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Using Doula Care as Community Aid: The Giving Equation

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1684151324317{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]As I’ve been going through our Truth and Reconciliation Action Plan, I’ve been continuously thinking about doula care and community aid, and how we can continue to decolonize our practices. As doula care becomes more “trendy” in current society, as it continues to dominate mostly higher-class spaces, how do we reflect on the roots of doula care, and stay true to community work? Of course, as doulas we do not feed ourselves and pay the bills off of warm and fuzzy feelings, but I think it is realistic to say most of us enter the field with a certain amount of passion and drive to create change in our communities. Whether that be being inspired by our own birth experience, or noticing how much of a difference our own doula made, most of us come to doula care for a deep reason.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1684151342874{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]However you identify, birth work has the ability to bring folks together. The birth and the postpartum periods are intimate and vulnerable. Individuals from marginalized communities may wish to hire someone with the same identity or lived experience as them. As someone from a certain background you may possess a set of skills, knowledge or spiritual/cultural teachings that someone from an outside identity may not. For example, a Muslim family may choose to hire a Muslim doula who may better understand their traditional customs and practices surrounding birth. An Indigenous family may choose an Indigenous doula who understands and celebrates their practices and understands the risk of violence within the medical system.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1684151427232{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Below are some tips on using your practice and voice as a doula to help your community:

  1. Marry your interests

An easy equation for finding what population you want to serve is this: identifier + lived experience + passions and skills.

Between your lived experiences and passions/interests and skill, lays your intended community. For example, as an Indigenous mental health practitioner who grew up low-income, I chose to narrow my focus on low-income families and trauma survivors. Think about the spaces you frequent, the groups you are a part of, your professional training and hobbies.

 

Identifier: Indigenous, Queer

Lived experience: Poverty

Skill: Social work background

Passion: Trauma

           _______________________________

Target communities:

Indigenous families

Queer Families

Low Income Families

Trauma Survivors

 

2. What can you afford to give?

Whether that is your time, or money, or expertise. Some doulas choose to dedicate acouple of births per year pro-bono or sliding scale. Perhaps, you decide to attend protests and events as a community member that are relevant to your population. You may have resources you don’t mind sharing.or books to loan out. Be creative!

 

3. Advocacy

What issues are impacting your community? How can you use your voice in a way that helps others? Perhaps you can assist in social movements regarding reproductive health.How do you use your social media. What current issues are really important to you?

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These are just a few of the ways that you can take your profession, and use it for social change. What other ways can you make waves?

 

Here are some exploratory journal prompts for you:

  • Why did I choose to become a doula?

  • What social issues am I passionate about?

  • What can I afford to give?

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1684154527320{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]-Kayt Ward, EDI Co-lead, BSW[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Business connection Labour Doula Members Mentorship Postpartum Doula rebranding starting fresh Virtual

FREE Social Media posting calendar for Doulas & Birth Professionals!

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Looking for Social Media content?

Here’s a little suggestion calendar we put together for doulas, educators, and birth professionals!

 
TIP:  Remember to post authentic content, information about yourself, your services, your interests, resources in your community, on the days there are no pre-listed ideas!
Goal: 1 post a day! January 1 to April 30 2021…. you’ve got this!

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About Us birth collaboration community connection gratitude Members Mentorship Postpartum Doula starting fresh

2018, a year of connection – A message from our Director

2018.  A year of connection.
A message of reflection from our Director.

When the last light switch is turned off on our yearly trainings I like to sit back and reflect on the growth, the hiccups, and the bounty of support we have created at Doula Canada.  Were our 2018 goals achieved?  What were the lessons we learned?  How can we make this better for our members in the year to come?  

365 days of continuous trainings and member support can feel like a daunting task at the turning of the new calendar year, but 2018 leaned towards healthy growth via the streamlining of our online learning centre and the dedication of our expert training staff.   In short, this past year was a year of vibrancy and commitment by our growing membership, our hardworking team, and the community of networking partners we set out to encompass.

