A while back a lady called Karen reached out to me about birthwork. She’s a doula and wanted to connect.

We met at the park and as kids played and we talked, we dreamed up the idea of circles where parents gather, sharing collective wisdoms, learning from each other, maybe even sharing some ritual – it was a wild, beautiful dream, something I’ve been quieting musing on since moving to Scotland last year.

Fast forward to now, we scouted locations, crafted an idea and have hosted our 2nd pregnancy to postpartum circle in Helensburgh. The latest one focused on the theme of movement and gravity, and we weaved together demonstrations, explanations and a beautiful conversation about the relevance of our theme right through pregnancy, in birth and into those early postpartum moments.

Working with birth balls, shawls, a doll stolen from my children’s toybox and of course a handmade crochet breast, we spent Friday evening with a group of beautiful ladies, many of whom brought their chosen birth partners too.

From the way we sit impacting baby’s position, to birth preferences and the impact on baby, our conversations spanned a wide range of topics. The idea of big babies, the way partners can feel they are being most supportive, the way we can make use of tools we have access to and the reality that every birth is different – there is no right or wrong way to bring a baby earthside – we loved sharing and exploring what felt relevant at the time.

We probably could have spent a few hours more chatting away!

But yes, our gathering, a circle of growing families sharing and learning together, felt like such a gorgeous success. I’m already looking forward to the next one.

I read that pregnancy is the gestation of the mother, and that ultimately babies are only born once… both of these things feel truer now than they ever have. Education is essential, community is how we survive, and the next generation deserve that. How lucky we are to be able to have even a tiny part in it.

Until next update,

Rohana x