radgirldoula-blog

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Updated Rad.Girl! Final days before school started and being a student midwife!

Oh, hello! I can't keep up. So many things going on! I'm glad I can have a space where I can still blog about birth. So important, specially because life is one non-birth hectic time.

Above is a picture of me crossing the Brooklyn bridge for the first time. As well as going on vacation without my partner. It was tough, and amazing. I met some rad people, and had a great time before diving into school.

School!  As some of you know, I'm in school at the Midwifery Education Program at Ryerson University in Toronto. It has been amazing so far. I have already attended a beautiful birth in the company of super helpful midwives as part of school. You can read more about my meanderings with school at http://angrystudentmidwife.wordpress.com/.  Birth! Oh, but what a lovely summer of new babies. I kicked it off with a 10hr birth in where 11 people were present. No, 11 people, all family took OVER then birthing room in the hospital and did not let anyone tell them they couldn't be there when the momma wanted them. What a lovely thing to see family so connected.  I had a birth from an old classmate. Since it was part of the Scarborough Doula program  I didn't get to see her until I was there in the room. She was lovely, her mother and father amazing people. She had the baby just a mere 4 hours after the epidural. Lovely family! Fast forward all summer, and in August, my friend, and political comrade had her beautiful baby at home with midwives. This was a tough, water-filled home birth, and although baby had a slow start, both mom and baby are great. In that birth, I saw the power of midwives, the love of parents and grandparents, and the support of friends coming together. A lovely thing!

So many things I can say, but for now, I leave it at that. Make sure to tell your friends I'm still taking clients, who are preferably due next year (school may kill me!) and I'm still low-income and sliding scale oriented. So much more to come!

Rad.Girl Ro.  

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Dear lovely people who follow this rad girl doula,

I am so excited to let you all know that as of September of 2013, I will be joining the Ryerson University Midwifery Education Program full time! I am completely baffled/excited/soscared about going back to school, but as our current astrology has been hinting at, this is a time to begin taking steps forward to new adventures in life!

I am still taking clients probably until the end of this year. I still love to be with women/people during labour offering non-medical support so much. I can't wait to incorporate that in my responsibilities as a midwife.

If anyone would like to speak to me about the process, please let me know!

Ro.

[radgirldoula-blog]

"Researchers used DNA sequencing to analyze the gut bacteria of 24 infants at four months of age. The study, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that the richness and diversity of gut bacteria were lowest among babies born by C-section. Those fed by formula, on the other hand, had richer gut bacteria — but were also more likely to have C. difficile, a pathogen that can cause diarrhea or serious illness."

Maybe now that we know these things, we could begin to give support to babies who are born under c-section, and to parents who, for one reason or another chose not to or cannot breastfeed.

Another thing is, we are getting better at supporting non-medicated births and supporting breastfeeding right away, we need to continue doing this kind of work, so that people who feel pressured to have medicated births can have alternatives and support. 

Shaming people for choices in birth, or parenting should not be the answer!

[radgirldoula-blog]

Happy new year!

I am excited to be in the ad section of Shameless Magazine. This is the only magazine in Canada for young women and girls with anti-oppressive radical and anti-racist politics, as well as being a super f un and interactive magazine! If you have a young one at home, I recommend you pick one of these up in your local Chapters or Book City. Some stores in the US also have them, check out their website!

[radgirldoula-blog]

I am so excited for this! Finally in this province, a birth centre away from hospitals, but with the care and support labouring people need, specially when home births are not an option, but hospitals seem daunting. 

“Investing in birth centres means women with healthy pregnancies will be able to receive community-based care,”- Lisa Weston, president of the Association of Ontario Midwives.

This is one step closer to bringing women's/labouring people's choices into consideration when giving birth, creating cultures of care, support and education about pregnant people, labour and birth and taking back science and medicine into our own terms. So exciting!

Low-risk birth should not be treated as a sickness!

[radgirldoula-blog]

Came across this article, while at my daytime job lunch break at The Public 

"The vast majority of incarcerated women are nonviolent offenders who, for the most part, are only guilty of crimes of poverty and addiction, a one-size-fits-all shackling policy is not only unnecessary, but dangerous. Especially since the chances of a woman in the middle of labor going on the lam are almost nonexistent. That should be self-evident, but it seems that no allowance is made for the physical vulnerabilities of women, even when they are pregnant."

