Previously by Carly Lane. Growing up, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t surrounded by birth. I’m rarely a latchkey kid who frequently comes home to an empty house at the end of a school day. My little sister and I make the trek home from the bus stop, let ourselves in, and ease our backpacks from our aching shoulders. Our mother greets us from wherever she was in the house, asks us about our…
No decision in life will be as complex and difficult as the selection of your doula. The hopes of so many young families have been dashed simply by selecting a doula who is inexperienced or hostile or simply not in fact a doula but a bike courier. You’ll want to prepare for the interview process thoroughly to avoid some of the common pitfalls of doula selection, or “doulection,” as some people (not many)
“Doulas are getting paid by people who can afford it. But people who can’t afford it don’t get doulas. We want to make sure that group can get a doula, because their babies are dying, being born too small – and we know that doulas can help. To not support them in getting a doula is unconscionable. Women who are on Medicaid who want a doula should have one. And we should find
There’s no one way to describe what it’s like to be present when a baby is born. For me, it’s electric. It’s the most bold, most primal work of human existence, happening both all at once and in slow motion: shivery, sweaty, bloody, beautiful. It's the biggest joy and the greatest privilege I've experienced in my life so far, the fact that women choose me to be their witness and support on the day they…
