Author Archives: Jenn

About Jenn

A passion for helping families to make educated decisions about their families and their birth choices has lead Jenn to become a great source of information for many across the country. She has been educating families on their choices and guiding them to find their own voice in maternity care since 2002. Jenn is a certified Labor Doula, beginning her studies with CAPPA, taking many additional trainings along the way and is recertifying with ProDoula in 2015. She is also a trained childbirth educator and Postpartum Doula teaching childbirth preparation classes, and also creating her own curriculum for a pre and early pregnancy workshop focused on families who are just beginning to plan for a family, into the 2nd trimester. Today Jenn is the Co-owner of Colorado Mountain Doulas LLC, providing the community with much needed education, local resources, sibling, postpartum, and labor Doula services. When she is not guiding families through their birthing year, Jenn is living in Black Forest, CO with her husband and two children on their hobby farm.

It’s 2016. Are You Asking Your Doulas the Right Questions?

Leave a reply

The act of “doulaing” a birthing person has been around since babies have been being born. Back in the day they weren’t called doulas. They were just your mom, sister, aunt, and grandma. They were your village of people who’d come before, who knew what was normal and knew how babies are born and how to take care of them. They’d be there during labor, and they’d stay after, taking care of the family while they recover and teaching the new parents the wisdom that had been passed down through the ages.

Slowly, as families spread farther apart, birth moved into the hospitals, and restrictions were placed on who could attend, this sense of village was almost lost.

In the 80s some studies were done that showed having that support helped people have better birth experiences. You can read more here. In the early 90s, certifying doulas to fill the societal gap in support for birthing parents began.

In the overall scheme of things, doula, as a thing that you get training and certifications for, is a fairly new concept; less than 25 years, in fact.

25 years doesn’t sound like a long time, but when you consider that in 1992, these didn’t even exist yet, you have to figure that some things have probably also changed when it comes to doulas as well.

Now, it’s 2016. Today’s expectant families have the internet. They’re tech savvy, they know what they want and they expect the best. Hiring a doula isn’t all about natural birth and essential oils.

Though you should certainly feel like your doula is who you want to be around during such an important time. Today having a doula is about hiring a professional to guide you. So much has changed, and is constantly changing in medicine today. There are more options than ever and more countless studies saying that one way or the other is best.

Today it’s important, not only to find someone who can hold your hand and wipe your brow, but also someone who works well with your chosen provider, stays up to date on the latest information and knows exactly how to support your family through the entire process.

So why are you still using the same, old, “Questions to ask your doula“?

Many of the questions on those lists have become irrelevant, or, at a minimum don’t really explain WHY you should ask, or what the answers should be, so we’ve come up with some things you might actually want to look into when hiring a doula in 2016 and beyond.

Some are things you ask the doula in person, but most are about how you even find a person to invite into your home in the first place. Here is your free printable guide to Free Printable: Things Modern Families Should Look for When Finding a Doula

Are You at Risk for Postpartum Depression?

Leave a reply

Bringing a new baby into the world, whether it’s your 1st, or your 7th, comes with a wide range of emotions that can rush in like a Spring blizzard or waft slowly in and out like Fall flurries.

Caused by hormone fluctuations and lack of sleep most of these emotions are considered to be normal, and will subside within the first two weeks. These are called postpartum blues, or baby blues and are a normal part of the 4th trimester for 40-80% of birthing parents.

If your symptoms do not go away on their own, or begin around two weeks postpartum, it’s possible you may be dealing with postpartum depression. Postpartum depression can occur in both parents and should not be ignored.

Marital conflict
Stress within the last year (moving, divorce, loss)
Lack of support during pregnancy
Lack of support from your partner
Lack of a partner (not by choice)
Unplanned pregnancy
Previous thoughts of termination
Previous miscarriage
History of mental health issues in the family
Strained, or no relationship with your mother
Not breastfeeding
Primary providers being unemployed
History of depression in your partner
Stress about childcare
Needing to use sick leave during pregnancy
Many prenatal visits during pregnancy
Infant with congenital malformation
Being a high needs person (neuroticism, introversion)
Diabetes
History of mental illness (bi-polar)

If you have any of these risk factors, it may be beneficial to plan ahead for help and preventative measures in the days, weeks and months immediately following the birth of your child. There are many things you can do to try to prevent and deal with postpartum depression in your third trimester and beyond.

