Birth professionals, such as birth doulas, have been rising in popularity for the last decade or so. When I began in 2007 only DONA, Doulas Of North America , were the national certifying body and now Cornerstone is popular along with many other certifiying bodies. Currently, doulas are not regulated by any overseeing body so certification is not required to work as a doula in the private sector. So, does it matter if your doula has a certification? If they are certified wha

We have celebrations to mark the day we were born, ritual to give our devotion to gawd, we celebrate a teen leaving childhood to walk across the stage into adulthood and so much more. Human beings around the world have rituals to mark everything between before lie to after death and all in between. We use celebration and ritual to support us in transitions of all kinds. Ritual helps us emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically to move through life's triumphs and chal

Recently, I attended a home birth where I felt spirits in the room and in this case that indicated baby was going to be born soon. It was a familiar feeling I have gotten since I was a child and I think I will spend my life figuring out how to explain the sensation. Mama was in bed on her side with a stack of pillows beneath one leg to make room for her baby. It was nighttime, maybe 1045pm or so. I was holding mama's hand with eyes closed, sitting in a moment of stillness an