I found an old file that I thought I would share about my decision to be a doula (another word that most people don't know the meaning of)! "Doula" really means companion in Greek. How wonderful my journey has been to work with my clients prenatally and then be there with them to witness one of the most important moments in their life.
Read on about my "doula" letter.
I wanted to share with you what happened last week! After saying "No" to many pregnant clients over the years, I finally agreed to be a birth doula. I was afraid that I would be too sleep-deprived (I was right). I was afraid that I wouldn't have the support of my husband and friends (I was wrong).
You see, I need to be at these births. My IBP training has helped me with my own presence and I can therefore truly be in the moment for my clients.
One tool that I used for my client was for her to draw an imaginary circle around her hospital bed. This served as a boundary for her to find her center, go within, and do what she needed to do to meet her baby. My client became aware of how her energy would go "out" each time someone talked or a new person walked into the room. With her energy focused "outward" her pelvis would literally shut down, thus slowing the labor process. The circle became the one place where she could pull inward.
She used the circle to also contain the plethora of feelings that would surface with each contraction. The predominating feeling was... FEAR! We worked on her breathing, and this is where my prenatal yoga teaching really took hold. My client was able to connect the importance of taking long, deep breaths in order to effect her parasympathetic nervous system. Because she chose to be hooked up to a monitor, my client was able to see her blood pressure lower right before her eyes!
I myself witnessed the connection I had made with my client's baby. Because this woman had attended my prenatal yoga classes, I had the opportunity to teach some of the good mother messages. The baby received such messages as "I love you" this each time I talked to the baby who was ready to be born. My client had a fetal monitor on and every time I talked the baby's heart beat got stronger and louder.
I went with my intuition and followed my client's lead as to what she wanted for her baby's birth. I began massaging my client's feet/toes. Each time I did so she would get a stronger contraction. She said, "Keep doing that." When her little girl finally came into the world, I began telling her how hard she worked to get here and how happy we were to finally meet her. You wouldn't believe it. This baby turned her head around to see me!
This was all the evidence that I needed to know that I am on this planet to help women have safer, undisturbed births. Ones where love shines through instead of fear.
Thanks for listening. And, as my children keep growing, I will do this more and more. If you ever have a friend that wants what I have to offer, please send them my way.
