What is a Doula?

You may have heard me talk about my journey to become a doula. But you may be wondering, "What on earth is a doula?!" Well, wonder no more! In this post, I'm going to talk about why I decided to become a doula, and I'll also talk about what a doula is and is not. 

Definition of a Doula according to Merriam-Webster: a person trained to provide advice, information, emotional support, and physical comfort to a mother before, during, and just after childbirth. 

What a doula is NOT:

-A doula is NOT a medical professional, and they don't perform tasks such as taking blood pressure, checking fetal heart tones, or suggesting any type of medicine, natural or over-the-counter. 

-A doula is not a mental health professional or a therapist. 

Some tasks of a birth doula: 

 - Comfort measures during childbirth such as:

-Relaxation techniques

-Labor positions

- Providing emotional support during pregnancy and childbirth.

- To advocate for the expecting mother, aiding in providing better communication between staff and the expecting mother. 

(For more information, or to read more about doulas, check out this article by WebMD) 

What made me decide to become a Doula?

I have always loved babies and kids. Since I was little, I've wanted to have kids someday. When I was younger (and now as well) you could find me carrying around our friends' babies. I've always loved them. When my niece, Eliza was born, it was one of the happiest days of my life. But what made me choose to be a doula? Let me start out by saying that I had no idea what on earth a doula was until last year. I was trying to decide what I wanted to do career-wise, and debating taking dual credit classes while I was still in High School, and trying to figure out if I even wanted to go to college at all, (yes, I thought about these things when I was 14 & 15...) One day, I was talking with my mom about possible career options, and she asked me if I actually WANTED to go to college. I was like, "Uh, yeah, you have to go to college to get a decent job, don't you?" And she started talking about the things you can do without going to college and paying an insane amount of money for it. She started listing ideas, and when she said "doula" my interest was piqued.  I asked her what a doula was, and she told me to look up what a doula is. I was intrigued. This was what I wanted to do! I wanted to help mothers through childbirth, and get to see HUMANS come into this world! 

My journey's been an interesting one thus far, and I've loved getting to see the Father's plan for my life slowly unfold. I never in a million years thought I'd EVER read childbirth books for fun, or watch births on YouTube, but here I am today, doing both of those things!

If you have any questions about the job of a doula, or about my journey, feel free to send them to me! I'd love to answer them.

Goodbye for now,

Kyra

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