Blogging with Carrie Kenner

Stories and wisdom ranging from doula education to marketing to road-tripping...

a close up of a button that says 'So you want to be a doula' to help people with kind of doula role

What Kind of Doula Role is Right for You?

What Kind of Doula Role is Right for You? Twenty years ago, few people knew what the word “doula” meant. Now, most people have heard at least heard of birth, postpartum, or death doulas. But did you know there are over 20 different doula roles? There are doulas for divorce, surgery, fertility, gender transition,  cancer,…

A young Carrie Kenner holds her newborn son shortly after he was born at home.

Getting Started and Finding My Voice

This is my journey of finding my voice in a society that silences women, starting with my mother’s subtle but unsuccessful rebellion. How do you bring an idea to life if your passions are silenced? Dedicated to my mom.   My mom was born in 1929, when women weren’t known for having their voices heard.…

Two clinicians are talking to a laboring person while their partner looks on.

Decision-Making Part 3: Skills for Doulas

Decision-Making in Real Life: Role Plays and Reality This is the last of a 3-part series on decision-making. In this post, I outline the process I used with my clients when working as a doula. The Decision-Making Role Play This process is done in a prenatal visit – a meeting done with clients at the…

A colorful background with the words Decision Making and related words in the foreground

Decision-Making Part 2: Tools

Part 2 In a 3-Part Series In last week’s blog, I shared about decision-making and how it’s not what we think it is. We tend to think it’s very logical, analytical, and reasoned, when in fact it’s a very emotion-based process. Check out Decision-Making: Faking You Out Big Time! to learn about the parts of the…

a brain is centered on a background of neon squiggles on the right and math calculations over a dark background on the left. The words 'decision making' are superimposed on the left side.

Decision-Making Part 1: Faking You Out Big Time!

A new series of blogs on how we make decisions I read a newsletter article this week by Anne-Laure Le Cunff of Ness Labs. It was called “Why Smart People Make Dumb Decisions.”  Her article reminded me that I wanted to blog about decision-making, so here we are. Decision-making is the process we use to…

Arms of a white woman reach toward the camera with a ball of gray clay in her clay-covered hands. She wears a gray apron.

Neuroplasticity: Our Brains Are Like Clay

It turns out I have a lot to say about families… And it appears that you – my audience – like to hear what I have to say about them as well. I received so many comments after my last blog about your own families of origin, their impact (good and not-so-good) on who you…

family-as-first-teacher

Families: The Training Ground for Small Humans

Note: The author is well aware of the range of dysfunction within families. This blog post intends to focus only on the phenomenon of families as “first teachers,” not on the content – supportive or destructive – that is being taught to children. The reader can extrapolate the profound impact of both helpful behaviors and…

pregnant belly with hand holding an avocado in front of it

Inductions: Why Are They So Damn Hard?

Labor inductions are a topic that so many doulas struggle with. Why are they so challenging? And is there anything doulas can do to make them more manageable? First, let’s start with the basics: What Is an Induction? A labor induction is when labor is started artificially. Normally, labor starts on its own due to…

The word 'copywriting' spelled out in soft-colored wooden blocks on a blank background

How to Write Quick & Easy Copy That Works

Hey, fellow small biz owners! Ever found yourself staring at that blinking cursor, racking your brain for something fresh and witty to say about your latest offer? You had a killer idea, but then-bam!-the phone rings, your cat topples over your coffee mug… By the time you sop up the mess, your idea has gone…

how doulas learn

How We Learn

I’ve been thinking lately about how humans learn. I’ve always been interested in learning and teaching. When I was a kid, I would play school for hours. I loved school and did really well, in large part becuase I was the perfect candidate for the U.S.-based educational system: I was white, I was a girl,…