01/19/2023
I always appreciate when my clients take time to share how they felt about the experience they had with me. This feedback hit a little different though.
I 100% answer to my clients, and their needs, wants and preferences are my top priority. But I also very much believe that by creating a cooperative, collaborative and positive birth environment alongside the care providers who are supporting my clients' birth is a HUGELY impactful way to help them achieve the birth of their dreams.
The way I hold space at a birth can be ego-based, adversarial and combative OR it can be inviting, warm and respectful 🤷♀️
Are there going to be times when we, as doulas, work alongside a midwife, nurse or doctor who's style or personality clash with our own? Of course! That is just the way life is - we won't always gel perfectly with everyone we encounter. Regardless, we can act with kindness, courtesy and respect and maintain a high degree of professionalism throughout the experience because we can never know what is sitting behind the perceived lack of connection.
But the opposite is equally true. For every time I have had a challenging experience, I have had an equally incredible experience - this birth was a perfect example. I had the pleasure of working with a brand new nurse who was on her first solo shift - she was so. fricking. happy to have an extra set of hands in the room. I also had the pleasure of working with a doctor who introduced himself to me directly, consulted with me on how best he could support my clients when they were faced with a difficult decision, and shook my hand and thanked me after baby had arrived and he had finished his final check in with my family. He made me feel like a truly valued and important part of the team that day.
Within the doula community I often feel an air of "us vs them" when it comes to care providers, and while I'm sure these feelings are rooted in difficult experiences, I believe that we all have space to come more towards the center. Let's meet each other in the middle, and find the common ground between us - the best interests of our client and the way in which they experience their birth.
“Being my 1st pregnancy I was so unsure how I was going to make it through it all and even more the delivery day was scary to think about. Having Lindsays support helped relieve my nerves and uncertainties.
I don't want to imagine how the birth of our little boy would have gone without her. She knew exactly how to help me emotionally and physically in the best and hardest of moments. She helped my husband through it too. Explained how he could support me and help him not end-up on the floor, haha. He wasn't sure if a doula was needed at the start but he was so grateful to have her there that day.
She is very lovely, caring and attentive. She knew when she had to keep me calm and when we could use a bit of joy and humor to keep us going. She was very professional and all the medical staff and delivery team were so impressed by her. Even after multiple postpartum visits they kept asking and talking about how awesome my doula was and how lucky I was to have her there with me. I can’t recommend her enough.
She helped take pictures and gave us a precious keepsake, a birth story from her perspective addressed to our baby boy. It was wonderful to read and the best way to remember that day. “
- Cindy D.
