One of the most common conversations that I have when I first meet a client is about the partner. So many partners are intimidated by doula support because they are worried that the doula will ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ them during the birth. This is a common misconception. โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
Partners, there is no one in this world who knows your partner better than you โ and no one can touch the level of emotional support you will be able to provide. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ค๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ. โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
But I hear you asking, โif Iโm the best source of support for my laboring partner, what value does a doula bring to our experience?โ โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
The answer is this: ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐๐ฒ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ซ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ. Your doula has seen countless people birth babies. We offer unattached supportโ we are not emotionally intermeshed in your experience, and there is so much value in having a support person who isnโt attached to an outcome, or upset to see their loved one in so much discomfort. It allows us to keep a clear head so that we can best support the family through the process of birth. We have had a lot of training that helps us better understand how and when to help, and to be honest, sometimes the partner needs just as much support as the birthing parent. Birthing babies is hard work!โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ I included the featured image of this post because it specifically shows how hard the entire birth team works to support the birthing parent. It truly takes a village, and everyone involved will play an important role in the process.
As a doula it is my job to support the birthing parent ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ซ during birth. It is common during labor for a partner to want to help, but not know how to support the mother through the intensity. This is where the doula steps in. Your doula can help you better support your partner and give you more confidence in your role, as well as offer breaks so you can take care of your own needs. Doulas are there to work as a team with the partner (NOT replace them) so that the birthing parent is given the best, most well-rounded support possible.
โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ๐๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ, ๐ช๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ๐บ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ. Your doula will help you and your partner understand the long list of options that are available to you, and how each option will impact your experience. They will help you find the tools that will best prepare you to advocate for yourselves. It takes a village to bring a baby into the world. A good doula will work with you and your birth team to help each part of the process transition as smoothly as possible so that your family can have a beautiful experience. And partners, we flow with the energy of the room. ๐ช๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ ๐๐ง ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ซ, and we will support you both, in whatever way you need.โฃโฃโฃโฃ