How Does a Doula Support You?

Your doula, whether virtual or in person, is there to support you in having a better birth & postpartum experience. One that feels empowered and full of joy as you welcome your baby into this world. One where you feel well-cared for, nourished and held.

One where you recognize your power and advocate for a well-supported birth and postpartum period.

The way your child is born, how you experience that birth and how well you are cared for within the first few months postpartum, or what is called the Fourth Trimester, matters!

It will set the foundation of wellness for you and your family for years to come.

 So how can doula support help you to honor this time as sacred?

It provides the space, information, practices and wisdom that you need to make the best decisions for you and your family, without bias or judgment.

 Why is doula support so essential?

With most births, whether low-risk or not, occurring in the hospital, there is very little attention paid to the birthing individual’s and their partner’s non-medical needs, their personal experience, or their desires, values, beliefs or will.

This reality often results in low birth satisfaction or less than stellar birth outcomes. Birth is not meant to be solely a medical event and when the paradigm surrounding birth is almost entirely medical, we will naturally feel as if something has been taken away from us.

Any outside intervention into a normally physiological (and psychospiritual) process, will have a result, and those results are not always positive.

Birth is not trusted and unfortunately, women are not trusted.

Doctors are trained to see birth as something to be managed and something to be feared, and thought of as unsafe.

How can something that we are designed to do… no different than digesting food… be imagined as dangerous in all situations?

Something dangerous enough that it is handed over to an authority figure, who may have no understanding about the deeply spiritual, psychological, emotional and physical process a birthing individual’s body goes through in preparation to become a parent.

And then being left to figure everything out on your own with a few pieces of paper and access to a medical system that produces high maternal morbidity rates, including black women dying at 3-4x+ the rates of white women?

Something is NOT RIGHT here… and I can tell you that NO ONE is going to change it without you standing up and demanding more.

 What is the role of a doula?

The role of your doula is not to tell you what is best for you and baby, but to provide the space, information, experience, education, knowledge and evidence that you need to make the best decision for you and your family.

For birth, this may mean discussing the importance of your care-provider and their role, the various stages of labor and what to expect, hospital realities and different options and medical procedures that may be presented to you, information about these medical procedures, and how to have important conversations with your care-provider, facilitate informed consent and help you to achieve a desired birth outcome, yet be available to you emotionally when the desired plan or course may need to shift due to circumstances beyond our control.

Birth doulas are also helpful to the birthing partner, and can provide them with the understanding and guidance that they need to support the birthing individual, and empower them to know how to hold space for the birthing individual’s process.

The role of your postpartum doula is to prepare you for postpartum and what to expect those first few months after your newborn’s arrival. Many doulas can educate you on postpartum recovery and share practices that may be helpful in the Fourth Trimester. We may help you learn about how your baby communicates and how to respond to your newborn in ways that nurture them holistically. We may guide you in how to take care of your postpartum body and optimize rest and nourishment as you recover from childbirth and bond with your baby. We may guide you on the importance of your support team and how to create an optimal environment for yourself. We may educate you on feeding options, basics of lactation and how to navigate the postpartum period with less stress and more confidence.

 Why is it so important to prepare to have a positive birth & postpartum experience?

Unfortunately, the current paradigm of birth and postpartum care is lacking in awareness & in implementation of scientific study into practice.

It serves to disempower women and birthing people, and puts the authority in a medical system that is killing people.

We are essentially in the midst of a public health crisis.

I am linking some articles and studies that reveal the realities of birth and postpartum care in our world and specifically in the United States, so you may educate yourself and determine the right course of action for yourself.

CDC Report
Link to Download the 2021 Maternal Mortality Survey Report White Paper
Maternal Mortality and Morbidity in the United States: Where Are We Now?
NIH – About Maternal Morbidity and Mortality
Maternal mortality in the United States: The pervasive effects of racism
Women’s descriptions of childbirth trauma relating to care provider actions and interactions
Traumatic Birth Experiences within the Family Context: The Role of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Postpartum Mental Health, Bonding and Infant Emotion Identification
Middle Range Theory of Traumatic Childbirth

Awesome websites to explore!
www.evidencebasedbirth.com
www.birthmonopoly.com

If you are looking for the right education & support to guide you as you prepare for birth & postpartum, I have many options to serve you!

Xx,
Jen

*Disclaimer: This email and the contents included do not provide medical advice. The information, including but not limited to text, graphics, images, videos and other material contained in this email is for informational & emotional support purposes only. No material in this email is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this email.*