CATHERINE BELL BIRTH CARTOGRAPHER
  • Home
    • About >
      • life BC
    • Is IBP for You?
    • Informed Decisions
    • Birth Support (doulas)
    • FAQs
    • Contact
    • submit a review
    • information policy
  • Birth Cartography training
    • Intensive
    • Retreat
    • Birth Cartographer Online training >
      • PORTAL
  • THE BOOK
    • The Birth Map
    • ORDER TODAY
    • Event Pick up
    • Where can I buy the book?
    • Reviews and Testimonials
    • Talking about The Birth Map
    • feedback survey
  • Bellablog
  • Events
  • Stay up to Date
    • Newsletter Archive
    • StoryTime
  • Member Area
    • Read The Book
    • Support Group Discussion
    • Webinars and podcasts
    • links and recommended books
    • Resources (research articles)
    • example maps

Informed Birth Preparation: what it takes and what it gives

20/8/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Informed Birth Preparation puts you in the drivers seat.  You get to determine the route, including any detours.  You choose the music, the companions and guide the conversation.  
Taking the drivers seat takes some responsibility.  And it gives you immense power.  In this post, we explore what it takes to have an informed and positive birth, and discover the benefits of taking the effort and stepping up to own your birth.  Are you ready?

Read More
0 Comments

What do you need?

14/3/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Frozen II is a tale of Power, of Leadership and of Change.
There are many layers to Frozen II.  Elsa’s journey of self discovery weaves through a tale of transformation for each of the main characters.  The story throws the spotlight on the destructiveness of the patriarchy, showing us the differences between Authoritative Dictatorship (familiar to us all) and Peaceful Leadership (a pipe dream, perhaps only seen in New Zealand?).  Frozen II is about Journeys and Love.
In this article, I look at the journeys of Ana and Kristoff as an analogy to the birth journey. 
If you have yet to experience Frozen II, this article may be a spoiler.


Read More
0 Comments

Preventing Post Natal Anxiety and Depression

3/6/2019

0 Comments

 
I was talking to someone about 'birth disappointment' the other day, and was told "women should not have such high expectations! Honestly women these days are just so fragile".  I took a deep breath before responding. If a healthy woman is expecting a 'normal birth' that is not a high expectation.  That is a reasonable and minimal expectation.  It is not 'fragile' to be disappointed by a birth that does not met this expectation.  For women to lower their expectations of birth, to the reality of the current birth climate, would set a new (horribly) low benchmark.  Along with "all that matters is a healthy baby" these comments tell us that women do not matter. First Class Maternity Care - it's a political choice (first class care should be the MINIMUM we expect!).  

You see...this birth disappointment may just be putting new mothers at greater risk of Post Natal Anxiety and ​Depression (1).   They begin their mothering journey full of self-doubt, and uncertainty. This can then be compounded by a mothering reality that does not meet their expectations.

Read More
0 Comments

​Why can't we just be 'brutally honest'?

23/1/2019

2 Comments

 
Picture

This post addresses a question many of us think, but know we can't voice without being offensive.  But the answer to why we can't be brutally honest it is not that it is offensive.  How can we just stand by when we feel a friend is making a 'bad' decision?
This is a question of support versus validation.  The desire comes from the heart...but is it actually True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary or Kind?  

Read More
2 Comments

GUEST POST by Kim Lock - Breastfeeding: Promote or Protect?

19/11/2018

0 Comments

 
PictureKim with her youngest, 2012
Kim Lock is the author of three novels, and is currently working on her fourth.  She is a long time advocate of women's rights - particularly in breastfeeding.
Explore more about Kim on her author website (with links to her editorial writing), or rare-to-post but very awesome blog and her facebook page.  Send her some love, buy her awesome books and tell her I sent you!

What follows, Kim originally wrote as a facebook post. It is shared here, with permission.  Thank you Kim - your words are wise and need to be spread far and wide!


Read More
0 Comments

Clementine Ford needs our Support

10/10/2017

2 Comments

 
Picture

Read More
2 Comments

Let's talk about sex (after) baby

2/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

Miracle Babies

15/12/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture



​This Guest Post has been provided by Corinne Henderson.

Corinne is the ACT Volunteer coordinator for Miracle Babies Foundation. This organisation provides support for families that have experienced the birth of a premature or sick baby.


Read More
0 Comments

Is Motherhood Doing Your Head In?

25/10/2014

0 Comments

 
The 'vogon day' happens to us all, maybe you have had a vogon week, your throat is sore, your voice is lost - you want the earth to open up and take you - you may as well be invisible..

Read More
0 Comments

The Gift of Love

12/5/2014

0 Comments

 
Are you expecting a baby?

Are you being asked “what do you need?”, “what can I get you?”

​

Read More
0 Comments
    Picture
    Selected Articles by Catherine ​around the web:
    bellabirth.wordpress.com | evolutionary parenting | pregnancy.com.au | 
    ​| birth without fear | newborn mothers | PBBMedia |
    Sign up to the newsletter
    Join the Member Area​  

    Bellablog Topics

    All
    Autonomy
    Babymoon
    Baby Stuff
    Babywearing
    Birth History
    Birth Map
    Birth Plan
    Birth Preparation
    Birth Stories
    Birth Trauma
    Birth Types
    Book Review
    Breastfeeding
    Breech
    Caesarean
    Consent
    Doula
    Evolution
    Fear
    Feminism
    Five Stages Of Being
    Frozen II
    Gbs
    Gestational Diabetes
    Guest Post
    History
    Hypnobirth
    Induction
    Informed Decisions
    Introducing Solids
    Iv Fluids
    Kangaroo Care
    Labour
    Microbiome
    Motherhood
    Natural Learning
    Normal
    Parenting
    Placenta
    Poetry
    Postnatal Depression
    Quotes
    Relationships
    Resources
    Risk
    Self Care
    Sex
    Sleep
    Spd
    Squatting
    Summer Pregnancy
    Support
    The Cord
    The Nocebo Effect
    Toilet Training
    Twins
    Ultrasound
    Vaccination
    Visual Birth Plan
    Vitamin K

Picture

​About | The Book | FAQs | Member Area  | ​Contact | Newsletter  
​ This website (including the Member Area) is free to access and free of adverts, ​thanks to contributions and sales of The Book
Picture
All links are GOLD.  External links open in a new page.  ​I endeavour to only link to safe and non-spam websites. ​ ​This website, and any provided links and reviews, ​are intended as information only.  
How you use this is up to you.
Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Editor B, Darling Starlings, SO Beach Party, Leonard Bentley, IQRemix, C. VanHook (vanhookc), lemonfilmblog, State Library of South Australia, Someone's Name, edenpictures, ShebleyCL, MassiveKontent, symphony of love, Kelly Sue, szwerink, Dawn Endico, fortfan, Jim Linwood, symphony of love, JLaw45
  • Home
    • About >
      • life BC
    • Is IBP for You?
    • Informed Decisions
    • Birth Support (doulas)
    • FAQs
    • Contact
    • submit a review
    • information policy
  • Birth Cartography training
    • Intensive
    • Retreat
    • Birth Cartographer Online training >
      • PORTAL
  • THE BOOK
    • The Birth Map
    • ORDER TODAY
    • Event Pick up
    • Where can I buy the book?
    • Reviews and Testimonials
    • Talking about The Birth Map
    • feedback survey
  • Bellablog
  • Events
  • Stay up to Date
    • Newsletter Archive
    • StoryTime
  • Member Area
    • Read The Book
    • Support Group Discussion
    • Webinars and podcasts
    • links and recommended books
    • Resources (research articles)
    • example maps