Do you need a doula? (or...I am your Sherpa)

May 20, 2008 Jacquie Munro

Photo by Kiril Rusev — Photo by Kiril Rusev

I was debriefing with a second-time client yesterday. She wanted to tell me how important it was that I was by her side at her second birth. “This time, lots of people said I didn’t need a doula - that you’re not a midwife...that the doctors and nurses would be there to help me. But I knew that you’d be there just for me - and I trust you. I knew you were there in my corner - always.”

Her husband thanked me for being there again - for helping to create such a positive experience. He put it all down to what he calls “the Jacquie magic”...the fact that everyone in the hospital treated them differently because they were with me.

On egos, ideal births, and leaving your stuff at the door

May 31, 2007 Jacquie Munro

Photo by Eric Scouten — Photo by Eric Scouten

We all have shakey egos. So, it's always lovely to hear, "You're a life saver!" But, for me, along with the squishy good feeling I get from that comment, I also have a quiet little cry. The credit shouldn't go to me. The ultimate strength comes from within each woman in labour.

So, I'm really happiest when I talk with a client, months after her baby's birth, and she stops mid-sentence and says, "Did I ever tell you how wonderful that foot massage was? It helped me to be in my body, to focus on the work I was doing. It made me feel powerful."

For me, being a doula is all about reminding the woman that it's all HER power - internally and externally. As well as owning the power of her labour, she also has rights and responsibilities, which she's fully capable of exercising.