Doula care: Midwifery Today interviews Penny Simpkin

Do You Doula?

Enjoy this nice little 7 minute film about doulas & the families who loved having a doula present at their births!

doula video from Today

As expected, Dr. Nancy Schneiderman uses language repeatedly of "doctor" or "OB" & not of midwife. I found her very closed to the idea of doulas - and not a single word about statistical benefits of doulas, the many studies that show their value. Notice how she says some are very well trained - having been L&D nurses or midwives (or credentialed through DONA, as so many of us are) - but then warned that some less-well trained will create a hostile environment by giving information contrary to what the hospital staff says...that strikes me as ironic...be medically trained in order to give non-medical support!
I think so much of the tension comes from a place of defensiveness - the idea that you need your doctor's permission in order to gather the support you desire (or that you have a doctor & not a midwife!). No consideration of the idea that if you want a doula and your care provider does not then perhaps you are not well matched and should choose a different care provider. But it just doesn't have to be that way...I just do not have this tension with care providers - but I work hard to help build consensus...I doula doctors and nurses when needed!
But yes, we all know there are overzealous doulas who step over the line and are being advocates for Birth with a capital B rather than this particular birth and family - point well taken and something for doulas to be clear about.
Kind of sad that Dr. Schneiderman considers a birthing family feeling informed, cared for, physically & emotionally comfortable and having built a relationship with an integral member of her birth team as a "luxury"...

Should you wish to give Dr. Schneiderman/The Today Show feedback but do not wish to dig through the site, you can try here.

seeing others as whole, complete, capable adults

Something to think about for those who work in birth (or even for those who don't!) from Midwifery Today:

Personally, it took a lot of time on the path of martyrdom for me to really get clear about how that self-sacrifice thing does not serve anyone. I have done many births in my career for free because I "felt sorry" for the couple. This is a kind of arrogance about others that usually ends in disaster. Now it seems particularly ridiculous that I did a lot of this free work when I was a struggling single parent with two little kids who I could barely feed. What was I thinking? I would burn out my friends with unreasonable requests for babysitting, let my pantry get bare, be exhausted and cranky with my children and still not collect money from the clients because they were "so poor." Learning to see others as whole, complete, capable adults took a long time.

When we charge a fair fee for service, as other workers do, we leave the relationship with the client whole and complete. I remember doing a birth for a couple for a ridiculously low fee because I was told "He is a seasonal worker and they really want to have a birth in their own home." About three months after the birth, the family phoned to tell me they were going on a trip to Disneyland. I was very resentful and did not want them to have a nice holiday when I had gone into debt to be at their birth. Lesson learned. Now I'm thrilled when my clients tell me they are buying nice things because they owe me nothing.

Even if people have a tough time with finances, there are still things they can sell if they want the service you offer. There are enough pop bottles on the street to generate the money for a doula. There are grandparents who would love to pay for a doula service for the new grandchild. There is a way to pay $50 per month for a year if one really wants a doula.

I love this quote from Dr. Kloosterman of Holland, who is an obstetrician and a great friend to the natural birth movement:

"All over the world there exists in every society a small group of women who feel themselves strongly attracted to give care to other women during pregnancy and childbirth. Failure to make use of this group of highly motivated people is regrettable and a sin against the principle of subsidiarity." (Editor's Note: The principle of subsidiarity is that nothing should be done by a larger and more complex organization that can be done as well [or better] by a smaller and simpler organization.)

It's important to note that Dr. Kloosterman doesn't say "give care for free or for a ridiculously low return." "Make use of this group" does not mean "make this group into martyrs." I have seen so many good women come and go from the birth movement who do not have a balance between what they give and what they receive. It simply doesn't work to be dishonest about our own needs and the needs of our families when we go to births.

— Gloria Lemay
Excerpted from "Midwifery Tip from Gloria Lemay," The Birthkit, Issue 36

Today show - reminder

It looks like the Today show segment on doulas will happen tomorrow! ...try 8:06 am, as that's when the health segment usually is.
Here is the companion article that was just posted.

Today...Thursday?

Could it be that the doula story will actually appear Thursday? Maybe...try tuning in tomorrow at 8:06ish am tomorrow & see...

Baby, You're Home

Check out the almost entirely positive story on home birth in today's New York Times, accompanied by a lovely slideshow online (including the above photos). The article notes a growing home birth surge taking place:

...in 2006 home births accounted for only one-half of 1 percent of the city’s 125,506 reported births. But local midwives say they have been swamped with calls and requests in recent months, in some cases increasing their workload from two, three or four deliveries a month to as many as 10.

Of course, I would have loved if the reporter hadn't used loaded words like "grueling ordeal" and "traumatic" and lots of other fear-based language when the families involved seemed not to experience their births like that at all (note to the reporter: check your own preconceptions at the door & just observe/report, please). I wish the cover picture were a more joyful one - it's possible to mistakenly conclude that everyone in the picture is worried. I wish it hit harder on cesarean rates (and the fact that some hospitals hover around or above 50% instead of the already-deplorable national average of 33%) - and by the way, a cesarean is far more than a "procedure", it's major abdominal surgery. I wish the last part, about the AMA's stance, were not entitled "Playing It Safe". But overall, aside from the incongruity of the reporter's editorializing as compared to the facts and stories reported, it's good...

Blessings to all the families who shared their births for this article and to all those who read it and consider their options. When people see the beauty and simplicity that birth can be, especially at home, it is hard to go back to that place of fear and judgment. I hope that is true for many who read the NY Times piece.

doulas on TODAY show

The Today Show on NBC will feature doulas/DONA International
8:06 am EST Thursday,November 6th

Change your schedule, set your alarm and program your TiVo to record a segment about birth doulas that will be aired on NBC's Today Show on Thursday, November 6, 2008 early in the 8:00 am EST hour.

A mother who recently gave birth with the assistance of a DONA certified birth doula will be interviewed. Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC News Chief Medical Editor, will present this segment. An expanded companion article about doulas and DONA International will be available on the Today Show web site. The article should be available on Thursday, but it might be necessary to type "doula" in the search engine if it is not the top news that day.
This segment will air barring breaking news that takes precedence.

need a new dishwasher? giving birth?

Well then be sure to check out Consumer Reports. That's right - even Consumer Reports thinks there is too much medical intervention in birth and has published their report entitled "Back To Basics For Safer Childbirth"

In it they conclude that, "too many doctors and hospitals are overusing high-tech procedures". It breaks it's report into two sections, Overuse of High-Tech Measures and Underuse of High-Touch, Noninvasive Measures.
Of the high-touch (I like that!) measures, doulas ("continuous presence of a companion") and VBAC are on the list.

doulas in the news!

Check out USA Today's "Maternity Care Failings Can Be Remedied With Cost-Saving Fixes" to see how doulas are part of the solution!... Also information on cesareans and informed consent.

The article refers to the release of this report by Childbirth Connection, entitled, "Evidence-Based Maternity Care Report, 2008".

Of doulas, family-practice doctor Valerie King of the Oregon Health & Sciences University in Portland says,

"If a doula could be put in an IV drip, everyone would get it."

Also in USA Today, "Study: High-Tech Interventions Deliver Huge Childbirth Bill". I think the title speaks for itself.