The Doula year in Review 2015

I wanted to do a blog post about my year in review. It's crazy about my plans for the year that sometimes didn't always happen.  This time last year I really thought that I would be working as a postpartum doula but because of some unforeseen circumstances I had to stop my doula education and get a regular 9-5 to pay the bills.  That initially was the BAD, in my opinion. That is really the only thing that I will consider bad regarding me beginning my journey as a Doula.

I have however had some really good things happen this year. I've really thought about a list and here it is:

• I started a group on Facebook for full spectrum doulas
• I found a local birthworkers group(doulas and midwives) that meet regularly and I've made some pretty awesome connections there.
• I've educated more people about what a doula is and how they can help their family.
• I designed a business page on Facebook for my business, Ujima Doula Services.
• I've found webinars and various podcasts associated with doula work to further educate me.
• I've been using Twitter and other social media outlets to get the word out about my business.

Placenta encapsulation: What's the big deal??

There has been talk in the news lately about placentas and placenta encapsulation.  Most recently Kim Kardashian-West decided to encapsulate her placenta after giving birth to her son.  She joins the list of celebrities who've decided to eat or encapsulate their placentas. Some other celebs who decided to eat or encapsulate their placentas are: Holly Madison, January Jones, Gaby Hoffman, Kourtney Kardashian and Mayim Bialik. But placenta encapsulation is not new and not just for celebrities. Many women choose to have their placentas encapsulated or simply eat the placenta as well.

It's a growing phenomena in the birthing community as well. There has been several evidence based studies supporting it and then of course there have been some people who are against it and who believe it's "nasty" or barbaric. Whatever you may choose I urge you to do your research and figure out what's best for you.

Some of the most common questions are what is a placenta and what is placenta encapsulation? A placenta is the organ that develops in a woman's uterus during pregnancy. The structure provides oxygen and nutrients to the growing fetus and removes waste products from it's blood. The placenta attaches to the wall of the uterus and the umbilical cord arises from it.

Placenta encapsulation is a process in which, immediately following the birth of the baby, the placenta is dehydrated and ground into a course powder, which is then placed into small capsules that look exactly like any other vitamin or supplement that can be taken.

So you might ask well why should I consider placenta encapsulation if I'm pregnant? Well, research has shown that ingesting your placenta has many benefits that include:

• The reduction or stopping of postpartum bleeding 
• Speeding up recovery
• Boost energy levels
• Relieves postpartum blues
• Aid in milk production and lactation 

The placenta contains beneficial hormones, chemicals, irons and healing substances that include:

• Estrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone
• Prolactin
• Oxtocin
• Placental-Opioid-Enhancing factor
• Thyroid stimulating hormone
• Corticotropin Releasing hormone
• Cortison
• Interferon
• Prostaglandins
• Iron
• Hemoglobin
• Human Placental Lactogen

Where are all the black birth workers???

This is a serious topic that I've contemplated so many times. When I started on my journey to become a doula I had to realize a few things. For one I'd probably be one of only a few doulas of color in my area. That really saddens me because there is such a disparity of people of color who want to do this kind of work.

I'm connected to several groups on social media and locally and a few days ago I came across this article. Where are the woman of color birth worker   It brought up several relevant topics and a few topics that no one really wants to talk about in the black community.  I am truly happy to be a part a profession that at the end of the day I can be proud that I helped a mother, her partner and her family make that transition into parenthood.

My overwhelming need to use all of my acquired skills ultimately led me to go into business for myself. When I had to think about a name for my business I had to consider what my ultimate goal would be and I realized that it was to make a difference in my local community along with the greater community of people of color.

Soon my dream will be realized and I will be apart of the birth worker community and working with families in Northeastern Ohio.

The under served community...

A few days ago I was reading a posting in my doulas of color group and a fellow doula sister said there is an under served community of LGBT birthing people in the U.S. This in my opinion is really true because not everyone who is birthing or needs postpartum care considers themself a "woman". To only use mother, mama or woman would be extremely prejuical to trans men or queer people who don't identify as that.

In my community there is a large LGBT community and me identifying as a bisexual woman wants to assist these people in their journey into parenthood. I know there are a lot of people who maybe religious who feel that it's wrong or unusual but that's my stance on the issue. I want to assit anyone who needs help in the postpartum period and the first few weeks of their child's life. It's an honor to work with this group of people who most of society has shuns as weird or strange.

There will also probably be members of the community who haven't given birth but who have adopted a child and still need that care and support,and of course I'll be there for them. I look forward to being there for anyone who needs my assistance and guidance.

Learning and growing...

I'm really grateful for social media, despite the fact that I think it can be a hindrance to some people I have connected with so many people. Within the past few months of being on Twitter and Facebook I've had the opportunity to connect with other doulas and birth workers who have the same views as I do. I've also connected with other doulas of color who share my passion and that in itself has been VERY important.

The whole point is to educate and empower my community and other women of color to embrace their bodies and childbirth as something natural and not foreign. I always find interesting articles on Twitter from other doulas and midwives who have so much information and knowledge to share. It's amazing!!!

I came across this article on Twitter last night and wanted to share it with you guys. It's a nice article on a blog that talks about taking care of your body in the postpartum period.  Creating yor Babymoon: A guide for healing postpartum

What a Postpartum Doula does......

Since I posted a blog about what are some of the misconceptions about what a postpartum doula is I've decided to post exactly what a Postpartum doula DOES DO.  I think it's very important to educate the general public on how a doula can be a benefit for you and your family.  This link came directly from the DONA website. What does a postpartum doula do?

