Doulightful Beginnings Birth Care

08/27/2026

The loss of Dolly Parton has impacted every living generation in the US.

As a doula training organization you might be wondering why we're also feeling this loss heavily. We thought about extending our condolences, but it's hard to wrap up all she means to so many, including birth workers and growing families.

The simplest way to put it: Dolly taught us how to provide unconditional support to all.

Dolly spoke up about marginalized groups.

She genuinely valued the development of children, evident by her Imagination Library.

She became part of the village for growing families.

Dolly was a role model for many. But for birth workers, she taught us the value of support and the importance of early childhood development.

Motherhood is by no means the only or right way to nurture the next generation. Our national treasure, Dolly, nurtured multiple generations.

If you're ever wondering how to show up for families, think of how Dolly supported all people with respect and dignity.

Thank you, Dolly. You are sorely missed.

08/27/2026

Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir: The Far-Travelled Woman of the Viking Age

Few figures from the Viking Age embody the spirit of adventure as vividly as Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir, often remembered as “Gudrid the Far-Traveller.” Born around the year 980 in Iceland, she lived a life that spanned continents and cultures, leaving a legacy that still fascinates historians today.

Gudrid’s story comes to us mainly through the Icelandic sagas, particularly the Saga of the Greenlanders and the Saga of Erik the Red. Following a rejected marriage proposal that caused a loss of social standing, she sailed with her father to Greenland, joining Erik the Red’s pioneering colony. She managed to survive a shipwreck with help from Leif Eriksson. Life there was harsh, but Gudrid proved resilient, adapting to the new land and marrying Thorstein, a son of Erik himself. After Thorstein tragically died young, she remarried—this time to the Icelandic merchant and explorer Thorfinn Karlsefni.

With Karlsefni, Gudrid took part in the legendary expeditions to Vinland, the Norse name for parts of North America. There, she gave birth to Snorri Thorfinnsson, remembered as the first child of European descent born in the Americas. Though the Vinland settlement was short-lived, Gudrid’s journey marks her as one of the earliest known European women to cross the Atlantic.

Her wanderings did not end there. After returning to Iceland, she lived for years at Glaumbær in Skagafjörður. Following Karlsefni’s death, Gudrid made a pilgrimage to Rome, becoming perhaps the most widely travelled woman of her age—having journeyed from Scandinavia to Greenland, North America, and southern Europe.

08/26/2026

If you’re due in early 2027, NOW is the time to schedule your FREE consult! Spots are extremely limited so each client gets my best both prenatally and for their birthing time. Clients who get on my birth calendar early receive the biggest benefit of my doula services because we don’t have to cram in your 3 prenatal visits and my schedule is more open. I spend ~10 hours with my clients prenatally helping them learn how their bodies work in labor and sharing my experience to help them feel confident before their labor begins and so much more! Visit my website www.doulightfulbeginningsbirthcare.com/ to see recent client testimonials and more!

08/26/2026

Time for a MUCH needed cup of coffee! I got the call to go in for a birth around 3 am. Client was 3-4 cm dilated when she checked in before I arrived and as I was in the elevator, she was getting an epidural, so I asked if I could go grab a cup of coffee. As I got to my car, I got the text that she was 9 cm, so I turned around and went back up to L&D straight away! was born about an hour later at 5:13 am weighing 7 lbs 2 oz and a perfect 19 inches long! It was a good birth. They’re all good births. 🥰

08/25/2026

Don’t mind me over here…There’s just a LOT of dust in my eyes right now. Dolly was a legend we didn’t deserve and the world was a brighter place with her in it. Rest in Peace Dolly. We will always love you. 😭😭😭

Dolly Parton, who rose from a loving if impoverished upbringing in the mountains of East Tennessee to become the “Queen of Country” music, a Hollywood star, and a beloved American icon, has died, her family announced.

Parton was 80.

