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.
DoulaRina’s Holiday Shopping Guide
Posted by doularama | Filed under Recommendations
Those who know me may be surprised to learn that I, who so disrelish the commercialism of this season, have written such a blog post. The rest of you will likely be disappointed by my suggestions, but my hope is that I give all of you some ideas you wouldn’t have thought of on your own, probably because their usefulness makes them so boring. I’m not recommending you give your mother an iron on Mother’s Day, though. I think that these gifts will be more appreciated than that subtle suggestion to keep up the good work.
First I should clarify that I am a birth junkie and, as such, am giving here suggestions for the pregnant woman you may know. If you are looking for a shopping guide for someone else, all I say to you is shame- you should have done your shopping last January.
So, if you’re shopping for a pregnant woman and you’re reading this blog, it is quite likely that you can look up her registry and shop from where you are sitting. I don’t discourage that. I like to buy gifts from people’s registries because I know I’ve chosen something that they want (and hopefully need, but with baby things, there is sooo much they just don’t need). I don’t stop there, however. I like to add something to the gift so that it is more personal and thoughtful and so they don’t end up knowing how much I’ve spent. Go ahead and buy the bouncer, but then add a book. Not to be read while the baby is bouncing- I was thinking more along the lines of Active Birth by Janet Balaskas, The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger, Birth by Tina Cassidy or maybe The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin (which she should leave lying around for her partner to pick up). Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin has some inspiring birth stories she can easily read without realizing how much she’s getting from them. There are so many great books. For some more suggestions, click on my books tab. You might also consider getting her a mix of herbs to use in a sitz bath or regular bath to heal her postpartum perineum. I make a lovely organic batch you can purchase by contacting me.
Another fabulous idea is some spa time. This is actually good for any adult on your list. In fact, if you know me personally, please assume I am hinting directly to you. A gift certificate to a spa that has regular packages as well as prenatal massage is great because she can choose to use it while she’s pregnant or some time afterwards, when she will probably need it just as much. If she hasn’t used it by the time the baby is born, however, part of your gift should be a nudge to get going as it is likely she will never find the time to do it on her own.
My final suggestion is to offer to pay, either partially or in full, alone or with some friends, for the services of a doula. You might choose a birth doula or a postpartum doula or have the mother-to-be decide which she would prefer. Either way, you shouldn’t actually hire a doula for her, even if you’ve gotten a recommendation for the best doula in town, as hiring a doula is very personal.
I hope that there is a great decrease in the number of unnecessities purchased for the babies of 2010 thanks to this blog.
Happy shopping! (that’s an oxymoron, isn’t it?)
Tags: doulas, gift registries, holiday shopping, pregnancy books, spa
Support for Doulas
Posted by doularama | Filed under Recommendations
The other day I got calls from three different doulas who were seeking support. One of them called me excitedly to report that she was on her way to a birth and then again, about six hours later to tell me that she was on her way home. She told me how fast and easy it had been and, of course, that she was very happy. I listened to a few details and then she went home to rest.
The next doula called me a few times throughout the day. This birth wasn’t going so smoothly and she thought she was calling me for advice. All I did, though, was listen. She presented a situation and told me what she had said or done and I just held her hand over the phone so that she wasn’t alone.
The last call was from a doula who had been at a long, emotionally-charged, yet satisfying birth. It was over now and she just needed to release. How else would she have been able to sleep that night?
Each of these doulas needed a sounding board. They didn’t turn to me for my expertise. They just needed a pair of ears with a heart that could relate and perhaps a shoulder to lean on. Perhaps everyone needs to debrief at the end of the day, but clearly some of us need it more than others. I think doulas can be a particularly needy group. After spending so much time supporting others, we need a little support ourselves.
Tags: child birth, childbirth, doulas, support
Birth Art
Posted by doularama | Filed under Recommendations
I am taking the Teaching Birth Art course through Birthing from Withtin. The drawing below is the product of the assignment for which I had to draw a birth that was going well. It is called Nothing but Peace and Love. Originally, my hands were on the woman and it looked really wrong to me. I saw that I didn’t need hands, just heart. I tell people that often the presence of a doula alone can make a difference. When I thought I was done, I became obsessed with making it simple and turned most of the page black. I rubbed and rubbed so that none of the page would show through. As a doula, I often work hard to make it look like nothing is going on too.
Tags: Birth Art Process, Birthing from Within, childbirth, doulas
Penny Simkin on Doulas for Birth Care
Posted by doularama | Filed under News, Recommendations
Tags: doulas, Midwifery Today, Penny Simkin
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