Doula misconceptions

Sadly, most people don't know what a doula is. So when I do tell them what I am studying to become they are like huh, what is that!!?? What's a doula? Then I have to give them the definition of what a birth doula is and what a postpartum doula is.  I'm training to be a postpartum doula right now because I feel that's a passion of mines to help women and families after birth. But among the people who do know what a postpartum doula is. There are several misconceptions. Most misconceptions are that we are baby nurses or baby sitters. We are neither of those things but our job entails some of those things along with pet sitter, housekeeper, therapist and best friend at times.

So this is a article that I found that will give a more in depth look at some of the common misconceptions on what postpartum doulas are. Doula misconceptions

My continued passion

Full spectrum doula work is a passion of mines. It arose from my pro-choice feminist views initially then my love of women and babies.  Most people have NO clue what a doula is. I laugh when they ask me what it is or say is that like a midwife? I like educating people so I give them an explanation that is really easy to understand. I tell them that a doula is a non-medically trained person who provides support before and after labor. I also explain to them that there are two specific categories of doulas as well.  Birth doulas provide support before and during labor and postpartum doulas provide support after the baby or babies are born.

Full spectrum doula work is a relatively new concept of what a doula should or could be. All women need support during whatever outcome a pregnancy has. Support during miscarriage, abortion and fetal loss are all very important things. Through my research and hearing other woman's stories the majority of them are alone during these trying times. Why shouldn't she have a person there who is knowledgeable who can provide that physical and emotional support? I came across this article about abortion doulasAbortion doulas
This article directly showed the importance of abortion doulas and their work.

Personally, I have been doing a bit of work to get more experience as a full spectrum doula.  I've been doing patient escorting at a local abortion clinic for about a year and recently I've got the opportunity to volunteer within the clinic itself. The work is humbling as well as empowering. I'm not working in the capacity that I'd like as of right now as an abortion doula but just interacting with the women and their partners and friends during this time is important to me.  It will give me the experience to eventually support women in whatever capacity they need me in.

Learning and Networking

I've been doing alot of networking lately. I've joined several groups on Facebook that cater to doulas, groups for postpartum groups and doulas of color and a group of doulas.  Actually, I started up my own group for doulas who identify as full spectrum and those who desire to do full spectrum work. It's a slow working process but I have been networking and learning from these wonderful women. I've also been connected to doulas who live in and around my city. I'm really excited about that because when I started on my journey to become a doula I was met with resistance from other doulas in the area when I asked for advice.

It hurt me a little but it made me realize that this is a business and some people don't desire to see others succeed in it. I am very grateful for the Internet in itself because it has allowed me to find information and speak to people who I may not have the opportunity without it. I've connected with postpartum doula friends in New York and in California. Just casual chatting has made me desire to learn more about the business and move forward.

Paying for your Doula education

Where have I been you ask? Well, life happened and I had to put the doula business and my training to the side because of other obligations, mostly because of financial reasons. Obtaining your certification to become a doula is expensive. Because it's not offered at a local college all the costs are out of pocket. Some of the expenses can be reduced such as purchasing the required reading list of books. I've been purchasing most of my books from Amazon. You can always buy books offline or rent them from the library to cut costs.

By doing this you can potentially save hundreds of dollars. If you are connected with a local group of doulas you can also trade or borrow books from your other doula sisters.  The other costs however, you can't get around unless you can find some low costs alternatives. Several of the required classes may have low cost options or there may possibly be a video offered on a particular website to satisfy your breastfeeding class requirement. Once you are ready to go to your workshop you must access the cost of the workshop, which can be several hundreds of dollars, your travel and room and board. The cost of the workshop you can't get around at all and for most organizations such as DONA and CAPPA it's a requirement to complete your certification. The cost of the travel and room and board can be reduced by finding a workshop that is in your state or within driving distance.

I don't drive I will be taking the greyhound. I have found that you can find cheap bus rides if you are willing to purchase your ticket on the website or buy a non-refundable ticket. The room and board option can be very expensive, especially if you are going to a major city such as New York. If you have friends or relatives that live in the area and they don't mind putting you up for a few days I'd suggest that option.  You can possibly try to find a cheap hotel or motel that is not in the city. Another option is to search Craigslist to see if there are subletting options or people who are renting out a room or a space for a few days. Use your discretion and better judgement regarding renting out rooms or space from a stranger.

These are all options for reducing your costs while obtaining your doula certification.

An Awakening.....

What is an awakening??? Is it just a realization that you need to change or is it an awakening that you know that you need to change the world?? I had this awakening on December 10, 2014. I was working in a call center for a major insurance company, 10 hours a day 4 days a week. It was a mentally taxing job that I have been doing for almost 15 years off and on. I never felt proud of what I was doing and at the end of the day I was left wondering what am I actually doing and am I actually making a difference helping someone pay a bill or sending off documents to a car dealership?

After a lot of thought and tears I decided to take a "leap of faith" and decide to become a postpartum doula. After all my passion was women and babies. I did do a Google search for doulas and two major organizations came up.....DONA and CAPPA I choice DONA  because of the reputation that they have as one of the premiere organizations and also because I felt that their certification process was streamline and detailed. I have always wanted to work in woman's reproductive rights or in a non-profit organization that dealt with that. I was in fact pro-choice and I believed in a woman's right to choose if and when she would be a mother or not. So, I starting looking into doulas who help women through an abortion, miscarriage or fetal loss. There was some information so I started reading up on it.There aren't hat many organization that support abortion doula training. There are only a few.

Then I decided  on my business name.....Ujima full spectrum doula services. Ujima (ooh jeh mah) is the third principle of Kwanzaa meaning collective work and responsibility. I felt that I had a responsibility to my community and to the African-American community as a whole to offer my collective work for the community and mothers to build and maintain our community and make our brother's and sister's problems our problems and solve them together. I'm awakened and I know this is my calling. My passion is to help women and the disenfranchised people of the world. Educating them about their options and ending stigma.
This is my journey, welcome to my awakening.