OWN YOUR BIRTH – Doula Training in English, with Maria Bengtsson & Anna Bjelkefelt.

In the Beginning

It takes a few days before your breasts fill with milk, but until then, the baby receives the nutritious colostrum that keeps them satisfied. If you're not breastfeeding, it can still be beneficial, if possible, to try to express the colostrum and give it to the baby since it contains high levels of salt and protein as well as important antibodies that protect the baby against infections.

We women are often worried about taking up space with our feelings and our bodies, about moaning, screaming, and letting our birth take the time it takes even if everyone else would rather go home and go to bed. All women who give birth deserve time, patience, love, and complete space and support to express all the emotions that childbirth can bring forth.

Throughout human history, until the 1900s and still in certain cultures, birthing women have always received support from other women. The word doula is relatively new in Sweden but is an old Greek word with the approximate meaning of "nurturing woman." In the USA, it has long been common to have a doula at both hospital and home births. In Sweden, it's becoming increasingly common. It seems that the more medicalized births become, the more the need for having a doula increases.