I am not a fan of prison reform, as I believe prisons need to stop expanding, existing, and I know our governments and money needs to go towards better programming, advocacy for youth, anti-poverty strategies, but this kind of abuse needs to stop. Women and people who give birth while in custody already have a precarious situation, and they do not need to be further humiliated while they are doing one of the most important things in their lives. 

[radgirldoula-blog]

Happy December! [Take 3, I have been losing all my posts] It has been a hectic month in the life of the RadGirlDoula, but it has also been an amazing month for sharing, connecting and talking to other doulas, midwifes and birth educators about our challenges, our goals as communities of care and healing and how our daily work resembles or contrasts these things. 
I am really happy to announce that my friend Mery and I are going to be each other's back up doula! I have been trying really hard to bring forth my values and beliefs into my practice, so it is very encouraging to have someone on board whom, like me, cares passionately about the people we support, and honour respectfully our client's history, culture, diversity, family and see the person as a whole complicated and exciting individual. I have been making medicine in my kitchen! I am particularly excited about the raspberry leaf tincture I just pressed out last night! I usually take it to prepare for menstruation, and I find that if I take some in advance, it really eases the severe discomfort I feel during the flow. Raspberry leaf is a great toner for women and uterus. I have been encouraging my pregnant people to have some leaf tea, or tea infused smoothies to strengthen the muscles down there, and prepare them for the big day. I also have a whole batch, so feel free to ask for some! November marked a big milestone for my family. My parents celebrated 25 years of marriage, and though I don't really mind legalities and weddings, I do really enjoy family love and parties! We decided to have a little get-together with some family, and I volunteered to make some guest gifts, or recuerdos of the party. I made some jars filled with hand-made tea bags stuffed with a special blend: Lavender, Rose Petals and Holy Basil; de-stressing, digestive and delicious with honey! Last but not least there are some online-community updates at RadGirlDoula. First, I have a new tab on this blog (right at the left!) as a way to provide some answers to pretty common questions. Why do I need a doula? explains easily and shortly what doulas do, gives some clinical research background as to the benefits of having a doula at your labour/birth and my response to the age-old question of being a doula who has not experienced labour or birth. Got any feedback? drop me a line! I would really appreciate it. Second, I got a LinkedIn profile, complete with my information about my other jobs, my skill-sets and my education. Make sure you add me to your connections! That's it for me. Enjoy the picture of my cat, he is really cute. Till soon, Ro

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I am ecstatic to have my name and practice as a resource at the LGBT Parenting Connection this fall!

You can find me there. You can also check out my philosophy or practice and how to contact me. I am so excited to be serving my community. This website is an amazing tool for new parents and parents-to-be on the how-to’s and needs for childbirth and parenting tips from an LGBT Perspective.

Check it out, and tell your friends!

RadGirlRo.

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People in Jail should be given prenatal care, at least as many times and as good as people outside. Although I am extremely happy her breech birth turned out fine, and she is well and so is the baby, I am also deeply saddened by the state of care people in jail receive for their births.

[radgirldoula-blog]

Happy autumn!

It has been a while and things have started to get busy in the life of the Rad Girl Doula.

Europe was wonderful, relaxing and everything I needed for a little wile(:

My friend Mery just finished her doula training with Dona International and she has agreed to be my backup doula for the rest of births this year. Thank you Mery.

I am still taking care of the toddler. She is going to be 2 in a few days and I am delighted to be part of her life.

The work of finding clients has been tricky due to my availability as I juggle work and childcare, but continuing working with the Birth Doula Program is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life!

Yesterday, I was the labour support for a wonderful couple, who had a huge healthy and beautiful 9-pounder of a newborn. 24.5 hours after her water broke, she laboured through and through and got the un-medicated birth she was hoping for. What a superstar team her, the partner, and the baby were!

Need a doula? I am available to help you out if your due date is as early as January. Let me know by emailing me, or calling. We can set up a meeting, go for tea, or have a playdate with your little ones to get to know one another.

