a public service announcement

Baby Nickel has yet to arrive! He's still chillin like a villian in Lady's Simzie's body. We're actually hoping he'll be born at the cusp of Pisces and Aries, so that he would a hard-working (that's the Pisces side) and ambitious (that's the Aries side) little man.

In the meantime, Liz hired a doula to assist her in her final days of pregnancy, and also with the delivery. Due to my extensive knowledge of the English language, I understood exactly what Liz meant when she told me she hired a little slave girl. Still, Liz suggested that I blog about doulas, for the rest of you to learn.

The word, "doula," comes from the Greek word for the most important female slave or servant in an ancient Greek household, the woman who probably helped the lady of the house through her childbearing. The word has come to refer to "a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during and just after childbirth."

A doula...

Recognizes birth as a key life experience that the mother will remember all her life.

Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor.

Assists the woman and her partner in preparing for and carrying out their plans for the birth.

Stays by the side of the laboring woman throughout the entire labor.

Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures, an objective viewpoint and assistance to the woman in getting the information she needs to make good decisions.

Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and clinical careproviders.

Perceives her role as one who nutures and protects the woman's memory of her birth experience.

And, apparently, an expecting mother can get her very own slave girl for a flat fee of $395! Now that's a bargain! Call now, while supplies last! 1-800-DOU-LA-LA