I found this awesome video at Birth and Bloom.
I heart the Birth Attendants, who run this Prison Doula Project. I also love this video because it shares the stories of these doulas and the women they work with–but it protects their anonymity using this cool form of animation. That’s a big piece of telling the stories of these incarcerated folks–you also want to respect their desire for privacy.
For more about The Birth Attendants, check out their website.
Thanks to the Barnard Center for Research on Women for making and posting this video! Apologies that there is no transcript.
More details on the event here.
A conversation with an amazing radical doula and activist tonight got me thinking about a topic I’ve been avoiding writing about here for a while, mostly because of my feelings of shame.
It’s been four years since I’ve been at a birth.
I worry that when I tell folks that they will shun me, or consider me less worthy or my expertise false.
But the real question, and the interesting part of it, is why has it been so long since I’ve done birth doula work?
The first thing that pushed me away from the work was the burn out and exhaustion I felt from just a few months working at a hospital as a doula. It can be so taxing to be a doula in those environments, witness the inequalities and injustices, but know that your role was not to fix them, or intervene, but to try and support the birthing parent.
I left my last birth at that hospital just entirely spent and triggered by the hospital environment–I couldn’t do it anymore. Part of the problem is I’ve never witnessed a birth experience (at least not firsthand) that felt inspiring to me, that was a model of what birth should be.
I’ve yearned to see birth in the home, or in a birth center, or even a hospital where the mother is truly supported and has a positive experience.
So I’ve stayed away because of not wanting to be in the hospital setting again.
I’ve also stayed away because of my life schedule. I’ve not stayed put for more than three weeks at a time since college. My work has required pretty consistent travel–not a good combination for doula work.
But I’ve also stayed away because of fear. In the four years since I’ve last done doula work, my gender presentation has changed significantly. I’m scared of how folks will react to me, if I will make them uncomfortable, if I will have to answer questions that I don’t want to answer.
Because that’s the thing about doula work–it’s not about me. It’s about the birthing parent. And that’s the way it should be–but it’s so hard to think of walking into a room and wondering what is going through the parents head. Are they wondering why I’m doing doula work? Do they assume I’m gay and not feel okay with that? So many insecurities connected to this.
These are the things that keep me from signing up for shifts with the local volunteer doula group, which is awesome and connected to a birth center locally.
In the absence of direct doula work, this blog has been an amazing outlet for the passion and energy I have for this work. I’ve felt blessed to connect with all of you and keep abreast of the work of the birth activist community.
So this is a commitment to myself to get back to doula work this year, and face some of these fears head on.
Last week I had the opportunity to speak on a really great panel hosted by the Barnard Center for Research on Women. My co-panelists were Aishia Domingue with the Brooklyn Young Mother’s Collective, and Mary and Lauren, the co-directors of the Doula Project.
Here is a great overview of the event, but I wanted to add some thoughts as well.
First, it was fantastic to be in a room full of reproductive justice activists and supporters, all talking about birth. It’s amazing how things are progressing! And to have an event focused on doula work get such great attendance on a college campus is superb.
I really enjoyed collaborating with Aishia, Mary and Lauren on the event and hope to be in conversation with them more in the future.
One issue that came up in the Q&A that I thought was really interesting was the idea of sex education. We talked about how inadequate it is, how little young people are taught about their own bodies.
What I also thought of though, is how often times birth is used as a scare tactic. Do you remember watching the video The Miracle of Life? I remember being in Elementary School and being totally scared and repulsed by the birth scene. Educators sometimes use pregnancy and birth as scare tactics to keep kids from having sex.
We all know that scare tactics don’t work–and we get the added downside of scaring young kids early about birth.
I wonder what sex education that was really comprehensive–meaning it taught kids about childbirth without adding to the fear–would look like?
I also spoke that morning at the LGBT Literature class of a friend, Ileana Jimenez. It was an amazing visit, and such a great curriculum for high school students. More about my visit here.
Health Connect One is hosting a Doula Lobby Day this week, on March 11th, in Washington DC.
It’s exciting to see doulas taking their activism to the next level–on the Hill!
Part of what spurred this advocacy effort was the recent advocacy success. Health Connect One, supported by doulas around the country, successfully secured $1.5 million dollars in funding for FY2010 for community based doula programs. This is a huge recognition of the role of community based doulas in securing the health of our communities.
