Growing up, I did not know what a Doula was, nor did I want to be involved in healthcare. I did want to be an advocate for social change, but I wasn’t sure what form that would take.
My senior year of college, I found out that the United States ranked 57th highest in the world for infant mortality and 48th highest for maternal mortality. Not only are we the worst developed nation for maternal healthcare, we are one of the only developed nations whose rates are getting worse every year. How could this be? This is where my curiosity around birth began. I spent a year researching infant mortality in the United States and it eventually became the subject of my senior thesis.
Many factors go into infant mortality rates (gender equality, income, socioeconomic status, healthcare, diet, education), which is why it is often used as a measure of national development. Just as most issues that affect women in general, this issue especially affects women of color. “…Black babies [in the U.S.] are still nearly 2.5 times more likely than white babies to die before reaching their first birthday” (PBS). This is horrific and unacceptable. I thought we prided ourselves on being the best? No wonder women are afraid! Birth in this country is terrifying, but it shouldn’t have to be. Women need education, compassionate care and advocates to help them with what may be one of the most important experiences in their lives.
Okay, enough statistics, because I could literally go on for pages about this (and I have). So, what is a doula and why is it helpful? “The word ‘doula’ comes from the ancient Greek meaning ‘a woman who serves’ and is now used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth” (DONA). Many doulas bring other skills to their practice such as hypnotherapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, nursing and medical degrees, as well as advocacy specialities.
I am very thankful for modern medicine and what it has done for women’s health; however, with the rise in Obstetrics came the swift decile in midwifery. The Midwifery Care Model believes in “a fundamentally different approach to pregnancy and childbirth than contemporary obstetrics, [and] is based on the fact that pregnancy and birth are normal life events” (Mana.org). Obstetricians are trained heavily in interventions that are needed to treat complications of pregnancy and serious medical conditions. In the United States, Obstetricians attend nine out of 10 births (CDC). Don’t get me wrong, obstetricians are heroes and save lives, but all countries who rank highest for infant and maternal health rely much more strongly on the midwifery care model and use obstetricians for high risk pregnancies only. (CDC)
I had a rough year to say the least. I had two deaths in my immediately family, lost my job and ended a two-year relationship. On the one hand I was devastated, but on the other hand I was completely free to do whatever I wanted. Being a doula seemed like the most logical and fulfilling step.
Some of the main things I want to accomplish in my practice are:
- Making sure that women have a rewarding and empowering birth experience, whether in a hospital, birthing center or in their homes.
- Making sure my clients are making decisions about their health based on informed consent and a trust for their care providers.
- Making sure my clients trust in their bodies and in the birth process rather than believing that birth is a horrific and painful pathology that must be intervened upon.
- Most importantly, make sure that my clients get the full benefits that doulas provide, including having shorter labors with fewer complications and less need for intervention.
Will I significantly impact our rates of maternal healthcare? Probably not. But in a culture where women are terrified of doing what their bodies were made for, I hope that I can help combat that stigma and at least do my best to make it better for women around me. I want to help women with the pain and stress of giving birth. Most importantly, I want them to make decisions based on knowledge and consent, so that, however they plan to give birth, they’ll look back at the experience knowing that their bodies were respected and that they were loved.