Her death came after Parton suddenly announced in May 2026 that she was canceling a Las Vegas show and said she'd been undergoing treatment for kidney stones for several years.

Read more: nbcnews.to/4xTBp3k

08/23/2026

🚨 Medical history you might never have heard.

We hear of c-sections as a modern marvel where mom and baby both survive. Early ones in history were a last ditch effort to save baby knowing a mom wouldn't survive. And while a few surviving ones were recorded, much of written history suggests Western medicine as the standard of modern medicine.

Yet in 1879, a European visitor to Bunyoro Kingdom (now Uganda) witnessed and documented a remarkable surgical technique.

A Bunyoro surgeon performed a cesarean birth in which both the mother and baby survived.

The procedure was organized and intentional. It was not an experiment either.

Banana wine was used to intoxicate the mother and was also used to clean the surgeon's hands and her abdomen. The baby was delivered through an abdominal and uterine incision.

Bleeding was controlled with cautery, the uterus was massaged to encourage contraction, fluids were drained, and the abdominal wound was closed and dressed. The European Robert Felkin continued observing the mother and baby afterward. The mother's recovery was uncomplicated, with no reported wound or systemic infection.

The controlled technique, including pain management, suggested this wasn't new and had been done routinely for some time. This also challenges the false beliefs that colonization brought needed innovation.

One of our birth worker courses covers decoloninzing birth, which challenges ideas around Eurocentric birth practices being seen as the standard.

👇🏽 Did you hear about this early c-section?

08/23/2026

Yesterday was a busy day where I had back to back prenatal visits with clients. The first visit was my client’s 2nd prenatal visit where I go their home. My client told me she’s had a rough time since her 1st prenatal visit and has experienced lower back and hip pain as well as pain in the front of her belly. We spent FOUR (yes FOUR!) hours together where I told her chiropractic care and prenatal massage could really help with the pain she was having, but we also discussed the labor process, labor and delivery drugs, when to go to the hospital, and taught them labor coping techniques and Spinning Babies exercises. This was the text I received from her this morning. The things I teach that I’ve been trained in WORK. THIS is what it means to work with me as your doula and why I only take a limited number of clients each month. I had to turn away 3 potential clients due in October, not because I wasn’t available for their due date, but because my calendar was booked up and I didn’t have the availability to schedule their prenatal visits (unless they were available during a weekday, which not everyone is.) Prenatal visits with me last anywhere from 2-4 hours and we schedule THREE visits. If you’re interested in working with me, the earlier you reach out, the better! I’m so glad the techniques I teach make a difference and are giving this client some relief! I have ONE (MAYBE two) spots available for someone due mid-November. Otherwise I’m now booking clients due in 2027. Consults are free. PM and let’s chat about how I can help YOU in your pregnancy and in your birthing time!

08/22/2026

08/22/2026

Since 1938, Finland has been sending new parents home with something remarkable: a box filled with supplies for their baby.

But the famous Finnish "baby box" began for a much more serious reason.

In the late 1930s, Finland was deeply concerned about its high infant mortality rate. The maternity grant was introduced partly to encourage pregnant women to seek medical care early. At first it was available only to lower-income mothers. In 1949, eligibility expanded to all mothers.

The package evolved to include baby clothes, bedding and care products. Even the cardboard box itself comes with a mattress and can serve as the baby's first bed. Today's parents can choose the package or a cash benefit, and about 87 percent of first-time mothers choose the box.

What looks like an adorable national tradition actually began as public-health policy.

Finland wasn't simply giving families baby clothes.

It was using a cardboard box to help bring mothers and babies into the healthcare system.

08/22/2026

I’m so thankful for all of my clients. Being in your sacred space for your birth is truly an honor. Thank you, Denver, for your kind words. I’m now booking clients due in 2027 and have ONE spot left for a client due mid-November 2026! PM or email [email protected] to schedule your FREE consult! Please include your due date, where you’ll be delivering, and what part of town you’re in. I’d love to work with YOU for your birthing time!