Abuela Blog

Unbroken Medicine Mars Lord 26th June 2017 I went to a birth conference where I met and heard a wonderful Columbian Midwife by the name of Ramiro Romero. One of my favourite moments happened when, following Michel Odent's talk, Ramiro said 'It is so good to hear that...

Lost Lives Mars Lord 19th June 2017   It's been a tragic week. Even today the numbers rise. So many people died in West London this week.  Died when a tower went up in flames, died outside the tower block and died inside the hospitals. Dreams that will never be...

Black Father Mars Lord 12th June 2017 Bad Press I was at my beloved theatre last year, watching a play about IVF and infertility. I was there for the press day and the fertility conference. A man spoke with me at the end, and I'm going to tell you. I was horrified at...

Listening without hearing Mars Lord 5th June 2017 Listen: Give one's attention to a sound Hear, pay attention, be attentive, attend, concentrate on, concentrate on hearing, give ear to, lend an ear to, hang on someone's word, keep one's ears open, prick up one's ears...

Beautiful Black Birth Mars Lord 29th May 2017 I want to see myself No I'm not that vain, but I would like to see myself reflected in my world of work. I recently googled Black Birth in UK and was presented with an image of Prince William feeding a rhino. I also found...

What does it mean to silence a voice Mars Lord 14th May 2017 I recently wrote an article that I submitted to the doula organisation that I belong to. I spent time on it and was careful to step back and review it regularly. I asked another doula to write a companion...

Black Midwives Mars Lord 8th May 2017 International Day of the Midwife This past week has seen the 'International Day of the Midwife'. This was a day to shout out praise to the amazing midwives around the world. It's been good to hear the stories and see the pictures...

Becoming Mars Lord Mars Lord 3rd May 2017 For the last few years I have struggled with my name. Not my actual name. I enjoy being Mars Lord. Easy to remember, to Google, to share. No. The name that I have struggled with is the name I chose for my doula work. The word...

#birthsowhite Mars Lord 1st May 2017 I am a black doula. At the moment, I am watching whilst the 'white' birth world are in a spin. There's a potential for a change in the status quo and they're not keen. Icons and pedestals are being rocked, things that many held...

Time to tend my garden Mars Lord 19th April 2017 I am tired. I'm not long home from a glorious ten days in my favourite place in the world. St Lucia. Whilst there, I didn't completely switch off (I know.. I know.. not good). I took part in a discussion about diversity...

Colouring things in Mars Lord 12th April 2017 Colour blind. I am constantly amazed at how many people tell me that they are colour blind. They don't see colour, therefore they don't think that anyone else should see colour. Sadly they don't see the problem that their...

Looking black Mars Lord 3rd April 2017 I am a black mother. I've used this subtitle before. I'm using it again. I should be happy that I am beginning to see more diverse images in the birth world. Don't get me wrong, I don't think it is all down to me. Many others...

Expecting Multiples with Mars Lord Mars Lord 21st of March 2017 I was recently in a podcast chat with Fear Free Childbirth, have a listen: Check the original page here: https://www.fearfreechildbirth.com/blog/expecting-multiples-mars-lord/ If you’re expecting...

  Going back to our roots   Mars Lord   18th March 2017   I'm a birth educator For a long time I have had a desire to 'train' new doulas. For different reasons I allowed myself to be knocked off course. Yet it burned inside me for years. I wondered...

Loving My Black Body Mars Lord 6th February 2017 My black body My curves, my lines. My soft voluptuous breasts. My small handfuls. My deep, rich chocolate. My velvet Ebony. My caramel brown. My light burnt butter. My cinnamon milk.   Who taught us fear, disgust,...

My Black Milk Mars Lord 2nd January 2017 Conversation I’ve been taking part in a discussion about the lack of diverse representation within the breastfeeding world.  This particular conversation came about after a breastfeeding ad was created.  None of the images were...

Laying down the gold Mars Lord 28th December 2016 Kintsukuroi When a vase breaks and you put it back together, it is never the same.  It is filled with cracks.  Some say that it makes the vase ugly.  Kintsukuroi (kintsugi) is a Japanese method for repairing broken...

'I dream a fish' Mars Lord 30th November 2016 ‘I dream a fish’ Just one of the sayings that would fall from my mother’s mouth. ‘I dream a fish. You pregnant?’ Mum would then begin to list people until eventually someone proved to be pregnant. To dream of swimming fish...

Black Mother Mars Lord 11th November 2016 I am a black mother. You might not find that relevant. It might resonate loudly with you. I look around the world that we currently stand in and think that it just got harder to be the mother of black children. I’m not going...