I'm pleased to announce...

I'm going to be a Doula!
I'm so excited! I am going to get my Birth Doula & Post Partum Doula Certificate.
It is quite the process, but one that I've wanted to do for a long time!
Some reading this right now are scratching their head repeating to themselves,
'Doula? Doula? What the jiggers is a Doula?'

'Doula' comes from the Greek and literally translates 'mothers servant'
Also called a birth or labor coach.
A Doula is a mothers mother. Their job is solely to care for the mother during the birth.

Here is the description from the DONA website:

A Birth Doula

• Recognizes birth as a key experience the mother will remember all her life
• Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor
• Assists the woman in preparing for and carrying out her plans for birth
• Stays with the woman throughout the labor
• Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures and an objective viewpoint, as well as helping the woman get the information she needs to make informed decision
• Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and her clinical care providers
• Perceives her role as nurturing and protecting the woman's memory of the birth experience
• Allows the woman's partner to participate at his/her comfort level

A Postpartum Doula

• Offers education, companionship and nonjudgmental support during the postpartum fourth trimester
• Assists with newborn care, family adjustment, meal preparation and light household tidying
• Offers evidence-based information on infant feeding, emotional and physical recovery from birth, infant soothing and coping skills for new parents and makes appropriate referrals when necessary

Here are some statistics.

• 50% reduction in the cesarean rate
• 25% shorter labor
• 60% reduction in epidural requests
• 40% reduction in oxytocin use
• 30% reduction in analgesia use
• 40% reduction in forceps delivery

So, we are leaving for Montreal & Toronto May 12th and will be gone for 10 days. When I get home, I'm going to begin. The way that it works is you register with DONA and then you have 2 years to complete all of the requirements for certification. So I will be reading up a storm. Much of the requirements are a lot of reading...I have 15 books in total.

I'm really excited for the challenge and looking forward to finally having a career that I know I will love for a long, long time! :)