Lucinda Holman Doula & IBCLC

01/04/2025

Thought for the day.

This is something I talk about a lot in What’s Right For Me: making decisions in pregnancy and childbirth.

We’re probably not going to get away from the fact that systems, including systems of health and maternity care, need rules and pathways and guidelines based on population-level evidence in order to function.

If they didn’t, everyone would be wandering about doing their own thing and it would be chaos.

But those pathways and guidelines exist to tell professionals what to offer.

As an individual who is using that system, you don’t have to follow the recommendation or pathway or guideline if it’s not right for you.

Find details about my work, that book (along with my others on aspects of birth-related decision making) and loads of free articles at https://www.sarawickham.com/me

26/10/2024

There's an important nuance in making birth and health decisions which doesn't always get mentioned.

That is:

It's not always about a yes/no, accept/decline dichotomy.

Often, there is a middle ground.

This middle ground is about making decisions as and about an individual within their own context and according to need.

Just not routinely.

Or based on what the guideline says.

If you're making decisions about your health or birth, you might want to bear this in mind.

Declining an intervention doesn't always mean an absolute 'no.'

You can say, 'I want to wait and see.'

Or, 'I don't want routine intervention / induction / screening just because I have a risk factor, but I'll consider things that are right for me or my individual circumstances.'

Your body, your baby, your decisions.

I have a longer explanation of this in a blog post for those who would like to know more.

It's at https://www.sarawickham.com/riffing-ranting-and-raving/deciding-to-decline-or-deciding-to-wait-and-see/

I hope it makes the decisions that are right for you.

There's also a lot more on this in my book, "What's Right For Me? Making decisions in pregnancy and childbirth."

More info at www.sarawickham.com/me

01/07/2024

Excited to hold my very first HypnoBirthing session tonight with a beautiful family.
I am loving The Rose Method and can't wait to share it!!

12/05/2024

https://www.facebook.com/thegirlgod/posts/pfbid0rBvYRWU49RckwUSKHZykY4SoStMp9ueg78mSUdXq86arhHMrHRDtY3tGbRryHzGXl

''All the eggs a woman will ever carry form in her ovaries while she is a four month old fetus in the womb of her mother.

This means our cellular life as an egg begins in the womb of our grandmother.

Each of us spent five months in our grandmother's womb, and she in turn formed in the womb of her grandmother.

We vibrate to the rhythm of our mother's blood before she herself is born, and this pulse is the thread of blood that runs all the way back through the grandmothers to the first mother.''

~ Layne Redmond, When The Drummers Were Women

Art by Arna Baartz

30/04/2024

This beautiful sunshine makes me feel Spring is finally here.

26/11/2023

I always forget how important the empty days are, how important it may be sometimes not to expect to produce anything, even a few lines in a journal. A day when one has not pushed oneself to the limit seems a damaged, damaging day, a sinful day. Not so! The most valuable thing one can do for the psyche, occasionally, is to let it rest, wander, live in the changing light of a room.

~ May Sarton
From Journal of Solitude.
[You can find her books here: https://amzn.to/47vb7aE ]

art | Bettina Baldassari
https://www.instagram.com/bettipigna/
https://amzn.to/47NIMMz

05/11/2023

Breastfeeding can be a beautiful act of love and support! 🤱💕 Here's a heartwarming moment from a family gathering where Elizabeth's sister selflessly fed her 12-month-old and Elizabeth's 17-month-old.

She said, 'It's a bit controversial, but we are both very comfortable with it and so are the babes! If we were sitting around a campfire in a cave, we would think nothing of it.'

We love how they embraced the magic of breastfeeding, making it a memorable family bond. 🙌💖

Share your beautiful moments with us, and let's continue to normalise breastfeeding anytime, anywhere! 📸

30/06/2023

Looking forward to this new breastfeeding group starting on Wednesday in Boscombe. Come down and say hello, we'd love to see you!

24/06/2023

😂😂

10/05/2023

Yes, they are ❤️

21/02/2023

A study has offered a unique perspective on place of birth by carrying out research into the experiences of women in Ireland who have given birth both in hospital and at home.

The authors begin by explaining that, while hospital care is perceived as the norm in western cultures, “Homebirth is at least as safe as hospital birth for those with low-risk pregnancies, yet access is strictly regulated.” (Gregory et al 2023)

The researchers collated the experiences of 141 participants who birthed both in hospital and at home between 2011 and 2021, and found that:

“Participants’ overall experience scores were significantly higher for homebirth (9.7/10) than hospital birth (5.5/10)." (Gregory et al 2023).

“In hospital, midwifery-led care scored significantly higher (6.4/10) than consultant-led care (4.9/10).” (Gregory et al 2023).

“Homebirth was perceived far more positively than hospital birth experiences across all aspects of care surveyed.” (Gregory et al 2023).

The authors conclude that, “This study provides evidence regarding the need for genuine choices for maternity care and reveals the importance of care which is respectful and responsive to divergent ideologies about birth.” (Gregory et al 2023)

You can see the study at https://www.womenandbirth.org/article/S1871-5192(23)00035-5/fulltext and we’ve just added this to our home birth information hub on my website.

This is just one of the studies that I’ll be sharing in my monthly Birth Information Update, which we will be sending out to our email friends next week. If you’re not on our list and would like to be, you can sign up at www.sarawickham.com

And if you’d like more information about homebirth, and the evidence for its safety, I have an information hub on this topic, which you can find at https://www.sarawickham.com/research-updates/is_home_birth_safe/

13/02/2023

🥰

Our very own senior student, Ashley Jungjohan is a twin herself. When I asked her what’s the most important thing for me to know about twins, she responded immediately that they don’t like being apart. Even in birth.

And when baby A was waiting for her sister, we made sure to remind her that her sister was safe and joining her soon.
When sister finally joined us, we put the babies cheek to cheek and all the crying immediately stopped.
I don’t know if it was the exhaustion, or the triumph or simply the holiness of the babies being reunited, but there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

(Dutch Mama Doula and Photographer)

15/01/2023

❤️

13/01/2023

Mothers sharing with mothers is a fundamentally female approach to problem solving