Teaching Safe Sleep Practices
Posted by doularama | Filed under News
Not long ago, I was recommending to women in need of breastfeeding support, a newly-crowned IBCLC here in the Bronx. I had met her about a year earlier while we both volunteered for a fund raising event for The New Space for Women’s Health, Manhattan’s next freestanding birth center at the time ( a project which has just been discontinued, hopefully only temporarily).
Anyway, this acquaintance, who I now count as a friend, works for a government agency that is charged with spreading the good news about good health in the Bronx. I’m sure their mission statement isn’t worded quite that way, but that really does suffice for my purpose right now. So, my friend asked me if I knew of anyone who might be interested in teaching one-hour breastfeeding classes. Her office needed to get a certain number of classes taught in a short amount of time and they were looking for help. Well, not only did I know someone, I was that one. She told me to go to the office so we could talk about it.
When I showed up, I was surprised to find I was on a job interview. The application even asked for references- and they were called! We talked about my experience as a doula and an educator and then I was asked if I had ever actually breastfed. I could have been hired solely because I had breastfed my son only an hour before the interview. Before I left, they asked, quite incidentally, if I might also be available to give talks on SIDS. They were providing all the curricula and a very generous stipend, so I said yes without knowing that I was stepping into a pit of self-betrayal from which I could only emerge by complaining to my dear husband and you, of course. Thanks for reading.
The class is actually on SIDS and Safe Sleep Practices, which are actually unrelated because, as I have been trained to say, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the unexplained death of a baby, furthermore and to the point, it is not preventable. I suppose, though, that someone felt that a class for telling people to put their babies to sleep in a crib, on their backs, with no blankets, pillows or other suffocation hazards might be too short. Well, that’s not the only problem.
My big concern is with the recommendation that families make their babies sleep alone. The recommendation is based on a flawed study which was funded by the Consumer Products Safety Commission and the Juvenile Product Manufacturers Association, i.e., the crib manufacturer’s lobbyists. The study concluded that babies sleep best alone, in a crib. Once again, we in the United States, have decided that what the rest of the world is doing, what humankind has been doing all along, is wrong and we should go out and buy something, along with its hundred accessories to make it right.
Our public education campaigns have been dumbed down because it is widely recognized that some people may not follow the safety guidelines for bed sharing. I wish I could share that, if they want to experience the ultimate in bonding and hormonal regulation, better sleep and milk production and even better family relations, they should keep their newborns with them around the clock and find out how to safely share their beds. Maybe I could slip each of them a note instruction them to meet me outside for a private class. I know, however, that many of these women have always planned to separate themselves from their newborns with at least a wall. That even in the hospital they will welcome the rest offered to them by the nursery option. This is typical in our society and it’s very difficult for me to explain that it just isn’t normal.
Next week I will be speaking to four different groups, spelling out for them the guidelines that our government has established for them on safe sleep. It is unlikely that anyone will ask me what I personally did with my children, but if someone does, should I admit that for four months my son slept on top of me as I sat in a recliner? Probably not, as that is discouraged by all sides, but I will tell them that I made the decision that was right for my family and I’ll encourage them to do the research and make the decisions that are right for theirs.
I won’t stray from my curriculum for now, but I look forward to seeing our leaders take us in a new direction in the near future. Perhaps they should focus on breastfeeding, the missing factor in bed-sharing infant deaths.
Tags: Bed Sharing, Breastfeeding, Co-Sleeping, SIDS
Celebrate International Doula Month
Posted by doularama | Filed under News
May is International Doula Month!
A doula is a professional labor assistant. Doulas are experienced in childbirth and provide continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother and her partner before, during and just after childbirth. In the prenatal period, a doula can help women gain information so that they can have the power to make knowledge-based decisions rather than fear-based decisions.
If you are a doula, there are a few things you should do.
1. Take time to reflect on the work you do. Think about the motivating factor that launched you into service. Make sure you haven’t lost sight of your commitment. If you think you have and you don’t have a mentor, reach out to the doula community (even online here) and communicate to someone who understands.
2. Take time to care for yourself and replenish your spirit. Our energy can so easily be sapped if we don’t take care of our needs and we will not be able to serve others. I know it’s a cliché already, but let me remind you that, when you’re on that airplane and the oxygen masks drop, you need to get yours on first before you help anyone else.
3. Attend a workshop or class that will help broaden your understanding of the things your clients may be facing. You might not be able to get continuing education units or points with your organization, but you will likely grow professionally and personally.
4. Make your presence known in your community. Better yet, step out of your comfort zone, and reach out to an underserved population, offering your services at a reduced rate. I volunteer at a clinic in the South Bronx, teaching prenatal classes. Most of the women end up wanting doulas so I match them with free doulas who are still seeking certification.
5. Network with other doulas and see if you can do all of the above with a group. Organize a class, party, outing or spa day.
If you are not a doula, thank a doula you know. If you don’t know any doulas, you’re probably missing out- they tend to be fantastic people!
Happy International Doula Month!
1. Take time to reflect on the work you do. Think about the motivating factor that launched you into service. Make sure you haven’t lost sight of your commitment. If you think you have and you don’t have a mentor, reach out to the doula community (even online here) and communicate to someone who understands.
2. Take time to care for yourself and replenish your spirit. Our energy can so easily be sapped if we don’t take care of our needs and we will not be able to serve others. I know it’s a cliché already, but let me remind you that, when you’re on that airplane and the oxygen masks drop, you need to get yours on first before you help anyone else.
3. Attend a workshop or class that will help broaden your understanding of the things your clients may be facing. You might not be able to get continuing education units or points with your organization, but you will likely grow professionally and personally.
4. Make your presence known in your community. Better yet, step out of your comfort zone, and reach out to an underserved population, offering your services at a reduced rate. I volunteer at a clinic in the South Bronx, teaching prenatal classes. Most of the women end up wanting doulas so I match them with free doulas who are still seeking certification.
5. Network with other doulas and see if you can do all of the above with a group. Organize a class, party, outing or spa day.
