Tuesday, August 9, 2011
In Need Of Guidance
I am fairly positive that I have many childbirth advocates and doulas who read this blog. So, I am asking for your guidance. Bambi is taking on becoming a doula. This means I need to get certified somewhere. I truly do NOT want to read or have woo shoved down my throat (because I WILL puke all over the person). Are there any courses that don't tell you that you have to read some crap written by the NCB Gods known as Henci and Ina?? Most doulas I have come across are very agenda pushing and lean towards the natural aspect of pregnancy/birth. I know three that don't push agendas and support ALL mothers. Three. That's pretty piddly. I really would like to focus on mothers who are going through losses, are carrying to term with a poor prognosis, or are carrying a baby after a loss. I also think supporting a woman in a high risk pregnancy would be valuable. Yes, the doula thing is awesome. BUT there are several areas that really need some focus. It really seems like 95% of doulas out there are focused entirely on natural births. I also see a need for supporting NICU moms and even being there should anything happen. I have a gazillion thoughts running through my head! So, throw out any thoughts/suggestions!!
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7 comments:
I don't have any advice, just wanted to say I think that's awesome! Good luck.
There's such a need for support for NICU moms, especially long-term. Maybe instead of going for an existing doula credential you could develop a curriculum for your own "high risk moms doula" cert? Then others could learn the same material and more women could be helped.
Frankly if you wanted to do that, I'd be interested in doing it too, when my kids are a little older.
I would talk to the Admin at the closes Hospitol with a NICU that you could work with, I am sure that they could suggest or help certify you. Good for you!!! stay away from the woo
Hi there....I am a nurse in the NICU and this post reminds me of a patient I had a few months ago. Parents had been planning a homebirth, but due to mom's blood pressure issues and baby's severe lack of growth (he came out VERY small for gestational age), he was born by c-section 6 weeks early. The parent's hired doula was the first person to come to the NICU with the baby and told the nurses that the parents did not want the baby to have a pacifier (we often give them to babies when they first arrive in the NICU to help with the painful lab draws and iv starts that are part of most NICU admissions). It turned out that the doula was completely wrong and that the parents were okay with him having a pacifier and "doing what we had to do for him" since it was apparent that their plans had deviated. It makes me so frustated that a doula would decide for the parents/baby and push her own agenda, when the parent just wanted what was best for their baby. It seemed to me that in this situation the parents were way more adaptable to the change. It made me to angry to think that the doula made a decision for the parents (to have the baby go through the painful procedures without a pacifier to soothe him) that was ultimately theirs alone to make! I took a Post-partum doula training course at The Simkin Center and we were much emphasis was put on leaving your own agenda at the door!!!
I'm sorry to say that I don't have any advice on where to go for non-puke-inducing training, but I can say I've had the exact same thought myself! After having a truly heinous experience with a militant-NCB doula, I found myself thinking how there is a need for all-emcompassing supportive doulas. Just like what you're doing! So, I toy with that idea in my head as far as a career change goes ... well, that and horse trainer. Or a few other things. But yay for you!
As for The Simkin Center - I don't know anything about that per se. But the heinous doula experience we had was with a doula who was a close friend of Penny Simkin (who was a friend of my moms until she recommended that awful doula ... which pretty much ruined my mom's relationship with Penny).
Oh - and if you start a certificate program for NICU doulas I would be very interested in helping in any way I can. Or even being one of the first to sign up for the program! Keep me posted!
I think the idea of having a NICU doula is awesome! If you create a program I am so doing it. I am getting my doula and CBE training through Childbirth International and to me it seemed to be the least NCB/trust birth/crap pushing. I didn't want to learn to trust birth and make other people trust it, I want to learn how to help mamas have wonderful, safe births on THEIR terms. I haven't gotten very far, but I have looked over everything and it all seems to teach you to be very unbiased and to be supportive of all decisions. Their reading list has like 200 book choices. Henci and Ina are on the list, but they have a good variety which has been great as I can pick and choose ones that fit in with how I want to serve women.
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