The Doulaverse

Become the Doula Families Never Forget and Transform Lives Through Compassionate Birth Support Birth is one of the most profound experiences in a person's life. As a doula, you have the opportunity to provide the guidance, reassurance, and support that families remember forever. Krysia Lynch's Doula Training is designed to equip you with the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills to support p...

What is the story with Private maternity care in Ireland? Why do people choose this model? 1. They can afford it 2. We’ve been conditioned into believing it's better than public care 3. We’ve been conditioned into believing it's a real "choice" but isn't it just different ways of getting highly interventionist medicalised childbirth? 4. It offers continuity of care. Only other place to get that is...

What’s the difference between a midwife and a doula? Listen in to find out,.

Unbelievably for Ireland studies show that about ¾ mothers interviewed antenatally actually want and plan to breastfeed their babies, but somewhere along that continuum from antenatal visit to coming home from hospital with their newborn baby things change, and we know that only about 35% of women actually do breastfeed their baby exclusively after giving birth. What influences this decline in bre...

Baroness Amos spoke to over 8,000 people in the UK about maternity care. Many of the aspects that she highlighted as gaps also feature in the Irish Maternity Services. Listen in to hear Niamh Griffin Health Correspondent with the Irish Examiner and myself discuss some of these in more detail including institutional racism, lack of choice in care options, poor communication, maternal death, coercio...

With the closure of PMI there has been an increased spotlight on Freebirth. There are a a lot of rumours surrounding freebirth; for example that it is illegal(it is not), that it is reckless (it is not), that it is not a real choice (it is). On this episode of the Doulaverse I speak with Claire Kerin about her decision to freebirth and also about her freebirth experience - what it felt like, what...

Private Midwives Ireland were the sister company of Private Midwives UK In Ireland they were the only care provider offering a HBAC service (Home Birth After Caesarean Section). Prior to their inception in 2015, women who were looking for a home birth following a c section remained unable to access this choice in the Republic of Ireland. Choices in home births and what midwives could deliver in te...

The postpartum is still treated as a sacred time in many cultures. The full 42 days are honoured and special food and care are provided to the mother and the baby. Aine from @ostara_and_co discusses some of these approaches with me in this podcast which was originally recorded as a n Instal Live in May 2025. Aine is a guest speaker at my Lactation Doula Training Course this year. If you would like...

My Breastfeeding Training is coming up on the 17th and 18th May 2025 at Insight Matters in Capel St in the heart of Dubli as well as live online by zoom and by playback for whenever you want and need it, so I am sharing this podcast again! To find out more head over to  Breastfeeding Training for Doulas Midwives and Complementary Therapists If you haven’t signed up yet, then the time is now!...

Obstetric Violence contributes to birth trauma, and difficult birth experiences which in turn contribute to difficult early parenting experiences. Some of the categories of obstetric violence include: Physical abuse Non consensual care Non Confidential care Non dignified care Abandoned or neglected care Discrimination Detention against the person’s will Lack of privacy Postnatal Doulas c...

Routine induction of labour is peddled as a maternity must to pretty much everyone who receives late antenatal care in the Irish maternity services. Its as though the medics have shares in a global syntocinon factory. But jesting aside – is there any harm in being induced at 39 weeks just for the sake of it? You know – you don’t want to be pregnant forever now do you? Conversely is there any benef...

Its Christmas season! That means that the trucks of syntocinon are rolling up to the entrances of our maternity units. We are approaching peak season for induction “for dates”. What are the risks of induction that are rarely, if ever, discussed? Listen in to find out more about the risks induction of labour bring to your labour, birth, birth experience, breastfeeding, early parenting and also the...

One of the key issues that receives little attention and yet has a huge affect on the initiation of breastfeeding is the way a mother has given birth. Pregnancy Birth to Breastfeeding is a continuum. The way we birth will affect the early days. The national first-time mother c section rate is now 41%, and we also know that the routine induction of healthy mothers and babies at 38/39 weeks is being...

Listen in to find out how doulas can support women and pregnant people during pregnancy, labour, birth and the postpartum. Find out what skills doulas need, and how they can obtain those skills. Hear how people realise they want to be doulas and what their journey is like. To be part of this year’s amazing cohort of doulas training with me see link here . To find out more email me at drkrysia@gmai...

In this episode of the DoulaVerse I speak with Pregnancy Yoga Trainer and Doula Melissa Curtis of Tummy Love. Both of us have just had children go through the Leaving Certificate exams, who were born about 18 – 19 years ago. What has changed in the Irish maternity system in those 18 years? Listen in to find out. If you are interested in becoming a doula and working with me for a year then my Compr...

People often talk about different aspects of doula training – what they learnt along the way, the knowledge, the information, the skills. What is not often mentioned, is that for most people who undertake doula training, it changes their life in some way. Training is not just about learning information – in fact its the opposite of that. Its about your innate knowledge being revealed. Training als...

In this episode of the DoulaVerse I talk about becoming a doula with new doula Anke Roth. Anke talks about her journey to making the decision to become a doula and also about the process itself. Anke took my Comprehensive Doula Training Course, to find out what it is like listen up! If you are thinking of making the step to become a doula, then registrations for this year’s doula training are open...

Listen in to this episode of the Doulaverse to find out! If you hear a call and you think you’d like to bring your passion for birth, women and babies to the next level, if you d like to spend time with me and other maternity care supporters and professionals and be part of the amazing group of people that will train with me this year, then registrations are currently open for my Comprehensive Dou...

In this episode of the Doulaverse I gave people the option to “ask me anything”. I answer three questions in this episode: Being labelled in pregnancy and labour and how that might affect your options in labour and birth. Specifically, the label of Gestational Diabetes, but I discuss labels in general, and how these are primarily physical, when in reality we give birth uniquely and differently to...

The level of pain we encounter in labour is a combination of life experience and genetics! We can’t do much about genetics, but we can certainly influence our perceptions, our coping strategies our social support network and the way we approach fear and anxiety. In this podcast I discuss the physical, emotional mental and environmental approaches we can use to help us view the discomfort and pain...

The level of pain we encounter in labour is a combination of life experience and genetics! We can’t do much about genetics, but we can certainly influence our perceptions, our coping strategies our social support network and the way we approach fear and anxiety. In this podcast I discuss the physical, emotional mental and environmental approaches we can use to help us view the discomfort and pain...

Do I need an epidural if I get an induction? I often get asked this question. The short answer is no. The majority of my doula clients do not take an epidural if they opt for an induction, or if their labour is being augmented.. The longer answer has a lot more nuance. It depends on what kind of induction you are getting and how favourable or ready you and your baby are. It also depends on wh...

Our ancient birthing knowledge lives within us in the form of timeless wisdom, cultural traditions, and the collective experiences of women throughout history. It enables us to look beyond just the medical or technical aspects of childbirth. We can tap into the deep well of human wisdom surrounding birth by drawing on myths, stories, rituals, and cultural practices that have been passed down throu...

Why am I running a pregnancy retreat? I feel that pregnant women and people need to be nourished during their pregnancy, not just informed. Preparation via nourishment is a very different concept to preparation through the dissemination of information. Nourishment for body, mind and soul is in short supply in the Irish Maternity Services. What we have instead is the treatment of birth as a clinica...

People become doulas for all sorts of reasons and everyone has a different journey that brought them to the point of starting their doula training. Everyone will also have a different journey as a doula. In this podcast I chat with Michelle who has just been certified from my doula training and she talks about the highs and the lows and what she learnt and how she is going forwards in her doula ca...