My DONA doula certification class.
Today seemed to be a little less about “information” and more about practical application. A lot of labor techniques were taught to us as well as chances to try them out with a partner. Loved this! We also spent quite a bit of time talking about how culture or religion may affect a woman’s labor. Interesting. Continue reading
Day one of my doula training was ten straight hours of beautiful, unadulterated knowledge. My Lord, my head is spinning. It was an incredible amount of information to digest. I’m still processing a lot of it. A few points to mention:
We watched the documentary, Orgasmic Birth. Okay, I’ll admit, I’ve been thrown off by this film and have avoided seeing it, because sometimes I’m too practical for my own good. I’ve kinda scoffed at the idea that a woman can have an orgasm while giving birth. How ridiculous! Any right-brained American woman will tell you that while in transition and or pushing she’s not thinking orgasm. Well, fiddly-dee. I was wrong. There was one woman on the film that said she had not one, but two orgasms during her labor, and from the looks of the film clips of her birth, yes, indeedy she did have one or by gosh-golly it did kinda look like two. Good for her, seriously. However, that’s not the point. What I want to say is that I think the title of this documentary is all wrong. It would be better if it were called Empowered Birth, or Ecstatic Birth or even Joyful Birth. I say this because everyone they filmed had what I would call an empowered birth experience. The mothers were in the environment of their choosing, labored in the way that was best for them, stayed in control and in touch with their body while pushing – and upon their birth, had the biggest oxytocin release of their life. Continue reading
Tonight, I am grateful. I feel as though I’ve turned a large corner and I’m seeing the horizon with a fresh set of eyes. The last year of my life has been entirely about my brand new gift of a daughter – my very body has supplied her needs, from breast-feeding to comforting arms to changing and holding and bathing. She has required me to live selflessly. And, despite myself, I’ve gladly given every fiber of my love to her.
Along with new motherhood, my husband has also needed my complete support as he endeavors to finish his undergrad. The countless hours of class and study has kept him from home, from me, and when he’s not in class, he’s working. It takes a lot of team work and dedication to have a brand new baby and a husband in school full-time. Have I been left out to dry? Hardly. Real honest to goodness love hands you the grace to give. I know that by giving to my daughter and to my husband I am ultimately giving to all of us … to our little family unit. Of course, there are moments where it’s been hard physically, emotionally and spiritually. Ask any mother about the perils of lack of sleep and the loneliness of days at home and the stories will be deep and wide. But is it without reward? No. The reward is the smile of your child as she look into your face. The reward is the happiness your husband experiences through his scholastic exploration. These tiny things add up. And they have been enough to hold me. Continue reading
I am Joy, a happily married mother of two waterbirthed babies. I am a doula and a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, who worked as a midwife's assistant at a freestanding birth center in TX. As of 2015, I'm a full-time nursing student who teaches childbirth classes at Park Ridge Health, The Baby Place, in Hendersonville, NC. I love serving laboring moms and I enjoy teaching birth education. I use this blog to write about it all - my life, my children, and my passion of all things childbirth.
The Joy of This 