Previous Loco Parentis columns can be found here. It’s better if I just get that on the table right away. The truth is, I really, really don’t care about birth. I’m not interested in the details of my own birth, I don’t want to talk about my son’s birth, or my second kid’s upcoming birth, and I definitely don’t want to spend any of my time pretending to listen to the details of someone…
Nicole's first birth story can be found here. You should also read Meaghan O'Connell's, it's a triumph of the genre. The last few weeks of pregnancy are pretty bad. Even when you've already had a baby, it's hard to remember that they're easier to look after while they're still inside your body, because you have to pee constantly and your back hurts and your feet hurts and you can't shave anything you…
Nineteen years ago I studied every book I could find on childbirth and parenting in my local library when I was pregnant for the third time with my first viable pregnancy. I was a young Native/mixed woman and my partner a young Native man, but I had been adopted and raised by a white family. Knowing I was going to be a mother with so little connection to my culture made me anxious
“Doulas are getting paid by people who can afford it. But people who can’t afford it don’t get doulas. We want to make sure that group can get a doula, because their babies are dying, being born too small – and we know that doulas can help. To not support them in getting a doula is unconscionable. Women who are on Medicaid who want a doula should have one. And we should find
