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A Caring Doula We feel that no one should experience birth without a doula assisting. You deserve it!

Meet the third trainer at Beyond the Basics. ✨Erica Lane, CD/PCD(DONA), CBE, is the founder of A Labor of Love and Birth...
10/16/2026

Meet the third trainer at Beyond the Basics. ✨

Erica Lane, CD/PCD(DONA), CBE, is the founder of A Labor of Love and Birth and Beyond, an Ohio nonprofit connecting families with doulas, educators and lactation support. She has also built an audience of more than 18,000 as Erica_TheDoula.

Her two sessions are the business backbone of the day:

✨ Social Media Without the Burnout. What to post when you have no time, what actually reaches families in your own area, and what to stop doing because it never worked.
✨ Starting a 501(c)(3): What It Takes and Whether You Want One. The filing, the board, the reporting that never stops, and the honest question of whether nonprofit status fits what you are building.

She has done both of these things, so this is the walkthrough from someone who has been through it.

November 20 in Indianapolis. Register at birthretreats.com/beyond-the-basics.

A resource share for anyone reading this month who is carrying something. 🤍If your birth did not go the way you hoped, o...
10/16/2026

A resource share for anyone reading this month who is carrying something. 🤍

If your birth did not go the way you hoped, or your baby is not here, these are the resources I share with every client walking that road:

✨ Postpartum Support International helpline: 1-800-944-4773 (specific track for loss and trauma)
✨ National Maternal Mental Health Hotline: 1-833-TLC-MAMA (free, confidential, 24 hours)
✨ Loss-trained therapists: search postpartum.net for PMH-C credentialing with loss specialization
✨ Local pregnancy and infant loss groups: many hospitals host, quality varies, worth trying one

If you do not need any of these today, save the post. Someone in your life will need them within the year.

The October blog on trauma-informed doula support is live at acaringdoula.com if you want a longer read.

Whatever you are carrying, you are not carrying it alone. 💜

October 15 is International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. 🕯️Tonight, at 7 PM in every time zone, people wil...
10/15/2026

October 15 is International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. 🕯️

Tonight, at 7 PM in every time zone, people will light a candle. The "Wave of Light" continues for an hour as it moves across the world.

If you've experienced loss, you can light a candle.
If you're holding space for someone who has, you can light one too.
If you're a birth worker, you can dedicate one to the families you have walked with.

A few names I think of every October 15:

The babies my clients named. The babies my friends have named. The babies in my own community who did not come home.

Their names matter. Their lives mattered. They are part of our families. 🤍

If you need someone tonight: 1-833-TLC-MAMA. 24-hour Maternal Mental Health Hotline. Free and confidential.

10/15/2026

It’s been such a busy day today!

Cold and flu season is starting. Quick feeding facts. 🩺✨ You can keep breastfeeding when you have a cold. Your milk actu...
10/12/2026

Cold and flu season is starting. Quick feeding facts. 🩺

✨ You can keep breastfeeding when you have a cold. Your milk actually carries antibodies tailored to whatever you're fighting. Baby gets the immune boost.
✨ Most over-the-counter cold medications are NOT compatible with breastfeeding. Check Infant Risk before taking anything.
✨ Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) can lower supply significantly. Skip it.
✨ Honey-based teas, saline rinses, and rest are your friends.
✨ If baby gets sick first, you do not need to "wean them off" anything. Feed more. They'll be soothed.
✨ Fever in a baby under 3 months is a same-day call to the pediatrician. Always.

If you're sick, dehydrated, and feeling like your supply is tanking, it is almost always temporary. Hydration and rest restore it fast.

DM "FEED" if you want to talk through it. 🤍

My second session at Beyond the Basics is the one closest to my heart. 🧠Inclusive by Design: Practical Ways to Make Your...
10/09/2026

My second session at Beyond the Basics is the one closest to my heart. 🧠

Inclusive by Design: Practical Ways to Make Your Doula Work Neurodivergent-Affirming.

This is not a theory lecture. It is a working session on the sensory environment, your communication style, your intake paperwork, and the assumptions baked into standard birth preparation.

You will leave with changes you can make to your intake and your birth bag that same week. What to ask instead of what to assume.

This is the work I do every day through Neuro Spicy Birth, brought to a room full of doulas who want to support neurodivergent families rather than ask them to mask.

November 20 in Indianapolis. Six sessions, 6 DONA contact hours. Register at birthretreats.com/beyond-the-basics.

Trauma-informed doula work, in plain language. 🤍If your birth did not go the way you hoped, you can heal. The work looks...
10/09/2026

Trauma-informed doula work, in plain language. 🤍

If your birth did not go the way you hoped, you can heal. The work looks different than a typical doula relationship.

What it looks like in practice:

✨ We go slow. The client sets the agenda for every conversation.
✨ We build skills, not just stories. Grounding. Breath. Body practices for when trauma activates.
✨ We coordinate care with therapists, providers, faith communities. Trauma-informed work is rarely solo.
✨ We debrief the birth, only when you are ready. Birth processing is one of the most underused interventions.
✨ We make plans for next births, if there are next births. Subsequent pregnancies have specific needs.

You do not have to be ready to talk in detail. You can start with: "Something in me has been carrying something."

That sentence is enough.

If you need someone tonight: PSI Helpline 1-800-944-4773 or MMH Hotline 1-833-TLC-MAMA. 💜

If someone you love lost a baby, here is what to say. And what not to say. 🤍What helps:✨ Use the baby's name out loud. T...
10/07/2026

If someone you love lost a baby, here is what to say. And what not to say. 🤍

What helps:

✨ Use the baby's name out loud. The name is not a wound to keep covered.
✨ Show up with food, not advice. Drop it off. Don't wait to be asked.
✨ Mark dates. Due date. Birth date. Loss date. A text on those days is significant.
✨ Sit in it. The grief does not need to be fixed.

What hurts (even if well-intended):

✨ "Everything happens for a reason."
✨ "At least."
✨ "You can try again."
✨ "They are in a better place."

If you don't know what to say, "I don't know what to say. I'm here." is a complete sentence.

Grief in birth loss is not linear. It comes in waves. Years from now, a song will hit your friend in the chest. That is normal. That is love.

If you're carrying this and want to talk, DM "LOSS" and I'll connect you with resources. 💜

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. 🤍This is a softer month on our channel on purpose. The work this m...
10/06/2026

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. 🤍

This is a softer month on our channel on purpose. The work this month is slower. The posts are quieter.

If your birth did not go the way you hoped, this month is for you.
If your baby is not here, this month is for you.
If you know someone in that grief and don't know what to say, stay close. We will cover what to say (and what not to say) later this month.

A few things to know:

✨ The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline is 1-833-TLC-MAMA. Free, confidential, 24/7.
✨ Postpartum Support International helpline is 1-800-944-4773. They have a loss and trauma track.
✨ October 15 is International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. We will mark it.

P.S. Tonight is our free Breastfeeding Support Group. First Monday every month. DM "GROUP" for the link. 💜

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