Set up a support system, beginning during pregnancy. Reach out to a handful of trusted friends and family, explain your needs, worries and risk factors, and create a list of people you can call on for help.
If you have a history of any type of mental illness, whether it is controlled by medication or not, check in with your care providers. They may be able to suggest adjustments to medications or lifestyle changes that can reduce your risk.
Take a 411 for the 4th trimester class as well as a newborn care class. The more educated and prepared you feel, the less stress you may have leading up to the birth.
Get your placenta encapsulated. Many people who encapsulate their placenta or use a placenta tincture report increased energy, iron levels, and milk supply as well as fewer hormone fluctuations in their 4th trimester.
Create a Postpartum Care Plan with the help of a postpartum doula. A care plan can help you think about all the typical and non-typical things you need to prepare for. A good postpartum care plan can get you on the right track to line up help after baby arrives, not only for yourself, but for your spouse, your other children, and your animals.
Hire professional help. The first three months or more after your new baby arrives can be difficult to navigate. Here in the U.S. there is an unrealistic expectation of recovery from such a monumental event. Hiring out for help ensures that someone will be there when you need them, on your schedule, and without preconceived notions of how things should be going. Paying a house cleaner to come twice a month, can make a world of difference in how you feel about your surroundings and can take one more thing off your plate.
Hire a professionally trained postpartum doula. Postpartum doulas are highly skilled, and professionally trained to support families welcoming a new baby to the world. They are well versed on the most recent information, standards and equipment to help you care for your newborn. They provide hands on education, in the privacy of your own home, with your baby. They have no agenda or specific philosophy when it comes to your parenting decisions. They are there to provide unbiased support, a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on and comfort to the entire family while you recover from birth and you and baby adjust to life together.For more information, and to get additional help and support if you struggling with PPD, PPA, or any other postpartum illness, please visit Postpartum Progress or Postpartum Support International to find additional resources in your area.

How Judgment Made Me a Better Doula

Leave a reply

I use to be judgmental. Before I had kids I had very definite ideas about how children should be raised, how children should act in public, and of course, what type of parent I would be.

After I had my first, I still had some pretty strong feelings along these lines.

What can I say? Baby #1 spoiled me.

Lucky for me, he would sleep through the night at a very early age and, other than being sick quite often, was definitely what you would consider to be an “easy” baby.

I was just 19 when Biggest was born and I was surrounded by a LOT of opinions on how I should take care of him, especially how I should feed him. Since that was now almost 20 years ago, a lot of the information I was given was already out of date and has since been proven to be dangerous. We made it through, but it had a HUGE impact on how I birthed and raised my next two children. Things I heard and thought after my first child was born:
“I don’t think he’s getting enough.” “You need to get up and get moving.” “Try some cereal in a bottle.” “His clothes are too big.” “He’s always sick, why can’t I keep him healthy?” Before he was a year, I was on anti-depressants.

I was 25 when Middlest was born and a completely different person than when I was 19. Aren’t we all? I’d gotten a LOT more, shall we say, “crunchy” in my beliefs and there wasn’t ANYONE who was going to tell me otherwise. After all, I had the internet now and I knew EXACTLY where I “screwed up” the last time. No WAY was that happening again!

Enter high needs baby. Let me count the ways he turned my previous ideas about newborn care on its head.

Jaundice.

Sleeping 5 hours straight immediately after birth, (then never again for the next three years).

Lip tie.

Colic.

Never letting anyone put him down.

Speech delay.

I knew what was best for him though, and I was DETERMINED to make it happen, come hell or high water, or, my own sanity……

When you have a high needs child, the advice from those around you never ends. Things I heard and thought after my second son: “You just need to let him cry it out.” “Stop swaddling him.” “He needs to be swaddled.” “Is my medication doing this to him?” “When are you going to stop doing that?” I went off my medication when he was 4 months because the side effects were worse than the illness, and I worried about how those side effects were affecting my entire life.

At age 28, my Littlest was born. His was an easy birth, and even though he was jaundiced like Middlest, he had none of the other “things” that made the early days tough with his brother. Perhaps it was because I was more confident the third time around, or maybe because those around me knew I was going to do what I wanted no matter what they say, but there was a LOT less judgment the third time around. We still got opinions on our choices for sleep, and the pets we kept, and the way we birthed our babies, but it was definitely lessened by then…or I just stopped listening. Who knows?

It was 6 more years before I took doula training. It was two more years, and a new certification organization before I ever heard the words nonjudgmental support. It blew my mind. It’s what was missing. It’s what I needed. It’s what most parents need. It’s what everyone deserves, but no one is taught.

Nonjudgmental support takes focus, training and practice. It is not something that comes easy in our society.

