My oldest, bless her heart, is my biggest fan. It doesn’t matter what I do-she is on board. I could be selling bean pies on the corner; she would be on the other side directing business to me. She’s never hesitant to let everyone know what I do, especially pregnant women. Apparently she’s been educating her teachers who are expecting on the benefits of having a doula. I admit, it embarrasses me a bit but her heart is very sweet so I don’t discourage her.

One question she has encountered, which is a great one, is “why would someone need a doula if they have support from friends and family”?

She sent me this question via text message and I responded in such. Having a baby is such an intimate (and vulnerable) time for a woman that even if she has a dozen friends that she adores, the actual number of people who will be actively helping her (in the room) would be a few. More often it is the dad (I wrote an article about dads and doulas), sometimes her mom or mother in law (or both) and maybe her best friend. It could be all of these parties, a combination of them all or only one. A doula is supportive to both the mother and who she chooses to have at her birth. A doula plays a crucial role in helping the chosen support parties become involved in the birth to the extent he/she feels comfortable.


Family and friends care and love the mom in a way that the doula can’t because of the nature of the relationships. It’s special and a doula should never try to step in those roles. However, there are differences between having friend/family support and a doula’s support:

• 
  A doula is a professional in the childbirth field and is educated on the procedures, interventions, medications that the woman may encounter during birth and becomes a source of information so that the mom can make informed decisions. She is also involved on a regular basis and is more likely to be updated on how a specific hospitals’ policy is.
• The doula offers nonstop support. She is there working mainly for the mom, but also is there to get her family and friends involved in supporting her with comfort measures, position changes, words of encouragement and affirmation.
• The doula is aware of the different phases of birth and can often predict what stage the mom is in even before a doctor or nurse checks her. This is because there is a rhythm to birth and unlike the doctors and nurses the doula is there the whole time to let the mom (and father) know that she is progressing.
• Okay, I am going to say this and please do not take it the wrong way. Often family and friends unknowingly discourage the mom with their fears and preconceived ideas of how her birth should go. Also, doula will not take a mother’s responses and behavior personal allowing the mom to feel free and uninhibited during labor and birth.
• It’s hard to see someone you love in pain and often they offer suggestions to relieve them of how uncomfortable it is to see someone you love in pain. E.g. she wants an un-medicated birth. During labor she hits an emotional wall (because it's hard work) and her family, friends (and nurses) starts recommending medication. The doula knows she is trying to have an un-medicated birth and reminds her of her choices and why. Sometimes she will give in to the offer and have regrets later, wondering how far she could have gone.  It’s best that if she deviates from  her birth plan that she understands the pros and cons of each decision and then offered support based on her wishes not because everyone else's needs.
• The doula is recognized as a professional to nurses and doctors this allows communication between the mother and medical professionals to be enhanced.

As women we are always thinking about other people before ourselves. Sometimes this need to take care of every one else makes it hard for a laboring mom to focus and really go with the flow of labor. During birth a woman needs to be mothered (doula in Greek means "mothering the mother, or serving the woman". She needs to be the center of attention and when everything around her is going fast or chaotic or annoying, the doula is the calm, steady voice telling her she can do it. Together with her chosen support team, the new mom can have a greater satisfaction with their birth experience, a closer relationship with those involved and confidence in her abilities to mother.

 

There are also times when when induction may be safer than waiting for labor to start on its own. Watch this informative video so that you can determine what is best for you and your baby. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Last week my husband and I learned that the baby whose fall arrival we had so anxiously anticipated will not be. The process was all too familiar as we had just experienced it for the first time earlier this year. It was hard to be optimistic as we noticed the same pattern as our first loss. You notice some spotting, or maybe bleeding with or without  cramping and make the alarmed call to the doctor (or nurse) who tries to reassure you that it is not uncommon in the first trimester to have some bleeding. Their advice; try to relax, put your feet up, get some rest and try not to worry. Something doesn’t feel right, not just with your body but in your spirit. By the time you see your doctor you already know in your heart but it stings all the same to hear that what you are experiencing is most likely the end of your pregnancy. They run tests to be sure and tell you not to give up. Your symptoms are fading along with all of your hopes and dreams. All optimism is lost as you learn that the “pregnancy wasn’t progressing” or has ended.

