Why I became a Doula
Birth and babies have always been a special interest of mine. As I was growing up and trying to figure out “life” I had always thought I would become a labor and delivery nurse. Life didn’t quite evolve in the ways that I had planned and before I knew it I was married with my first baby on the way. I had become a medical assistant after I had graduated high school, and it worked well for the time being, but wasn’t what I truly wanted out of life. When I became a mom for the first time, it was truly one of the greatest experiences of my life. I’ve since had 2 other children, and while I did not have a doula for my births, I had an amazing team of supporters within my husband and other family members and friends. I’ve always had a special interest in pregnancy, birth and newborns and in my circle of friends, I was the person that people would call and ask for advice with their pregnancy concerns and newborns and some even had me help them in labor. It was a passion of mine early on and it was something that just continued to grow over time.
One day I had been talking to an acquaintance and she was catching me up on how she was doing and she mentioned that she was completing her doula training that weekend. As silly as this sounds, it was as if the heavens opened wide and I could hear the harps!!! I realized at that very moment that there was a word for what I love and what I do. I just didn’t know it at the time and I didn’t know that it was attainable until that conversation. I immediately asked her what her training and certification was about and she referred me right to the DONA website. I had such a fire about me that when I saw there weren’t any close trainings in my area, I decided to fly to Boston within a month to do a training session there…. I live in Baltimore! But I knew in my heart it was the right thing to do and it would be a thorough training and certification process that would help me grow.
Soon after I received my training I found out that I was pregnant with our baby #3. I was extremely ill with hyperemesis and did not start the busy doula work until after he was 6-9 months old. Since then it has truly become my passion to help moms and families have the birth experience that they want. I love to support all kinds of moms and experiences: from natural and medication-free to scheduled c-sections. I love the look in the mom’s eyes when she realizes that she did it! I love seeing the dads/partners get teary eyed hearing their newborn cry out for the first time. It never gets old to witness a family meeting their precious baby for the first time.
Being a doula has not come without challenges. As a wife and a mom of 3, keeping their needs met and balancing my clients- I find myself having to change and tweak things monthly. My clients are truly so special to me and I value their faith in me being able to support them 100%. I’m so thankful that I realized early on that this is my life’s work and that the work I do to help bring families together is invaluable and just truly the best job ever.