Nonjudgmental support means I give options and resources to you, so that you can make the best choices for your family. Then, I encourage you to embrace those choices and observe the best way to support you in those decisions.

I’ve been where you are. I’ve made choices for one child and completely different choices for another. I’ve felt what you’re feeling. I’ve had ideas and notions about what I wanted to do, and then changed them to best suit my family dynamic. I’m here for you. I see you where you are now, and I’m here to help, with no thought as to where you should be headed, where you came from, or where you will be in the future.

The MicroBiome in Your Own Home

Leave a reply

Microwhat?

Have you heard this word before?

A few years ago a short documentary came out called MicroBirth. The trailer describes it as:

“Investigating the latest scientific research about the microscopic events happening during childbirth. These events could have life-long consequences for the health of our children and potentially could even impact mankind.”

It’s a fascinating, and also scary documentary that really makes you think about all the forms of good and bad bacteria involved in keeping our bodies functioning properly, and things that can happen during birth to change things.

Every individual has their own microbiome, which expands to include close family members who live together. In Elementary school we learned about the microbiome as an ecosystem. Each ecosystem has it’s own bacteria, it’s own animals, predators, and food chain.

Our bodies, and our homes each have their own microbiome, or ecosystem that works together in a delicate balance, which is why ideas like vaginal seeding after a cesarean birth, vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) and in home placenta encapsulation are all becoming more popular. They are all attempts to keep or re-create the microbiome in tact.

It makes sense right? If there is a biological or physiological way a body is “suppose” to do something, and that process gets interrupted, there can be consequences. When you get sick, your body is suppose to heat up to kill the virus and create antibodies to attack the invader. This is why we are seeing more and more advice from the medical community not to use fever reducers unless a temperature gets to a certain point, and a reduction in the use of antibiotics. Western medicine, in some areas is beginning to lean towards allowing the body processes to do their job and intervene less.

The microbiome is similar. It has a very specific purpose, to keep good and bad bacteria in check and running smoothly. What do you think about the microbiome? Is it important to you to keep your microbiome intact?

Live in Postpartum Care in Colorado

Leave a reply

Just about any conversations you have with a new parent will, at some point, involve the words. “I haven’t had a shower in __ days!”

Before you have children, simple things like when to shower, seem trivial and automatic. Really, other than planning to take stuff with you for after a workout at the gym, taking a shower is just something that you do. It’s either part of your regular routine or it’s something you do randomly when you feel like it and you have time.

Once you have a tiny little human depending on your for survival, the shower game gets a lot more difficult. Does the impending arrival of your new little one have you googling things like “How do I get my baby to sleep?”

“Ways to keep a baby from crying while I shower”

“What is the best formula?”

“Am I making enough milk?”

“Baby Wise Nap Problems”

These are just a few real life examples we’ve heard from our clients…..you choose your own adventure.

As a postpartum doula, some of the biggest “Thank Yous” I’ve ever received have come after a parent is able to FINALLY get a nice long shower without interruption. Luckily, privacy and discretion are also part of our service, so we won’t tell you what the record was for not showering……

What if you want a shower EVERY day, or, you know, things like eating regularly AND spending time with your partner are important to you? As much as we all adore our beautiful little love leeches, taking care of you is just as important. If you aren’t well taken care of and sleep deprived, you can’t be giving your best to the tiny human bent on domination of your world.

Live in support from a professional postpartum doula could be exactly what you need. Live in support through Colorado Mountain Doulas Agency truly is just as heavenly as it sounds. Live in support can begin as early as you’d like, even in the hospital, within hours of birth. It can be for as short as a few days, or as long as 3 months. Live in care can come with you on vacation or even a staycation.

What Does Live in Postpartum Doula Care Mean?

A professionally trained postpartum doula in your home/hospital or vacation rental 24 hours per day 7 days per week, for up to 3 months means:

Showers, baths, nap, whenever you want!
Individualized, compassionate care for the entire family
Private, one on one instruction for YOUR family with YOUR baby in YOUR environment
Nonjudgmental support for the way YOU want to parent
Professional guidance and help with infant care and feeding
Gentle care and support with your recovery from birth
Complete care of the family to help facilitate bonding
Personalized systems and day to day scheduling to best suite your family’s needs
Peace of mind

This post is part of the #worlddoulaweek2016 Blog Hop. To see others like it, visit.

Southern CO Blizzard 2016

Leave a reply

It’s the 2016 Colorado Snowpocalypse

The highways are all closed

The t.v. is nothing but politics,

Snuggle up with your betrothed

We’ll see you in December

when the hospital admits!

