Doula School Canada

Tag: webinar

  • Standing out from the Crowd in your Birth Work Business

    Standing out from the Crowd in your Birth Work Business

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1655208046361{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]One of my favourite aspects of getting to know more doulas is hearing everyone’s “Why I became a birth worker story”. While there are common themes, every doula’s story is unique and visceral. Our motivations are often connected to our own experiences of birth trauma or the traumatic experience of a loved one. Others want to disrupt the systemic injustices of the medicalized birth model that have impacted them and their community directly. Others are “birth nerds” who are just fascinated by all things birth and baby. Others remember their own experience of wishing they had had more support and more information and want to provide that for others.

    Our specific reasons are as unique as we all are. Yet, many of us struggle to communicate this innate individuality to prospective clients. It can be hard to know how to make what you offer clients sound different from the standard list of doula services: “continuous labour support, informational support, assistance with establishing a good latch, emotional needs during labour, non-medical comfort” etc. All of those services are invaluable, but we also know that parents looking for a doula are not just looking for another clinical person with certain skills. Creating marketing materials that clearly convey how you will deliver those services in a way that is different from any other doula can be very elusive.

    This is where brand identity comes into play. To be honest, when I hear the word “brand” the first thing that pops into my head is that shoe company’s swoosh. But branding is actually much more complex than an eye-catching, memorable logo. When we see that iconic swoosh, we have specific feelings and perceptions about who wears those shoes and who we would be in them, as compared to any other athletic footwear.

    Similarly, our brand as birth workers needs to make it intuitively clear to prospective clients who we are in the birth room and who our support will affirm them to be. When we connect with our audience using a strong brand identity, our business name, logos, shapes, and colours all fit together seamlessly to tell the story of who we are and how the way we do what we do is different from any other doula in our community.

    Another thing I have observed about doulas is that the birth worker community is collaborative rather than competitive. Stemming from our deeply personal reasons for taking up this labour of love, we want our clients to find the best fit for their needs. We want a consistent stream of clients without having to haggle with each other for our share of the market.

    On Tuesday, June 14 at 7 PM ET, Business Consultant Gaileen Flaman will be supporting us to ensure that our public presence stands out from the crowd. Using a mix of self-reflection, visualization, and storytelling exercises we will emerge with the ability to market with precision and cohesion. This is an invaluable opportunity for anyone building their business who wants to know how to tap into the clients that are looking for you. You can register for the Building your Brand Webinar here!

     

    The webinar will be close-captioned. Ticket holders who are unable to attend the webinar live will receive a recording of the session within two business days.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Supporting Disabled Parents

    Supporting Disabled Parents

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1754426425616{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Welcoming a new person into your home and the world is always an emotional and life-changing experience with so much joy, but also many challenges and adjustments. Imagine navigating all of the usual challenges, when additionally you can’t hear your baby’s cries, see if they are too hot or too cold, or don’t have the mobility to do diaper changes or easily lift your baby.

    This is a reality for many new parents, and it’s a reality we don’t see reflected in popular culture or in services and support for new parents. Disabled people are rarely depicted in parenting roles, despite the fact that 1 in 8 birthing people identifies as having a disability. One of the features of ableism is that disabled people are infantilized and not seen as sexual beings. As a result of these stereotypical and inaccurate beliefs, disabled people are assumed to not be parents. 

    Additionally, until well into the 20th century, disabled people existed in a climate of eugenics, where many disabled people were unnecessarily advised not to reproduce and in some instances, sterilized against their will.

    Even today, many disabled people report that they are discouraged from childbearing, and given inaccurate or misleading information about the impact of their disability on their fertility or ability to child bear. 

    There is a growing body of research that shows that perinatal care providers are woefully uninformed or misinformed about the needs of disabled pregnant people. Just finding a clinic with an accessible exam room and other disability accommodations can be challenging and severely limit provider choice. Physicians and midwives are not trained on the needs of disabled patients and they themselves report that they feel insecure providing care to disabled patients. 

    For parents who need assistance with newborn care, funded options are limited. In Ontario, there is a program called the Nurturing Assistance program. This program provides access to a support worker who can provide neonatal care under the parent’s direction, while the parent is present and involved in care. Support like this empowers parents to bond with their newborn while receiving assistance on their terms with the tasks that their disability limits them from performing. 

    While Nurturing Assistance is an excellent resource, there are many challenges with the current program. Firstly, only individuals who meet the criteria for the self-directed funding program are eligible for nurturing assistance. This means people who do not need a support person for their own activities of daily living, but who do need assistance with newborn care are not eligible for funding. As a result, only a small proportion of disabled parents in Ontario can receive support from this program. 

    Further, the support is usually provided by Personal Support Workers, often through agencies where the disabled parent is already receiving support. Personal Support Workers do not receive training on neonatal care and are often unwilling to accept such assignments or struggle to provide adequate support.

    Disabled parents who do not qualify for the Nurturing Assistance program must pay for a support person out of pocket if this accommodation is needed. 

