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.
Birth Bracelet
Posted by doularama | Filed under Recommendations
I am thrilled to share this idea. I’m sorry to say it’s not mine originally, but I think it’s great so I’ve adopted it. It’s a bracelet made with memory wire and a bead for each birth I’ve been a part of. At my postpartum visits, I ask each woman to choose a bead to add which represents her birth.
Tags: Beading, childbirth, doula
Labor Pains for Men
Posted by doularama | Filed under News
Surely, some men will watch this and think that they would be able to do better, but there is much more involved than just the contracting of the uterus (the largest set of muscles in the body and men will never have them). There are other sensations, many would say pain, that come up in various parts of the body, and there is also a huge emotional factor that contributes. If you are frightened or anxious, dehydrated or have a full bladder, it all comes into play. There is so much involved, but this is still worth a look.
I say too bad men can not go through labor. Not because they deserve to suffer, but because it is really a privelege. Women can’t truly remember the physical component of how they felt during labor, but the emotional component never leaves us. That’s why, as a doula, I am working to help women create positive memories.
Tags: doula, Dr. Andrew Rochford, Men Experiencing Labor
What is a Rebozo?
Posted by doularama | Filed under News, Recommendations
I’ve never used a rebozo at a birth because, up until a few weeks ago, I wasn’t trained and didn’t really know what to do with one. Several months ago, I wondered if one of those five-dollar “pashmina” shawls that are being peddled by any one of the hundreds of street and small store salesmen in my fine city would do as a rebozo until I figured out what to do with a real one and bought it. I threw one in my doula bag, mostly in case someone was cold during a birth, but also in case I got up the courage to use it. I never took it out, as births are usually warmer than cold and my rebozo experimentation never poked it’s head at those times. Recently, when placing an order through the DONA Boutique, I saw that they are selling rebozos for only $10. That is a bargain! To my surprise they had one in black. My doula motif is mostly black and white (and oh, how it isn’t), so that’s the one I had to have. I laughed when my package arrived and I saw that my rebozo looked like it had been purchased by the Nigerian guy on Broadway and 74th Street, same package and all. It doesn’t matter that it cost me twice as much. At least I know that the shawl I already have in my bag will indeed suffice as a rebozo. I’m sure DONA can put the profits to good use too.
The rebozo is a traditional Mexican garment, like a long shawl or Spanish mantilla. In addition to its use as a shawl, it is multifunctional, being used during pregnancy, labor and as a baby or toddler carrier. During pregnancy, it is used to counteract back pain, during labor to help the mother into various positions, for relaxation and to adjust the position of the baby.
When used by a doula, the rebozo is like an extension of the arms, allowing one to help support the woman’s weight and helping to ensure that she is in a good position. During the pushing stage of labor, it can be used like a tug-of-war rope to help the mother focus her pushing and widen the pelvic outlet. The rebozo can be used by a midwife to assist in repositioning a posterior or breech baby.
The most basic technique one can practice with a rebozo is used to relax the soft tissues of the abdomen and the broad uterine ligaments. It is called jiggling or sifting and is pretty much what these names imply. This method can also be used during pregnancy to help the baby get into the optimal position for birth.
For photos and videos on these techniques and more, visit Spinning Babies and Birthing Essentials.
For books and other related materials, check out The Rebozo Way Project.
For more uses, view Midwifery Today’s Transcription of the Rebozo Workshop Given by Dona Irene Sotelo and Naoli Vianver.
So, go out and get a cheap pashmina shawl. Dress it up, dress it down and carry your groceries home from the farmer’s market in it. Then, when you’re pregnant, it will help you relax and get your baby into the right position for birth. When the time comes, it will be right there to help you in labor and even support you in pushing your baby out. How great that you can then use it to carry that baby. On second thought, maybe you don’t want to get such a cheap one.
Tags: childbirth, DONA, doula, labor, Pashmina, pregnancy, Rebozo, Rebozos, Using a Rebozo
Birth of A Woman
Posted by doularama | Filed under Birth Stories
Charlotte was in my prenatal class at one of the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital clinics. Charlotte is not her real name. She is fifteen. Being her doula was not the plan for me, but it did end up being a privilege.
In the beginning of our prenatal classes, I ask the women to introduce themselves and to share how they are feeling about their pregnancies and/or labors & deliveries. Charlotte would reluctantly say that she didn’t really care or otherwise convey her indifference.
One day, she arrived very early for class. We got the chance to talk and Charlotte told me that she was unhappy. She said she was being criticized for being pregnant and that she had just moved to a new foster home. By the end of that conversation, Charlotte decided to get a doula (a free doula I would match her with,) and I saw her smile for the first time.
A couple of doulas had agreed to meet her and Charlotte never kept her appointments with them or returned their calls. One woman travelled for two hours to find that Charlotte was out, no one knew where. It was getting to be a challenge getting her the help I knew she needed. A few weeks before she was due, it looked like I wasn’t going to be able to get her a doula. At that point, I told her doctor to call me when she went into labor. I wasn’t free to commit to being on call, but I was feeling responsible for this young lady.
On Friday when Charlotte called I recognized her voice immediately. She told me that she was in labor and that she had already been to the hospital a few hours earlier. They had found her cervix to be half a centimeter dilated and had sent her home to walk. Now, the most important lesson in the first class of my prenatal series is to stay home as long as possible. I guess Charlotte had to learn that one the hard way.
