I've already started this blog post in a draft a few nights ago but just kind of ended up going on this long rant and barely even getting to my point, ha! So… lets try this again shall we?
I'm going to be a doula!
Let me tell you what a doula is, then I'll explain why and how I decided that it was something I want to do.
A doula, as defined by DONA International (the organization that I will certify though); is a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during, and just after birth.
When I found out we were having a baby, I knew that I wanted to have a non medicated natural hospital birth. While I never really thought about having children much, I already knew how I would do it. When I looked back on it I couldn't really explain why I felt the need to bring a child into this world without the use of modern medicine. It wasn't until after reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth that I knew that natural childbirth was right for me. I felt that desire because my body was made to create, deliver, and nourish a baby! The desire was organically driven.
I never even knew what a doula was until reading Ina May's book! I even interviewed one until we decided that we really couldn't afford to hire one since we had just moved here and still hadn't found a place to live.
After having had a wonderful, dreamy natural hospital birth.. I truly understood the role of a doula. And I feel like most women who have given birth (medicated or not) can agree that during labor and delivery you can use all the support you can get! From the day I had Vivian I felt this urge to help other women realize their true strength.
While the spouse or partner is an invaluable part of support during labor and delivery, a doula has been trained extensively on ways to help the mother emotionally as well as physically and it's her sole purpose while she's there.
Some doulas describe what they do as "mothering the mother". I saw a quote one time describing a doula as not a friend, or a care provider but as "mother in the most ancient sense". It really resonated with me, it struck a cord in me that I have never felt before. For the first time in my life I felt a calling.
Most people who know me know that I'm passionate about natural childbirth. I can talk about it without end and never get tired or less enthusiastic about it (just ask my husband.. or my sister haha). It's not just non medicated childbirth that I feel passionate about, but the idea of giving birth back to women.. making them confident and knowledgable in their choices and decisions. There are many ways to give birth, and what's right for one woman isn't right for another. But childbirth is one of the biggest spiritual experiences in a woman's life, and that deserves some reverence.
I want to give women the knowledge and tools to make their own decisions so that they can birth however they feel most confident. I want to give her the strength when she feels like she absolutely can not go one more minute.. because after all the strength is and will always be inside of her, sometimes all it takes is a kind word and a gentle touch.
Childbirth isn't something that just happens to a woman, it is something that she is born to do and I believe that if more women had the support of someone like a doula that their birth experience can be even more positive and empowering than ever thought possible.
I went back and forth about whether it was something I could accomplish. I didn't want to let my people down. But it is because of my friends and family that I am pursuing this dream, and I couldn't be more excited!
Annnnd there it is! While I probably did ramble a bit there in the middle, it is still a heck of a lot shorter than my first go ;)
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