Don’t Puke Birth on the Ones You Love
Posted on:
October 23, 2015 | Doula, Doula Inspiration, Doula Self Care
Last week you were not a doula and this week you are.
You had a deep desire to become a doula and support families through birth.
You did a Google search for something like, “How do I become a doula” or “Education needed to become a doula” and you got a ton of results. You found a doula certification organization that you aligned with philosophically, let’s say ProDoula for the sake of argument and you signed up for a workshop to begin your training.
It’s the night before your doula training and you are nervous. You’re excited. You have huge expectations and at the same time, you have no idea of what to expect. All you know is that you think about pregnancy, birth and babies incessantly and are so excited to explore your fascination deeper.
You wake up, get dressed, grab a notebook and your favorite pen, hit a Starbucks on the way and you arrive at the home of the hostess. You look around the room.
There is a young girl who looks fresh out of high school and 2 women who clearly, are in this together. They are about the same age and you can tell that they are friends. There are 3 other women in the kitchen of various ages, ethnicities and sizes.
A heavily tattooed woman walks in and seems immediately comfortable. A few minutes later there is a knock at the door and it’s a conservative looking woman with her hair wrapped and a tall black woman with a beautiful belly full of baby.
You think to yourself, what do I have in common with these 9 women? The answer?
…For the next few days, everything!
Over the course of your labor/ birth doula training, this group of 10 seemingly different women will merge into a powerfully bonded tribe, committed to supporting others through birth.
The doula education requirements of this workshop include anatomy, physiology, birth and parenting philosophies, comfort measures, labor interventions, positions for labor and birth, breastfeeding support and so much more.
The topics of discussion open the doors to feelings you forgot you had and that doula workshop becomes your “safe place” for exploring your feelings deeper. Everyone seems to understand and when you are overwhelmed and brought to tears, you notice that your “tribe” is crying with you.
It’s magical. It’s moving. It’s more than you ever imagined it would be. And you love it!
You never want it to end. You want to feel the power of these women and you want to talk about birth, ALL DAY LONG! In fact, you never want to talk about anything else again!
At the end of the last day, you “friend” each of these women and you expect to stay in contact with them forever. You are sad that it’s over, but you are a new woman because it happened.
You are replenished. You are fulfilled. You are wiser and you are stronger.
And then, you go home…
To your partner, your friends, your family and your social media platforms, who have NOT just taken a doula training.
Nothing about them has changed and to them, you are also… still the same.
But you’re not!
Now, YOU’RE A DOULA! And you want the world to know.
You start posting like mad. Articles about birth. Pictures of babies emerging from vaginas. Breasts. Babies feeding from breasts. Placentas. More placentas. You want everyone who knows you to know that you are different now and that birth matters!
But.
It is overwhelming.
They are unprepared.
Last week you were excited about getting peanut butter off the couch and gum out of your daughter’s hair and this weekyou are puking birth all over the ones you love!
So, what does it take to become a doula?
Apart from all of the typical stuff…
A little self control ????
