Giving Hands Doula Support LLC

10/11/2026

Such an amazing resource!

Saturday hours in North Bethesda are here!

Our fabulous Jessica Steiger, IBCLC, MSW, MPH now offers office visits in North Bethesda every other Saturday with limited home visits in Montgomery County and NW DC.

Breastfeeding, pumping, and fl**ge fitting support available!

Book Now!
https://www.lactationroom.com/office-lactation-and-infant-feeding-consultations/

10/08/2026

Exciting news! I’m officially a Certified Dancing For Birth™ Instructor! 💃🤰

Movement has always been such an important part of my approach to supporting pregnancy and birth, so this certification feels like a natural extension of the work I already love doing.

Dancing For Birth™ brings together movement, childbirth education, and celebration, encouraging parents to connect more deeply with their bodies, their babies, and their own instincts.

Rooted in the principles of movement, gravity, and instinct, Dancing For Birth™ celebrates the wisdom of the body and the power of intuitive movement throughout pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum.

What I especially love is that it’s not just about preparing for birth. It’s about finding joy in movement, building confidence, creating connection, and celebrating the incredible journey of pregnancy and motherhood.

I’m grateful to continue learning and expanding the ways I can support families through these meaningful transitions. 🤍

Two Bodies. One Shared Journey.🤲

Congratulations to our Newly Certified and Recertified Dancing For Birth™ Instructors this month! 💃

They are approved to provide labor support utilizing the Dancing For Birth™ Childbirth Method, and to teach Dancing For Birth™ Prenatal/Postpartum Class.

Find a Certified DFB™ Instructor near you on our global class locator: https://www.dancingforbirth.com/prenatal-postpartum-childbirth-education-fitness-class

Become a Certified Dancing For Birth™ Instructor: https://www.dancingforbirth.com/professional-childbirth-training-course-schedule

Dancing For Birth™ Certified Instructors:

Nicole Moffit - Texas, United States

Jacqueline Benites - Virginia, United States

Amina Condel - Washington, United States

Volha Markelava - Belarus

Shannon Smith - Idaho, United States

Kathy AtThelittlegym- New Jersey, United States

Kristina Ushmotkina -
Gorno-Altaysk, Russia

Molly Casey Duffy - Virginia, United States

Elena Hermanussen - Bremen, Germany

Kelli Stasik - Arkansas, United States

Lori Camparo - California, United States

Tatiana Minenkova - Moscow, Russia

Tatiana Nikitina - Lipetzk, Russia

09/01/2026

Yes!👏

Certified nurse midwives DON’T ONLY provide pregnancy and birth care. Their expertise can extend from adolescence through menopause, including routine gynecologic and reproductive health care.

Would you want to have a midwife?

📸 stock.adobe.com

08/25/2026

💗

Somewhere along the way, responding to a baby became “spoiling them.”

Hold them too much. Nurse them too often. Let them sleep on you. Comfort them every time they cry.

As if a baby came into this world needing a lesson in independence instead of needing another human being.

Babies are not manipulating us when they reach for the breast, settle against our chest, or calm to our touch. They are doing exactly what babies are biologically wired to do: seek closeness, warmth, food, safety, and regulation from their caregiver.

You are not creating a bad habit by being your baby’s safe place.

You ARE the safe place. ❤️

One day they won’t need your chest to calm down, your arms to fall asleep, or your breast to feel okay again.

But today they do.

So hold the baby. Nurse the baby. Comfort the baby.

You cannot spoil a baby with connection.

08/12/2026

Yes, you can bed share safely! Not only is it biologically normal, but there are so many benefits for both moms and babies.

There’s no end of advice on how to get sleep with a new baby in the house, much of it conflicting. The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine’s latest guideline comes to the rescue with data-based strategies aligned with what we know about maternal and newborn physiology. What it has to say about bedsharing may surprise you! Read my summary of the ABM’s new guidelines or click on “Jump to Infographic” at the article’s top to go straight to the ABM’s recommendations and tips.

