West End Doula

Disappointment

2005-05-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

I've turned down the birth with the Afghani woman, much to my dismay. Every time I thought about it, I had a panic attack. I think someone with more experience is needed in her situation, so it went back to my referral coordinator for her to resolve.

I feel terrible.

I probably could have done the birth, right? I could have. But I would have been nervous and/or terrified the whole time, if my current state is to be taken as any indication.

My coordinator said it was fine, that these situations happen, and it would be resolved. I still feel like a world class ass for taking the birth in the first place.

Nervousness

2005-05-06T17:57:00.000-07:00

I suddenly have two clients.

One is a woman who does not speak English. She is Afghani, and I will be working with a translator. The other is a teenager. These are my first clients. I am a bit nervous, but also thrilled. Okay, more than a bit nervous. Couldn't I have found a nice "simple" mid-thirties mom on her third baby? :)

More later, once I've digested all of this a bit.

New directions

2005-04-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

The girls in the pre-natal class I'm shadowing are still fabulous, and one of them may be interested in having me be her doula. I'll say more about this if it pans out. :)

I'm taking postpartum doula training in May as a way to branch out more into the birthing community. There's such a huge demand for postpartum doulas in Vancouver right now, and the course fit perfectly into my schedule. I am choosing to take both of those facts as a sign. :)

Uterus Pattern

2005-04-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

For Kristina: uterus pattern.

Open House

2005-04-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

Tonight I attended an open house for the Youth Pregnancy and Parenting Program that's offered through Vancouver Coastal Health. There was the standard bounty of food and room full of folks wearing nametags, the cake and the powerpoint presentation playing on the wall, and a room temperature that rose at least 5 degrees with each new arrival.

And then there were the girls and their babies.

Listening to them give a presentation about their experiences at YPPP was mind-blowing. Programs like this really do WORK. These women, their partners, their children, and the rest of their families... well, let's just say that I'm impressed. And so looking forward to being a part of the team.

Could I have picked a better career? I think not.

Random snippets

2005-03-30T22:27:00.000-08:00

I'm tired, and I can't find the energy to write about any of this in detail, so you're just getting the bullet points. Sorry. :)

Does anyone have a good pattern for a knitted breast or placenta, for educational purposes? I found a great pattern for a knitted uterus, but I'm coming up short on the others.
Can anyone recommend any good teen pregnancy resources that aren't focused on preventing the pregnancy in the first place?
Speaking of pregnant teens: I'm totally blown away by the girls in the prenatal group I'm observing. And their partners, too. They're so brave, these kids, way braver than I ever remember being.
To certify, or not to certify, and who with? There are as many opinions on this as there are doulas, but I'd love to hear from my small-but-wonderful readership on this issue. Right now, I'm leaning towards certifying with DONA, but I may change my mind about that. To be honest, I'm also looking at CAPPA because they offer an advanced doula certification for working with teen moms.

Exciting developments

2005-03-29T20:37:00.000-08:00

Starting tomorrow evening, I will be observing prenatal classes for teen moms on Wednesday evenings. I managed to cold call my way into a phone interview with the doula coordinator for a local teen pregnancy outreach, and she suggested that I attend her classes as a first step towards working with pregnant teens as a volunteer doula.

I'm terrified and excited and amazed at my luck. The woman I've been speaking to said that there's a few girls in her class who are looking for a doula right now, and while she can't directly recommend me, I'm totally welcome to let the girls know who I am and what I do. This feels too good to be true.

Volunteer opportunity!

2005-03-22T22:41:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! I got a call this morning while I was out, that I am going to return on Thursday, about volunteering for a great pregnancy program in Vancouver. I have high hopes that I'll have a new volunteer position shortly, as they seemed really excited by my request for information when I emailed them. I'm not saying where, yet, because I don't want to jinx myself, but I'll update everyone ASAP. :)

A Vagina Monologue

2005-03-21T16:59:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share this wonderful piece about the experience of an episiotomy.

Midterms and Frustrations

2005-03-20T08:01:00.000-08:00

As my anatomy and physiology midterm approaches rapidly (it's on Wednesday evening) I'm finding myself dreaming about ligaments and pelvic floor muscles and chorionic villi. It's really helpful that we made chorionic villi out of red clay at our last class. We created a veritable forest of the little broccoli shaped wonders, onto to which our instructor stuck clay blood vessels and placental septums and a plastic plate that was supposed to be the myometrium. It was actually incredibly hilarious, because the villi started drooping and squishing together as she was talking, and it was the end of the day, so we were all feeling a little loopy.

I'm amazed at myself for actually being able to learn all of this stuff. I actually know where my superior anterior iliac spines are. In fact, I'm rubbing them right now.

I'm doing a presentation for my class to a group of my friends on breast anatomy in the next few weeks, and although it didn't seem to me to be as interesting a topic as, say, PMS, or maybe menstrual cycle physiology, or positions in labour, or the placenta, or any number of other topics, I'm starting to warm up to the idea. I'm sure it will be exciting to teach a group of women some things they didn't know about their bodies.

