started. I'll talk you through everything I recommend including and how to find the information you might need to make informed decisions around how...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast bonus episode all about giving birth during a midwifery crisis. In this episode I just wanted to share my top 3 tips for preparing to give birth in the current climate, I know there's a lot of noise in the media about the crisis so hopefully this episode can put your mind at ease a little bit. Some of my favourite resources for getting informed: https://w...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast, season 1, episode 6 pharmacological and non pharmacological pain relief and coping mechanisms for labour! In this episode we'll be talking about the different things you may be offered to help deal with the sensations of labour as well as the things you can try to help you cope with your contractions. From epidurals to aromatherapy, we cover it all and d...

Welcome to The Doula's Guide To... Podcast. In this bonus episode I share my positive home birth story of my daughter Juniper. To celebrate the return of The Doula's Guide to... I wanted to drop a lil extra episode this week and inject some oxytocin boosting positivity with my personal experience of giving birth at home at the end of the 2021 lockdowns, I hope you enjoy listening and please do get...