My New Blog is ready… Be sure to subscribe! (This is my last post here)

I'm thrilled to announce that my new website is live and it features an active and inspiring blog.

So, please subscribe on the Contact page of my new site so that you can receive notices of my most recent articles, feature posts, and personal reflections.

Also, feel free to take five to ten minutes and read through my website. It's a labor of love and I'm always open to new ideas on how to improve my work.

Thank you.

Peace,
Amy

New website and blog on their way!

Forgive me for not posting more frequently on this blog. So many good things are unfolding!

I'm in the process of working with wonderfully talented web designers to launch a new version of my website featuring a blog embedded on its site. My website domain name remains the same (www.birthbreathanddeath.com) and the new version of the site should be up and running by early December.

This refurbishing of my current website correlates with the launch of a new media venture entitled "PhillyVoice." I've been commissioned to write as a regular contributor for PhillyVoice and I'm thrilled.

Furthermore, my page on PhillyVoice will link to my new site and the new website will be fully search engine optimized so that the various yoga classes I teach, as well as information about my book, can be much more readily discovered. Wonderful!

It's an exciting time.

Given that my creative energies are focused on the project described above, I appreciate your patience as I launch this new chapter of my work-from-home life. It is a work of love. Truly!

I'll keep you posted.

Peace,
Amy

What is a doula?

“If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it.” — Dr. John Kennell

I love being a doula. Yet, before my sister's pregnancy, I never had heard of one. 

So often, people mistake doulas for midwives or believe that doulas eclipse the vital role a woman's partner plays in labor and delivery. 

I recently wrote an article entitled, "Celebrating Doulas" for the Holistic Parenting Magazine.

Take a moment to read through this. That way the next time someone asks you, "What is a doula?" you'll be able to answer clearly and confidently. 

Read more

Twenty-five leading birth professionals interviewed -- I'm grateful to be included!

Are you interested in reflecting more deeply upon the status of birth in America? 

If so, sign up to watch interviews with 25 leading birth professionals (including Ina May Gaskin, Penny Simkin, and Dr. Sarah Buckley). These interviews will be aired for free beginning in nine days. 

I'm grateful and honored to be included in the mix. So you can sign up to watch me speak about the importance of mindful breathing in labor (and life) too. 

This is an excellent resource for doulas, parents, and birth workers everywhere. 

Feel free to share this information far and wide.  

Register here 

Book Reading/Signing in New Jersey on October 22nd, 2014

Jewish Views on Hospice Care

“No one wants to go in her room,” an outspoken middle-aged man says. “Aunt Joan looks awful.” As the hospital chaplain on call, I’ve been paged to offer support to the family clustered in the brightly lit hallway. Within a few minutes, I learn that they gathered after hearing of their elderly aunt’s death after struggling with a terminal illness. The family is Jewish, but not religious. They are at a loss when it comes to dealing with the death of their Aunt Joan.

Read more. 

Doula of Birth and Death

I am a mother.

Through my body, my son entered our world.

 Because of this fact, one day he will die.

I bow to the mystery wherein resides this difficult truth.

I bow to the love that gives this mystery meaning.

***

Read more.