Tori Smith
QUICK TIP: HOW TO NAVIGATE THE UNSOLICITED ADVICE
How does one discern which pieces of advice to heed and which to dismiss? For starters, trust your instincts. Your intuition is your most...
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Tori Smith
3 min read
SUPPORT PEOPLE & WITNESSES
Other than your medical or midwife team and possibly a doula, who do you want to have in your birthing space? It is for you to decide. It...
Tori Smith
3 min read
PRACTICAL TIPS FOR THE BIRTH PARTNER - 4 WAYS TO PROVIDE SUPPORT IN LABOUR
You’ll probably hear, over and over, that your role is to support the mother in labour. But it’s not always clear exactly how to provide...
Tori Smith
3 min read
THINGS THEY DON'T TELL YOU ABOUT PREGNANCY AND BIRTH
Miscarriages are surprisingly common. Likely, many women you know have experienced one or more. And not talking about it doesn’t make it...
Tori Smith
6 min read
WHY OUR MOTHERS GIVE US BAD ADVICE
Prepare yourself. The unsolicited, outdated advice and the dire warnings are coming! Some are more questionable than others. Some are...
Tori Smith
5 min read
NAVIGATING LABOUR
Birth is an instinctual thing. As labour progresses, let your mind and body naturally focus inward. It won’t serve you to distract...
Tori Smith
3 min read
BUT, WHAT IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG? (IN HOME BIRTH)
If your preference is for home birth but you worry about possible dangers, rest assured that midwives will advise against it if they have...
Tori Smith
3 min read
LONG LIVE THE MIDWIFE
Once you become pregnant, you will initially be under the care of your family doctor. If you have certain risk factors, you will likely...
Tori Smith
4 min read
HOME BIRTH, NATURAL BIRTH, WATER BIRTH
If you choose to plan for a home birth, you are opting for a natural birth; meaning without medication or medical intervention. A natural...
Tori Smith
4 min read
TIPS FOR YOUR LABOUR SPACE
Though you don’t have much control of how your labour is going to play out, you can control elements of the environment in your birthing...
Tori Smith
2 min read
OLDER SIBLINGS AT A HOME BIRTH
A home or birth center setting allows you the option of having your older child(ren) present with you. It is normal to have worries and...
Tori Smith
2 min read
WATER BIRTH
Water birth can be part of your home birth plan. My second birth took place at home in an inflatable pool in the middle of our dining...
Tori Smith
2 min read
BIRTH STORIES MATTER
There tends to be this narrative, in conventional birth, that so long as the baby is birthed and stable, nothing else matters. But it...
Tori Smith
2 min read
WHEN IN DOUBT, DOULA
A doula was first described to me as a mother to the mother in labour. Whereas a midwife or doctor’s main concern is for the delivery of...
Tori Smith
3 min read
SCRAP THE BIRTH PLAN
Many pregnant women start to get that urge to come up with a rigid birth plan. You’ll be hours in from taking your pregnancy test, you’ll...
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