Nicola Goodall lives in Edinburgh and has supported women during and after birth for over 20 years. She grew up in a diverse community in South London and became a Muslim and a mother by the age of 24. Nicola is passionate about traditional storytelling, sharing and learning amongst women. She is one of the founding members of the Scottish Doula Network and a birth educator.

In this episode, we talked about:

• What is a doula? “Your ultimate faith-bearer, ready to fill any gaps that might be there”

• The woman that has that blessing

• Fully in service to the mother

• Humility and spiritual development

• Becoming a doula in her spiritual community

• Training to become a doula with Michel Odent

• Earning money from something in service

• Fair exchange

• The importance of the postnatal period

• The impact of the fourth trimester on the rest of life

• Issues of depletion on health

• Prioritising well-being in the postnatal period e.g by reducing spending on non-essentials

• Simple ways of restoring wellness such as stockpiling bone broth, massaging ginger oil into the legs and keeping warm

• Warmth to retain energy and assist blood flow around the body for efficient healing and recovery

• Keep snug and wrapped up

• Science backing up traditional wisdom

• Medicalisation and the colonial approach to health care

• Witches, Midwives and Nurses

• Class and choices

• Conflicting voices around breastfeeding and other choices

• The change in postnatal services

• Cultural competency and woman-centred care

• Profiting from traditional wisdom and cultural appropriation in the birth world

• Ancestral memory passed down through the women in the family

• Instagram culture makes it acceptable for

• The book: ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race’ by Renni Eddo-Lodge

• Postnatal ceremonies around the world such as ‘Closing The Bones’, mainly involving women, bathing as a ritual cleansing, anointing by the elders

• The 6 week check as a remnant of the 40 day laying in period

• ‘Churching’ where you get blessed in church after having a baby

• The concept of a death ritual, saying goodbye to who she was and welcoming the new mother

• The birthkeeper is the storykeeper

• Facing death and dying

• The common fear of dads-to-be that their partners might die in childbirth

• The impact of generational trauma

• Matching care to their cultural experience

• The MMBRACE report , which states that black women are 5 times more likely to die than white women, and Asian women are twice as likely to die at birth

• Postpartum herbs for rebuilding energy and blood

• Dr Sims and the origins of barbaric gynaecological experiments on slave women

• Telling the truth of the history of medicine

• The impact of pregnancy, birth and maternal-baby bonding on the psyche

• The need for loving care after having a baby

• Nicola’s article about the ethical consumer and the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), who partner with Clarion, and hold arms fairs

Resources:

Twitter 

Facebook 

• Nicola’s book: ‘10 Oils Aromatherapy for The Childbearing Year’

You can find out more about Nicola by going to her website 

 Or visiting Red Tent Doulas 

Nicola’s TED talk

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