What should I do with my life?
3 Tips for dealing with a crossroads and transitions in life and some help deciding if becoming a doula might suit you.
Response to the NMC’s Principles for Supporting Women’s Choices in Maternity Care
Developing Doulas welcomes any initiative that seeks to uphold the rights, dignity and autonomy of women and birthing people and welcomes the desire to work alongside doulas to this end. However, we must express our strong disagreement with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)’s publication of this set of principles and the associated recorded meeting. … Read more
Are Our Bodies The Enemy?
At the beginning of the 20th century, male Obstetricians dubbed the traditional ‘granny midwives’ in the US dirty and ignorant in order to wrestle control over maternity care and make huge profits. In a breathtakingly Patriarchal and racist move (over half the traditional midwives were Black and their wisdom derived from the traditions protected and … Read more
Maternity Groundhog Day
My youngest baby is 21 years old. I became a doula at the same time. In my time working with new parents and seeing UK maternity services close up there have been a huge number of government investigations into the state of maternity care. In 2010 Front Line Care was commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon … Read more
Heating Up the Birth Pool: Why We Have to Help Each Other Out
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash “There is more than one kind of freedom,” said Aunt Lydia. “Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.”― Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale I’ve been watching season 5 of The Handmaid’s Tale again recently, … Read more
Connected Activism: Choosing Care Over Conflict
Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash Developing Doulas Course Facilitator, Katie Fryer-Olliffe, shares a deeply personal reflection on her journey into doula work, the importance of community over competition, and how she embraces activism rooted in connection, care, and integrity. Shortly after having my first child in 2007, I began exploring different careers that might … Read more
Nibbling the Biscuits, or, Why I Love Waiting
At the risk of you all getting the impression that I only ever think of my stomach, I am reminded today of the way I used to eat biscuits when I was a child. First, I revelled in the anticipation: just knowing they were there, a whole packet of bourbons or jammy dodgers hidden in … Read more