It was also a lot of fun!  We made videos, held webinars, and we increased our communitas for members who wished to take part in our online check-in’s, social media platforms, monthly newsletters, and closed community forums.  

But fun wasn’t the only focus of this past year.  2018 was about making connections and beginning the work on collaborations both with and for our Doula Canada members.  The year allowed for us to ask and to receive.

In Canada we found incredible partnerships in The Gabriel Dumont Institute and the onset of our Indigenous Doula program.  We set the groundwork for our doula programs to be offered bilingually through Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB).  We continued to strengthen our relationship with Douglas College in New Westminster, BC, and we began discussions with multiple national partners to increase access to doula support through increased funding, alongside obstetrical partnerships, and increased awareness of maternal and infant mental health.  

We are grateful to have held space and made plans with First Family Wellness (Regina), Beausoleil First Nation (Christian Island), BirthMark (Toronto), Hon. Min. John Haggie (Newfoundland) and his community partners, Canadian Mental Health Association (National), and a number of hospital administrators and boards.  We look forward to continuing our discussions and plans in 2019.

Connections were also made outside of Canada as our team worked to create bridges between the maternal support needs of International communities and the strength of our Doula nation and its trainings.  Many of our members volunteered in countries like Honduras, Costa Rica, and Haiti, and in early 2019 a number of Doula Canada students will travel to Tanzania with Wombs of the World to work as alongside obstetrical support, and to increase access to safe water and sustainable job opportunities.  We will continue to support these initiatives as we make plans for future retreat and learning opportunities held abroad by Doula Canada in 2019.  

Lastly, 2018 was a year of growth.  As an organization we saw our membership increase by over 38% from the previous fiscal year, and we expanded our certifications and workshop offerings to include expansive programs such as Infant and Pregnancy Loss, Sex and Birth, Rock Your VBAC, and the announcement of our Fertility Support and Menopause Practitioner trainings. 

So, 2018, you were kind to us, and for that we are grateful.  Our organization at Doula Canada grew and created beautiful connections that we look forward to nurturing in 2019.   As the Director for this organization I am continuously grateful for the opportunities to learn from each of our members, for those who put forward their best intention to help our Learning Centre get off the ground, and for all the individuals who continue to show up for our profession and our communities.   I am also grateful to the Doula Canada team, who work 24/7, 365 days a year to support our growing membership and their professional needs.

This New Year’s Eve we will ring it in with many new friends and colleagues, and for that we say…

Continue reading “2018, a year of connection – A message from our Director”
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balance birth Business moving rebranding starting fresh

Moving in: Getting to know the Community Around you

Meet Shandelle, Doula Canada’s Public Relations Officer, mom and Doula Extraordinaire. Today Shandelle is sharing her strategies for making a big move with your business in a new community.

For those of you who don’t know, I moved my family to Nova Scotia, from Newfoundland, in the Fall of 2017.  This may not seem like a big deal to some, but to my husband and I, this was like jumping out of an airplane at 10 000 ft and hoping our parachutes were working. We were moving on a hope and prayer that Nova Scotia would be better for our children, for our skin (we needed less snow), our marriage, and most of all, my doula career.  

Skip ahead to being here and having three clients booked, and still not knowing anyone in the birth world, AT ALL!  I had to bite the bullet and begin to get my face, and my name out there. I may seem like an outgoing person, but really, it’s all a great acting job most days.  


The doula community in Newfoundland is small. It’s a tight knit group who supported each other. In Nova Scotia, the numbers were much larger.  I had it in my mind that it wouldn’t welcome a new doula, would find me competition, and that I would be going through my journey alone. Boy was I wrong!

I started to make a list of people and places to contact.  

  1. Midwives
  2. Doula Canada Doulas
  3. Other Doulas I would see on Facebook
  4. Baby/Pregnancy geared stores
  5. Other health professionals
Continue reading “Moving in: Getting to know the Community Around you”