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Episode 44: Part Time Doula
Can I be a part-time doula? How do I transition from a full or part-time job into doula work? These are common questions in the doula community. We each come to this work from our own unique perspectives. For some, full-time doula work is the ultimate goal. For others, supporting growing families while maintaining a full or part-time job is the desired goal. While passion is the foundation of this work, many individuals do not realize that becoming a doula is more than just supporting clients. It is starting a business. For many, building a doula business can take a good 12-18 months to become sustainable without outside support. For…
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Episode 43: Supporting VBAC
Supporting VBAC clients. What is VBAC? Vaginal Birth After Cesarean. This can be a rewarding yet challenging experience for doulas. Understanding where your client is coming from is the first step to supporting VBAC clients. Understanding the client’s previous birth experience(s) will help you determine where your support may be needed most. Identifying what barriers or anxiety triggers may exist will also help you help them navigate labor with more confidence. As well as identifying what milestones or decisions they may face in labor that may be especially challenging or triggering. In addition, validating our client’s experiences and emotions is essential. Even if we do not share our client’s experiences…
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Episode 42: Postpartum Doulas: Client Choice
When working with postpartum clients, the choices they may make surrounding the care and keeping of their babies can challenge postpartum doulas. Those hot button parenting topics such as cosleeping, vaccination, circumcision, and breast versus bottle can be particularly challenging for doulas. Especially when the doula has their own strong opinions about these topics. Yet as postpartum doulas, we may be the very first person that a family encounters that does not judge or give an unasked opinion on their parenting choices. Identifying and drawing our own professional boundaries is essential when working with families. Knowing how to communicate those boundaries can be a learning process. It is a reality…
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Episode 41: Hospital Policies, Doulas & COVID-19
As hospitals begin to relax their visitor guidelines to include doulas, the requirements surrounding the standards that doulas must meet to gain access to hospitals is changing. Hospitals that previously welcomed any doula with open arms have instituted doula policies requiring proof of training and/or certification. Some are providing PPE for doulas to utilize as they support clients. While others are requiring an extensive list of PPE that the doula must provide at their own expense. Some doulas believe that it is not within the hospital’s right to create doula policies surrounding doula certification and training and encourage doulas to make their own certificates of training or certification. However, hospitals…
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Episode 40: Free Doula Services
A doula walks into a Facebook group and asks about providing free doula services, suddenly a rigorous debate ensues. Some doulas are encouraged as a part of their training to provide free services in order to get certified. Other doulas have felt the financial blow that those offering free doula services have on their community. Specifically their ability to charge a living wage. Then you have the doulas who come into this profession from a place of financial privilege that just wants to help families and doesn’t need to earn a wage. For many years the discussion centered on the scenarios above and how they impact other doulas. More recently…
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Episode 39: Birth Plan vs. Birth Preferences
As birth professionals, we are often mindful of the power of the language we use. Words have power, and at times the language used surrounding pregnancy and birth can have an unintended impact. As experienced doulas, we have developed our own approach to helping clients explore their options and preferences for birth. The language we use in our approach to this process is birth preferences. For some clients, having a plan shapes their experience into one that they will pass or fail. When the birth goes according to plan, they feel that they have succeeded. Yet when the experience doesn’t play out as they had hoped or intended, they can…
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Episode 38: Developing Your Doula Voice – Part Two
Welcome to Part 2 of our Developing Your Doula Voice series. In part one we discussed the common fears and anxieties that those new to doula work commonly experience. In this episode, we discuss strategies to overcome all the fears and anxieties that we discussed in episode one. Building your foundation of informational resources takes time. But there are shortcuts that you can utilize to build a database of information. This will allow you to find the answers to your client’s questions. Yet at the same time, it’s ok to not have all the answers. Emotional support may not be intuitive for everyone. Yet at the same time being able…
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Episode 37: Developing Your Doula Voice | Part One | Doula Fears
Becoming a doula is an exciting and rewarding journey. However, this journey comes with some fears and anxieties for many people. When starting out as a doula fears and worries are common. But letting these fears hold you back can be even more common. Common concerns often include: What if: I don’t remember what to do I can’t remember the medical terms What I see or smell makes me nauseous or sick I pass out I don’t have the answer to a client’s question Here’s the truth, you are not alone! These fears are common. They are also valid. Better yet? There are ways to address all of these common…
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Episode 36: Empathy & Compassion in Birth Work
Empathy and compassion are two common foundational elements of birth work. While not a required trait, many birth professionals will readily admit that they have a strong empathetic nature. Their ability to empathize with growing families and the struggles they may face is often what prompts them to explore a career in birth work. Their compassion for the struggles of growing families is what motivates them to take the next step. Yet many birth workers often use the terms interchangeably. But empathy and compassion are two distinct personality traits. One is passive, and the other is active. Empathy is inherently passive. Our connection with others allows us to come to…
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Episode 35: UPDATE – Doulas Supporting Clients & Each Other Through COVID-19
It’s been almost four months since doulas and other birth workers have felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In its wake has come a host of changes to the way we operate our businesses. How has the virus has changed how we interact with clients and our communities? In this follow-up episode, we explore how the landscape of our work has changed. We explore what services are working. The changes we and other birth workers have made to adapt to social distancing and self-isolation. Safety practices we have implemented to protect our clients and ourselves. We also explore what happens when businesses do not pivot to meet the changing…
