For My Information

Yesterday, I mentioned some friends of ours who had a baby in the car with the assistance of their doula.

Let me tell, my mind was flooded with questions after that. Because me? I want to be a doula. I might have to do something like that someday. I mean, I know that those sorts of things are pretty uncommon, but they aren't the sort of things where you can stop and pull out your reference book and look it up real quick. You sorta have to know what to do.

Here are the things I learned and some other observations:

1. Call the midwife. The doula was on the phone with the midwife during the delivery, which must have been a huge help and comfort!

2. Police don't do police escorts like you see on TV. Instead, they call the paramedics. I feel like that's useful information.

3. Once her water broke, no one bothered trying to convince mom not to push. Even though they were in the car.

4. The birth went just fine. In the car. While it was moving. With the cord wrapped around her neck. Without medical intervention. I know that sometimes intervention is needed and sometimes it's wanted. Other times, things happen naturally. That's significant to me.

Can I ask you a personal question?

In order to become a certified doula, I have to provide doula services at three different births and then get evaluations from the mothers, the doctors and the nurses.

Question: How do you talk someone into letting you be their doula when you aren't a certified doula?

Question: How do you provide doula services when you've never given birth and therefore have never even been at a live birth?

I'd kinda like to go to one just to watch (both to experience the birth and to watch a doula in action) but that seems weird to say to someone, "Hey, I know we hardly know each other, but can I come watch you give birth?"

Or, "Hey, I'm in training to be a doula. Will you be my guinea pig? It'll be free!"

In the meantime, I tried registering for a doula training class, but I haven't heard back from the trainer yet, so we'll see what happens.

This is getting realer and realer.

On being a doula

One of the things about being a doula is that not only do you have to actually do the work, but also you have to find the work. You have to find clients. And right now, I think that involves two things:

1. Educating men and women about the effect of having a doula on childbirth.
2. Advertising yourself as a doula.

I think Philadelphia is pretty doula-knowledgeable, at least in the circles that I run. The church that I attend isn't very big, but has several doulas. So people seem to be aware of what doulas are and what they do. In Dallas, I don't feel like that was the case. The labor and delivery "culture," if you will, was more accepting of a medicalized birth where you just did what the doctor said to do, and often planned a c-section for convenience sake.

(NOTE: I am not, or at least not intentionally, criticizing the planned c-section. The pregant woman is the only one who can make the decision about what type of labor and delivery is best for her and her baby, provided she is fully informed about the ramifications of her decisions.)

So, all that to say, part of what I want to do is the educational aspect of "this is what a doula is, this is what she does, and this is how she helps."

Anyway, I've heard that doula work is pretty competitive. And I don't think it is because there are too many doulas, but rather that not enough people are using them because they don't know they need one.

Luckily, I am not the only one spreading the word about doulas.

I read Heather B. Armstrong's blog. You may know her as Dooce. Heather recently gave birth to her second child, Marlo. Her first delivery was augmented/managed, but with Marlo, she decided to go natural and she hired a doula.

Okay, so big deal. Someone had a baby and hired a doula and didn't use drugs. Big deal.

Except that Heather is actually kinda a big deal.

Thanks, Heather, for spreading the word.

Career change by steps

Step 1: Become a certified doula.

I know. Weird, right? Not that it's weird for a person to be a doula, but for me to be a doula? Really? Did you remember that I've been doing accounting in some form or another for almost 8 years? If so, did you remember that I don't like it?

Did you remember that I don't have kids and therefore have never given birth? And now I want to be a doula?

I first heard about doulas years ago watching The Baby Story on TLC. But I didn't really understand what they did. And then a little over a year ago, I found this blog through my friend Laura's blog. And she talks about being a doula. And I was like, "This woman is younger than me. And she's a doula. I wonder what it takes to become one."

So I looked it up online at DONA.org. And I thought, "I can do that." So then I started reading the books that are on the required reading list and I thought, "I can totally do that." And then I joined DONA International. So, yeah, I'm a member of a professional society of doulas. How weird is that?

So if you aren't very familiar with what a doula is or what she does or how she helps, I have good news! Doula-ing is one of the topics that's going to get some air time here on Life By Days.

I'm not really sure what the next step is after becoming a doula. I mean, other than actually doing doula work. But I don't know if that becomes my new job, or if it can contribute enough financially or what else I can do to supplement. I might just use the money to go back to school to do something else entirely or I might eventually do childbirth education stuff or I might just do this part-time and start having babies. I don't know.

But that's okay. I'm getting ready to jump anyway.

Apparently when I change, I like to change big.