Radical Doula

This is a series highlighting folks who identify as Radical Doulas. Are you interested in being part of the series? Email me.

Lauren Guy-McAlpin is a DONA-trained birth doula pursuing certification. Originally from Atlanta, Lauren moved to Greensboro, North Carolina at 18 to study dance at UNC-Greensboro, where she also earned a degree in Women’s and Gender Studies in 2008. In addition to doula’ing, Lauren is a longtime reproductive justice advocate, writer, and blogger for ChoiceUSA. She is the co-founder and project coordinator of CPC Watch, a web-based pregnancy options resource that focuses primarily on “crisis pregnancy centers” that give women false and misleading information about abortion, contraception, and sexuality. Lauren is also in the process of developing a full-spectrum doula collective to serve NC Triad women undergoing abortion, miscarriage, and birthing for adoption. You can contact her at spectrumdoulas@gmail.com.

What inspired you to become a doula?

Unlike many doulas, the decision to become a doula came to me before I ever experienced pregnancy and childbirth myself. About a year ago, when soul-searching for a career path, I realized doula work was my calling. It happened quite organically; I’ve identified as a feminist since middle school and have been a committed reproductive rights activist since early college. For me, doula’ing is merely turning those activities inward, to take my passion from the public sphere of politics and social justice to the private sector of the birthing room.

Why do you identify with the term radical doula?

I just love the word radical! Sociopolitical implications aside, radical means “at the roots.” Giving birth is, in essence, one of the most radical things the female body is capable of. Meaning of course, if women are not free to make informed decisions regarding if, when, where, how, and with whom they give birth, they are not and cannot ever be completely liberated from the shackles of patriarchal restriction.

Politically speaking, I suppose I fall squarely in the “radical” category. While this term has become loaded with negative connotations over the years, I see nothing wrong with advocating for radical change where radical change is needed. Consider, for example, how the Roe v. Wade decision did anything but allow women to take charge of our reproductive lives: the legal framework for abortion was indeed secured, but we continue to see financial, legislative, and cultural barriers to abortion (and contraception, birthing options, etc), especially when it comes to women of color and working class women. We see this trend in all matters reproductive, from abortion rights to the right to have children, from access to contraception to the right to birth where and how we please.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is a series highlighting folks who identify as Radical Doulas. Are you interested in being part of the series? Email me.

Alison (Ali) Ojanen-Goldsmith is the Lead Coordinator of Full Spectrum Doulas in Seattle, WA where she is working to expand the doula model of care to people experiencing the full spectrum of pregnancy outcomes, including abortion and adoption.  She also owns and operates Healthy Family, Healthy World and provides a range of services that support and advocate for healthy women, families and communities including eco-healthy postpartum doula services.  Prior to moving to Seattle and expanding her scope and impact to the grassroots level, she served as Programs and Policy Associate at Reproductive Health Technologies Project (RHTP) in Washington, DC and as a public policy researcher for NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin.

What inspired you to become a doula?

I became a full spectrum doula to provide unwavering, nonjudgmental and hands-on support to women through all of their reproductive decisions, whether that be birthing at home, having an abortion or providing a child through surrogacy or adoption and every circumstance in between. A broader goal of my doula work is to empower women to trust in themselves and each other and to develop their own sense of what it means to be a women’s health advocate.

What is your doula philosophy and how does it fit into your broader political beliefs?

I believe that with knowledge, empowerment and natural intuition women are the ones that make the best decisions for themselves.   It is imperative that our voices be heard, especially in the predominantly patriarchal medical environments in which most women face making their reproductive decisions.

As a reproductive justice advocate, I work to challenge and change the systems of power that continue to subjugate women and deny them the social, economic, cultural and educational opportunities to fully realize their reproductive goals.  Through my doula work, I hope to contribute to this change from the bottom up by supporting and empowering one woman at a time.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is a series highlighting folks who identify as Radical Doulas. Are you interested in being part of the series? Email me.

Patrice A. London is this week’s Radical Doula.

A self proclaimed “birth junkie”, Patrice A. London is a Washington, DC native now residing in New Jersey, Patrice A. London is a wife, Christian unschooling mother of 3 lovely little ladies, a classically trained coloratura soprano, certified birth doula (BAI), Placenta encapsulation specialist, and the author of Empowered To Birth Naturally: One Woman’s Journey to Homebirth. Patrice is a graduate of Duke Ellington School of the Arts (vocal music) and Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, FL holding a BA in Speech Communication.

Website: http://www.empoweredtobirthnaturally.com

What inspired you to become a doula?

Unsatisfied by my first birthing experience, (I wanted a completely natural birth and didn’t get it) I am determined to help others who want a natural birth. My goal is to help women make informed decisions and not just “do as they’re told”. Having given birth to my children in the hospital, birth center and at home, I feel I have a unique understanding of how birth can unfold in all 3 places from my personal experiences. I’d love to see every woman have as enjoyable a birth as I had with my last two children. It really excites me to help a first time mom to have a great birthing experience because I know she’s escaped what I endured my first time around.

