Lydia, Labor With Love

FREE WORKSHOP TOMORROW, WEDNESDAY JULY 31ST I have the honor of partnering with Howard University College of Medicine to host a Birth Planning Session for anyone who is currently pregnant! This event is happening tomorrow (I know I suck at advertising) and we don't have any sign ups yes (again, my fault ik I suck) sooooo if you're seeing this take it as your sign to come hang with me for an hour to discuss your birth plan! #laborwithlove #freedoulaworkshop #freechildbirtheducation #birthplanning You can sign up at the link in my bio :)

FOREVER STUDENT DIARY ENTRY 1: Hello lovelies, I am back in a doula training! It's been years since I took a doula training and I'm so glad to be back and this time honoring my matrilineal birth customs. I have been following Montse (@mujer_dela_tierra ) for quite some time now and when I saw she was offering an indigenous birth work training I jumped at the opportunity. I knew I couldn't afford it full out so I applied for the scholarship and said hey if it's meant to be, it will be. Anddddd I GOT IT! I'm so grateful because not only is it pre-colonial birth work that we are learning, but it is bilingual which I am so grateful for since I'm not fluent in Spanish! It is really a dream opportunity for me. In this post you'll see what we covered and what my takeaways were. Transparently, week 1 was like 3 weeks ago, but baby steps! With Love, Lydiaaaaa #doulatraining #baltimoredoula #blackdoula #mexicandoulatraining

WTF Have I Been… a short recap of my life since I went AWOL🫶🏽 Highlights: - I live in Baltimore now - I work remote for @maehealthinc - I am working closely with Olivyah on @mamanandabirthcircle - I had spent my time these past 2 years working on NOURISH with @blkwomenshealth - I’m working with Ashlee and friends on @bbrebootweekend - I have been working hard on evolving @labor.with.love to fit my life as it stands today🫶🏽

Free us from the shackles of respectability politics!! Free us from the shackles of body shame!! Free us from the shackles of caring what other people think!! Free us from the shackles of feeling bad simply for existing in our natural state!! Free us from the people who look like us, and share our same struggles, and yet find a way to shame us!! With Love, @labor.with.love

TIKTOK BLOOPER💀 #laborwithlove #vulva #vulvarhealth

WHAT DOES YOUR 🐱🍆 LIFE HAVE TO DO WITH YOUR PREGNANCY? These glasses make me feel so official! lol listen in to this short LIVE about me pelvic floor health! #laborwithlove #pelvicfloorhealth #hypertonicpelvicfloor

The Artist’s Way Solo Date 1 This is already so challenging for me because I have the urge to BUY stuff to do creative things and I am trying so hard not to! This cost me $0 and was honestly so fun and not at all what I expected to do for my solo date, but this is what came out so yeah! I did some Just Dance 3 songs and some other Michael Jackson songs too. If you’re interested in doing this or reading the book as well and joining me then join @soultrysisters book club I am in it and they convene every Wednesday to discuss the upcoming week. You still have time to catch up like I am doing right now😂 With Love, Lydia🤎 #theartistsway #blackdoulasforblackmothers #communitybaseddoula What did you do to pour into your creative self this past week?👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾 I need suggestions for future solo dates!

May come off as harsh, but it is actually sickening how ALONE new mothers are. I am not innocent I can look back at times that I should have and could have showed up more, but I have learned and have made peace with knowing I have done better since then. Let this be a wake up call to all of us who have friends/family that just had a baby to be there for them and be helpful to them! Don’t be a trash friend or family member!! Because a mother will never forget who was there for them and who wasn’t. Okay mini rant over🤎

Congratulations to the 2023 Queen of “Protect my Peace”, Ms. Halle Bailey! She did what she needed to protect her sacred space and navigate HER pregnancy. I am a huge Chloe x Halle fan and of course I saw those pics and said “that girl is pregnant” BUT it was not my place to fan that fire so I kept my thoughts to myself. I hope she is being taken care of and is being showered in love & protection💗 She is a shining example that everyone’s pregnancy/birth is different and deserves to be respected! I love love love that she did what was best for herself and her family. Like I said, I’ve been a fan for a long, long time so this was beautiful to see🥰 Oh yeah and LWL is back and accepting clients👀 so any lil Halle’s out there who want a doula at their birth…📲 (call me🫶🏽)

HERE IS HOW YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOUR MIND RIGHT BEFORE YOU GIVE BIRTH 🤱🏾As a doula, I want future moms to understand the importance of getting your mind right before giving birth. Research shows that black women are at a higher risk for experiencing traumatic birth experiences and maternal mental health issues. 🤱🏾That's why I'm encouraging you to try the exercise in this Instagram post. Remember, taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health, especially during pregnancy. Join me at @labor.with.love as we empower black mothers to prioritize their mental health and have a positive birth experience. #laborwithlove #perinatalmentalhealth #blackmotherhood #blackwomenshealth #blackmaternalhealth #naturalchildbirth

Obstetric violence in America is beyonddddd out of hand. I have held my tongue for too long and it's time I speak my mind. Any medical doctor in America who cannot or will not acknowledge that their medical education is steeped in white patriarchal ideals is a 🚩🚩🚩. Because of course there is no much good that comes out of medical education + doctors do incredible life saving work! We can also hold space for the fact that medicine in America has a deeply racist, sexist past and that allopathic (treating symptoms with medication/surgery) medicine is not always the best answer. The first thing I hear as a Black doula and a Black woman is "make sure you find yourself a Black woman OBGYN". As we can see in the current news, Black woman OBGYNs are more than capable of committing obstetrical/medical violence too. I have witnessed it firsthand as a doula AND as a patient. This isn't a witch hunt against OBGYNs so please don't take it as such. It is a conversation that needs to be had for the sake of saving lives & giving mothers and women REAL options & empowerment beyond the status quo. You may need to have an OBGYN support your pregnancy/women's health and that is okay! If you don't need or want that kind of support you deserve to know you have other options. Swipe to read more + tune in because I'll be going LIVE on Sunday, August 13th at 5 PM to discuss this very topic (you will be invited to come to the mic if you want!!) #obstetricviolence #blackobgyn #blackbirthdoula #laborwithlove #blackmaternalhealth

Thinking about becoming a doula? Choosing the right training entity for you can set the pace of your career as a doula. Swipe to read the FIVE questions you should ask yourself before signing up for a doula training! My personal doula journey began with my birth doula training with Tracie Collins herself at @nationalblackdoulas . Since then, I have trained with 3 other organizations, I have helped create and facilitate a doula training, am currently training again with Childbirth International. In my limited experiences, I have seen a wide array of trainings, trainers, and curricula. Each one was unique and I came out of each training wiser. Hindsight is 20/20 and I could've done better research to set myself up for even better success today. I wish I had asked myself these five questions before I began my doula training and I hope this post reaches as many future doulas as possible. DOULAS, who did you train with? Would you recommend it to a fresh doula? FUTURE DOULAS, what else do you want to know about becoming a doula? #laborwithlove #DoulaTraining #blackdoulasforblackmamas #dmvdoula #BlackBirthDoula

I WROTE A BLOG PIECE🤩🤎✨ Thank you, Mae (@maehealthinc ), for amplifying my voice and allowing me to write about the role and importance of doulas! In the blog you will find answers to these questions…✨👇🏾 📝 What is a doula? 📝What makes a doula essential? 📝Why is doula support particularly important for Black women & mothers? To read the full piece visit MeetMae.org/blog or click the link in @maehealthinc ‘s bio! Thanks for having me, Mae🫶🏽✨ Drop a 🤎 in the comments if you believe every Black mom deserves access to doula support!👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