Bigger, better, transformed!

Welcome to the ALL NEW A Rainbow Doula
You'll be seeing some big changes happening on the website over the next few weeks as I work with a design team to revamp my look as my focus shifts.

I feel it is only fair to explain why as a doula my focus is shifting away from births. There are a few reasons, I will begin with the most important;

My family - having a husband who works interstate makes it hard to commit to births, relying heavily on babysitters which we just do not have, once the kids are older I'd love to start supporting births again. Supporting births is a BIG passion of mine especially where families have had a previous loss, traumatic birth or circumstances such as teen pregnancy. I am still going to provide pregnancy support just not birth support for a little while but I do have a fantastic lady to refer clients on to.
Why am I telling you this? Because I believe in being honest to my clients, to my community, I am human after all, I cannot do it al. We all face challenges and right now my husband working away is one of those challenges.

By putting births aside for the meantime (mostly! I cannot shy away completely, I will still be able to support births where a caesarean date is scheduled to ensure I have childcare - yes you can still have a doula with a caesarean birth!) this means I can focus more on other aspects of birth work that I am passionate about.

Where will my focus be now and why?
Postpartum Support - When people think about a doula they think of pregnancy and birth but that's not all a doula can be used for. I am also a postpartum doula and offer support to families in those first few months post baby. Whether its your first baby or tenth there will be challenges, there will be times you'd love an extra set of hands, we are those hands!
Here is a post I made about how valuable a postpartum doula is.

Childbirth Education - Have you ever been to the hospital childbirth education classes? Classes ran by an independent educator are NOT like those! While some maybe happy with the information provided many are left feeling underwhelmed. Midwives are run off their feet and most dread being rostered on for the classes, the information tends to be dated and biased to hospital policy.
My classes whilst structured are client led, I

strive on keeping myself up to date with information and I am constantly learning to provide the best information possible.
Check out our calendar of events for our next group session OR book a private class.

Placenta Encapsulation - I could talk all day about the benefits of encapsulating! While I mainly service Ballarat I do extend services to most Melbourne hospitals.
To see more information about encapsulation please read here


Belly Casts - I love crafting, I love painting and creating so I have tied this hobby in with my work and offer belly casts to the community.

Saving the part of my work that owns a part of my soul to the very last is Parenting A Rainbow, my husband and I have experienced stillbirth and miscarriage together, after losing our daughter to a congenital diaphragmatic hernia I have been heavily invested in helping families with their grief and grief tends to get reopened or take another path when you have another baby and support is often needed in a way that differs from the other supports offered. This is why I started the Parenting A Rainbow packages for A Rainbow Doula, having a rainbow baby is a very emotional process.

So there is a little about the direction we are taking for a little while, my heart very much still lies in birth work and all elements of it. Changes are happening, as I grow as a person and as a parent my business is also growing from the seed it started at in 2012 it is now blossoming and transforming into a beautiful fruit.

Why should your placenta encapsulator be PSA recognised?

First of all  I'd  like to apologise for the plain blog post, it's 11pm kids are in bed so I'm hiding in the darkness! I'm tired but something is on my mind so here I am getting it out in the open. 

A wonderful parenting group exists on Facebook but conflict often arises when people have a difference of opinion and everybody is of course entitled to that opinion, it's what you do with the education and knowledge that is being given to you that is important. Do you grow and learn or stay close and often mislead people with ill advise? 

WHAT IS PSA? 

PSA stands for Placenta Services Australia. It is a fantastic directory for those seeking an encapsulator. All encapsulators must have shown proof of training as an encapsulator, food handling certificate and  blood borne pathogens, they must also be willing to learn more and continue learning as the industry grows. 

Placenta encapsulation has grown a lot over the years as people learn more about the benefits. It is an industry now, we have standards to uphold and so much more to learn. At PSA the opportunity is there to gain knowledge and wisdom from mentors and fellow encapsulators. 

PSA are strict, professional and ensure all encapsulators listed work to the highest standard.  

It is so much more than the directory it appears to be to those seeking an encapsulator, underneath there is a network of highly skilled encapsulators striving for the very best for their clients working hard to ensure the client can advocate to keep their placenta. Qualified encapsulators who learn more and more through each other and extensive research. 

If you're thinking about encapsulation please take a look at the list of encapsulators recommended by the PSA and have the confidence that your encapsulator has been background checked and strives for the best for you and your placenta. 

http://www.placentaservices.com.au/

Playgroup

A Rainbow Doula are launching a playgroup, I say playgroup its more of a meet up. It will be in a social setting such as fun bugs where kids can go off and play but are safe at the same time and mums and dads can get to know each other.

When I first became a parent I found it extremely lonely, I had my children younger than my friends, they were still busy partying and I was home with a baby. As the years went on I had more children, started studying and then set up A Rainbow Doula and being self employed you don't have any colleagues to mingle with.

Working with pregnant parents this is often a concern and often something postpartum parents bring up too. I know I need to push myself back into the social circles and from feedback I've received it seems it will help many others too. 

School holidays can be hectic which is why I've picked somewhere child friendly to encourage getting out of the house and even when the kids are back at school and you don't have little ones you're more than welcome to come along and get to know the adults, you ever know how many have children the same age. 

I strongly believe adults need interaction with other adults, there's only so many days we can stay cooped up singing the wiggles, am I right?! I'm planning on also having adult only events where we can go to the movies, have some drinks, let our hair down. There will also be family meal nights where we go out for dinner, venues will be child friendly. 

Our first playgroup session will be Tuesday 24th January at 2pm 

We will be at fun bugs and everyone is welcome you don't ever have to have been a client of A Rainbow Doula 

I look forward to meeting you!