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Favorite [Birth] Things #2: A Doula

January 26, 2021 By Lauren McClain

Favorite [Birth] Things #2: A Doula

It’s Lauren’s Favorite [Birth] Things! My absolute favorite birth things are a loving, confident partner and a loving, respectful, and skilled provider. My hope is that you have or manage to find both. Lauren’s Favorite Birth Things necessarily focuses on birth things anyone can get–at least in some form. In the spirit of Oprah’s favorite things, these […]

Filed Under: Birth Professionals, Easier Birthing, Favorite [Birth] Things

Brain Waves in Labor

June 25, 2020 By Lauren McClain

Brain Waves in LaborNatural birth (any birth!) is much easier when you can find your relaxation zone and brainwaves--with this handout! Relaxation for labor and birth, the whole mediation thing, makes so much more sense when you explain about brainwaves.This handout on relaxation for labor and birth explains the way our brains enter different states, optimal for different [...]

Filed Under: Better Birth Graphics, Birth Professionals, Easier Birthing, Relaxation for Birth

Fear-Tension-Pain Teaching Tool

April 4, 2019 By Lauren McClain

Fear-Tension-Pain Teaching ToolInspired by the fear-tension-pain cycle, meditation, Brené Brown, and the concept of holding space, I plotted three aspects of labor experience. Everyone feels each cycle at some point in their labor. The goal, of course, is to spend as much time as possible in labor (and life!) feeling at peace. A high level of fear means more tension, which [...]

Filed Under: Better Birth Graphics, Birth Professionals, Easier Birthing, Natural Birth Tips, Relaxation for Birth, Support: Doulas & Partners

Scaffolding & A Shield: What We Need In Labor

December 12, 2018 By Lauren McClain

Scaffolding & A Shield: What We Need In Labor

When someone we care for is working through something difficult, one of the best means of support is “holding space.” Effective labor companions know (from learning or experience) how to hold space for someone in labor. But what does that mean? Holding space is like holding the fort. You protect the people inside the space–that’s […]

Filed Under: Birthing Rights and Choices, Easier Birthing, Natural Birth, Support: Doulas & Partners

Elements of Easier Birth

September 14, 2016 By Lauren McClain

Elements of Easier BirthTrusting the process...the whole process Although women have no second thoughts about growing a baby (ooo...gotta work on growing some tiny toenails today!), they very often lack trust in the birth process. We trust our bodies to grow the baby. We need to trust them to get the baby out as well. A good childbirth education class [...]

Filed Under: Birthing Rights and Choices, Easier Birthing, Natural Birth, Natural Birth Tips

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