I spoke to her foster mother who asked me to get there as soon as possible. I arrived shortly after to find Charlotte talking and laughing through seemingly mild contractions that were sporadic. Within forty minutes of my arrival, Charlotte became much more relaxed and focused. Suddenly her contractions were coming every three minutes. She was willing to go out for a walk with me. Perhaps because she remembered the benefits of walking as learned in my class, or maybe it was because she knew that she had spent much of the day laboring in an unsupportive environment, and this was her chance to change scenery.
Either way, out we went to walk the streets of Harlem at a time of night when I would normally be sleeping. Charlotte felt very free out there to moan and move instinctually. She was doing an amazing job. Hours earlier she had been begging for a cesarean and now she couldn’t deny the power that enabled her to cope so well. I was so proud of her.
Eventually, we all agreed that it was time to go to the hospital. Frankly, by the time we got on the road, I thought we might not make it there before the baby was born, but he did wait about half an hour and that was enough. Charlotte pushed through half a dozen contractions before we were able to meet her son. Once she saw him, she started to smile and I don’t think I noticed a time when she wasn’t smiling after that. It was truly glorious for me to witness the transformation in Charlotte. She had done such a marvelous job and I told her just that. To that she replied that I was the one who had done it, that it wouldn’t have been possible without me. Before I left her that morning, I made sure she understood that all I had done was shown her what was possible, that she had done the job all herself.
And what an amazing job it was!
Tags: Birth Story, childbirth, doula
toLABOR
Posted by doularama | Filed under News
One of the most important roles of a doula is to discover for a woman and her family the options that she has during labor. In our culture we have adopted a particular birth scene outside of which few women venture. For too many of them, there is no other option because they don’t know anything else exists. When a woman designs her birth experience knowing what is available to her, she can really be the master of the outcome. Even if she chooses to do what everyone else is doing, she has had a say and, therefore, power over the circumstances.
In my ongoing quest for more information, I find that my options are somewhat limited. Not so much because they don’t exist, but because sometimes I can’t take advantage of them. This was the case when I decided to train with The Association of Labor Assistants and Childbirth Educators (ALACE). There were no workshops in my area and it wasn’t really possible for me to travel. I waited a little while because I figured, this is New York City. Why wouldn’t they want to come here soon? Well, it turns out that they didn’t. Madness, I tell you. I volunteered to organize the event myself and, by the time I got my act together, ALACE had changed its name to toLABOR – The Organization of Labor Assistants for Births Options and Resources. The training was packed and there were people left on a waiting list. I plan to have a role in establishing the permanence of this training as an option for the aspiring doulas (and others who are interested in birth) of my area. If you are not near New York and, for some crazy reason, you don’t plan to be, take a look at the toLABOR website to see if there’s a training scheduled near you. If not, maybe you should consider bringing one to your area.
I have many hopes of change for our world. I imagine I’m far from alone on that one! One of the things I hope for is that, among the responses of doctor, firefighter, ballet dancer, teacher and singer, young children, when asked what they want to be when they grow up, will say doula. Making good training available to doulas today will help make that a possibility for some tomorrow. I am honored to be in a position to help. Stay tuned for more information on that matter in the months to come.
Tags: alace, doula, doulas, tolabor
Professional Labor Support
Posted by doularama | Filed under News
I live on a hilltop not far from a Stella D’Oro bakery. At the right time of day, when the wind mingles with the particles of baked dough just so, our neighborhood air is filled with sweet temptation.
Decades ago in Colombia, there was a small bakery which was known for miles for its egg bread, the aroma of which was enjoyed at the same time every day, as a long line formed outside for the delicious loaves. My uncle was delighted to have found a job in this fine establishment, until his revelatory first day of work. That morning before sun up, he was given his instructions and began mixing and kneading. When the defining moment came to turn this ordinary dough into the beloved egg bread, the owner poured a stream of yellow syrup, not resembling anything magical at all, into the dough. The divine egg bread’s aroma was the product of an artificial goop and my uncle’s spirits fell like a startled soufflé.
For almost a year now the secret ingredients at my local Stella D’Oro are in the hands of scabs. For many of the usual reasons, the workers have been on strike with their picket signs on Broadway, rallying support and asking for a public boycott. Now, I know it may seem like I’m making this up, but I hope you believe me when I tell you that, since the strike began, about once a week, the aroma of baking goods has been replaced by the burning smell of a batch gone awry.
So, am I writing all this just to make you hungry or to ask you to stop buying a certain product? No, here’s the good part. On one of those burned-cookie mornings I was on the bus that runs past the Stella D’Oro factory. I was talking to a woman and ended up telling her I am a doula. These days, people either respond with excited interest or have no idea what I’m talking about. The woman on the bus was getting ready to disembark as she asked, “What’s a douler?” Knowing I had little time, I told her that I provide professional labor support. She seemed thrilled and cheerily said as she headed out, “So you’re helping out the Stella D’Oro workers. That’s great. They really need the support!” If she had hung around a little longer, she may have been disappointed with my response.
Here it is for you, though:
The word Doula comes from the Greek word for the most important female slave or servant in an ancient Greek household, the woman who probably helped the lady of the house through her childbearing. Dana Raphael, in the book The Tender Gift described Doula as a “title for those individuals who surround, interact with and aid the mother at any time within the perinatal period.” Because of that book the word became used in the context in which we are using it today. A doula is a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother 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.
It turns out, by the way, that the Stella D’Oro strikers did not need my labor support, as the judge ruled in their favor. I wouldn’t have been able to help them anyway, unless one of them was having a baby.
Tags: childbirth, doula, doulas, labor, pregnancy
