What Birth Work Is…

As I’m taking a break from editing the June quarterly newsletter for the Colorado Doulas Association (as is my Publications Chair board duties), I’m reflecting on all the things I do as a doula that don’t involve being present at a family’s birth. Having only attended four births so far, I still find that every day I am doing something related to birth work or my doula & massage business.

I’m juggling calls and emails from doula clients while at my other two jobs – managing the volunteers at Girls Inc. of Metro Denver and being a massage therapist at Natural Balance Integrative Health. I’m scheduling doula interviews and prenatal appointments on my one day off a week. I’m occasionally on-call for Mountain Midwifery Center as one of their Cocoon Birth specially-trained doulas. I’m auditing my second set of childbirth education classes on Mondays (this time it’s for Hypnobabies!) It’s trying to snuggle up on the babies whose first breaths I was witness to, and loving up on the clients that allowed me to be there.

I spend a lot of my time as a doula on-call for births. That means birth work is making sure I’m sleeping enough at night, and eating enough protein so that if I get called out to a birth I’m physically able to give my all. It means I’m constantly on alert that I may need to reschedule meetings or massages, or cancel plans for my mom’s birthday. It’s making sure I do my laundry after a long day of massaging, so that I have Saturday nights free to spend time with my partner. It’s getting massages and acupuncture. …Because birth work is also making time to enjoy life and do self-care.

Birth work is also being involved in the birth community – attending events and classes and networking opportunities. It’s watching other doulas’ kiddos while they are at births and processing their experiences with them when they return. Birth work is sharing joyful stories with my doula sisters after beautiful & goddess-y births.

When I did get called to Mountain Midwifery Center on a day I was on-call for them, I also experienced that birth work is disinfecting birth tubs, doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen, and wrestling hoses that weigh about 50 pounds (to fill up and empty the birth tubs!)

Ultimately I, and other doulas, do all this so we can be there with a family when they see their new child enter their lives. To see clients own their choices and experience how powerful their bodies can be, no matter their birth outcome. The hardest thing I’ve ever done is be a doula – but I am so honored to be one!