Now that you apperceive what a doula is, I’m analytical to apperceive what ancestor into your apperception back you apprehend the chat “doula”? What does that doula attending like? What does that doula angle for? Let me guess. You’re added than acceptable cerebration of addition like Ina May Gaskin with continued braided pigtails alone allowance women accord bearing out at the Farm. Am I right? Why do I accept this? It’s from experience. I’ve had several people, back they aboriginal appear into my office, applicant with advanced eyes and attending about as if they are afraid back they aboriginal accommodated my aggregation of doulas and me. I’ve alike had several bodies animadversion on how “normal” we are. Is the average for doulas absolutely that abnormal? For some reason, bodies anticipate we will be afire aroma back they airing in and be banging on a boom or something.

There’s annihilation amiss with these things, obviously, but I appetite others to apperceive that today’s doulas, the avant-garde doulas, aren’t aloof hippies. We are educated, empathetic, caring, loving, and accomplished women. We are nerds, changeable girls, hippies, lesbians, beeline women, mothers, not mothers. You name it. We are every woman.

Our role has additionally acquired over the years. Doulas advice all types of women at all types of births and beyond. The avant-garde doula believes that every woman deserves connected support, a reliable voice, and a positive acquaintance during birth and the transition with a newborn. So to bright up some of the stereotypes, I accept appear up with some credibility to afford ablaze on the modern-day doula:

1. We Abutment Every Bearing and Every Parent

You may anticipate that doulas are alone for those that accept to accept a midwife as their affliction provider. This is actually NOT true. Yes, we do abutment women with midwives, but bearing doulas additionally assignment with women that accept an OB and plan on giving bearing at a hospital. As for me, 98% of my audience are those actual women. And in my opinion, these are the women that NEED the best abutment and an apostle by their side. So know that doulas don’t aloof abutment home births. We abutment hospital births, bearing centermost births, medicated, and unmedicated births. We ultimately appetite you to accept the absolute experience, whatever that looks like, that you want. The modern-day doula provides their abutment to any woman who wants it.

The modern-day postpartum doula additionally doesn’t advice aloof one blazon of ancestor or parenting style. We assignment with anniversary ancestors alone to advice them adjudge their own parenting philosophies and empower them through their alteration into parenthood. We are an cold antecedent of advice and abutment that can advice both the mother and accomplice acclimatize to life with their new baby.

Overall, no amount how your bearing unfolds, we abutment you. No amount how your postpartum period goes, we abutment you. No amount how you accept to parent, WE. SUPPORT. YOU.

2. We Accept Training and Abide Our Education

The modern-day doula has accustomed training and continues to brainwash herself to be the best doula that she can be. Bodies may anticipate that doulas accept no academic training, which is not the case. There are altered acceptance programs accessible for doulas to go to. The modern-day doula has added than her own acquaintance back alive with assured and new families. She attends these training, reads all the books, and works against acceptance so that she can accompany a advanced across of ability to anniversary bearing and postpartum acquaintance that she comes to.

It took me about 2 years to accept my bearing doula and postpartum doula certifications through DONA International, so it isn’t aloof a weekend advance to complete. The modern-day doula is a professional, and she invests in her knowledge, education, and training.

3. We Accept All Types of Specialties and Experience

Not alone does the modern-day doula accept accepted doula training through her acceptance organization, but she additionally continues her apprenticeship to be able to advice added families and has a deluge of experience, training, and skill-sets. She could become a afflication doula allowance families through the accident of a child, or an acceptance doula acknowledging others through the process of adoption. She could become a placenta encapsulator or a beating therapist. There are so abounding altered specialties and training accessible for doulas. For example, I’ll allotment with you some of the training that I accept received. Not alone do I accept a academy amount and accustomed my acceptance as a bearing doula and postpartum doula through DONA, but I additionally accustomed my authorization in massage therapy specializing in prenatal/postnatal/and infant massage. I became a certified Hypnobabies Hypno-Doula, I’m additionally a certified prenatal fettle educator, and I am a accouchement educator, bairn affliction educator, and an baby beating instructor. It’s admirable that there is such a advanced array of specialties because these trainings acquiesce us to abutment all types of audience better.

4.  This is a Business, Not a Hobby

The modern-day doula believes in the amount that she provides her audience and treats her time and her casework as a business, not a hobby. There are still some doulas that amusement their assignment as a amusement because they may accept a full-time job or are active adopting a family. Back they still appetite to accomplish an appulse in the bearing apple and abutment women, they do what they can, which is wonderful. However, there are full-time doulas, like myself, that accomplish this their career. Educating, empowering, and caring for women is their business and their livelihood. Again, doula affliction has acquired with all of the apprenticeship and training that is available. It has become a accurate business for us to be able to accomplish a active for ourselves by accomplishing the things that we adulation most, which is educating and allotment families during this absurd time.

5. Doulas Are Every Blazon of Woman of Every Age

There are all types of doulas out there. Which, I anticipate is a abundant affair because that allows you to acquisition the appropriate doula for YOU. I’m the blazon of babe that loves a abundant brace of aerial heels and lip gloss. So I’m not your academic doula. I apperceive that my personality and appearance may not be the appropriate fit for every mother. That’s okay! You appetite to accept addition that makes you feel adequate that will put you at ease, and that will absolutely abutment you during your bearing and parenting decisions. That is a modern-day doula. Whatever your bearing and parenting decisions are, your doula should be there to accommodate you with the advice that you charge to accomplish the best decisions for you and your family. 

I am additionally actuality to acquaint you that doulas are every age and every ethnicity. Some doulas are actual adolescent adults (18 years old), some doulas are grandmothers and great-grandmothers (in their 60’s and 70’s), and there are doulas every age in between. There is no academic doula anymore. The modern-day doula is every age, every race, every religion, and more.

Overall, the role of a doula has afflicted throughout the decades, yet it has backward the same. I achievement that I accept opened people’s eyes to their acumen of what a doula is today. Doulas are not aloof there to abutment women that appetite accustomed births or home births. Doulas are women acknowledging women no amount what choices they make. We are there to accommodate a allowance hand, a able voice, a compassionate ear, a alert eye, and a abounding heart. We are the modern-day doula.