Kristi Joy Doula Services

To the #1in8 struggling with infertility... Your worth is not determined by lines on a pregnancy test. #NationalInfertilityAwarenessWeek...

Think about this: 1 in 8 couples are infertile. Chances are, you know someone who is secretly dealing with infertility. Think about the simple task of going to ...the store and walking down the baby aisle and the many emotions this triggers. Think about their pain when asked to attend a friend's baby shower. Think about the complete devastation of finally getting pregnant and then losing the baby they always prayed for. Think about your own children and how much you love them. Think about those women and men who never get a chance to experience the love they long for. This week is National Infertility Awareness Week. Please pray for those who are called to be parents, yet never get the chance. #NIAW #1in8 #infertility

Don’t hate on me, hear me out. Mom guilt is real. We want to do it all and quite honestly we will make ourselves miserable trying to make our families happy. Go...ing to get groceries isn’t self care. Going to the bank is not a break. Having a hot bath is not deserved We need to stop treating ourself so poorly and start making ourselves a priority. Bathing, grocery shopping paying the bills those are life things! Ask yourself, what do I do daily that’s JUST for me? I bet 95% of you say nothing. You will let years and years go by and then wake up and your tiny humans won’t need you as much and you don’t know who you are and realize you’ve neglected yourself and where will you start? I have a challenge for you. Start small. Do something you love or enjoy that’s just for you and even if it’s only for ten minutes. Maybe it’s reading a book you’ve been wanting to start. Maybe it’s yoga from YouTube. Maybe it’s eating a cupcake alone so you don’t have to share. Whatever it is, start it now and keep building off of that. You can’t pour from an empty cup. I struggle with this too but I’m working on it! Let me know if your up for the challenge and if you need some ideas! Tag the best mommas you know that could use the reminder because you just love them so damn much!

Look at these bibs These make such a nice baby gift too!

This post is completely different than anything I normally post BUT I’ve learnt lots of people don’t know this trick Be sure to check out Baby Footprint. That’s where you will find these stinkin cute jammies too! Once your baby starts trying to rip their diapers off, buy footless jammies. This way they can wear them backwards. It doesn’t take long for them to escape their jammies and no one wants to wake up to a poop smeared crib With my first I had resorted to cuttin...g the feet off footie sleepers lol. So, you’re welcome. And here’s the link. These also have a zipper for diaper access for those middle of the night changes https://www.thebabyfootprint.com/Zippyjamz-Footless-Pajamas

So, you’re going to have a baby. If you are anything like I was with my first pregnancy, my plan was - Get the baby out. And well, that ended in a 30hr labour, 2hrs of pushing and to be honest, some PTSD. Since then I have learnt so much about birth plans, even though we know things may not go EXACTLY how you plan. For Doulas, birth plan sessions are a great tool for us to learn more about what you are wanting/willing to try and how hands on your partner wants to be. ... If you are interested in a Birth Plan session, message me! I might not be able to be hands on with you in the hospital but we can create a plan. I can even send ya with a easy-to-follow checklist for your partner to study If they are feeling upto it I’ll teach them to squeeze them hips while we are at it

My heart hurts so badly today after hearing that birth workers are getting the boot, again. The only person to dictate who should be allowed in a birthing person’s space, is the birthing person. And this doesn’t just affect doulas/birth keepers/photographers. So many people want to be surrounded by other loved ones! I don’t currently offer Childbirth Education Classes but I could definitely do some meetings with couples. We can go over labour positions, birth plans, etc. Whatever you need to feel most comfortable going into your next birth. I still offer a Virtual Doula package as well!

AHS has updated their support person policy. Until changes are made they are allowing 1 support person for maternity clients in AHS facilities. https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/topics/Page17001.aspx

Who else can feel this video

Words copied from - Lisa Cowdery Doulas, do not let this happen here. Do not push for or support regulation and licensure. Do not make yourselves accountable to a hierarchical organizational body that will always compete with and complicate your relationship with the birthing family. Do not be swayed that legitimacy, a seat at the table or institutional acceptance will be gained through your regulation. As doulas have been consistently excluded from institutional setting...s as non-essential during covid-19 lockdowns, there has been an upsurge in talk around how to avoid similar exclusion in the future - trust me, regulation will not achieve the hoped for outcome. Regulation into a system breeds inherent complicity with that system, it contains and controls grassroots movements that threaten to disrupt the system, it creates division amongst communities, it creates a right and wrong way to show up for families, it limits families’ choices and provides a framework to persecute birthworkers who are willing to support families making choices outside of bounds. The fear of persecution, for advocating, for putting birthing people first, for standing in your ethics, for refusing moral injury - that’s real. It’s real everyday. Raymond Devries Making Midwives Legal is an excellent historical evaluation of global licensure patterns and the documented effects on birthing families. The recent firing and rehiring of UCLA certified nurse midwives and the repeated opening of and closing down of Midwifery led units to draw in consumers until institutional politics create withdrawal of support in the US are excellent examples of how regulation does not create a culture of equity amongst birthworkers or benefit birthing families. Building human relationships on the birth unit creates a healthy birth culture. Doing away with Us vs. Them and scarcity models of being in birth creates healthy birth culture. Caregivers who are willing to support the rights of families to choose their birth team whether that team is regulated or not, who are willing to collaborate and offer a bridge to system resources when wanted or needed helps create a positive birth culture. Doulas are one of the last birth worker groups that are solely accountable to families and families alone, please do not accept the burden of navigating regulation, standards of care, scopes of practice, what is allowed, what is prohibited for the illusion of acceptance and safety.