https://hencigoer.com/breastfeeding-a-newborn-heres-how-to-get-more-sleep/

08/12/2026

Looks like a fun event for local NOVA families!👶

🦁 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊𝐒. 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘. 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐔𝐏.⁣
⁣
Okay, y'all... 𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐑 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍.⁣
⁣
We are officially just 𝟑 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊𝐒 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 ROAR: Free Maternal Health Summit 2026, and we had to stop for a second and look at what this community has helped us build.⁣
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More than 𝟒𝟎 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬, 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬, 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 are coming together for ONE afternoon dedicated to maternal health and stronger families.⁣
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And this isn't just a vendor fair.⁣
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At ROAR, you'll be able to connect with resources for:⁣
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🤰 Pregnancy, birth & postpartum⁣
🧠 Maternal mental health & emotional wellness⁣
💪 Physical health & recovery⁣
👶 Babies, children & parenting⁣
📚 Education & enrichment⁣
🤝 Community assistance & advocacy⁣
🛍️ Local businesses & makers⁣
🍔 Food, drinks & sweet treats⁣
🎈 Activities and experiences for the kids⁣
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You'll meet doulas, therapists, maternal health professionals, pelvic floor specialists, educators, nonprofits, healthcare organizations, children's programs, local entrepreneurs and people doing incredible work right here in our community.⁣
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You'll find resources you 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝...⁣
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and probably discover a few you didn't know existed.⁣
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⭐ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐑 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐔𝐏⁣
⁣
Seasonal Roots • Goldfish Swim School • KidStrong • PinkRx Piercings • Little Angels Boutique • PaperPie/Book Adventures with Carrie • Dream Ellison • Spark Health Benefits • Gustatory Bliss • Annie's Cure Store • WheelHouse Health • Empowerment Therapy Center • Sunshine Lemonade • The 3 O'Clock Club • Peridot Births • Prince William County Resources • Congressman Eugene Vindman's Team • Mindy Green Coaching • OSA Martial Arts • A Doula On Purpose • Encouraging Touch Baby Massage • Taste and See Co. • Selfish Mama • LIFE Learning • Vaughn's Meadow • Angelitos Education & Cultural Arts Center • Transformation Space Therapeutic Services • Taylored 4 You Health & Wellness • CJ's Pediatric Promise Fund • Angel Bear Bakery • Gabriel Project • Unspoken Mothers • Blue Lens Collective • Bloom Bar by Mama Joana • Seeds of Hope • Serene Journey Births • Postpartum Support Virginia • Humana Healthy Horizons • A Sweet Pause Bakery • Lu Magic • Advantage Care Cryotherapy • Karim Counseling Services • Mo's Fried Chicken & Smash Burgers⁣
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And we're STILL putting the finishing touches on the day.⁣
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This is what happens when a community decides that 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.⁣
⁣
This is what happens when businesses invest in families, professionals make themselves accessible, nonprofits collaborate instead of compete, and people come together determined to make it easier to find help.⁣
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𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐑. 🦁⁣
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📅 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟑𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔⁣
🕐 𝟏:𝟎𝟎–𝟓:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌⁣
📍 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐬 | 𝐃𝐮𝐦𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐕𝐀⁣
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𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄. 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓. 𝐓𝐀𝐆 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐌𝐎𝐌 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒.⁣
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Three weeks to go, and we cannot wait to show you everything we have planned.

08/11/2026

👏👏👏

Dr. Claudio Celentano MD and Dr Rixa Freeze PhD and the others on the research team are thrilled to announce the publication of their paper on VBA2C!

"Maternal and neonatal outcomes for women with a history of two caesarean deliveries undergoing a trial of labour vs elective repeat caesarean: a retrospective study with two delivery protocols."

Article link: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1nZoT14VD60dtt

The article is open-access and free for everyone to read!

If the link doesn't work on a phone/tablet, try this one: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301211526004215

08/09/2026

Yet another wonderful reason to consider midwifery care for you and your baby!

You left the hospital with your baby and a follow-up appointment six weeks away.

Six weeks.

For the most physically demanding, emotionally overwhelming, sleep-deprived season of your entire life, your support was a single appointment nearly two months out.

Now imagine something different.

Imagine someone came to your home 24 hours after you got there.

Sat on your couch. Checked your baby, checked your bleeding, checked your stitches, checked YOU. Watched a full feed and helped you fix that painful latch before it cracked and bled for weeks. Answered the questions you didn't even know you were supposed to ask. Made sure you had eaten something that day.

Imagine they came back at one week. And again at two weeks. And again at four and six weeks in our office. Those early, hard days in your own home. Where you didn't have to pack a diaper bag, load a newborn into a car seat, and sit in a waiting room bleeding and exhausted.

Imagine you could text or call them at 3am.

That moment when the baby won't latch, or the worry crashes over you, or you just need someone to tell you that what you're seeing is normal. Instead of spiraling on Google. Instead of carrying it alone until morning.

How different would your postpartum have been?

How much less lonely? How much less scary? How many tears not cried? How much breastfeeding saved? How much earlier would someone have noticed if you were slipping into something darker than the baby blues?

This is postpartum care with Full Well Midwifery.

In-home visits at 24 to 48 hours, one week, two weeks, four weeks, and six weeks. Real eyes on you and your baby, again and again, in the comfort of your own home. Plus 24/7 access to your provider, because worry doesn't keep business hours and neither do we.

And here's something most people don't realize: you don't have to birth at home to have this.

Even if you choose a hospital birth, you can choose this kind of postpartum support. You do not have to walk out of those hospital doors and disappear into six weeks of silence.

Because every mother and every baby deserves to feel supported. Not just at the birth, but in all the raw, tender, uncertain days that follow.

This isn't a luxury. This is what postpartum care should be. And done right, it doesn't just make the fourth trimester gentler.

It saves lives.

07/28/2026

Yes!! Keep talking and listening. Babies have so much to tell us!

Neural Nugget: Babies who are talked to frequently know about 300 more words by age 2 than babies who hear fewer words, giving them a stronger foundation for language and learning.

One of the best ways to support healthy brain development is through serve-and-return interactions: the back-and-forth of talking, playing, making faces, and responding to your baby's sounds and cues. These everyday moments help build the brain, one interaction at a time.

Curious about what's happening inside your baby's brain? Explore our Baby Brain Map, an interactive guide that makes the science of early brain development easy to understand and put into practice: https://bit.ly/4w3j4jg

07/21/2026

If you’ve ever left a birth thinking “What else could I have tried?” You’re not alone and you don’t want to miss this. The Better Birth Pro training was a game changer for me and I know it will be for you too!

Most birth professionals were taught what to do.

Very few were taught how to think through what’s happening in the body.

Better Birth Pro will change that!

Join tomorrow July 21–23 for this FREE online training and start seeing birth in a whole new way!

If you can’t make it live, register for the replays.

Head the link the comments to register!

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