The Doula Dispensary

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is your monthly doula podcast, prescribing a regular dose of birthy chat, postnatal realities, real-life dilemmas, and behind-the-scenes talk from two experienced doulas. Siobhan and Kicki are back with honest conversations about life as a working doula, woman, and mother, a bit like popping round to your mates for a cuppa and a proper chat. In this month’s episode: We share a very special conversation with the late Dr Michel Odent, recorded back in July 2019. Michel was a true pioneer in the world of birth, a French obstetrician, author, and thinker who transformed how we understand and support women during pregnancy, labour, and the postnatal period. This conversation is our way of honouring Michel’s incredible legacy and the lasting impact he’s had on doulas, midwives, and families worldwide. Pop the kettle on and have a listen. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kickihansard @birthblissacademy Find a doula: @_thedouladirectory_ Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is your monthly doula podcast, prescribing a regular dose of birthy chat, postnatal realities, real-life dilemmas, and behind-the-scenes talk from two experienced doulas. Siobhan and Kicki are back with honest conversations about life as a working doula, woman, and mother, a bit like popping round to your mates for a cuppa and a proper chat. In this month’s episode: A Doula Dilemma about what to do when a fellow doula publicly criticises something you’ve posted online about birth or postnatal work. A listener question on how to speak up in doula groups without feeling like you’re going to get jumped on. This month’s Doula Dose reflects on why doulas can be unkind to each other online, and how we can shift the culture towards more care, curiosity, and mutual respect. Pop the kettle on and have a listen. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kickihansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all things doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman, and mother. This month's doula dilemma discusses a situation where a doula is with a client whose birth plan is outside of guidelines. There's a question from a listener about how to maintain a good balance between family life and work as a doula. The Doula Dose discusses the current statistics coming out from the different NHS trusts. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kickihansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all things doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman, and mother. This month's doula dilemma discusses a situation where a doula is with a client whose birth plan is not being respected. There's a question from a listener about the easiest way to maintain a social media account as a doula. The Doula Dose pays tribute to the Mother of the doula movement, Penny Simkin. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kickihansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all things doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman, and mother. This month's doula dilemma discusses a situation where a doula is a breastfeeding volunteer in the NHS and wants to continue their support. There's a question from a listener about when to use a backup doula or when to do shared care. The Doula Dose is about ZEST midwives. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kickihansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all things doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman, and mother. This month's doula dilemma discusses a situation when a birth client is getting more and more anxious the nearer the baby's due date. There's a question from a listener about how to explain to the client's partner about the specific benefits of the doula. The Doula Dose is about some negative articles in the news about doulas. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kickihansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all thing’s doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman, and mother. This month's doula dilemma discusses a situation when a postnatal doula client seems to go against many of the guidelines with regards to caring for her baby. There's a question from a listener about how to get more clients. The Doula Dose is about advocacy and ideas for doulas to make sure their clients are making informed choices. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kicki.hansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all thing’s doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman, and mother. This month's episode is an interview with Nathan Riley by Kicki and they talk about the challenges for women giving birth in hospitals and we talk about ways that doulas can prepare their clients well. Trigger Warning: This episode discusses baby loss and disabilities. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media @siobhan_thebirthdoula @oxytocingoddess @birthblissacademy Nathan Riley can be found here: Beloved Holistics @nathanrileyobgyn @bornfreemethod Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all thing’s doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman, and mother. This month's doula dilemma discusses a situation when the client would like to do vaginal seeding after a caesarean birth. There's a question from a listener about how to support a client postnatally who is recovering from an abdominal birth. The Doula Dose is about preparing and supporting clients who are having caesareans. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kicki.hansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all thing’s doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman, and mother. This month's doula dilemma discusses a situation when the client's partner is not part of the preparation sessions. There's a question from a listener about how to schedule your work as a postnatal doula. The Doula Dose is about social media birth workers. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kicki.hansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all thing’s doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman, and mother. This month's doula dilemma discusses a breastfeeding situation. There's a question from a listener about feeling inadequate as all the doulas in her area have done lots of courses. The Doula Dose is about whether doulas should be regulated. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kicki.hansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all thing’s doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman, and mother. This month's doula dilemma discusses the situation when there is a shift change of care providers at the hospital. There's a question from a listener about getting an enquiry about doing some night-time doula work. The Doula Dose talks about picking your battles and advocacy. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kicki.hansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all things doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman and mother. This month's doula dilemma discusses the situation when a doula pays for bits and pieces when working and how to get the money back. There's a question from a listener about what to do if you've been booked by a client and then realise you're not a good match. The Doula Dose talks about doulas as the invisible resource in perinatal services. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kicki.hansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all things doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman and mother. This month's doula dilemma discusses the situation when another doula has copied the content of your website. There's a question from a listener about our top item in our doula bags. The Doula Dose talks about the worrying trend in perinatal services. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kicki.hansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all things doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman and mother. This month's doula dilemma discusses the situation when alarm bells are going off but you need this job. There's a question from a listener about how to inform your client about something that they are doing could be harmful. The Doula Dose talks about the language we use with our clients. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kicki.hansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all things doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman and mother. This month's doula dilemma discusses the situation when a client cancels a PN session. There's a question from a listener about sterile water injections. The Doula Dose talks about being a 'qualified' doula. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kicki.hansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a monthly podcast, prescribing a monthly dose of all things doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman and mother. This month's doula dilemma discusses the situation when only one birth partner is permitted during birth. There's a question from a listener about what to do if the labour and birth is long. The Doula Dose talks about the current situation in perinatal services. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. This is the first episode of our second season. We will be releasing an episode per month. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @kicki.hansard @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a weekly podcast, prescribing a weekly dose of all things doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman and mother. This week's doula dilemma discusses the situation when a client might want more from the doula than she can provide. There's a question from a listener about age and if it's ever too late to become a doula. The Doula Dose talks about charging expenses to your client. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. This is the last episode of our first season. We'll be back again in September! Thank you very much for all your wonderful support! We are so grateful for all your kind feedback! Have a wonderful summer! You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a weekly podcast, prescribing a weekly dose of all things doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman and mother. This week's doula dilemma discusses the situation when health professionals don't introduce themselves to clients. There's a question from a new doula asking about what to charge when offering remote doula support. The Doula Dose talks about the one birth partner only rule and when it will be lifted. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @birthblissacademy Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Doula Dispensary is a weekly podcast, prescribing a weekly dose of all things doula. Siobhan and Kicki bring you a show which is a bit like sitting down with your mates for a cup of tea... So put the kettle on, sit down and enjoy listening to familiar issues as a working doula, woman and mother. This week's doula dilemma discusses the situation when parents want to start a strict routine. There's a question from a new doula asking about 'top tips'. The Doula Dose talks about the MVPs role during COVID-19. There is, of course, also a lot of general chit-chat about life. You can follow Siobhan and Kicki on social media - @siobhan_thebirthdoula @birthblissacademy Support the show