In honor of World Doula Week, let’s talk about Fusion Birth.
 
Fusion Birth is a collective of five birth professionals in Northeast Iowa. Our mission is to connect you to evidence-based resources in the Cedar Valley. We each maintain our own independent business, like Zenith Birth Services, but we come together to support and back up each other, refer to one another, and share resources. Every member agrees on five core values:

• Fusion Birth is committed to supporting women and their choices throughout their pregnancy, childbirth process, and postpartum.
•  Fusion Birth seeks to empower women to be active participants during the birth process, and to have the final say in the decisions surrounding their care. 
• Fusion Birth recognizes the importance of the partner's role during pregnancy and childbirth, and strives to facilitate the partner's participation during this amazing time.

• Fusion Birth believes childbirth education and doula support are integral components to quality prenatal, labor, and postpartum support. 

• Fusion Birth providers operate within the scope of practice for their specific disciplines and training organizations.

 
If you hire any of the Fusion Birth members, you will know that you are hiring the most supportive, honorable, and hard working professionals to work for you.
 
As Fusion Birth members, we can set our own fees, write our own contracts, and make our own schedules. What this means for you is that we can keep our fees down since we don’t have to inflate them to support a parent organization. We can offer services tailored to you instead of a cookie cutter package. You are the one who gets to pick which doula you want to hire; you don’t have to have one assigned to you. You often have enough uncertainty with which doctor or midwife will be attending your birth. You can rest easy knowing exactly which doula will show up at your door.
 
Fusion Birth also publishes an exclusive list of recommended resources for birth and postpartum. It includes resources we’ve either personally used or have heard good testimonies about time and time again from our clients. Our resource list includes:

• Support groups
• Chiropractors
• Birth and baby photographers
• Prenatal massage
• Prenatal yoga
• Placenta encapsulation
• Fertility care
• Homebirth midwives

 
If you’re not already plugged into our local birth community, it can be hard to find reliable resources. It’s reassuring to have a recommendation for a service instead of just picking one off of the internet.
 
Fusion Birth also has members that offer a diverse range of pregnancy and postpartum services. We have members who are doulas, childbirth educators, prenatal yoga instructors, and placenta encapsulators. You can find a Fusion member for all of your birth needs!
 
The other members of Fusion Birth are Laura Creswell of Laura Creswell Yoga and Birth Services, Bridget Edson of Love and Logic Doula, Bethany Gates of Shiphrah Birth Services, and Erin Simmer of Made To Birth.

My son, Phoenix, is 19 months and we are breastfeeding. But, even with the benefits of extended breastfeeding, I have mixed feelings about my situation. A large part of me is content in making it this far. Another part of me is getting ready to be done, though. So, here I am: the reluctant extended breastfeeder.
 
Phoenix and I had a rocky start to our breastfeeding relationship. I hemorrhaged after his birth, so my body was intent on making blood before it made breast milk. I did everything to help my body make blood AND breast milk, but my milk didn’t come in until 3 weeks postpartum. Those first weeks with Phoenix were brutal! I literally nursed him back to back, all day, everyday.
 
When my milk finally came in, I was overjoyed! Then I was terrified of upsetting the breastfeeding that we had struggled so hard to make work. Because of my fear, I didn’t want Phoenix to ever have a bottle. I took maternity leave from doula work for longer than I intended because I didn’t want him to have to be with a babysitter.
 
Then Phoenix turned 6 months, then 9 months, and then a year! I got the inevitable question from friends and family, “Are you going to wean him?” And you know what? I didn’t want to! After coming this far, I wanted to keep going. I enjoyed the cuddle time, the closeness, having a need that only I could meet.
 
Now he is 19 months old, and I’m starting to become used to the idea that he will wean soon. If fact, there’s a part of me that’s looking forward to it. Then I can wear whatever I want to without giving thought to breast access, I can get a more supportive bra, Tim and I can have a long overdue weekend getaway for our 10th anniversary. I know these are little things compared to caring for my baby, and they will still be there for whenever he weans.
 
But, I think I’m going to be okay when it happens.