Today is National Freedom Day! What comes to mind for me first when thinking about freedom is that this country was founded by people who simply wanted the freedom to worship as they saw fit. By people who simply wanted to live according to God's Word. By people who didn't want to answer to a king. For well over 200 years, people in this country have bled and died for those freedoms. They solidified those freedoms in our Constitution and when it was deemed not good enough, they ratified the Constitution to ensure that freedom in the United States was meant for all of our citizens. Our freedom should never been taken lightly!

What does freedom have to do with birth? Everything! So many times I hear from women, "the doctor said I had to," or "they are making me do..." and I cringe. That is not freedom. That is coercion. You have the freedom to decline anything they are forcing on you. You have the freedom to make your own choices in how, where, and when you want to give birth. 

Grab ahold of that freedom!

Let freedom ring!

Dads

Doula is for Dad, Too!

Labor and birth aren’t just challenging for Mom, but Dad can and does have his share of negative thoughts alongside the positive ones. Having a labor support person (doula) during labor and birth can help to significantly alleviate Dad’s worries and fears.

Let’s face it…most dad’s aren’t experts when it comes to labor and birth. A two to twelve hour childbirth education class is not enough to help a dad navigate not only his wife and what she is going through, but also all the medical jargon, the medical staff, and all the possibilities that can come up in labor. He isn’t trained in relaxation techniques or how to turn a malpositioned baby, he probably has no idea what that even means or how it can affect outcomes.

Dad needs to be concentrating on supporting his wife. He needs the freedom to be her best encouragement. In the book, Silent Knife, Cesarean Prevention & Vaginal Birth After Cesarean by Nancy Wainer Cohen & Lois J. Estner, they make this statement:

“Asking your mate to be your sole “coach” is like asking an accountant to be a carpenter or a dentist to be a belly dancer. Labor support is an art that requires experience, sensitivity, knowledge, and objectivity. While your mate might be knowledgeable and sensitive, his experience with labor is limited at best, and his objectivity during labor and delivery may be obscured by his own intense personal involvement. His sensitivity to you and his inexperience my cause him to make or support decisions that are not in your best interest.”

Having a doula brings in that objectivity and knowledge, as well as experience and a deep sensitivity for a laboring mother and father. She can relieve dad from the simple tasks that need accomplished so that he can be fully present for his wife and her needs. A doula will seek to inform you prior to labor and help you to decide on the type of birth you want to have and then help you to achieve that, even when things might not seem to be going as planned. A doula can gently guide Dad into a more supportive role. She is often able to listen better to Mom and then help Dad to meet that need for Mom. In the face of difficult situations, the doula can help them to understand the issue and instruct them about what might be happening due to that situation. She can be there for Mom

should baby need Dad to come with him/her, helping to alleviate his feeling pulled in different directions.

Dad’s need doulas, too. They aren’t there to replace Dad in the birth room, they are there to support both Mom and Dad and to help them have the best birth they can. Having a doula to help guide Dad and give him the tools to be a supportive partner can be one of the best things you can do for Mom.

I believe we are created by a loving God. I believe God created women to be powerful, strong beings. He created them to carry and sustain life, to give birth to that life, and to nurture, raise, and pass on her knowledge to that life. She has a unique place in His order. He gave this special ability to women and women only.

I believe it is very important to help a birthing woman know and remember just what power she has been given and that her body was created to handle the task at hand. And I believe that women should come alongside of the birthing mother and share their power, their wisdom and knowledge, and their support to help the mother to find her inner power and strength. I didn’t know this was possible until I was at my first homebirth 12 years ago. As a group of women and my friend’s husband gathered in that room to help this woman bring her fifth child into the world, I experienced something so deeply profound, so intensely feminine, so truly empowering, it can only be described as life-changing. That group of women, including myself, helped her to remember that power and strength that she was created with. We encouraged her, nourished her, and nurtured her.

In that moment of time, something deep inside of me was awakened. A stirring regarding the community of women, the miracle of birth, the true empowerment of what it means to be a woman. I knew that it was something I craved to be a part of and that craving, that desire continues to grow and expand within me.

I have spent a few years digging deep, gaining more knowledge, and calling on the wisdom that this life has already given me to pursue this calling. I am thankful for the challenge and looking forward to what lies in store.

I want to pass on the passion for the wonderment of birth, in all its forms. I want to help women see that they are not patients who are in need of medical care, but women empowered by their Creator to grow, sustain, and give birth to life. I want to help her find her unique way of laboring and birth…regardless of whether it is her first child or her 12^th. So, yes, I want to help her do her dance, her way, whatever way that may be. I want to be transparent and open with her, I want her to be my focus for however long it takes, and be that reflection to her.

Loving Life...

Loving life....a two-fold meaning. I love my life. I love new life. It is time to combine the two.