We got some people from a lady here in Edmonton and she’s going to help us with our search She works with missing and murder indigenous women Please share

Don’t get us wrong- babies are adorable, amazing little creatures. But. We actually do this work because we love working with the parents of these tiny humans.... Whether it’s parents who feel unsure about what is to come or parents who are confident in all of their choices- We get the honor of sitting in a sacred space that allows us a front row seat to see them make choices to be the best parents they can be. Babies are cute- But watching people become parents is BEAUTIFUL.

Thank YOU! @organic.gannett INFORMED CONSENT According to MedicineNet, informed consent is defined as "The process by which a patient learns about and understa...nds the purpose, benefits, and potential risks of a medical or surgical intervention, including clinical trials, and then agrees to receive the treatment or participate in the trial. There are four parts to informed consent 1. You must have the ability to make a decision 2. The provider must give you ALL information on the treatment/procedure including benefits and all risks. 3. You must be able to understand the information being given. 4. You must voluntarily give consent to proceed WITHOUT feeling coerced. Patients have the legal and ethical right to obtain enough information about a medical treatment to feel like they are making an informed decision. This decision does not have be the same decision your doctor would make or is suggesting you make. Informed consent is the basis of medicine. It ensures the patient is actively involved in their own care and also establishes a trusting relationship between providers and patients. Informed consent is NOT: -getting minimal/skewed information -minimizing risks associated -feeling pressured to choose one way or another -being disrespected or talked down to for your decision Informed consent DOES: -give the patient all pertinent information -give the patient time to answer questions -give the option to say yes OR no WITHOUT consequence -make the patient feel respected in whatever decision they come to -allows the patient to take into account their own intuition before making a decision Medical providers are providing a service at charge for you. They work for you. You have the right to make any and all decisions regarding your health. You have the right to informed consent. This is important. This is a legal and ethical right. Demand it.

I had the requisite 4th grade health class - I learned the word ‘period,’ but that was about it. I was fortunate, though, to start my midwifery path when I w...as 15, so it wasn’t long before I learned that women have a lot of unlearning and reclaiming to do around our anatomy and physiology - not just so that we love ourselves more, but so that we can learn to read our own ‘vital signs.’ For example: The word vagina is often used to refer to everything ‘south of the border.’, But your vagina is actually not what you see when you're standing in the mirror or having a peek - that’s your vulva. Your vagina is the internal tube. Discharge is due to your body protecting and balancing pH and clearing away dead cells, arousal, or cervical mucus changes in your cycle. It can also indicate microbial imbalance or infection. Your vagina should have a scent - and that’s not usually the garden fresh one the feminine products industry sells us. Getting to know your own natural scents is a great tool to detect when your period is coming, when you’re ovulating, or if your vaginal microbiome or hormones are out of whack and need some TLC. Yes to tone, no to tight. The vagina is a muscle, which means it changes all the time - it can stretch, move, widen, tighten, and strengthen like any other muscles. If you’ve had a baby vaginally, you probably notice a difference. A tight vagina is a heteronormative, misogynist construct. Please don’t scrub it with soap: Your vagina is completely self-cleaning. Soaps and douches are not needed, and are harmful to your vaginal flora, sensitive vulva, and contain endocrine disruptors. No two vulvas look alike: It’s like a fingerprint - each of us has our own unique appearance, and folds, shape, size. We’re all beautiful. Never had a look? I have a blog that will walk you through getting to know your lady parts and all the wonderful things they tell you, at the link here: https://avivaromm.com/lady-parts/ And a very special announcement coming next week about my next book!! @weareungirls for post inspo. See more

Did you know? There are over 140 Registered Midwives in Alberta, a four-fold increase since public funding began in 2009. Alberta Registered Midwives are able t...o care for up to 40 clients per midwife per year. To request midwifery care, please visit: http://ow.ly/3QJu30ruNO9 #ABMidwives #AlbertaMidwives #Midwifery #Midwives

Happy c-section awareness month

Oh goodness, this has me rolling Thanks to @emilyboazman over on TikTok for this gem