Loving the chilly wind and wishing everyone warm tea, nettle and gingseng infusions and the many lovely things about the harvest season.

Rad.Girl.Doula Across the spectrum of pregnancy 905 808 0857 rfvelasquezg@gmail.com

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I work here! We are a group of doulas who are on-call all month to provide quality and affordable doula services for labouring families in Scarborough area, east of Toronto

Check us out, find out more about us, and tell your friends!

[radgirldoula-blog]

Doulaing in the month of May

May was really eventful!

   After finishing with my training course in February, I decided to explore the possibility of being a labour doula on-call for the Scarborough Hospital Doula Program in where people can have access to a doula during their labour in a sliding scale of $25-$500, based on the pregnant person's capacity to pay.    It has been really rewarding to work with a group of doulas who range from starting to quite experienced. The program uses a pool of doulas who sign-up to be on-call for certain days of the month, and if one of our pre-registered clients happens to labour on the day of your choice, you get to attend and support them.    The difference, and the reason why this is a very financially accessible program is that doulas only get a very small remuneration for the services provided, and us doulas don't agree to have pre or post-natal support for the clients under this program.

   May also marked International Doula Month. The Scarborough Doula Program marked this month by having each of us sign up to volunteer some days at the hospital, with clients who would be interested but who had not preregistered to our program. I had my first birth of may a day right after my birthday, and then I was labour support for another woman whom I've decided to stay in touch with, because her labour was really intensive.    I also had my first client's birth! Daniela, Jeremy and I worked really hard to bring Lucia safe and sound into this world on May 27th.

   Just at the turn of June, a client from our program in Scarborough was labouring under really stressful circumstances, having her husband out of town while labouring with a 2 year old toddler to take care of. Another little one showed face (and body, and all that is human!) on June 1.

   And that's it! I am really excited to have been part of these people's lives this month. It's given me much more room to grow comfortable with knowing what to do in various non-textbook situations, how to relax and help other do the same, and most importantly, the amazing work that labour can be.

Life-changing, really.

[radgirldoula-blog]

The Nuts&Bolts of the Rad Girl Doula...business.

I am a new doula, working really hard to learn more and more about birth, choices, medical practices, routines and research related to pregnancy. Right now, I am focusing on the birth side of things, which means I am trained most exclusively in labour practices.

I have yet to put a tumblr tab about the costs of my labour, and the truth is that I am still hessitant because I really believe that birth support is something everyone should have access to. But trainings, kittens, and life still depend on money, and this is why I have to start adding a cost to my practice. I want to make access to birth support a reality, but I need to juggle that with my own sustainability. The more paid births I have, the more time I can dedicate to birth support for people who can't afford it.

1. Money My fees are usually on a sliding scale, based on your income, which is kind of left at your discretion, and it is always negotiable. Usually a birth-doula package comes in the following format:

2 pre-partum visits: We will talk about your goals and aspirations for the birth, questions, some fears, some musts.

Labour, including at-home labour (if this is your thing), hospital care and breastfeeding support on the first 2 hours post-birth

1 post-partum visit, in where we speak about your challenges, breastfeeding, support strategies, and further referrals if needed

With this kind of hourly-extensive work I am asking for a bottom bracket of $600. Because I feel I am still establishing myself as labour support, my cap is (generously) at $1000. Please don't feel intimidated by this range, and feel free to give me a call or email me to work something out.

2. Availability Recently, I came across a potential client that I couldn't follow through with due to my availability. I will be on vacation, outside of the country, from August 12-28.

On top of the doula gig, I am still juggling a few tricks, and one of them is being on-call for a midwife's daughter. This means my client has to be established at least by the time they are 6 months pregnant, so that I can arrange the proper care for the little piece of heaven that I take care of. *As of May my next client needs to be due in September at the earliest.*

Please help me spread the word! This world of doula-ing is new and awesome, and I would love nothing more than to service my community. I will come to you from years of anti-oppression organizing and education, and a commitment to see through the layers of marginalization, power and privilege that we are all part of.

Want to chat? just email me or call me. I love talking about pregnancy, birth and other things too!

