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.