Tips for Better Doula Etiquette

By: Meagan Heaton, Co-Owner of The VBAC Link, CD(DONA), AD(MCU) Doula etiquette, what does it mean and how does it look?  Here are four ways you as a doula can help create a positive space within the birth team as well as build lasting relationships with hospital and birth center staff. As doulas it is important…

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Intent vs. Impact

By: Meredith Ashton Cohen, CD(DONA) Last month I attended our UDA Spring Conference with keynote speaker Dr. Courtney L. Everson, PhD. The topic for her Friday evening presentation was “Inequities in the US Birthing Landscape: Understanding Difference, Power & Discrimination” and one of the ideas she brought to our discussion was that of intent vs.…

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Community Partner Spotlight

Rowan Steiner with Salt City Birth and Newborn Photography What is your background and how did you develop the skills to start your business? “I started photography 3 years ago in college to capture moments of my young children and the hobby quickly turned into a passion. I spent about 2 years building my skills…

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UDA 2019 Spring Conference Sneak Preview

Spring is here, flowers are in bloom, and it’s finally time for another UDA Spring Conference. With hours of insight and wisdom to soak up from professionals, you’ll leave with a full cup and renewed energy to use your skills and knowledge in your own circle of expertise. Keynote speaker Courtney L. Everson, PhD and…

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National Cesarean Awareness Month

By: Meagan Heaton, Co-Owner of The VBAC Link, CD(DONA), AD(MCU) Have you had a Cesarean section, or know someone who has? 1 in 3 babies are born by Cesarean. The nation’s Cesarean section rate is 32%. That number has substantially grown since 1916 when it was 5%. A lot has changed since 1916 and during…

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Throwback Thursday

By: Andrea Lythgoe ,BS, LCCE As we prepare for the current UDA conference, I thought it might be fine to look back twelve years ago to 2007, the year I was the conference committee chair. It was also a year with a lot of “firsts” for the UDA: The first Fall Retreat, the first mentoring…

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World Doula Week

By Dezarae Weyburn The term “doula” is a relatively new one. Although the Greeks used the term “doula” to mean a female slave, or handmaid, it wasn’t until 1969 that the term was first applied to birth work. In the half-century that followed, doulas went from completely unknown to a household name. With the formation…

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2019 UDA Conference Keynote Speaker: Courtney Everson PhD

Courtney L. Everson holds a PhD in Applied Medical Anthropology with a long track record of community outreach, research, and leadership in education, non-profit management, and health equity. Dr. Everson is currently appointed as core Academic Faculty and the Dean of Graduate Studies at the Midwives College of Utah, where she also serves as the…

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ThrowBack Thursday

By: Andrea Lythgoe, BS, LCCE Bill Clinton began his first term as president, Sleepless in Seattle was packing the movie theaters, Whitney Houston crooned that she would Always Love You, and Ryan Gosling, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears & Christina Aguilera were all Mouseketeers. It was 1993. The Utah Association of Childbirth Companions, founded by Kristi…

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