With much love

Ro Rad.Girl.Doula Across the spectrum of pregnancy 905 808 0857 rfvelasquezg@gmail.com

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Beautiful.

Right to Reproductive Justice: Why the hell are we still arguing about this?

Sexist mandate after intrusive mandate, American women are clinging on to their reproductive rights by a single thread. Nearly 40 years after the landmark decision of Roe v. Wade, conservative politicians are spearheading gross violations that have proven to be mere chauvinistic displays of power to appeal to the religious right. The right’s political race for presidency has been an all-out assault from conservative legislators flexing their patriarchal muscles to chain down women’s rights once more.

Accessible reproductive healthcare, including birth control and abortions, are vital aspects of the fight for women’s rights and equality. The state – as always, mostly men – telling American women what they can and cannot do with her body is a clear and brutal form of oppression. While income disparity between men and women still remains an issue of inequality, giving the state complete jurisdiction over a woman’s body is once again on the table for debate.

A double standard

One in three women has an abortion before they are 45 years old. As accessible reproductive care for women has been labeled for “sluts” only, this argument has also beaten down women into two opposing categories: the “slut” and the virgin. Republicans are openly vilifying women for taking control of their healthcare (cue in Rush Limbaugh, Mitt Romney, etc.) instead of lending it over to men who will never get pregnant. The one-in-three statistic demonstrates the vast need for safe and accessible reproductive healthcare on demand and without apology.

At the heart of this debate is whether women or the state should have control over our healthcare. While men are never even questioned about their sexual health – especially by the state – women are expected to succumb to this kind of misogyny and are reduced to sex-crazed nymphomaniacs when they take the responsibility of contraception seriously.

Women are not farm animals

The “Women as Livestock” bill the Georgia Senate just passed is a perfect example of these unfair, patriarchal chains to which women must be confined. Rep. Terry England (R-Auburn) said if farmers have to “deliver calves, dead or alive,” then a woman carrying a dead fetus or one not expected to survive, should also have to carry it to term. The physical and psychological turmoil a woman must go through to deliver a stillborn baby is something Mr. England will never have to endure, but expects women to handle without a flinch. The bill, which does not include any exemptions for rape or incest, outlaws abortions after 20 weeks, even though Roe v. Wade guarantees abortions up to 24 weeks.  

Politicians are literally treating women like farm animals, but so are many other anti-choice groups. Conservative anti-choice female groups have been on the sidelines cheering on their conservative cronies to shove women back to the early 1900s to the time of the coat hanger. American women’s right to self-determination cannot, legally and morally, be threatened by the religious right in an attempt to police the bodies of women. But as long as conservatives are valuing the life of a fetus (or even a fertilized egg) more than that of a person, women cannot and will not ever be fully liberated.

A bi-partisan sexist attack

But the Democrats haven’t been blameless in this war on women. When the Obama administration announced federal legislation to require employee healthcare plans to cover birth control (used by 99 percent of sexually active women) President Obama folded under conservative backlash and quickly searched for a compromise. Instead, insurers, not employers, would be responsible for covering birth control, forcing women through a maze of insurance policy dead ends to receive basic healthcare. However, an employer’s religious beliefs cannot constitutionally supersede a female employee’s right to reproductive medical attention. Women’s right to control their bodies should not be compromised, especially because of another’s religious beliefs. President Obama has just become another spectator watching as women’s fundamental human rights are stripped away across the country.

What’s worse is that this isn’t even just a question of contraception; it puts preventative healthcare measures, such as mammograms and other cancer screenings, at risk as well. Not only are some states confiscating women’s rights, but states are putting women’s lives at risk by having them chase down and pay directly out of pocket for these standard medical procedures.

We as women cannot expect equality if someone else is taking control over our bodies. This illegitimate debate has become a political circus used to scrape up any last Republican vote candidates can get. But a woman’s right to self-determination is not a political litmus test; it is a fundamental human right on the brink of annihilation.

We must demand full coverage, accessible healthcare and complete control of our bodies without apology and without reprimand.

- G. Razo

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Helpful tool when you talk to folks about their options in medical interventions.

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Though this article is focused on 'dads', I think this applies to all partners. Ask your doula to make sure your partner is being cared for and included if they do feel this way.