What is your doula philosophy and how does it fit into your broader political beliefs?

My philosophy is to empower women. I feel that women are all too often abused during their pregnancy, labor and birth and I’d like to help empower women to make informed decisions and take back their birth! I always encourage my clients saying, “This is your birth”. Obviously if problems arise everyone acts accordingly but in the end, she’s not just “going with the flow”, she’s in charge.

Not “going with the flow” is most definitely how I live my life. I come from a conventional home and upbringing but as an adult, I’m anything but conventional, lol! I’m the Pisces that swims against the current with my different practices from not traditional homeschooling but unschooling, home birthing, baby wearing, extended breastfeeding, non- vaxing, using aromatherapy, homeopathy and herbs for medicinal purposes and so much more. My husband calls me a tree hugger, lol!

Read the rest of this entry »

Laurel Ripple Carpenter is a radical doula, reproductive rights activist, abortion advocate, maker of feminist art, anarchist, partner, and mama to the fiestiest red-headed toddler ever. She publishes the CUNTastic Zine, is founder of The Doula Partnership, and lives at the Black Diaper Collective in Grand Junction, Colorado. Contact her at laurel@cuntastic.org.

Websites are: blog & zine, doula non-profit, feminist art, and doula website.

RD: What inspired you to become a doula?

LRC: My own experience with an unplanned pregnancy sent me on a journey of discovering reproductive health. I began studying reproductive rights and pro-choice politics, and became passionately committed. When I independently designed my Bachelor’s degree as the Anthropology of Reproduction, I began to understand reproductive rights as a continuum, from pregnancy and birthing to abortion and birth control, rather than one end of a spectrum. Being a doula is one way for me to support women in their choices about their bodies, and is a great addition to my other reproductive rights work.

RD: What is your doula philosophy and how does it fit into your broader political beliefs?

LRC: As a doula, I advocate for the birth that the mother desires, whether that’s medicated or unmedicated, at home or in the hospital. I am particularly committed to serving marginalized populations, including teen moms, survivors of abuse & assault, recent immigrants, incarcerated women, non-English speakers, and non-traditional families. Doing this work, and doing the work of raising my own child in our non-traditional family, are the most radical acts I could ever enagage in.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is a series highlighting folks who identify as Radical Doulas. Are you interested in being part of the series? Email me.

Nicole Webb, this week’s Radical Doula.

RD: What inspired you to become a Doula?

NW: Like so many Doulas, my own birth experiences led me to this path. I experienced a normal hospital birth when my first son was born. I was not unsatisfied with the birth, because I was so extremely grateful not to have had a surgical birth. I had an epidural, too many IV pokes, failed forceps, sucessful vacuumed birth. The hospital staff allowed me to push for over 3 hours, numb, before using the tools. I didn’t feel anything until the day and weeks following the birth. That’s when all that missed pain and missed signals to move came back to haunt me. After this birth, I learned the vast importance of the transition to motherhood because of my own needs and my own mother helping me. It is a huge rite of passage and we rarely treat is as such.

It was when my second was born that I realized what had been missed with my first. I had an unmedicated birth, on hands and knees in a sports bra, with a hospital midwife. I learned that the pain of birth is only the movement of the baby and it completely ends when the job is over. It doesn’t last for weeks like an epidural and too much inneffective pushing might cause. I never even needed a pain reliever after this birth. After the birth, I had that bonding experience I had read about. I had the “runners high” and feelings of incredible power, energy and pride in my abilities. I felt and still feel that I can do anything. And it feels like an unintended consequence of hospital birth is robbing women of this empowering experience. It feels like hospitals birth robs women and children of the intense bodning that should occur immediately after birth, an imprinting of sort.

RD: What is your Doula philosophy and how does it fit into your broader political beliefs?

NW: As a doula, I want to allow women to learn enough to make informed choices. I want to assist women to build the kind of birth that empowers them and thier choices. Not a birth that leaves them feeling drained, emotionally and physically, that seems to prevail our society. Politically I feel the same; we should not uphold (pay for via taxes) a government that treats us like incompetent morons, limits our choices and eliminates responsibility altogether. I believe it’s time for a huge change, politically, and I think that those changes would be the first step to eliminating corporate control of government that leads to corporate government control of health care and limitations in choice.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is a series highlighting folks who identify as Radical Doulas. Are you interested in being part of the series? Email me.

Introducing Jill Wodnick, this week’s radical doula:

RD: What inspired you to become a doula?

JW: Being a doula seemed a natural outlet for my myriad of passions: women’s studies, healing arts/body work and public policy. As soon as I found out what a doula was, the calling was clear. I truly love that my doula care enables me to share chants, mantras, recipes, and work in the wise woman tradition AND be part of improving maternity care by knowing evidence based practices and policies that are essential for maternal infant health.

RD: What is your Doula philosophy and how does it fit into your broader political beliefs?