On March 11th, 2010, we will be hosting a Doula Lobby Day in Washington, DC. Join us as we meet in-person with our elected officials and encourage them to increase funding for the community-based doula program! If you are interested in participating, please contact Laura McAlpine at laura@lmcalpine.com.
If you cannot join us in DC, please visit us on Facebook to follow our real-time updates, and to let us know where YOUR legislators stand on increasing funds for community-based doula programs.
For background on federal funding for community-based doula programs, please link here.
There will also be a reception, hosted by the Family Health and Birth Center in Washington DC, on March 10th to commemorate the new funding and the lobby day.
I’m sad that I will have to miss all the exciting events, but if you attend I would love to share your experiences on the site. Email me or post in comments!
More good news on the midwifery front, this time from Wyoming!
A bill was signed into law there on March 5th, legalizing the practice of Certified Professional Midwives. CPMs are midwives that are trained to practice in homes or birth centers. They are an essential player in out of hospital birth access.
Yay Wyoming!
According to the Big Push, Nevada is now the only state in Western US that does not allow CPMs to practice.
Great news from Mississippi. The bill that had passed the House there and was headed to the Senate was defeated.
Woot!
For background on the bill go here, and thanks to everyone who took action.
I’m speaking at a great event next week in NYC, at Barnard College. If you are in NYC, you should check it out.
It’s a panel with Mary and Lauren, the two other co-founders of the Doula Project (and current coordinators!) as well as Aishia Domingue from the Brooklyn Young Mother’s Collective. It’s going to be an interesting conversation.
Reproductive Justice in Action
Aisha Domingue, Mary Mahoney, Lauren Mitchell, and Miriam Pérez
Panel Discussion:
Wednesday, 3/3, 6:30 pm
Sulzberger Parlor, 3rd Floor Barnard HallThis panel will feature a group of reproductive justice activists and birth doulas who work across the spectrum of pregnancy, birth, and women’s health, connecting the traditional reproductive rights movement with new social justice activism that considers the complete physical, political, and economic well-being of girls and women. Birth doulas, as trained sources of physical, emotional, and educational support, work to empower women and support their reproductive choices. How does childbirth fit into the discussion around reproductive rights, a discussion that is often based around access to abortion and contraception? How can the reproductive justice framework help us consider institutional barriers, such as racism and poverty, that have limited women’s empowerment and decision-making when it comes to their reproductive health?
I’m also speaking at a couple of other places in the next few weeks, including Smith College, University of Iowa and University of Minnesota. Check out the details here, and if you’re interested in bringing me to speak email me.
There is a great article up at RH Reality Check, written by Mary Mahoney, one of the founders of The Doula Project. I’ve written about the NYC-based Doula Project before, and am honored to have been one of the founders.
All the credit for what the project has become goes to co-founders Mary and Lauren, who took some very early stage ideas about providing doula care to folks having abortions and turned it into this amazing project which supports people throughout all stages of reproductive life, including abortion, fetal anomalies, miscarriages, adoption and birth.
I think this project takes doula care to its natural end–we’re there to support pregnant folks, through any and all decisions.
The Doula Project has served over 500 pregnant people since the fall of 2008, guided by the mission of providing free compassionate care and emotional, physical and informational support to people facing birth, abortion, fetal anomaly, or miscarriage. The foundation of our project is built on meeting pregnant people where they are, something I’ve taken with me from working four years in the reproductive justice movement. This connects to our belief that pregnant people should be trusted to make the choices that are best for them and that their experiences and the memories of those experiences should be honored.
Doulas hold a unique position in health care as non-medical lay people who are there solely for the pregnant person. The birth doula movement has certainly grown over the past few years, and innovative and radical projects have expanded care for pregnant people who might otherwise not receive it, such as young mothers and women in prison. During this time, The Doula Project has been building on a new model of doula care: one that supports pregnant people having abortions and choosing adoption.
Read the whole article here and check out the Doula Project here.
UPDATE: There is another great article about the Doula Project in the Brooklyn Link.
A fellow doula emailed to inquire about volunteer doula programs in New Jersey–she’s particularly interested in Northern New Jersey.
She’s interested in getting one together if there isn’t one already. If you know of any, leave them info in comments or email me.
The complete list of volunteer doula programs is here, and feel free to send info about any other programs I don’t have listed.
Radical Doula 