February 2024 Newsletter
Posted on:
February 23, 2024 |
♡ SPREADING THE DOULA LOVE ♡
As part of your ProDoula membership you are entitled to a level of support that other doulas unfortunately must navigate their careers without. Your annual membership fee includes ongoing support, guidance, and solutions during difficult times.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Whether it is in relation to a challenging birth or postpartum experience, a situation between yourself and a colleague, a trying time in your life that requires you to navigate your business in a new or unrealized manner, the ProDoula leadership team is here for you.
Are you taking advantage of this support?
Pick up the phone. Call us. Let us know you need help! ProDoula members, YOU don’t have to do this work alone.
You have compassionate leaders who have walked this walk and who are ready to support you on your journey.
REACH OUT TO YOUR PRODOULA FAMILY ♡
DOULA MERCH ANYBODY?
We have exciting things planned in 2024 including expanding our shop with merch drops! Is this something you would like to see ProDoula offer? If so, what kind of products would you like to see? We invite you to participate in our online poll!
39 BIRTH WORKERS COMPLETED
PRODOULA CERTIFICATION IN JANUARY 2024!
Certified Labor Doula: 16
Certified Elite Labor Doula: 2
Certified Postpartum & Infant Care Doula: 20
Certified Childbirth Educator: 1
BALANCING YOUR DOULA BUSINESS
✨ AND YOUR MENTAL HEALTH ✨
This may be easier said then done. For this reason we’re sharing the ‘Balancing a Doula Business and Your Own Mental Health’ online learning module from the Doula Learning Channel.
Through conducting interviews with doulas and exchanging personal anecdotes, this course was developed to help doulas navigate the mental health hurdles presented in daily life.
It examines how these challenges manifest in the field of doula work and outlines actionable steps to achieve success in your doula business while prioritizing and maintaining your mental well-being.
PRODOULAS MAKING A DIFFERENCE!
As a ProDoula, your contribution to the National Healthy Start Association is facilitated through our donation-based Cultural Competence Resource, which serves as a requirement for certification. 642 Cultural Competency Resources were sold in 2023 with 100% of the funds allocated to the NHSA.
The National Healthy Start Association is a non-profit whose mission is to improve birth outcomes and reduce health disparities for communities of color. NHSA provides support to over 100 community-based Healthy Start programs that address perinatal health, inter-conceptional healthcare, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and family violence.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT PRODOULA
“My training with Sarah (DiVito) empowered me. It was a safe space to come out of my comfort zone and really get into the gritty of what being a labor doula means. She made herself available for any and all questions. I was worried about a virtual training and feeling like I was missing something but after taking it I do not feel that way. From an administrative stand point, the ProDoula office was so communicative. Each email I sent pre training was promptly answered (less than 24hrs.) Both the trainer and office make it clear the steps you take to complete your certification. I cannot recommend this organization enough.” – Hannah Madrid – Rhode Island
THE NURSES NOOK
Collaborative Care to Improve Outcomes
Through ProDoula’s programs, nurses are fortifying their patient care skillsets!
“As a doula, I’ve attended more than a thousand hospital births. I can’t count the number of times a nurse has said to me, “I’m so jealous of what you get to do with the patients! I thought I’d get to do more of that as a nurse.” Nurses who are equipped with the skills of a doula enhance their patients experiences. Nurses who understand the doula skillset and work collaboratively with doulas double down on enhancing their patients experiences!” – Randy Patterson, CEO, ProDoula
Each month, the “Nurse’s Nook” will celebrate the Nurse/Doula collaboration and the impact it has on birthing families.
We hope you enjoy this section as much as we are enjoying collecting stories and anecdotes to share with you!
WHAT WE ARE WATCHING
In honor of Black History Month we encourage you to watch this.
Doulas of the Roundtable Podcast
Episode 25: Black Maternal & Infant Mortality
This Black History Month we encourage you to educate yourself about the disparities Black and Brown birthing people in America face.
Join Angela, Eva, and special guest Samantha Giffin of D.C. Metro Doulas as they discuss the topics of allostatic load, epigenetics, institutionalized racism and their impact on Black birthing bodies and their babies.
Samantha is a Black doula who serves primarily Black clients through pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. In addition, Samantha brings her background in working in the nonprofit sector focused on Black women’s health to our conversation.