JW: Working one on one, my philosophy is very compassionate and seeks to awaken one’s deep intuition and instincts for labor and life as a mother. My broader political belief encompasses that social justice begins with birth (access to prenatal care, reducing racial perinatal disparities, legislative policies to support breastfeeding intiation and retention). Seeing birth as a reproductive rights issue really is meaningful. I am inspired by the cogent and clear policy messages of ‘MomsRising.org’ to create legislative reform.

Read the rest of this entry »

Nicole is a labor doula and a mother of two young children. She currently resides in Newberg, Oregon, with plans in the near future to buy and live aboard a sailboat in Portland, along with cruising the world with her family (all while hopefully remaining a doula)! You can learn more about Nicole at her website.

RD: What inspired you to become a doula?

NM: When I was pregnant with my second child, I was planning an unassisted birth. I read and studied as much as I could, learning about all kinds of birth options. I did not have very many family or friends who fully supported me through that pregnancy, and I realized that I wanted to be there for women, no matter what their choices were. I think every woman deserves to have that.

RD: What is your Doula philosophy and how does it fit into your broader political beliefs?

NM: I am there to serve a woman and her family in whatever way is needed. Every birth is different, and as a doula, I know it is my role to support, respect and listen to each woman. I go in with no plans, or desires to mold the birth into what I deem right. In the same sense, I am very liberal in my own life choices, and believe that every person deserves the right to choose what kind of life they want to live.

RD: What is your favorite thing about being a Doula?

NM: I love the excitement of birth. Coming into a home where a mother is laboring, it almost feels electric. You are apart of this amazing experience that forever bonds you with these people. It totally fills me up with happiness unlike anything else.

RD: If you could change one thing about birth in the US, what would it be?

NM: That homebirth would be more accessible to every woman, no matter her means. I wish that all insurance companies would cover homebirths, and that those who choose to have one would be encouraged rather than being continually dissuaded.

Aya de Chellis is a radical queer Reproductive Justice freedom-fighter. As a doula she is available to listen and share ideas and comfort techniques that would be helpful to any person. The communities that Aya most often works with are young people, communities of color, Spanish-speaking Latina immigrant women and their families, refugee communities, and LGBTQ people. Primarily, she teaches Lamaze, attends births, and attends abortions, but also goes with people as a support person to get STI testing and treatment. She wants you to remember that you are your own expert and have many valuable tools within yourself. She lives, works, and loves in Pittsburgh, PA and is proud to be from the Rustbelt. She can be reached at aya.doula@gmail.com.

What inspired you to become a Doula?

I became a doula because I believe in girls and women, and I believe in Reproductive Justice. We have no choice if we don’t know what our choices are. For years I did work in abortion advocacy, and now most of my time is spent in pregnancy and birth care. For a number of women that I work with, I have attended both their births and their abortions. The same problems exist across the spectrum of medical care: girls and women are too often treated like they don’t know their own bodies, like they don’t know what’s best for them, and like they need medical intervention to “correct” a “problem.” I want all people to know that their experiences, their wishes, and their truth matters.

What is your favorite thing about being a Doula?

I love being able to create a space for a person to realize their own innate ability to take care of themselves. Moments when someone realizes that they naturally move a certain way or breathe a certain way for comfort and rhythm is amazingly powerful. Environment is everything, and if people are in spaces where they see negative images of themselves or people like them, if they are discouraged, or if they are distracted and stressed out, they can’t feel powerful and capable. Clearing a space and guarding it for someone is an awesome responsibility that I take very seriously and enjoy immensely.

If you could change one thing about birth in the US, what would it be?

I want to stop the inaccurate portrayal of birth and replace it with evidence-based information and true stories of physiological natural birth. One of the most dangerous things to birth is the constant representation in media of how scary and dangerous giving birth is. Starting in early childhood, we all swim in the notion that it is something to be feared and something that can go terribly wrong without a doctor’s supervision. Imagine how different our culture(s) would be if, instead, we heard stories and saw representations of natural homebirth, orgasmic birth, squatting birth, and fierce bellowing birthing mamas as the norm.

The newest in the Radical Doula Profiles series is Michelle Bell!

If you’re interested in being part of the profile series here at Radical Doula, email me.

About Michelle:

I currently run a private practice where I am part of a collective (Ann Arbor Doulas). I also offer volunteer services as a postpartum and birth doula for the non-profit Doulas Care in addition to working as the Client Intake Coordinator. Doulas Care is committed to supporting, educating and empowering childbearing women and their families, and specifically exists to help women and adolescents with limited resources. If you’re receiving WIC assistance and are living in South Michigan or Metro-Toledo area and are currently pregnant, please contact us if you would like to explore the option of a doula. When I’m not attending births or working at the office, I escort at the local Planned Parenthood and write at the Gaytheists blog.

If you live in the Ann Arbor, Detroit Metro, Saginaw & Bay City area or Toledo area and are looking for doula services, please e-mail me! I can be reached at Michelle -at- annarbordoulas -dot- com and will return any inquiries within 24 hours.

Keep reading to learn more about Michelle!

Read the rest of this entry »