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How to sleep in labour

A lot of women worry about coping with labour when they feel tired.  They hear of births that go through, not only one night, but even two or three.  How in the world does a woman do that and stick to her resolve for birthing how she had hoped to? It is possible!  I...

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The effect of having choice

I love Ted talks and listen to them regularly. The talk I listened to this morning was How we make choices and the effect choice is having on our psyche and society.  It's worth making time to listen to this and reflect on whether choices you've made in the past, or...

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How to deal with other peoples opinions and birth stories

Its really common to find when you are pregnant or in early parenting that people (even complete strangers) feel it is within their right to tell you their personal stories, opinions and advise about what you should or should not do. That might be fine if they ask...

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How a doula can positively impact the birth space

Written by Bethany Meakin It’s actually quite difficult to articulate the specifics of what doula’s do, how we positively impact the space for one woman will be different to the next, however, it is this ability to connect with each individual and support her in the...

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Reconnecting to our purpose

As a birth worker, how do I stay grounded, internal resourceful, skilled and empathetic to the birthing women and men in my community? To be fully present and fully trusting of my instincts is a crucial part of my role. It's key to giving excellent support along with...

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Birth Stories

Welcome Kiddo – a powerful birth by induction

(Written by the birthing mother) Part One: Waiting Thursday 19 July 2018 It’s the middle of winter, and now four days past my due date. The cat is underneath the doona, curled up next to my huge swollen belly, purring as I feel that swooshing live fish flop of the...

Reflections of doula support

Reflections on a couples journey from pregnancy to parenting. ***** 1. What are you proud of with regards to your birth preparation and birth experience? I’m proud of myself for taking the initiative to do the work for a natural birth. I had not even considered that...

A dads birth story, shared from the heart

Discussing, understanding and documenting what sort of birth Jess and I wanted was critical in helping me prepare for potential unknowns. Imagining the birth process from start to finish also helped- and actually practicing things like active birth exercises in our...

Birthing with bi-polar and epilepsy

Dear Erika, At the beginning of 2009 we spoke to my psychiatrist about the possibility of me having a child. After he outlined all the complications due to my bi-polar, epilepsy and medications I had as good as accepted I’d never be a mother. When I discovered in...

An empowering induction birth

Erika was called and arrived at a critical point; Alex and her support team were exhausted and the institution was starting to move closer and closer to taking complete control of the birth. After months of research and excited planning for the complete unknown of the...

The internal journey of a long labour

The birth of Marlene After a long labour Marlene was born naturally at 1.45am on the 7th of March at Angliss Family Birth Centre, Upper Ferntree Gully. I was surrounded by a magnificent birthing team that supported me throughout the labour, which comprised of my...

Homebirth after a caesarean

I gave birth to our little boy at home, with no interventions, no drugs, no stress. I laboured the way that felt right for me, and birthed in the position that came naturally. My husband caught his own son, and it is an experience that we will never forget in a...

Two births – a marathon and a sprint

My contractions were getting stronger. Erika rang the hospital and then drove me in her car. I chose the back seat. About half way to the hospital my waters broke (fortunately I was sitting on a towel). When I told her, Erika said just what I needed to hear: that’s...

Proactive birth preparation with hypnosis

I'm so proud of the steps we took, including hiring our wonderful doula Erika, and the preparation we put in which helped create the most intense, incredible, memorable, rewarding and magical 24 hours of our lives. Our Birth Story Going into this, we didn't even know...

A great home birth experience

Effie - "When I found out I was pregnant, my biggest fear was having to go into hospital to give birth. Hospitals gave me fierce anxiety as my pastexperiences of them had always been negative. I wasn'tconvinced that hospital was my only option, so I took to Dr Google...

Creative childbirth education with a toddler

“Erika helped prepare us for the birth of our son in a very short period of time, and with our 3 year old ‘helping out’ with costumes too!! This delightful couple were happy to have their daughter join in on some birth preparations massage techniques I was showing the...

Miranda’s vaginal birth after a caesarean

Not only were Erika's teachings and advice a useful tool during labour and birth, I was able to apply a lot of them to my life in general (as well as the relationship with my husband and son), and it allowed me to enjoy my little family and appreciate what I had all...

Hear Erika share her wisdom on mindful birthing.

 

Sexylove Project Podcast with Caitlyn Cook

Feat. Erika Munton

What comes to mind when you think of birth? Is it possible to have great birth experiences? How?! With birth educator, doula, life coach and counsellor Erika Munton we explore cultural stories and myths about birthing, talk about what supports great birthing experiences in a practical and grounded way, hear realistic expectations for birth and find out about things like ecstatic birth. And as relationships and birthing experiences can take all shapes and colours, this episode is gender-inclusive and supportive to people who have all kinds of birth experiences.

Skills for birth and life