I had the privilege of helping to welcome a new little one into the world on the weekend!
It never ceases to amaze me how strong we are as women and mothers. Just amazing.
I have openings coming up in September, October, November and December! Call or email to book in a no obligation meeting to see if I could be a great addition to your birth team.
Beginning in 2016 I will be offering Doula and Placenta Encapsulation Services in the Wenatchee Valley Area!
I look forward to serving women and families in my new home. Feel free to contact me.
Leave mum holding the baby at your peril: Postnatal depression and what we expect of women.
The above article is well worth the read. As I have been working on my Placenta Encapsulation course I have been doing a bunch of reading of articles, studies and reflecting back on my own experience. One of the reasons women choose to encapsulate is benefit to mood and energy levels which contribute to less PND. Of course I know that placenta encapsulation is beneficial – but it’s not a magic pill. There is no substitute for genuine support for a mother and family after giving birth.
I think the above article by Mia, really identifies some of my thoughts about PND, society’s attitude toward it and how much misunderstanding new mums and dads experience on how they are to handle the period right after birth.
Thanks so much for your article!
I like sticky date pudding, and date loaf, but I’ve never really been a huge fan of just eating dates plain…..that is until I just tried the Majool dates.. yum…. more expensive but yum… I thought I’d better compare the nutritional value of the Sayer or common dates from the dried fruit section and they were pretty similar. And after doing a little bit of research I have 
decided that dates are amazing!!!!!
Why am I talking about dates??
Some study has been done to measure the effect that eating dates might have on labour and birth. An initial investigation, published here, showed some great outcomes for women who ate 6 dates per day for only 4 weeks before their estimated due date.
What were those benefits? Compared with the group who ate no dates…..
In addition another one looked at the effect of eating dates immediately after the baby was born to reduce post-partum bleeding as opposed to using synthetic oxytocin. Again the results were favourable toward eating the humble date!
They contain at least 6 vitamins, minerals like potassium, iron, calcium and zinc, salts and fibre as well as sugar for an energy boost.
What a easy, nutritious, cost effective and yummy way to aid your birth!!
And for those of you who don’t really like the taste of plain dates you need to make some Bliss Balls!! There are heaps of recipes online I got this one here and I made them yesterday that my kids love and are nut-free (because my kids school is nut-free) is….
The last three bliss balls …. time to make some more!
150g dates
150g apricots
100g rolled oats
1 tablespoon of tahini
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave nectar
coconut for rolling the balls in
Put it all together in a food processor (I used a thermomix), roll mixture into balls and into coconut and voila! Yummy date balls! Of course play around with the quantities and ingredients to your liking.. change the oats to almonds or use peanut butter and make it your own!
I know that every family is different and so are their needs. My aim is to help you with what’s 
important to you. This may include
I will meet with you and your partner a couple of times before the birth to discuss various things that are important to you.
Of course our very first meeting is a chance for you to decide if having a doula is right for you and if I’m the right fit for your family. It is important that you are comfortable with me and can see me sharing and enhancing this important and intimate milestone in your life.
Once you have decided to have me on your team some of the topics we will address may include Identifying what is important to you, The incredible pregnant body, Stages of Childbirth, Fear/pain cycle, What is the ideal environment for birth and how do you create it? Birth Preference planning and positions for labour and birth to name a few!
Some of the best things for your birth is to be prepared with helpful, evidenced based information and confidence in yourself and your team. You are designed for birth!
Lori Schierer
Melissa supported me and my husband Jeremy during the birth of our first child. Once I was in active 
labor, Melissa came to our home and helped us. While Jeremy tried to sleep before we left for the Birth Centre she stayed with me and continued to encourage me and timed the contractions. Once at the Birth Centre Jeremy and I labored largely on our own, but Melissa brought me water periodically and during the final stages of labor suggested and assisted with changes in position to help the baby be delivered more easily. After Monty was born she even arranged for fruit juice to be delivered to me, the one thing I was craving! Throughout the labor and Melissa read out encouraging Scriptures I had chosen beforehand. It was wonderful to know we had that support and someone who could help us contact people and make decisions if the need arose. We have already asked her to support us during the birth of our second child!
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The placenta is amazing. It is essential to developing life. As more and more is discovered about the amazing placenta more and more women are also discovering it’s benefits go beyond it’s use in the womb.
Your placenta is tailor made for you and your baby. Packed full of hormones, iron and life giving energy. When you take the placenta as a supplement after the birth evidence shows that it can have many positive effects. These are increased milk supply, lessening baby blues and post partum depression, increasing iron supplies and increasing energy.
Encapsulating the placenta puts it into an easy to take capsule form. The placenta is first dehydrated and then ground into a powder before being placed into veggie capsules.
Have a look at research articles and information around on placenta encapsulation and then you can decide if it is right for you.
Here are a few links to get you started….
Hello and welcome!
I’m Melissa,
Mother of 4, Wife of 1.
I’m a Certified Labour Doula (CLD) with Childbirth International
I believe women are uniquely created and designed to bring forth life and that the journey of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood is designed to bring great growth and discovery in our lives.
As a Doula my heart is to walk with you on your journey. Encouraging, supporting and spurring you on!
