Category: Lancaster Doulas

Pregnant woman relaxing or sleeping with belly support pillow in

How To: Sleep When Pregnant

Posted on by Holly Yeager
[caption id="attachment_1862" align="aligncenter" width="431"] woman sleeping, sleep, relaxing[/caption] There is nothing more elusive than sleep when you are pregnant. Especailly once your belly starts to grow. It can be hard to find a comfortable position, your muscles hurt in weird places, baby is kicking, and lets not get started on your bladder. So what can you do? At Lancaster Doulas we have years of helping pregnant people get a better nights rest, let us share our top suggestions on how...Read More
Anxiety

10 Tips To Reduce Anxiety

Posted on by Holly Yeager
[caption id="attachment_3301" align="aligncenter" width="665"]              Closeup photo of unsure girl looking empty space bit lip anxiety[/caption] What causes anxiety during pregnancy? A lot of changes happen in pregnancy. Some of them of these new changes are welcomed, while others can be uncomfortable and downright scary.  Your body is growing a new human after all. Hormonal changes during pregnancy can affect the chemical balance in your brain. This can lead to an increase of existing anxiety...Read More

Not Your Mothers Birth

Posted on by Holly Yeager
Written by: Alice Zeigler, Birth and Postpartum Doula When anticipating labor, one place you will likely get unsolicited advice from is your own mother. There is some comfort in knowing how the experience of childbirth was for someone similar to us. It is important to remember, however, that no birthing person's experience is the same. Hearing birth stories from others can give expectant parents all sorts of expectations, some of them unrealistic, overdramatized, or even scary. The  process of having...Read More

Does Experience Matter?

Posted on by Holly Yeager
How many births have you been to? This is a question we get from almost every new client we interview with. There seems to be a premium put on the amount of births a doula has attended. As a doula with over 12 years of experience and almost 400 births I can tell you: It doesn't matter. Each birth we attend is a unique and beautiful event. Even after all these years I find myself shaking my head afterwards and...Read More

The Reverse Cinderella

Posted on by Holly Yeager
Baby focused instead of Parent focused There is so much attention with a new baby coming. It is easy to feel like Cinderella. You are pampered at baby showers. There are regular classes and checkups to attend. Everyone is asking how you feel during pregnancy and inquiring about your plans for birth. During the postpartum phase, visitors are often focused on meeting and holding the new baby. Neglecting that the new parents may have needs. Lack of support After birth,...Read More

Meet Your Doulas: Faith Boisen

Posted on by Holly Yeager
Faith is a certified Labor and Postpartum Doula, Infant Feeding specialist, and Childbirth Educator. Faith passionately loves what she does. She longs to see every mother empowered in their role as they bring new life into the world. Growing up as the second oldest of twelve children piqued Faith’s interest in birthing and babies from a young age. After witnessing and helping with several of her siblings' births, Faith set her hopes on becoming a midwife. Working as a nurse...Read More

Newborn Sleep

Posted on by Holly Yeager
A brand new baby will sleep much of the time, waking every few hours for feedings. Many new parents have a lot of questions about how long and how often a newborn should sleep. Because newborns have such a small stomach they should be waking to be fed every 2-3 hours. How often your baby eats depends on what their nutritional needs are and what they are being fed. It is best to talk to your provider to see if...Read More
Fear of Childbirth

Fear of Giving Birth….. Again

Posted on by Holly Yeager
Childbirth can be a really scary thing. Most of that fear comes from the lack of control and fear of the unknown; how will it feel? What if I don't know I am in labor? What if we don't get to the hospital in time? These are very real and very valid fears. But what if you HAVE given birth before and it was not the experiance you were looking for? As your pregnancy progresses and you get closer to...Read More

When should your child stop seeing you naked?

Posted on by Holly Yeager
Turns out this is a tough question to answer. I spoke with Nancy Brooks M.S., PsyD (can) who works with children and teens here in Lancaster. As you can imagine, there is no "right" answer for every family. When is it no longer OK for your child to see you naked? It depends on how you want your child to view nudity.  Some people believe that as soon as children can spot differences in males and females that they should be...Read More

Fear of Giving Birth

Posted on by Holly Yeager
There are few things in this world that scare us as much as childbirth. If this is your first child, many of those fears tend to come from fear of the unknown. Childbirth is such an unpredictable experience and each birth is as unique as a snowflake. In our highly scheduled and controlled world it can be scary to let go and let nature take its course. Today we are going to talk about some of the biggest fears many pregnant...Read More