Mama Jane Winter Updates!

It’s been a busy few months for Mama Jane Massage. While I continue to practice massage at Natural Balance Integrative Health in Stapleton Thursdays through Saturdays, I also volunteer at the Denver Community Health Collective (DCHC) the first Sunday of every month, providing sliding scale massages. DCHC is an excellent resource for sliding scale alternative healthcare in Denver – in addition to massage therapy, they also offer acupressure, herbal consultations, counseling and more.

As a new doula working on her certification, I am constantly grateful for all the learning opportunities there are for doulas in Denver. I try and take advantage of these opportunities whenever I can, because it only improves the care I can give to massage and doula clients.

Last August I attended the Cocoon Birth advanced training for doulas working with families at the Mountain Midwifery Center (MMC). This means I am part of a remarkable group of doulas that are specially trained to assist MMC families at the birth center. This also means I am an on-call doula a few times a month for MMC families that need a doula last minute at the birth center, or to accompany a hospital transfer  – if the mom is transferred, I meet the family at the hospital; if the baby is transferred, I stay with the mom at MMC while the dad/partner goes with the baby to the hospital. This is a helpful and much-needed program for MMC families, and I am so glad I get to be a part of it as a Cocoon Doula!

In November I attended the Colorado Doula Association (CDA) conference, which offered four excellent sessions related to birth work. Workshop topics ranged from physical therapy to aid postpartum recovery, breastfeeding and remembrance photography for parents suffering the loss of a baby (which had the room in tears by the end of the session.) Laurel Wilson, who co-authored The Greatest Pregnancy Ever, led a session about what impacts pregnancy and the uterine environment. I’m currently reading her book, and it’s only growing my amazement at how cool pregnant bodies are!

After attending the conference, I wanted to get more involved with the CDA, and recently decided to join their board as the newsletter editor. I get to solicit articles from CDA members and other birth workers around Colorado, as well as other practitioners and businesses that work with new families. Doulas do so much good work in our communities, and I am so excited for this opportunity to connect with more doulas around Colorado!

My fourth birth as a doula is scheduled for March. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be invited to work with another family during this extraordinary time in their lives. I am always so honored to witness how strong women are, and what important work it is to grow babies. “A new baby is like the beginning of all things – wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.” – Edna J. Le Shan