The Colorado Mountain Doula Difference

Leave a reply

Here in the Pikes Peak Region you have a lot of choices when it comes to doulas. At any given time there are 20-40 birth doulas in town to choose from and 5-10 postpartum doulas.

That seems like quite the range doesn’t it? There are several reasons the numbers vary so much. The biggest and most obvious is pretty common in our area.

Military. Military spouses who are also doulas come to town and offer services for a few years, and then they move on to the next location.

Hobby Doulas. Being around birth, babies and endorphins sounds like the BEST JOB EVER and there are a lot of people who are passionate about babies and how they come into the world. The reality is, this is a very difficult, job that requires long hours at a moment’s notice and those who aren’t up to the task take long breaks for various reasons, or move on to other things, doing only a handful of births per year.

Burn Out. This is a big one. As mentioned above, the IDEA of being a doula sounds like rainbows and kittens. “I get to see babies born!” “I get to help families!” “I LOVE holding babies!” The reality of being on call 24/7 for an entire month hits like a ton of bricks and too many people realize the toll this occupation can take on a family. Without a proper business structure in place, or even just realizing this IS a business that requires running, many aspiring doulas quit after just a couple of years.

Stepping Stone. Sometimes people look at the doula career as a stepping stone into something else. Many times, that something else is nursing, or midwifery, or sometimes even obstetrics, meaning that doulaing is what they do while they go to school for something else.

So how are we different?

First and foremost, Colorado Mountain Doulas LLC is a fully legal and legitimate business, owned and operated by two career doulas. This means that Jenn & Jess are committed to being agency owners and doulas. We have no plans to move on to midwifery or nursing or obstetrics. Our passion is in providing highly trained, professional doulas to the community and working in the community ourselves as birth and postpartum doulas. The agency is set up to provide consistent, customized service to clients throughout the birthing year. We aren’t going anywhere and our attention is not divided by any other related, or unrelated business venture. We’re all doula all the time.

So let’s address some of the common issues I mentioned before.

Military. The way that our agency provides consistency for clients who choose our military doulas is by ensuring continuity. All of our doulas, whether natives to Colorado, or military spouses moving through, are thoroughly trained with ProDoula and certified, or working towards certification. We proudly support military families by providing support during the birthing year, and ALSO by hiring independently contracted doulas who are military spouses. In fact, it’s one of the reasons the agency was created. By getting your doula through Colorado Mountain Doulas Agency you can rest assured that even if your beloved doula is called away during your pregnancy, or before your next one, you can return to our agency and expect the same high level of professionalism and care you received the first time. No more searching for a new doula for every pregnancy.

Hobby Doulas. All of our agency doulas are hand picked by the owners to provide services through the agency. They are required to send in a professional letter of intent, resume’ and references. They go through an interview process, set up their own business structures and adhere to our Philosophy of Inclusion and Nonjudgmental Support. All of our doulas have completed training before working. We give them on going tools, guidance and support they need to create sustainable businesses, and we only choose doulas who are serious about doulaing. You can be sure that your doula is a professional who can be relied on.

Burn Out. The agency model is perfectly set up not only to prevent burn out in our doulas, but also to provide the absolute BEST, most reliable support to our clients. All of our doulas work in teams of two with a rotating on call schedule. Our doulas are independent contractors who work together to take the time off they need for their families, leaving them refreshed and ready during their on call hours to come to you at any time of day or night. Our doulas are always paid for their time so that they can create a sustainable business model that helps them provide for their families and keep up on their continuing education. When you hire a Colorado Mountain Doula, you are hiring a team of professionals who get to know you and your family intimately so that you never have to worry about a stranger showing up in your birth space or at your home in during your delicate 4th trimester. If at any time both of your doulas are unable to come to you, either Jenn or Jess will personally come to you to take care of you.

Stepping stone. Sure, sometimes our agency doulas will be looking into other career paths and doulaing for you and your family will provide them with much needed insight and experience they will need in future endeavors. The Colorado Mountain Doula Difference ensures that even if your doula does have plans to move on to other careers, they have performed their services to you in a truly professional, caring and nonjudgmental way and your family will feel loved and cared for.

We believe that ALL families deserve to be treated with respect and everything we do, from our choice of certifying agency to the way we interact with every member of your family is meant to proved you with the very best, compassionate care in Colorado.

Be well.

This post is part of the #worlddoulaweek2016 Blog Hop. To see others like it, visit.