Not quite sure how I feel about this, but it doesn’t put too bad a light on doulas. I think they should have had discussion from an OB who LIKES doulas though.
So I’m still trying to come up with a new business name. Right now, it’s BirthRight Baby but I want to change it to something that will encompass more than just birth.
It’s got to have a name that can encompass Conception, Pregnancy, Birth, Post Partum, Breastfeeding, and The Toddler years.
I’ll be offering the following at some point:
Possibly more services in the future, like midwifery service.
Any ideas for a business name? I was thinking something with the word beginnings in it, but a lot of those are already taken. The rule is that I want to be able to use all or part of the business name in a URL for a website.
Let the ideas flow in!
I got my official certified doula certificate in the mail today!
I’m soooo excited! Yay me!!! 
This is an exercise for my CBE course.
I believe the purpose of childbirth education is …
I believe the purpose of childbirth education is to facilitate discussions about evidence based care, different types of hospital procedures, how a woman’s body works during pregnancy and childbirth, and outline different choices parents can make during the pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum/newborn period. Then the goal would be to explore these ideas and give them the tools they need to make their own decisions for their birth.
I believe birth should be …
I believe birth should be a wonderful, empowering experience for both the mother and the father. Birth is natural. Our bodies were made to give birth, just as they were made to breathe. Ideally, every birth should be full of educated choices, and evidence based care, that bring about the desired outcome for the birth of their child.
I can now put CLD(CBI) after my name. I can’t wait till I get my official certificate and my ID badge from Childbirth International! Yippeeeee!!
Now, I start my childbirth educator training!
Wow. I find it funny that both my certifying births are inductions. Maybe it’s because they are both single teen moms with mental health issues. No idea. Anyway, the couple I interviewed with haven’t called me back yet, but they would be the first couple I’d be working with that took natural childbirth classes and planned on an unmedicated birth. I’m going back and forth about wanting to work with them. One more birth before I go on hiatus wouldn’t be a big deal. It’s just an extra 4 weeks of being on call.
Anyway, I better double check my doula bag and make sure everything is ready for tomorrow. She goes in today before 5 for cervadil and they start the pitocin tomorrow.
I wonder what interventions will happen with this one…
Well I think it went very well! I hope they can find a doula that suits them. I’m hoping they don’t really want to pick me, because I wanted to concentrate on my CBE certification, but at the same time, they seem like a great couple, and working with a couple who want an unmedicated childbirth is very appealing to me. So I guess I’ll still be a little upset if they decide to go with another doula, but I’ll also be relieved. I’m just waiting for the phone call now. They are definately my last clients though. I really want to get my Childbirth Educator certification before Dec..Though that may be impossible in itself. I’m not sure how long the course takes.
Anyway, I am tired from the interview so I’m going to bed now. Nighty night.
Going to interview with a couple tonight Wish me luck! The funny thing is that they are both social workers!! What a coincidence.
Part Six: Summary
During this assignment I reflected on the birth of my second child. Overall, this process of reflection has been a huge learning experience for me. I discovered some fears that I had about being a doula. Fears that I didn’t want to admit to myself. I masked those fears with excuses that I thought wouldn’t require me to dig deep into myself to find the answers. This paper also made me realize that I had more interventions during my labor than I thought I had. That realization helped me to understand why laboring moms make certain decisions. I wouldn’t change my labor experience for anything because it was that experience that made me want to become a doula and childbirth educator. While I realize there were choices that I could have made differently, I am pleased with my birth experience and I can take that feeling with me to remind me of why I’m a doula. I want to be able to educate woman about their options and to help them find their voice so they can advocate for themselves, to achieve their desired birth, and to be satisfied knowing that they did the best they could.
I have thought about redoing this assignment again for my own purposes with other events in my life. I hope that using the reflection process in other areas of my life, I’ll learn new things about myself as well as the people around me. I feel that if I continue to learn about myself and those around me, I would become a better doula and educator because constant reflection will help me to be more intuitive in various situations.
Part Five: ApplicationReflection has helped me to discover a few new things about myself and my husband, as well as revealing some fears that I have; fears of being inadequate and not liked; fears of confrontation and insecurities in my communication skills. But this course has helped me to come up with solutions to help with those worries, like shadowing another doula, and exercises that help me learn to become unbiased and show true empathy to all clients. I’ve come to realize that all that matters is being there. Holding the space. I know that I will never be able to please all of the people all of the time, but if I am confident and do my best I will be ok.
This reflection has also given me ideas on what kinds of information I should have for my clients and that I should also focus on helping them learn skills that will enable them to communicate effectively with their caregivers and not be intimidated by them. It will also help me to reflect when I write a birth story for a client.
As far as being an educator, I believe that the reliving of my birth reminded me how passionate I was about spreading the word and informing mothers about how their body works and that childbirth is natural. I felt more at ease during childbirth when I knew what was going on. I want women to have a birth that they can look back on and remember how wonderful it was, or how empowered they felt instead of these women going in to the delivery room with no education and no idea what is happening to them. Being afraid and causing their bodies to be in more pain, which then causes them to want epidurals, which turns into more interventions, and then after the baby is born, feelings of inadequacy in the mother for not being “strong enough” and being a failure. That is not what the childbirth experience is supposed to be about.
This assignment has also given my husband and I time to reminisce about the births of our children. It’s a magical moment when your child is born, and sometimes in the rush of life, you forget those little moments. I’m grateful that we had this chance to sit down together to remember those special family moments together.
I'm a 30-something SAHM who lives for her family. I'm working at being a Proverbs 31 woman and I love to volunteer. I'm also a certified birth doula, student childbirth educator, and webdesigner on the side.
Our Newsflash for the moment? We are trying to buy a house to start our homestead!
