#worlddoulaweek day four: THEN AND NOW— this is a blurry picture of me holding my high school best friend’s baby. this was october 2012, i was 25 yr old and i had just witnessed the first birth ever in my life. ✨ when the baby was crowning, and then making his way out of my mama friend as i looked on, i remember realizing that the baby was coming across the invisible veil that hung in between the two worlds, right there and then. leaving the stars and arriving earthside, he was. ✨ it was beautiful + otherworldly to grasp, and i was grateful to my girlfriend for inviting me to the experience. everything felt like a blur afterward. i was lost in postpartum bliss with the family, continuing to support and serve... not even knowing what a doula was. 😉 that was my then, and this is my now— old friends and new families with love in between. ✨ #WDW20 #iamdoula #spilledinkbyrmab https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Q6I3RnR6t/?igshid=a620u5pjonlo

Hi there. It's the day after Mother's Day. Can you guess what I'm here to say? It's still Mother's Day! :) Mamas everywhere are still going at it today, feeding, dressing, and supporting their children all day long. It doesn't end. All the joys and challenges. The heartwarming and pressing times. AND the heartache that comes after a baby's death, a mom's death, a child growing up and going away, or while waiting for a child that doesn't come. That heartache doesn't end also. Thank you for the love, recognition, and support yesterday. Mamas have been around since the beginning of time. And we will be here until the end of time. We are not going anywhere. I urge you to KEEP on celebrating each other and reaching out to moms everywhere. Don't go anywhere after they give birth to their baby. Don't leave a mother alone in their grief after a loved one (parent, partner, or baby)'s death. Don't go anywhere after a mom heals, physically or emotionally. Stay, we need you. It is Mother's Day every day. 💞 ••• Photo taken of myself on sunny Saturday wearing #DopeMomsNeedDopeMoms shirt by @TinyAndBrave before going to a local Mama event at beautiful @AdamsHouseCT, a grief support place for children dealing with loss. ⚡️ ##spilledinkbyrmab #IamDoula #IamMother #MotherhoodRising #DTIdoula #DeafDoula https://www.instagram.com/p/BxajBiln3Mr/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=k5wr4f91wauu

my 6:30am view before going to bed. blessed is this littlest babe. and the parents. and the siblings. every family i serve is beautiful, strong and awe-inspiring. every family deserves a doula. the ones having their first baby AND the ones having their 6th baby. it’s ALL simply huge life changes. a doula supports the family through the challenges and joys of birthING new life. holds space. validates. and loves on. loves and loves. yep— no matter what, you are loved by a doula. xo, rachel ##spilledinkbyrmab #iamdoula #deafdoula #dtidoula #aslbirth https://www.instagram.com/p/BwxaATOHGzp/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1iftj398wnzoa

This is everything. Deaf Doula Ally of @HandWavesBirth wearing shirt by @AncientSong 🖤🖤🖤 ・・・ “My shirt reads a few of many reasons why I am voting today. I am voting for me, you, our children, our community, our country, our world and the future. Freedom is not free. It is not even 100 years since women are allowed to vote. Use your voice, your voting right. So, so much is at stake. Vote with intersectionality in mind. Representation matters. Vote for an inclusive and compassionate world. Vote as if our lives depend on it....because they do. Take your children with you to the voting polls if possible ~ instill voting values from the very beginning. Make a change. Make a difference. VOTE.” [Image description: a selfie of Doula Ally s lower half face and chest, with a focus on the T-shirt that reads: Birth Equity& Repro. Justice& Consent& Advocacy& Community& Families& Full Spectrum -ancient song doula services] • #IAmDoula #IAmMother #IVOTED #DeafDoula #DTIdoula #ReproductiveJustice #BirthEquity #HumanRights #MeToo #TransRights #BlackBirthMatters #FullSpectrumDoula https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp2gDFlHmcU/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1hy09y91zpml3

PLACENTA MAGIC. look hard at this gorgeous photo by @elliana_allon AND think hard about the mindblowing truth shared by midwife @laughing.moon ::: “Lets talk about OCC or Optimal Cord Clamping (often referred to as delayed cord clamping.) There are dozens and dozens of benefits but right now, I want to shine the spot light on just one. Just ☝🏼 tiny but absolutely life changing bit of info. So ya know about stem cells right? Like, that super shiny, well advertised meaning behind Cord Blood Banking. Save those stem for the future cause your kid may get a rare illness and could possibly be saved with the stem cells harvested from their plump, pulsating umbilical cord. Okay, so let that sink in. Umbilical cord stem cells are all the rage in science right now. They are being used to intravenously rejuvenate old, failing bodies. Even Mel Gibson took his 80-some year old father in who had failing vision and hearing and was wheel-chair bound to receive this miracle, fountain of youth medicine. His papa began walking and almost had 20/20 vision shortly after the miracle trip to receive these umbilical cord stem cells. Do you know the purpose of stem cells? They are the repairers, the makers. If it’s hurt or broke or sick, stem cells can become ANYTHING the body needs. They can become nerves, skin tissue, muscle. Now let’s think about birth. A tiny fragile being with a skull that features overlapping bones passing through the tiny bony pelvis of its mother. No matter how physiological the birth may go, there is inherit risk of birth trauma due to the actual physiological factors of human birth. Those umbilical cord stem cells are suppose to go to the newly born baby. They are suppose to be free flowing from the placenta to the baby. They are suppose to be in large quantities to move throughout the entire body looking for any areas that may need repair, or healing, or a boost. That is their PURPOSE. Imagine, imagine if we actually really researched Optimal Cord Clamping. Just imagine.” ❣️ ##BLOODMAGIC #optimalcordclamping #delayedcordclamping #stemcell #umbilicalcord #doulalife #iamdoula

Here to see all the sights, feel all the feels, and why, yes, to love Love. * * #truthbomb by @daniellelaporte: #lovelove #soulfulsunday #iamdoula #doulatogether #birthdoula #birthisbeautiful

World Doula Week: check out the tags in the photo, it's all BEAUTIFUL + POWERFUL DOULAS that made such a personal difference in my life. i'm forever changed. can't look back, won't look back. doulahood keeps my bucket full and overflowing with knowledge and power. and self love, self care. and such cool people that want to do nothin but love on others. that's me, that's my people. thank you for being you! 💌 • :ART by one of my favs: @merakilabbe: • #worlddoulaweek #doulatogether #doulahood #DOULASBENEFITEVERYONE #iamdoula #werisebyliftingothers #spilledinkbyrmab 💜

Happy World Doula Week! I've been featured on DTI blog with several other amazing doulas. What a sweet honor! Check out the link in my bio. Thank you @DoulaTrainingsInt for giving me the tools to build a solid foundation, the network to create lifetime connections, and the opportunity to rise as a Doula in my community. I'm constantly so amazed to have created such a ripple effect in my life! 💜 • #worlddoulaweek #DTIdoula #DTI #doulatogether #doulahood #iamdoula #withlove #withgratitude