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“Breastfeeding is free!” and other nonsense - Why there is no “free” way to feed a baby
In May 2022, US-based Assistant Professor Jessica Owens-Young tweeted:
“The ‘breastfeeding is free’ narrative in the midst of an infant formula shortage is a great example of public ignorance of what it actually takes to successfully breastfeed.”
There is the time, physical labour, mental load, short and long-term financial consequences of lost income, superannuation and career non-progression associated with lactation, yet there is also the direct expenses of making breastfeeding happen that …
"Such a good age": Why eight months postpartum can feel like anything but
EIGHT MONTHS POSTPARTUM.
A time also known as: Oooft, Dear Lordy, WTF, Why? What is sleep? and alternatively, Send help.
By far, no question, without a doubt, 8 months postpartum was the hardest time for me. This is the primary reason why my single session/SOS doula day service extends beyond the newborn period to when baby turns two years old!
I’m not the only one, and I can see why so many hit rock bottom at that age. Here’s what’s going on for many mothers and birth parents in Australia at…
The Cover Up: When motherhood is not as it seems
There’s something wrong with this picture.
In the blink of an eye between being a student and a mother, those fleeting moments “disposable income” was a thing, I subscribed to this magazine.
I would receive and read each month, then take to share with colleagues in my workplace lunch room.
Sometimes we’d look at the images and dream of living as the women pictured did - the ones who ran their hands through the tips of grasses and smiling while inspecting fleece - then glance at the cloc…
Risky or Rubbish? The real stats on going "overdue"
I was 41 weeks pregnant, and both myself and my baby were healthy. When I went to my antenatal appointment, the doctor at the hospital told me that if I didn't get an induction soon, my placenta would fail and my baby would die.
This story is common amongst women and birth parents whose pregnancy progresses beyond 40 (or in some cases even 39) weeks.
Interestingly, these words often come parallel to us being told that if we don't deliver the baby soon, it will grow too big, so perhaps our plac…
Beyond Amazing: The Excruciatingly Slow Steps of a Mother's Labour of Love
The doctor and my daughter: A lesson in body safety
Why do I talk birth when I'm a postpartum doula?
Why I won't ask to hold your baby
3 Years In: What Would I Change?
Where is this leading? What it looks like when systemic birth interventions go unchecked
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