I am getting frustrated, however, with how long it takes to get anywhere in the birthing community in Vancouver. I mean, I'm sure that if I wasn't in 6 classes and doing volunteer work, I'd have more time to seek out a mentor and doula volunteer experience, but so far, I've just run into brick walls. One of the women from my doula training has recently found herself a job working as a doula for a pregnancy program in the city, and I'm kicking myself for not being aggressive enough to inquire about whether or not they needed doulas. I assumed that my lack of experience and their lack of visible job postings meant that I probably would be better off focusing my energy elsewhere. I was wrong, and that bothers me.

I think I'm going to start cold calling all the registered doulas in my area, to see if I can find someone to mentor me. The thought terrifies me (I'm just not very good at cold calling) but I'm itching to get started on this path, and there doesn't seem to be any other way, other than extensive networking, which I don't have time for right now. I will have time in a few months, but a few months isn't now.

Queer Birth Experiences

2005-03-07T09:51:00.000-08:00

As a queer woman who is crazy about birth, I am particularily interested in queer birth. It's a hope of mine that I will be able to find a doula to mentor me that does queer births and is interested in them. I've put out some feelers in the community, and I'm hoping something will pan out.

I met a woman yesterday who is writing her Master's thesis on queer birth experiences, and it was absolutely fascinating to talk to her and find out what her plans are for her research and such.

I wish there were more resources on this topic, but there just aren't. Do a Google search for queer birth and you'll find a whole lot of nothing. This is going to be something I'm going to have to dig my heels in on, really hard.

I can't wait.

Today's Lessons

2005-02-19T18:04:00.000-08:00

I don't have time to write anything in depth right now, but today was my first Anatomy and Physiology of the Childbearing Year class, and it was jam-packed with good information.

The most ground-shaking thing I learned today was that when my baby brother was born, the epidural that my mother received was probably a bit risky. She's often told me that she was frozen up to her breasts, and therefore couldn't feel to breastfeed, and it always made me feel a bit uneasy. Now I have a clearer picture of why I felt uneasy about that: it's dangerous to be frozen that high up. I'm debating now whether or not to discuss this with her, because I'd rather not upset her about something in the past, but I'd also love to ask if she was aware of it being a problem or if the doctor had her laying in any particular position.

I also learned more than I ever thought I would learn about the muscles and bones of the pelvis, and about the structure of the clitoris. Boy, it sure isn't as little as I thought it was. I find it fascinating and disheartening that all the other anatomy I've been exposed to has not discussed how big the clitoris is and how everything is connected down there.

Marketing

2005-02-15T21:40:00.000-08:00

The part about this whole journey that scares me the most isn't having a woman put her trust in me, or the possibility of an unexpected outcome at a birth that ends in tragedy, or any number of other scary thoughts. It's the marketing.

Before my training, I was absolutely baffled at how I was going to find clients. Me, a childless bald 25 year old woman, with no contacts in the birth community. How would I find pregnant women who need a doula? Should I stop them on the street?

The course taught me a bit, and I'm not quite so nervous now. Here's my current plan for getting clients and getting my name out there:

- A website, which is ready to go and will be uploaded later this month.
- Doula Services Association membership, which will generate references for both volunteer and paid clients.
- DONA membership. I was asked, upon signing up, if I wanted referrals from them. I said yes, even though I have no idea if this will generate any useful leads.
- Business cards. I'm going to design them later this month and have a small run printed up at Staples or Kinkos or something.
- Word of mouth. Friends and family are going to help me with this.

I have a few other minor ideas on top of these ones, but these seem to be the ones with the most promise. We'll see how it goes!

Becoming a Doula

2005-02-14T22:04:00.000-08:00

First of all, a bit about me.

I'm a 25 year old woman with a shaved head and a big heart. I have always been fascinated with babies and pregnancy. My mother gave birth to my brother when I was nearly 10 years old, and helping raise him was one of the biggest honours of my life. I became a babysitter at 11, and was a full-time nanny a few years later.

This past year, my best friend gave birth to her first child, a beautiful baby girl. I had the privilege of being with her through her pregnancy and I continue to spend as much time as schedules allow with her and her daughter. Seeing the pregnancy and birth process inspired me to look into becoming a part of birth in other people's lives. It is how I discovered that I am a doula.

...

I have just completed my birth doula training at Douglas College, under the amazing tutelage of Jalana Grant and Kathleen Lindstrom.

The training was, in a word, amazing. The room was set up in a typical seminar layout, and it looked like any other college class aside from the fact that there were pretty scarves draped over the television and the room was full of women of all shapes and stories.

Keeping confidentiality in mind, I won't discuss any of their stories, but these women are certainly amazing. I am honoured to have spent the past two days with them.

We went on a journey, covering all the basics of supporting a woman through labour as well as our own birth stories and the births of other women. We watched videos of waterbirths in the Black Sea, and of a homebirth in Mexico. We gave each other massages and listened as our stories were shared. In the end, when we were standing in a circle crying together while saying goodbye, we'd formed a bond. One that I'm sure will last for a long time.

...

This morning I mailed in my membership forms to the Doula Services Association and became a member of Doulas of North America. I'm going to begin my birth doula certification as soon as I get the package.

I am so thrilled to have found something that calls me as strongly as this work does. My next step is going to be to find a mentor in the downtown area. I can't wait.