When I meet new people it usually doesn’t take long for them to find out what I work as. Sometimes the person introducing me leads with this, other times the person I meet asks and at times I bring it up. There’s something about being a Midwife that excites people. I think part of it is that it’s a profession that most people have some level av understanding of what it means, it’s not an abstract profession.

Late last year I started feeling that it felt a little odd to just say bye and wave off my course attendees empty handed so I decided that a goal for 2024 would be to give them a goody bag as a good bye gift. I started reaching out to local companies that make products that I believe in and want to support, as well as that I believe are useful for my group attendees. This group got a packed goody bag, I will list the products below and share the links.

For most of my adult life I have made a conscious decision to say yes to things that are outside my comfort zone. It’s been things like doing photo shoots for different companies, speaking in public or walking over a long wooden bridge (I have a fear of deep water). I think in doing these things I push myself to grow. So now after having done photo shoots sporadically for almost ten years I feel more comfortable in front of the camera. The latest shoot I was actually in a bathing suit which is something I never thought I would do. But part of it was because it was with photographer Rebecca Gustafsson who I love working with and trust fully.

Who you choose to bring as a support person for your birth is a personal choice, for some it is the other parent or partner, for some it's a friend or sibling for others it's a Doula. If you choose to bring someone who is not a trained birth worker, send them this video! Here are my tips on how to be the best support person as possible. 

For most of my career in health care I have worked night shift. Work 3-4 nights, off 5-7 days. It has given me a lot of time with my family as well as worked with my personal rhythm, I’ve always been a night owl. But lately the charm of night shift has started to fade. I don’t enjoy sleeping during the day as much and if I wake up I can’t go back to sleep. With a puppy in the house that means I sleep around 4 hours during the days I’m working. I need around 6 to feel like myself. 

For around 40 weeks all your baby has known is the safety and security of life inside your womb. For months they have been growing more and more each day as they have developed. Their whole body has been surrounded by amniotic fluid, at the perfect temperature so baby never feels too cold or too hot. They have received all their nutrients and oxygen from the placenta via the umbilical cord. They have gotten used to the sounds of your body, your heart beating and your food being digested in your intestines. All the sounds from the outside world have been muffled as the sound has to pass through body tissues and water to get to their ears. And then one day something changes, they are squeezed together in a new way, maybe the water suddenly disappears and they start moving through a very tight space until they are born. For the first time they feel the cold air hit their skin, they feel bright lights in their eyes and they start to breathe for the first time. Their skin touches yours for the first time, and they hear the familiar sound of your heart beat again. 

I decided to take a social media break in part of July. I felt overworked, overwhelmed and depleted. I didn't plan to take a break from the blog, it kinda just happened. As I prepared to schedule posts for July I just felt that my energy was way too low to be able to do that. So I decided to be kind to myself and not push myself to do more than I needed.

Postpartum is such an important part of becoming a parent, but doesn’t get a lot of focus. Maria Borda & Opokua Britton Cavaco have written a beautiful book in Swedish about postpartum. They look at the traditions linked to postpartum in Sweden, and lack thereof, as well as what postpartum looks like in other places of the world.

As I started to talk to people around me about having a dog the most common comment was “It’s going to be hard.” Or “It’s a lot of work.” Like I somehow blindly went into dog ownership. It was clear these people didn’t know me well. I have had dogs in my life before, even though I never had my own. I have also spent a gazillion hours watching Cesar Milan and that British dog trainer Victoria on TV and YouTube. I know a dog needs structure, commitment and is a lot of work. But why did people feel a constant need of reminding me of this?

So much of parenting is just like this: doing everything but expecting nothing. It’s what our parents did for us to some extent and now we pay it forward. The love is not in the “I love you” that you tell your kids, it’s in how you show up, both how you are present and how you sacrifice for them. They are young for a short period of their lives and then they grow up, fly the coop and may not need you anymore. So it’s worth showing up now, loving them now, pouring in to them now. This is what will make them good humans once they venture out into the world.

In part one I covered what kind of different c-sections that exist and what different routines can be a part of having a c-section birth in Sweden. When I edited that video I realized what was missing was information on what happens post surgery, so I wanted to share this in general terms.

Together with two other midwives I will be hosting a retreat for pregnant people at the end of October. It's a two day, one night retreat at Stiftelsegården Åkersberg and Andrum Spa in Höör, Skåne.

We will offer pregnancy yoga, different prenatal exercises, education and more. There will also be meals included as well as one night's stay at the hotel on the premises. You will also have time to use the spa facilities during your stay.

There are different types of c-sections, some are scheduled c-sections where you go in to the hospital on a certain day and have the surgery. The reason for this varies, you may have a medical condition that recommends the birth be a c-section, or the baby or the placenta is in a position that isn't conducive with a vaginal birth. Some people have a fear of giving birth vaginally and are therefore get a doctors’ approval for a c-section. In Sweden the general recommendation is to not have a vaginal birth after two c-sections so this is also another reason for scheduling a c-section.  

Historically birth has been something that only involved women, males were not allowed to part take in this event. In many cultures around the world this is still the norm. And part of me understands why.

I started my journey into parenthood single. Growing up in a two parent household I wasn't really sure of what it meant to be the only parent in a household. But even before I ever got pregnant, in my late teens, I had a feeling I was going to be a single mom. I don't know if I ever stopped to think that I couldn't do it, or that it would be too hard. I had friends and family that were super supportive and that helped.

Skin-to-skin contact means holding your baby naked against your skin, usually under your top or under a blanket. Some know this as kangaroo care or kangaroo mother care (KMC) as it sometimes is called in neonatal care units.

When your baby is born, you will be encouraged to have skin-to-skin contact as soon as possible. Your baby will be able to hear the comforting sound of your heartbeat and voice, which will help calm and relax them. It's never too late to start skin to skin, so if you have been separated from your baby because you or your baby were not in good health or maybe your baby was born prematurely whenever you can place your baby, in only a diaper directly on your skin.

“Am I allowed?”

This question I’ve heard so many times in different way at different times related to pregnancy and birth. “Am I allowed to say no to the blood glucose test?” Or “Am I allowed to tell the staff I don’t want them to touch my baby after she is born?” Or anything similar. 

Before I found out that I was pregnant with my daughter I thought I wouldn't breastfeed. The thought of breastfeeding felt odd to me. But maybe part of it was that I was young and still getting used to my adult body. I got pregnant when I was 22 and early on in pregnancy I decided that of course I wanted to breastfeed. I don't know what happened, it was like it changed from one day to another, maybe it was the pregnancy hormones. During my pregnancy I read lots of books, most of them about birth but one was specifically about breastfeeding.

There is no wrong way to give birth. This is a sentence I think often and say out loud for time to time. What it means to me is that how you choose to give birth is your choice. I feel like my job as a Doula and a Midwife is to follow your lead, support you and hold space for you. I trust that you know what you need and I will be here to help you to the best of my abilities.

A Doula is a person that supports the person giving birth and their partner during pregnancy, birth and in some cases postpartum as well. A Doula has no medical responsibility and can be a trained person or a non-trained person. My focus here is on the trained Doula. Most of the Doulas are women, though I have heard of men taking the Doula training, I think this is still quite rare.