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Episode 58: Supporting Teen Pregnancy
When it comes to supporting teens through pregnancy and birth, there is a lot of nuances involved. Society often looks down upon teen pregnancy, and much shame and judgment can be directed their way. For many teens, the doula can be viewed as just another adult who is trying to direct their life. Or their birth experience. The key to supporting teens is to meet them where they are at. You also need to build a relationship based on genuine connection to provide effective support. In this episode, we discuss how to approach supporting teen pregnancy. From how to conduct prenatal meetings. How to navigate the involvement of other adults,…
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Episode 57: Preeclampsia Awareness
Among pregnant individuals, preeclampsia will affect approximately 5-8% of pregnancies. Among Black pregnant individuals that risk is 3x greater. As doulas, it is inevitable that we will encounter clients who develop preeclampsia. As a result, knowing how to support clients through this experience is an essential skill for doulas to develop. Both during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. Preeclampsia during pregnancy is most well known, postpartum preeclampsia also poses a risk to those who have recently given birth. While not as common as preeclampsia during pregnancy, postpartum preeclampsia affects approximately 600 postpartum individuals a year in the US. The onset of postpartum preeclampsia is most common in the 48…
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Episode 56: Doula Partnership Model
When it comes to labor doula work, working on your own can be a rewarding yet trying experience. Many doulas are curious about the types of doula partnership structures that exist. For some doulas sharing the day-to-day running of a doula business and client care will be the best answer. For others having a shared call model where they share call with another doula but maintain separate businesses will be the best fit. In this episode, we discuss the considerations that many doulas face. Exploring the options that exist as they begin to decide on or rethink their business structure. From life as a solo doula to life as an…
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Episode 55: Sharing Our Own Experiences
Many doulas come to birth work after having their own personal experience with pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. For some, it is a powerful experience. For others, the experience is traumatic. Some may feel that pregnancy and birth are simply a means to an end. Having a baby. When it comes to serving clients, the question that typically arises is, “To share or not to share?” As with most things when working with growing families there isn’t one simple answer. The truth is, it depends on the situation, and the client. It also heavily depends on the doula. Is the doula aware of their bias? Do they actively work…
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Episode 54: Nuance of Post Cesarean Support
April is Cesarean Awareness Month! We often hear discussions about supporting a client through a cesarean birth. Yet we don’t often hear about how to support our clients after a cesarean birth. For labor doulas, post cesarean support can begin in the recovery room. As labor doulas, we may tidy up the labor room as the client and their partner are in the operating room. This can have a positive psychological impact on the client when they return to the room. Eliminating the visual noise of the room. At times we may find ourselves opening up a discussion about the labor and cesarean experience. This creates an opportunity for the…
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Episode 53: Unpacking Your Doula Baggage
One of the most common questions in doula forums is, “What’s in your doula bag?” What isn’t as readily talked about is our individual psychology. Those psychological and ideological things we carry in our mental doula bag. Our life experiences. Implicit and explicit biases. Work ethic. It is essential to learn how to peel back and get comfortable with the uncomfortable feelings that may arise when working with families. The first place to start is to identify your “shoulds.” When you think about birth, parenting, or infant feeding for yourself, what are your “shoulds?” Next is to examine if your “shoulds” can be tucked away. Can you prevent them from…
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Episode 52: Infant Feeding Fatigue
When it comes to the options for how a family can approach feeding their baby, the options feel infinite. Regardless of their approach, decision fatigue is a very real experience for many families. In addition, there is so much pressure to make the “right” decision. While the choice for how to feed the baby is often made before the baby arrives. The real-time process of infant feeding begins at birth. A time where the birthing parent is often tired, sore, and otherwise experiencing the after-effects of the birth process. As doulas discussion surrounding infant feeding can be most effective for the client when it begins during pregnancy. Allowing opportunity for…
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Episode 51: Immediate Newborn Care Plan
The immediate newborn care plan. When it comes to planning for birth and postpartum this area is often overlooked. For many labor doulas, the birthing process can tend to take center stage. For postpartum doulas, planning for once the baby or babies is home is often the focus. However, exploring the many options for the immediate newborn care plan holds just as much importance for many clients. An important part of guiding your clients through their options is to have a deep understanding of what their chosen birthing location will offer. This requires research on the part of the doula to discover the common immediate newborn care policies for the birthing…
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Episode 50: Conversational Boundaries
Part of the “getting to know you” process for many clients often involves questions of a personal nature. As a birth worker is important that you consider where your conversational boundaries are. Especially when it comes to more personal or controversial topics of discussion. Historically these conversations often centered around topics such as marital status, children, and occasionally religion, circumcision, vaccination, etc. However, in the wake of the pandemic, these conversations have begun to shift. Families are navigating their comfort levels to potential exposure to COVID-19. As a result, we are seeing an increase in questions that are focused on the birth worker’s medical history. Questions about social distancing…
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Episode 49: Normalizing Prodromal Labor
Prodromal labor is one of the most misunderstood topics amongst doulas today. The hallmark of prodromal labor is uncomfortable and often times painful contractions that stop and start. For some pregnant individuals, this happens over the course of days. For others, over the course of weeks. The changes that prodromal labor bring are not often observable from the outside. As a result, many doulas are taught that the cause for these contractions is a malposition of the baby. To understand prodromal labor one must first understand the definition: pre·cur·sor /prēˈkÉ™rsÉ™r/ a person or thing that comes before another of the same kind; a forerunner By definition and function, it…
