She Holds More Doula Service

07/08/2026

Now don’t get me wrong, fear is a very normal emotion, especially when facing the unknown.

The goal isn’t to pretend fear doesn’t exist - it’s to understand it, acknowledge it, and use knowledge, support and comfort measures to help prevent it from taking over your birth experience.

Feeling safe matters. When we feel safe, our bodies are often better able to relax, release oxytocin and work with labour. This is one of the many reasons continuous support can make such a difference. Fear, Tension & Pain. . . . or Confidence, Relaxation & Progress? Two different cycles, two very different outcomes.

Which cycle do you think your birth preparation has helped you build?

01/08/2026

Just like labour, a wave begins gently.
It builds.
It reaches its peak.
Then it eases away.
Every contraction follows this same pattern.
Although the waves become closer together, no wave lasts forever.
No wave keeps climbing.
Your body isn’t designed to create a contraction that continues to become stronger and stronger without stopping.
Each one has a beginning, a peak, and an end—giving both you and your baby a chance to rest before the next one arrives.
When you know that every wave will pass, it can become a little easier to meet each one as it comes.
🫶🏼 Breathe.
🫶🏼 Relax your jaw.
🫶🏼 Trust the pause between waves.
🫶🏼 Then meet the next one.
Your body isn’t working against you.
It’s working with your baby to bring them into your arms.
One wave at a time. Relaxation and positive imagery is a powerful tool to cope with labour. For many, imagining contractions as waves provides a simple focus that encourages calm breathing and working with the body rather than against it.

29/07/2026

A doula doesn’t support a type of birth. A doula supports the people having it ✨

26/07/2026

Often called the “love hormone,” oxytocin is one of the most important hormones in pregnancy, labour, birth and postpartum. It’s produced naturally by your brain and works best when you feel safe, calm, supported and loved.

Birth isn’t only about muscles and contractions, it’s also about hormones working with those muscles and contractions. And oxytocin is one of your body’s greatest allies ✨

23/07/2026

People often joke about “baby brain,” but beneath the surface something remarkable is indeed happening.

Pregnancy doesn’t just grow a baby—it changes a mother’s brain too. A rewiring.

MRI brain scans have observed measurable changes in the brains of pregnant women. Studies have found that pregnancy was associated with changes in the volume of certain brain regions involved in social cognition, empathy, understanding others’ emotions, and bonding with a baby.
Interestingly, some areas showed a reduction in grey matter volume. At first glance that sounds negative, but scientists believe it may actually represent a process of fine-tuning or specialization—similar to how the adolescent brain becomes more efficient by pruning unnecessary connections 💁🏻‍♀️

Your body isn’t the only thing preparing for motherhood. Your brain is too.

21/07/2026

Preparing for birth can feel a little like this busy little bee 🥰
Gathering information. Finding support. Building confidence.
Not because you need to know everything, but because confidence grows from understanding your options. One piece at a time ✨

17/07/2026

Respectfully, this isn't good enough. One clinician cannot meet the needs of an entire region, and Townsville is simply not accessible for many Mackay families. Community-based support services have always, and will always play a vital role alongside clinical care, and local parents deserve access to both. Prevention, early intervention, and connection should be funded, not overlooked.

I reached out to the QLD Government a little while ago to talk about funding The Held Project and The Mum Hub. I explained what we do, the benefits of what we do, and all about what our mums have gotten out of the service we provide for the community.

Unfortunately, QLD Health has rejected our proposal due to a few reasons - one being that we have a perinatal clinician on the Mackay hospital team, and the other reason being that we have services available in Townsville for mums who are struggling.

Our hospital perinatal clinician is part time, and we have mums reaching out to us who are still yet to be seen. And the last part... Let that sink in... The Qld Government expects us to drive FOUR HOURS to Townsville in order to receive care and support. They have zero interest in supporting a Mackay initiative for our Mackay mums. They expect us to drive.

To say I’m devastated is an understatement. We are filling the gaps here in Mackay that are lacking with our existing services. The team and I work so SO hard, and we are struggling every day to get support, all our grant applications keep being rejected, and honestly I feel so hopeless right now. I know it’s only been a year of The Held Project, but surely people can see it’s value by now?

Unfortunately, the government does not. Their solution is for mums to get in the car.

There are so many huge organisations in this area, but we often never hear back when we reach out, or get rejections. Every grant I apply for seems to be a no. It’s getting really, really hard to keep going when we can’t get any substantial amount of money behind us. And then on top of that, there’s the loss of my income which means my husband has to bring everything home. I never expected to be paid when I started this, but it’s certainly not motivating to keep hustling for free when things get REALLY disappointing (like now).

* continued in comments

14/07/2026

14/07/2026

Wearing the badge, doing the work, and continuing to learn. 🙌🏼🫶🏼✨

13/07/2026

A powerful reminder that the impacts of pregnancy and birth don't end when the baby is born. Investing in quality maternity care matters 🙌🏼