“So listen to what happened at this birth I attended last week…”
Have you ever had a client gush about you after you provided phenomenal support during their labor and birth? (If you’ve trained with Birth Beautifully, we’re sure you have.) They felt understood, supported, encouraged, and your care for them mattered.
We doulas need the same.
We need to feel understood and supported. There are times when we need encouragement and inspiration. There are times we need to laugh, to cry, to vent, to celebrate business milestones and personal victories with people who know what we go through, because they do too.
The birthworker community isn’t huge, but it’s growing every day. Maybe in your area you’re the only doula for 200 miles. Maybe you have an active doula agency or three in your city and you have lots of people to learn from, work with, and compete against to secure clients. Whatever your situation, it’s so helpful to have mentors and friends in this profession.
Many doulas and other birthworkers love to gather and share stories – we all love talking about birth, right? Having people you can talk with after a long, difficult labor and birth can be just the type of decompression you need. Sharing about your client’s success in having the birth they hoped and worked for can be great for you, and helpful for other doulas whose clients may be facing similar situations.
And let’s face it, if you try to talk with your non-birthy friends or family members about cervixes, bloody show, and placentas you’re bound to get some funny looks. But we get it!
Keep in mind that as professional doulas, we must adhere to patient confidentiality. We can discuss details and events but always without identifying specific clients. We can learn from other doulas sharing their experiences, and we can share things we have learned from various clients we have supported.
If there aren’t any doulas near you, use social media to connect with a few. You might also suggest to family or friends (who you know would make great doulas, childbirth educators, or placenta encapsulators) that they take a Birth Beautifully training, and expand the birthworker community in your area.
Christine Herrera helps people become amazing birth professionals.
