Author Archives: Heather Neville

About Heather Neville

I am a certified labour doula (aka birth doula) and certified childbirth educator (CAPPA) in Toronto, ON. I believe in birth and breastfeeding as opportunities for empowerment. My goal is to support women from all walks of life in having the most satisfying and empowering births possible. I am passionate about education, respect and support.

Happy Mother’s Day!

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Wishing a very happy Mother’s Day to all of the mamas out there! To those of you who honoured me by having me at your births, I’m thinking about you in particular today. It is truly a privilege to be present at the moment when a child is born and a woman becomes a mother, whether for the first, second or eighth time.

I hope that you’re all being spoiled today and that you’re being reminded of the value and importance of the work that you do every day. 

To my own mom, I miss you every day. Thank you for being the inspiration behind the work that I do. I love you.

Freeing the Voice – A Workshop for Doulas

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Aviva Chernick leads a Freeing the Voice workshop

Aviva Chernick leads a Freeing the Voice workshop

If you are a doula in Toronto or the surrounding area, you are invited to attend a wonderful workshop with Aviva Chernick on June 2nd, 2013. It will be held at a private studio in central Toronto. Cost is $45 per doula. Email heather@labourdoula.com to register. Participants should bring a yoga mat. Space is limited, so register today!

FREEING the VOICE : Vocal Play and Care for Doulas

This three hour adventure is an opportunity for participants to surprise themselves as they discover the pleasure of finding their voice and singing out in community.
We begin with a gentle Hatha Yoga practice that moves into a standing practice of breath, yawns and sighs, finally inviting voice to follow. We continue on through a repetition of simple melodies, finding our way to improvisational set of song circles. Together we review what tools may be found in an improvisational took kit, i.e., unison, harmony, fills, rhythm, echoing, listening, etc and use these tools to enter into and discover our voices anew in a simple, repeated melody.

We will be focusing on vocal play, exploration and caring for doula’s own voices and how this, in turn, might serve your work with others.  The session will include an opportunity to speak about relationship to voice and the ramifications and benefits of this work for the work of doulas.

No previous yoga or singing experience is necessary.

AVIVA CHERNICK:

Aviva is a singer and award winning composer, writing, recording, performing and touring a fusion of World Music styles in Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish, English and French.  Her compositions and voice can be heard with the two–time Juno Nominated Global Roots Ensemble Jaffa Road, in her own Devotional Music project released December 2012 and through a Virginia Folklife sponsored apprenticeship with Master teacher Flory Jagoda in a collection of Balkan Judeo-Spanish repertoire.

Aviva has been training in the Bel Canto technique and the development of that practice with Fides Krucker with whom she has apprenticed as a teacher since 2009.  Aviva is also a Hatha yoga teacher trained at the Esther Myers Yoga Studio, in Toronto.  She has combined her practices, as well as her work as a prayer leader, merging body and breath to facilitate group workshops in freeing the voice towards singing. These workshops for both amateur and professional singers culminate in solo and group improvisation.

Aviva has been teaching privately as well as leading these workshops as ongoing classes through her own studio in Toronto and for a variety of communities around North America including; at The 2012 Ontario Multifaith conference, and while on tour with groups in Atlanta, Ottawa, Perth and Haida Guay, British Columbia.

SOME COMMENTS FROM PAST PARTICIPANTS

I took a short workshop with Aviva and it was one of the most transformative hours I have spent. Under her guidance I was able to understand for the first time in my life how to free my voice and sing. Friends of mine will tell you I can’t sing. But now they are wrong.

Andy McKim, Artistic Director Theatre Passe Muraille

I’m still buzzing from the workshop…singing brings me so much joy, release, power…

Suzanne Bradley Siskind, Teacher and Mother

Over the course of an intensive festival week full of lots of singing, Aviva’s class saved my voice.  Her whole-body approach helped me discover new ways to use my posture and breath to support my singing.  In a renewing, dynamic way, Aviva’s class unlocked my voice in completely new ways.

Ri Turner, Singer and Composer, Participant at the Jewish Women’s Music Festival, 2010

BirthFire 2013

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BirthFire_banner

After the tremendous success of last year’s BirthFire, we have decided to make it an annual event! I hope that you’ll join us on May 10th as we share our fears, past experiences, expectations and frustrations about birth. This event is a wonderful opportunity for anyone with an interest in birth and a desire to let go of something associated with it to do so in a supportive, respectful and safe environment.

Learn more about BirthFire 2013 here. Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions about the event.

Related: Is Birth Fire For Me?

New testimonial!

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Another heartwarming client testimonial. I feel so honoured to have been a part of this birth.

Hiring Heather was one of the best decisions I made during my pregnancy. I had thought about a Doula early in my pregnancy, but hesitated because I didn’t know much about what she did and I didn’t know where to find one. About two weeks before I was due, a friend suggested I consider a Doula and gave me Heather’s number. After a brief conversation on the phone with Heather, I knew I had made the right decision. She made me think about things I hadn’t previously thought of and encouraged me to ask questions at my next doctor’s appointment.

