Monday, September 14, 2009

doulas, doulas every where!!

It seems lately every where I go I'm meeting doulas! I met one at the dentist office the other day, in the last 2 weeks I've been to 2 doula meetings, and missed 2. I met a new midwife last month who told me she had started a volunteer doula program at a local hospital. (said local hospital shut it down.) One recent meeting I was at referred to another doula group in a nearby city. All of a sudden they are popping up all over the place!

That said, I have come to see just as there are many different kinds of women and different kinds of birth, there are different kinds of doulas. There are the doulas who are take charge and in your face, and some women need that. And there are doulas who are calm, quiet and reassuring. There are some that are a bit of both. (If you're on FB you could take a quiz to find out what kind of doula you are!)

That said, there are also doulas that feel they have to push their beliefs on women. It's such a turn off. As a doula, I believe I should offer choices, not beliefs. I believe I should make sure moms know what their options are, not push my agenda on them. Whatever she chooses, becomes the choice that I support in her birth.

Am I pro natural childbirth?
Yes.
Do I think natural childbirth is for every woman?
No.
As a doula can I support a woman in labor who chooses an epidural, just as well as one who goes w/o?
Yes.
Do women who get epidurals need the support of a doula in labor?
Yes. You typically don't get the epidural as soon as you walk in the door. And doula support is more than just physical.


Well, I hadn't intended on that little question and answer, but it was fun, we should do it again! Give me some questions, I'll give you some answers:)