Hello, friends!
Welcome to our Brood newsletter! You can expect curated links, playlists, recommendations, and thoughtful insights from our community of doulas and caregivers.
We’re thrilled to be in your inbox, and are looking forward to connecting with you wherever you are in your parenting or caregiving journey. Anything you want us to cover? Slide into our inbox.
In the meantime, we’ve got a new event series, a free course offering, and a few heartfelt recommendations just for you!
Doula 101
As with pregnancy, birth, and parenthood, the experience of having a doula can be surprising: wait, it includes that? You can help me with what? Why didn’t anyone tell me?
So we’re here to tell you: our new Brood blog is kicking off with a series of posts that aim to demystify doula care and what it means for you. For instance, what’s the difference between a birth and postpartum doula? What are the most valuable questions to ask a prospective doula? What does doula care have to do with reproductive justice? Read our blog here.
Your questions, answered
Q: I’m three months pregnant with my first child. When should I start thinking about hiring a doula? Is now too soon?
A: It’s never too soon! Hiring a doula earlier has advantages: you can access support if you need it during your pregnancy, and you have more time to get to know this crucial member of your birth team. But if your due date is looming and you’re suddenly worried about the sleepless nights or weird poops awaiting you, don’t panic. We’ll do our best to find a doula who can meet you where you’re at. Wherever you’re at in your journey, a good place to start is by exploring our Brood Directory of doulas.
What we’re reading lately
- Kathryn Jezer-Morton on giving her teenage son his first phone, and how the impulse to shield your children from unpleasant aspects of adult life— in this case, being yoked to the obligations and impulses of a digital device forever— is an ongoing part of parenting.
- Read with care: an incredible, heartbreaking essay by Emma Gilchrist on the realities of terminating a pregnancy for medical reasons. An important read, in the wake of renewed attacks on abortion acccess, and a powerful testament to the loving, impossible choices of parenthood.
- How TikTok has supercharged the sleep training debate, which makes space for all our messy and varied feelings on the contentious, endlessly frustrating issue of infant sleep. A deeply funny, humane and enjoyable read for anyone who has ever been at the end of their sleep-deprivation rope.
DJ Brood
According to one recent study, dancing during labour can yield real benefits to the birthing person, like decreased pain and increased satisfaction. Want to test that hypothesis on yourself? Check out the latest playlist from our co-founder Lizzy Karp and see if any of these tracks move you.
If you found this useful, please be a helpful a new parent friend and send it to your care circle, or share it with your family. You can subscribe here.
