WHAT IS A DOULA?

So, what is this doula thing that so many pregnant women speak of? The word ‘doula’ — pronounced ‘doo-la’ — is a Greek word meaning ‘woman servant or caregiver’.

More recently, it refers to someone who offers emotional and physical support to a woman and her partner before, during and after childbirth.

A doula (also known as a birth attendant) believes in ‘mothering the mother’. She enables a woman and her partner to have the most satisfying birth experience possible, from pregnancy and into motherhood. This type of support allows the whole family to relax and enjoy the experience too.

A doula provides  supportive care during pregnancy, labor, and shortly after during the postpartum period.  The support comes in two forms: physical and emotional.  

The second important role of a doula is to provide childbirth education in order to empower the Mother into making the best choices for herself as well as her newborn. All of this is done in a non-judgemental, supportive way.

Basically, a doula is bring the 'village' back to childbirth and childrearing. Women, supporting women. 

IT'S A GIRL!!!

So my granddaughter is already a week old! It has been a crazy roller coaster week, hence, why I have not written about this sooner.  

Last Friday and Saturday I helped Tamika, Guy and Chester move into their townhouse. Late Saturday night I was very tired and bruised, as Tamika drove me home I jokingly said "please don't have the bub tonight or tomorrow I am too tired."

Well Bub did not listen.

At 4.15am Sunday morning Tamika had her first show. She called me, and woke Guy. Then called the midwife.... Yep that was all to plan. But the next hour was not.

Tamika knew with the very first contraction something was not right, that this bub was in a hurry. She called back the midwife, who told her to call an ambulance. Guy, was like, no need I will just pack and we can drive.

Lucky Tamika followed her intuition. A with just two pushes, bub was born in the back of the ambulance in Tamika's driveway at 5.47, just over one hour and half from her first show.

It was an extremely hard birth for all of us. For me to be inside the apartment playing trains with Chester, hearing my daughter screaming for me. For Guy to see Tamika go through the birth and then begin to hemorrhage. And obviously it was the hardest for Tamika.

Tamika lost a LOT of blood and lost consciousness on the way to the hospital. The rest of the story is not mine to tell, it is Tamika's

But the drama continued for a few days... culminating in another ambulance ride Tuesday night back to the hospital for emergency surgery. (The hospital had only discharged her a couple of hours before against my better judgment).

But, now a week later I can finally say Mum and baby are good when I tell people Tamika had her baby.

Welcome to the world, Lola Ruby Lietzow-Chinn. You certainly know how to make a dramatic entrance!

COULD YOU? WOULD YOU?

Could you? Would you? Could you become a surrogate mother? Could you carry another couple's baby?

Surrogacy is when a woman carries and gives birth to a baby for another person or couple. In Australia, gestational surrogacy is the most common form. This means that the surrogate’s egg is not used in conception, and so she is not the biological mother. The embryo may be created using the sperm and egg of the intended parents, or donor embryos may be used.

I am watching my daughter go through some issues with her pregnancy, because of her medical history with Guillain-Barre. Any grandmother would be happy to hold their grandbaby if the Mum was struggling. Is not being a surrogate just an extended form of holding a baby?

If only, it was not too late at 22 weeks to take over and help my Bubby carry her baby to full term. 

THIS WAS ME TWO YEARS AGO TODAY

By this time two years ago, I had been in labor for about 18 hours or more. Still have about another 20 or more to go. The pain came and went, but the urge to hold my baby was getting so strong.