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Sunday, June 20, 2010

Doulas are for Women Who...

Lately I've been doing a lot of posts that are just re-blogs of excellent articles or blog posts by others. I haven't had much time to sit down and blog something new on my own lately, but I'm still keeping up with the birth world. I hope that you all enjoy all the information I'm sharing, even though its not my original writing!

Kristen at Birthing Beautiful Ideas ran an International Doula Month giveaway contest where she asked doulas and lovers of doulas to enter by finishing the sentence "Doulas are for Women Who..." The responses she got were so fabulous they beg to be re-blogged (below). View her original post here.



Doulas are for women who want to have an empowering childbirth experience!
Whether through information, support, encouragement, processing, and so forth, a doula helps a woman realize that she has more strength than she ever knew!
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Doulas are for women who miss their mothers.
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Doulas are for women who give birth. Period.
Yes, there are some women who might find them to be “too much” and who do better on their own (maybe even birthing unassisted), but aside from this category, every birthing women should have this kind of support available to her if she wants it.
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Doulas are for women who have birth partners.
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Doulas are for women who want to be supported and cheered as they bring their babies into the world.
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Doulas are for women who have no choice but to deliver in the hospital because there are no midwives or birth centers within a hundred miles or more. They should have the opportunity to have an empowering and positive birth experience.
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Doulas are for women who want a better birthing experience!
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Doulas are for women who want continuous support in their labor and birth. Nurse shift changes can change the dynamic of a room and affect the progress of labor and birth. Having a person constant that the mom and dad can look to for comfort knowing all is well is important.
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Doulas are for women all over the world from different cultures, homes, families, cities, for those women who dream that someone somewhere will listen to their fears, questions, wonders, stories, love, passion for the birth they want…..and for those who never want to birth on their own.
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Doulas are for women who want epidurals.
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Coulas are for women who want to ‘play it by ear’ rather than plan their way of birthing… Doulas are like instant access to so much information and tips/tricks. Have a question? Need a compass on your journey?  Thinking of a pitstop or a detour? A doula is right for you!
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Doulas are for birth partners (in my case husband) who wants to be supportive but doesn’t always know what to do!
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Doulas are for women whose friends are far away!
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Doulas are for women who are having cesareans. Doulas can help make a necessary cesarean a positive birthing experience. Doulas are for women who are having multiples. My doula stayed at my side while my husband accompanied our twins.
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Doulas are for women who have never done this before.
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Doulas are for women who want a drug-free birth. Or not.
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Doulas are for women who… Are strong enough and capable enough to give birth – but know they can use all the support they can get from anyone who likes healthy, happy, babies and mamas.
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Doulas are for women who are trained in the medical field, especially those that provide care for others during the time surrounding pregnancy and infancy. I am a newly certified CNM and although, and perhaps more so because, I consider myself very educated when it comes to pregnancy, labor, and birth, I really needed my doula at my own.
Knowing too much can be a detriment during labor. Sure, I’d seen many beautiful, normal births, but I’ve also seen ones that didn’t progress no matter what was tried, and devastating complications come out of nowhere in seemingly healthy moms/babies. I’ve seen the ugly side of hospital politics. I’ve seen birth plans and informed consent go out the window by rushed, overworked, pressured, or insensitive staff. I needed my doula there to help me turn off the mental noise of all of this knowledge. She was there to remind me of how well I well I was doing and of how strong my baby and body were. This allowed me to keep my anxiety at bay and to let my body overcome my mind the way it was designed to do. She was there to help advocate for my wishes, so I didn’t have to expend mental energy doing so, and to remind me of what I’d told her was important when I was too exhausted or distracted by contractions to do so. She gave me and my partner a safe and spiritual environment in which to bring our son into the world.
Also, my partner wasn’t really interested in learning about labor, because his view was that I already knew what to expect and what I wanted, so why did he need to. My doula helped him to help give me exactly what I needed from him during our birth. It was magical.
I could go on and on…
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Doulas are for women who have home births.
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Doulas are for women who birth babies. I believe that all women (and their partners!) can benefit from a doula. A doula is cheaper than an epidural and has no negative side effects!
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Doulas are for women who only feel uninhibited in the presence of strangers.
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Doulas are for women who need an advocate at their side, a voice when they cannot speak and a knowledgeable guide down an unfamiliar but beautiful path.
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Doulas are for women who need to be reminded of their own inner strength. This strength is natural. It is psychological. It is innate. It is the power of our Creator that flows through us. Sometimes we just need to be reminded and encouraged!
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Doulas are for women who have planned cesareans.
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Doulas are for women who have midwives…I am a midwife and love working with doulas! Often we are too caught up in charting, or managing the birth in our heads, to do a great job of hands on. Doulas are a great constant for the laboring mama.
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Doulas are for women who are trained in the medical field, especially those that provide care for others during the time surrounding pregnancy and infancy.  Sometimes knowing too much, especially about potential complications, can lead to a lot of anxiety.  A doula encourages the quieting of the mental noise through reassurance and empowerment, so relaxation and trusting in instinctual body urges can take over.

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Doulas are for women and their entire family!
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Doulas are for women who want continuous support during labor and birth.  Nurses shift changes can change the dynamic of a room so having a constant presence of a doula can bring comfort to mom and dad.
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Doulas are for women who know they can find the way, but who feel better knowing an experienced friend is at their side.
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Doulas are for women who don’t think they can afford one.
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Doulas are for women who don’t like to be touched.
Doulas have a great bunch of resources, tips, tricks, and tools to help get you through labor…touch/massage is only one of them!
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Doulas are for women who… want 100% unconditional love and support throughout their birth experience.

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