    Whether the support person is paid out of pocket or through public funding for the rare families who qualify, support from a postpartum doula is an excellent way for disabled parents to receive nurturing assistance. More disabled parents need to be aware that trained support from postpartum doulas is available, and that funding from the Nurturing Assistance program can be used to hire doulas. Doulas need to be competent and comfortable providing support to disabled parents. They are key members of the parenting community who can truly benefit from the skills we bring to the table.

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  • Why Is Evidence-Based Research a Vital Skill for Birthworkers?

    Why Is Evidence-Based Research a Vital Skill for Birthworkers?

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645285741139{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

    Why Is Evidence-Based Research a Vital Skill for Birthworkers?

    [/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”white”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645285895328{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]The term “evidence-based” gets used a lot more than it gets explained. “Evidence-Based medicine” is a movement within health care practice that started about 30 years ago. It is a shift in approach to relying on the best available research data to support clinical decision making regarding testing, diagnosis and treatment. It differs from the previous practice in medicine and other health professions where teaching was largely apprenticeship-based, and physicians relied on their personal clinical experience to determine patient care plans (Masic et. al., 2008).[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645285507272{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Relying upon scientific evidence to make decisions has the potential to improve patient outcomes because decisions are made based on clinical data that clearly show what happened most of the time when certain choices were made or methods used. It all sounds logical and straightforward, but evidence-based care is actually more challenging to implement than it sounds and it is not without controversy. In reality, evidence-based care happens very inconsistently (Lehane et. al., 2019).[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645286010844{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]This is where doulas have the potential to help. There is no organized system whereby new research makes it into the hands of healthcare professionals. There can be quite a lag between new, credible research being published and health care professionals updating their practice to align with it (Lehane et. al. 2019, Soliday and Smith, 2017). It takes physicians an average of 17 years to change their practice in accordance with new research. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645285541602{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Additionally, while unintentional, an evidence-based approach can be in contradiction with a patient-centred, individualized approach to care. The standard 15 minute medical appointment does not make it feasible to conduct research for each individual. This means that even providers who are staying apprised of new research developments may provide “one-size fits all” care due to resource constraints.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645285557316{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Institutional policies and legislations are often even slower to change with new evidence. For example, while evidence has been available for quite some time that routine antibiotic eye ointment for newborns is unnecessary, this is still a hospital requirement in many jurisdictions. If providers feel pressured by institutional policy, these interventions are often framed as requirements. From the provider’s perspective that is true, however the patient always has the right to refuse treatment. Often, legislation and institutional policies only change when concerned patients and healthcare providers call for change (Soliday and Smith, 2017).[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645285573376{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Doulas who are skilled at evidence-based research can support clients to gather and interpret credible scientific information that is specific to their unique needs and circumstances. Clients equipped with this information are well-positioned to self-advocate by speaking a language the provider understands (Soliday and Smith, 2017). I know from lived experience as a Queer, Black woman that being an informed and educated healthcare consumer makes for much more empowering healthcare experiences.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”white”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645286312153{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]On February 24 at 6 PM EST, I am hosting a webinar on conducting evidence-based research in birthwork. The webinar will focus on preparing a strong literature review for perinatal informational support. A literature review refers to the process of compiling and synthesizing all of the current and relevant scientific information that is available on a topic. Analysis involves assessing the quality of each source and summarizing the complete body of literature. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645285639985{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]During this session, we will discuss what exactly is “evidence”. We’ll go over the different types of health research evidence that exists, as well as how to determine which sources are credible, and how different sources can vary in quality. Participants will also learn about the different types of bias that can crop up in how we search for and analyze information, as well as how to spot and reduce bias in their own research.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645285655944{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Using real scenarios provided by DTC members and webinar attendees, we’ll walk through how to turn a client concern into an unbiased research question and find a solid answer that supports your client to make informed decisions and have confident discussions with their healthcare team. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645285674079{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]My approach to research draws from a mix of my graduate education in health services research, professional experiences in policy and healthcare research and my lived experiences as a Queer, racialized healthcare user. I am very excited to share knowledge and grow with those who can attend![/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Register here for our RESEARCH SKILLS FOR BIRTH WORKERS Webinar” color=”mulled-wine” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fstefanie-techops.wisdmlabs.net%2Ftraining%2Fresearch-skills-for-birth-workers-webinar%2F|||”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1645285701619{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Citations

    Lehane, E., Leahy-Warren, P., O’Riordan, C., Savage, E., Drennan, J., O’Tuathaigh, C., O’Connor, M., Corrigan, M., Burke, F., Hayes, M., Lynch, H., Sahm, L., Heffernan, E., O’Keeffe, E., Blake, C., Horgan, F., & Hegarty, J. (2019). Evidence-based practice education for healthcare professions: An expert view. BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, 24(3), 103–108. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjebm-2018-111019

    Masic, I., Miokovic, M., & Muhamedagic, B. (2008). Evidence Based Medicine – New Approaches and Challenges. Acta Informatica Medica, 16(4), 219–225. https://doi.org/10.5455/aim.2008.16.219-225

    Soliday, E., & Smith, S. R. (2017). Teaching University Students About Evidence-Based Perinatal Care: Effects on Learning and Future Care Preferences. The Journal of Perinatal Education, 26(3), 144–153. https://doi.org/10.1891/1058-1243.26.3.144[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]