I was very impressed with her prenatal knowledge as well as her experience with delivery. She always made me feel like I was in control over what would happen to me during delivery, but I was confident that she’d be the advocate I needed in the delivery room. Her calm demeanour and soft voice carried me through every contraction and provided the encouragement I needed to have a natural, drug-free birth. Even though I had only met her twice before the birth (baby decided to come early) I felt like I’d known her for years. Her presence at the birth offered a great deal of relief to my husband, allowing him to take care of logistics, all the while knowing that I was in good hands.

One of the things I appreciate most about Heather is that she goes out of her way to find resources to support us, whether it be how to deal with baby’s first infection or community groups for mom and baby. She is a wealth of information! Thank you for everything, Heather.

June Weekend Prenatal Class

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There are spaces available for my June Weekend Prenatal Class at the Centre for Social Innovation. This is a two-day intensive course designed to help you feel confident, calm and prepared as you approach your birth and new parenthood. It will also provide your partner with skills and knowledge that will aid them in supporting you during labour and birth, as well as postpartum.

Classes will be held Saturday June 15th and Sunday June 16th, 2013 from 10am-5pm, at CSI Annex (720 Bathurst St.). This series is ideal for those expecting to give birth between late June and August.

**If you would prefer a weekday evening course, there are still a few spots available in my Late Spring Prenatal Series as well.

To register, send an email to register@labourdoula.com with your name, your partner’s name (if applicable) & email address, your estimated delivery date and your phone number. The fee for the course is $240 per couple. Discounts are available for doula clients.

Topics for the course will include (but are not limited to):

-natural pain management and coping strategies for labour

-the physiology of labour and birth

-positions for labour and birth

-risks and benefits of common interventions (including pain medications)

-self-advocacy/informed decision-making skills

-breastfeeding

-postpartum care

-newborn care and characteristics

Wondering why you should take an independent class instead of one offered by your local hospital? 9 great reasons here.

photo credit: Steve took it via photopin cc

Breathe

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This morning I came across this wonderful article in the Journal of Perinatal Education. In it, fellow doula Mary Esther Malloy, advocates for a slowing down at the moment of birth. A moment in which mother exhales and lets go of the birth that she has accomplished and inhales the moment of meeting her baby, slowly, deliberately, purposefully. According to Malloy, this momentary pause is the place where we are, “finding our babies… finding ourselves as mothers, and finding our way into a new state of being.”

Waiting to Exhale: How to Unhurry the Moment of Birth

It’s MINE! Shared decision-making and evidence-based practice in childbirth

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This is a brief, but interesting interview with Maureen Corry, MPH, Executive Director of Childbirth Connection on the subject of shared decision making.

Right off the bat, Corry mentions exactly what came to mind for me when I was confronted with the term “shared decision making”. She says,

…we’ve heard some concerns from women that shared decision making means giving up some control of decision making to the care provider – essentially a move away from informed consent and refusal. Because of the history of childbirth in the United States, and many troubling practices that still happen today, childbearing women are justified in being concerned about their rights.

Continue reading →

Why Doula?

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“Do you have any children of your own?”

This is a question that sometimes comes up when I talk about my work, whether I’m talking with a potential client or just chatting with someone at a party. Sometimes, when I respond with, “no, not yet.” and a smile, I’m met with a puzzled look. On a few occasions, the puzzled person has come right out and asked me, “so, why did you become a doula then?”

In honour of International Women’s Day today I thought I’d take a stab at answering that question. Continue reading →

Late Spring Prenatal Classes

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There are spaces available for my May/June Prenatal Class at the Centre for Social Innovation. This is a six week course designed to help you feel confident, calm and prepared as you approach your birth and new parenthood. It will also provide your partner with skills and knowledge that will aid them in supporting you during labour and birth, as well as postpartum.

Classes will be held on Monday evenings, from 6-8:30pm, beginning May 6th, 2013 at CSI Annex (720 Bathurst St.). This series is ideal for those expecting to give birth between late June and August.

**Please let me know if you are interested in the course but not available on week nights.

To register, email me at heather@socialinnovation.ca. The fee for the course is $240 per couple. Discounts are available for doula clients.

Topics for the course will include (but are not limited to):

-natural pain management and coping strategies for labour

-the physiology of labour and birth

-positions for labour and birth

-risks and benefits of common interventions (including pain medications)

-self-advocacy/informed decision-making skills

-breastfeeding

-postpartum care

-newborn care and characteristics

Wondering why you should take an independent class instead of one offered by your local hospital? 9 great reasons here.

Happy Family Day!

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Happy Family Day to all of my fellow Ontarians! I hope that you all get to enjoy spending time with your families today – whether they are your blood relatives, a family-of-choice or something in between!

“Life’s most urgent question is, what are you doing for others?”

-MLK, Jr.