The Business of Being Born

Let us talk about it for a moment shall we. The movie was amazing if you haven't yet already seen it.  It is called "The Business of Being Born" it opens your mind as well as your eyes.  It truly looks into the world of birth in a way no one else has done yet.

I could write about the movie but I would rather you go out watch it for yourself and comment here.  Like it, Love it or Hate it, write about it so we can open the dialogue.  

This past week has been a difficult one, I have been setting up meetings, writing up contracts, filling out forms for certification, working on my website, facebook page, blog, advertising myself, reading books on fibromyaglia for an upcoming client of mine suffering from it as well as networking in hopes to gain more clients.  That all in one weeks time.  If anyone doubts the value of the money they are spending guess again.  If you have a good or great Doula they are really in tuned to your needs and will do everything in their power to ensure your needs will be met during your birth.

However I am not complaining just talking about what the life of a Doula is.  I love my work, I love the research, I love the networking, and I love most of all feeling like I am helping make a difference.  It has charged me beyond words.  I only wish I was covered by good old OHIP so that I did not have to worry about the financial aspect so much.  Most Doula's have a second career or something they specialize in.  Right now all I have is my Doula and a part time job.  I am working towards getting my Childbirth Educator certification so that I can teach that and possibly pre-natal Yoga.  For now though, this is it.

Hopefully one day it won't be only the parents to be that see the value in Doula's, hopefully OHIP, private health care and the lot of them will see that hiring a Doula saves everyone in the end.  Saves the parents grief, saves the healthcare industry money on un-neccessary procedures, and saves on the nursing staff's demands.  Think about it with a Doula most people Labour at home which means less people in the hospital and for shorter times.

In the end we can only hope they see that Doula's are good for Business!

 

Who we are and what we believe

With every step we take we hope to leave a lasting impression.  As a Doula I truly believe this and hope it to be true.  

At A Sacred Path Doula and Birth Services it is our belief that your personal birthing experience is sacred to you, whichever way you choose to birth.   We are here simply to assist you in achieving your goals.

There are many different organizations out there that offer certification.  However, I chose to become certified with CAPPA Canada due to their vision statement which I truly believe in.  

Baby A_ngelica

For reasons of privacy I will change the names of all the babies I witness being born as well as the moms.  This story however is true only identifying facts will be changed.

It was a beautiful day I was walking about with a friend and my partner looking for housing for him and his wife.  I got the call mid day that Angelica was on her way!  I said my goodbyes and ran home, literally. I was so excited this would be my first birth and I wanted to get there right away.

When I arrived the mother of the mother to be wondered what my role would be now as we waited.  My role was going to be to pamper mom to be as much as possible and keep her comfortable as long as possible.

The midwives wanted the mother to be to rest as it was going to be a long day.  Now anyone who has given birth knows one thing, trying to rest on the day your baby is about to be born is like asking a child to sleep on Christmas morning before unwrapping the gifts.  Not likely going to happen.

After it was clear she would not sleep I spent the time massaging her legs, hands, and arms.  Walking with her, encouraging her to eat something, drink and pee.  I know it sounds odd that you would encourage someone to pee but really it helps progress Labour. I pressed on pressure points to aid in her uterine contractions.

When it was clear the contractions were close enough we called in to the midwives and headed to the hospital.  We laughed and kept mom breathing during the ride making sure we did not lose her to the fear of the increasing pain.  At the hospital the family said goodbye and we headed into the room.  It was mom's choice to have me be the only person in the room with her.

The midwives were amazing.  We used Hydrotherapy, position changes, massage, and vocalization to get through it all.  As the contractions got stronger and stronger it took more concentration to continue to stay on track.  In the end Angelica was born healthy and alert, the drug free birth her mother wanted all along.  Angelica was placed on her mother within seconds of being born and never left her mothers sight.  She was able to nurse in the first hour of her life and then the both of them were released to go home and recover.

It says a lot about having midwives at the birth, the room was calm, quiet, and peaceful.  Mom's comfort was what was most important to us all.  There were no nurses rushing in and out, no interns to fuss with and no one pressured mom during the low moments to get drugs.  Mom had a choice if she wanted something she could ask it was in her court.  In the end Mom trusted in her body, in her midwives and in me, the result was a beautiful, healthy, alert baby girl.

I smiled for days afterwards it was truly the most amazing experience I have gone through and I look forward to my next.