S P O T L I G H T
W I T H S H A N A A F U
A Word from a Doula.
Imagine having a birth where you feel in control. A birth that gives you energy. A pain-less birth. A positive birth. A birth where you receive genuine support. A spiritual birth. A birth without unnecessary intervention. Most importantly a birth that YOU want. I am a birth doula. I am someone who can help you feel like you ' re in control. I will help educate you, inform you of researched decisions. Help you receive that spiritual experience & help support you.
The term ' doula ' hardly gets thrown around for decades. The terms- birth attendant, birth assistant, birth caregiver, and birthing coach are terms used to explain what a doula is in our modern day. I seem to always receive the question,‘ what in the world is a doula?’ When asked what I do. I actually love when I am asked this question, it gives me a chance to explain what being a doula is all about! Here, let me share how this all came about for me and shed a bit of light on what a doula is...
Doula + Education = Passionate Advocate Before becoming a doula, I became so intrigued, curious and wanting to be qualified as someone who can advocate natural birth to women.
Since having my 2nd baby, I couldn ' t help myself but share all the good things I had learnt during my own journey of pregnancy and birth. I wanted to influence other women in having a beautiful natural birth.
I found myself sharing so much advice to family, friends and strangers! I had more than a handful of mothers come to me after their own birth after taking my advice, and sharing how great their experience was & thanking me for my little piece of advice that I had offered. This gave me much joy & made me feel determined to gain the certification and become a certified & credentialed doula. My job as a doula is to show love, compassion & support families in making informed decisions. My job is also to be an advocate for these families. Be the voice when they ' re not able to speak up.
What about the father’ s role? Doula ' s never replace dads. We are simply there to guide them. When we guide fathers to be close and intimate with their partner during labour, it helps magnify the importance of love between the couple and helps the release of oxytocin( love hormone) flow through the pair