“Miscarriage is the most common type of pregnancy loss, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Studies reveal that anywhere from 10-25% of all clinically recognized pregnancies will end in miscarriage…Most miscarriages occur during the first 13 weeks of pregnancy. Pregnancy can be such an exciting time, but with the great number of recognized miscarriages that occur, it is beneficial to be informed about miscarriage, in the unfortunate event that you find yourself or someone you know faced with one.” American Pregnancy Association

This is a loss, a real loss. Whether you had just conceived (chemical pregnancy), in your first trimester (miscarriage) or were in a later stage in your pregnancy (stillborn) the loss is as real as having had a newborn baby in your arms and to later lose them.

With every loss there is a grieving period. The length of the grieving doesn’t necessary depend on how far along a woman may have been and every woman will grieve in different ways as well. One thing that they will all share is the different stages of grief.

Stages of Grief:

·         Denial

·         Anger

·         Guilt

·         Bargaining

·         Acceptance

“A miscarriage takes away the pure innocence of pregnancy”. I read this comment on a pregnancy loss website the other night. The young lady who wrote it pretty much summed up how other women (including myself) may describe the emotional aftershock of a pregnancy loss.  This short sentence says so much and I didn’t understand it until I experienced it myself.

Instead of the heart racing excitement that once was, future pregnancies will be held frigidly in the heart. The “I won’t get excited until after the safe zone (first trimester)” technique will be applied for self protection. Every twinge, spot or loss of symptoms will be cause for anxiety. Fear lingers and every ultrasound appointment ends with a sigh of relief.  Between each doctors visit it feels as if you have been holding your breath since the last. Some may (try) to with hold any love toward the new babe as to lessen the impact of a potential loss. As if we can really do that. Yes, it is true that a mother and a baby are two individuals but as soon as we see the little “+” sign or “pregnant”, or the doctor confirms what your womanly intuition told you, you are hooked. From that moment the heart strings become entangled to this little one.

It’s not that the mother who hasn’t had a loss doesn’t experience some level of anxiety. On the contraire, when I was pregnant with my two daughters who are 3 and 12 years old now, both times I was so afraid of miscarrying them. I pretty much walked around as if I was holding china that I was afraid would easily break. What I am describing above is different. A previous miscarriage can almost rob the joy expectation of being pregnant from a woman.

Ironically enough after our news I have been contacted by two new potential clients for doula services. My daughter asked me if I was going to be okay with my two deliveries I have coming up in the next few weeks. She’s also observed me still researching and practicing my doula skills in between minor melt downs when the reality of what we are experiencing hits me like a tsunami. It’s a fair question that I didn’t mind her asking. The truth is, I’m not sure how I will feel in the next few weeks, next few months or due dates. When you consider that each month a woman has only a 20% chance of conceiving (who is purposely trying) it is pretty amazing. The fact that there is a about a 24 hour timeframe for a sperm to meet the egg and the uterine environment has to be just right, I still believe that every conception and birth is a miracle. I attended a birth a week after our first loss and it was almost therapeutic to take my mind off of myself and our loss and give someone else 100% to help them to bring forth their miracle.

 

(Authors note: This post was really written to encourage women out there who have and who will experience a pregnancy loss but also those who aren’t sure how to comfort them.)

Websites:

http://pregnancyloss.info/

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyloss/mcsupportingothers.html

Books:

Empty Cradle, Broken Heart

Pregnancy After a Loss: A Guide to Pregnancy After a Miscarriage, Stillbirth, or Infant Death

Trying Again: A Guide to Pregnancy After Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss

A Silent Sorrow: Pregnancy Loss - Guidance and Support for You and Your Family

Grieving the Child I Never Knew

Something Happened: 
A book for children and parents who have experienced pregnancy loss.

We Were Gonna Have a Baby, But We Had an Angel Instead by Pat Schwiebert.