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Published: Jan. 22, 2020, 8 a.m.

Zachi Brewster is a full spectrum doula and pleasure advocate, supporting individuals through transitional experiences on their reproductive and sexual journey's.

Coming from a family of women, run by matriarchs on both sides, the power of our wombs (physically and energetically) was clear to her from early on. Witnessing and supporting loved ones through everything from periods, pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion and birth trauma became second nature and is the foundation on which she builds her services today.

However, it wasn\u2019t until going through her own birth experience that she truly started to value the necessity and importance of having an advocate and someone who is just there for you. What started as months of just grieving turned into nurturing herself, eventually having faith in and feeling her body again.

She creates and holds space for individuals to trust in their bodies and their experience, heal from trauma and steer their path with beauty, confidence and the knowledge to make informed, pleasureful decisions.

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In this episode we talked about:

• Exploring and expressing womanhood through sex
• Coming from a big family, with mainly women
• 5 years ago, Zachi had a miscarriage and it was a profound experience in her relationship with her body and one of the most fundamental experiences of her life
• Mourning a miscarriage
• The impact of shame
• The lack of resources available to support through miscarriage.
• https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/
• https://www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/pregnancy-complications/baby-loss/miscarriage-information-and-support
• Spurred on to support women after experiencing loneliness
• Initially wanting to become a midwife after her Master\u2019s studies, but then deciding to become a doula. Doula training was so focussed on pregnancy and birth, but she realised there should be support for all the experiences of the womb
• She started\xa0 with what she\u2019d needed: someone to talk to, normalising the experience
• Using breathwork and colour mapping to connect with the womb (physically or energetically)
• Womb energy as a creative centre, even if you\u2019re non-binary or don\u2019t have a physical womb
• The stories we hold in our womb stay there and can affect our pleasure and sexuality
• Owning your story
• \u201cBeing at home in your body is what I wish for everyone\u201d
• The language of the womb : safe, homely
• The language of the uterus: valuable to name things by their name, but more detached
• Societal judgement around abortion
• Support for women going through abortion
• The journey of miscarriage and abortions are so personal, and everyone deserves support
• Simple advice for someone going through an abortion: have someone go with you, make sure there\u2019s food for you when you come home, build a care package for yourself, have some sanitary pads for heavier flow
• Not charging for services as she believes that everyone deserves support
• Miscarriages and abortions can be very sterile experiences
• Supporting someone if you don\u2019t agree with their choices
• Doulaing younger women e.g. teenage mums as there\u2019s already a stigma, and therefore not charging in order to be more accessible
• The importance of boundaries for self-care in order to support others
• Burnout
• Exploring pleasure and expressing sexuality
• Shame and women\u2019s sexuality
• Knowing your body by exploring your vulva in the mirror
• The pleasure of being yourself and honouring yourself
• \u201cSee yourself, feel yourself, be at home in your body\u201d

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You can connect with Zachi Brewster on Instagram:\xa0

https://www.instagram.com/zaz.brw/

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