Last week was World Doula Week and unlike any other we’ve ever experienced. All around the world, doulas found ourselves pivoting and adapting our work from in-person and hands-on support to virtual care for our clients. Now that the dust has settled a bit, we can see that our support actually hasn’t changed all that much!
In fact, the bulk of our doula’s work is still very much unchanged.
We are, as always, an anchor of calm for our clients out in the uncertain waters of birth, whether it’s during the time of COVID-19 or not. We are, as always, experts at helping our clients gracefully navigate the twists and turns that a birth’s journey brings them.
How?
Here are our top five ways that our birth doula’s virtual support will benefit your labor:
Prenatal Prep
Our relationship with clients begins weeks, and often months before their birthing days. We spend hours in contact with each other, by phone, email, FaceTime, and text, learning your preferences for coping, what helps when you’re unwell or stressed; and best of all, we share our knowledge with you and your partner. This might include our best tips for easing some of the aches and pains that come with pregnancy and early labor or comfort tools and techniques you can begin to practice for labor. We share strategies and tips for drafting birth goals that help best communicate your needs and requests with your care providers. We talk through what you can expect at your birthing location from your hospital or birth center’s nursing staff or labor room, and how you can be your own best advocate. Whether we’re with a client physically or not as doulas, the value of prenatal preparation which we provide our clients cannot be overstated!
Fresh Ideas
Labor is physically exhausting, yes, but it’s also emotionally taxing for both you and your partner. It’s hard to remember all the small details, recall all the possible labor positions, or think creatively when you’re in the moment. Often, when a partner finds something that seems to help provide their birthing person with a reprieve from contraction discomfort, they stay in that zone, and might just keep doing it, without remembering to take time to rest or attend to their own needs. Your Emerald Doulas will be checking in to make sure you’re both staying well hydrated, fed, and taking appropriate breaks.
One of the other best benefits of having a doula’s remote guidance when you need it, is that we can be your memory, your personal Google, and offer up fresh ideas for finding comfort in birth. We can guide your partner through hands-on bodywork and counter pressure tips. Because we’ve been present at so many births, we’ve seen a variety of helpful comfort measures, in a wide variety of positions, locations, and ways they can be administered while not overtaxing your partner’s body or energy.
Encouragement When You Need It Most
We often compare our role as a doula as a trail guide for new families in birth. We help you to stay on your path and point out the important things to take notice of and remember. We remind you to use that camera you brought to capture sweet moments or to eat a snack to keep up your energy. Most importantly, we provide reassurance of what’s normal (yes, it’s really that hard right now), validation of your incredible work to get to this point, and encouragement to keep going; all along with reminders of the absolute joy in what lies ahead when we’re finished!
We help you set the scene
For most families, birthing in a hospital may feel sterile or cold. We’ve written before about our doulas’ ability to work magic and transform that space into something warm, cozy, and familiar. Virtually, your doula can do the same thing. We’ve been present at births across the Triangle. We know the rooms you’ll be in. We know where you can quickly find wash cloths, ice basins, a fresh gown if you want it. We know the best tricks for hanging your twinkle lights, and the optimal placement for that “just right glow” in your birth space. Having your doula’s virtual presence during birth allows you to access that professional knowledge we’ve built through the years.
We help you use your B.R.A.I.N.
Making decisions when you’re in labor can feel overwhelming. Whether that’s deciding to move to a new position or deciding to accept a medical intervention. Remote doula support allows families to have an independent team member, who’s not their doctor or nurse, and who’s not their family member, to talk through the risks and benefits of each option. Plus, we can help you formulate questions for your care providers, so that your conversations with your team feel productive, informative, and enables you to be your own best advocate!
Doula support is generally thought of as being a hands-on profession; and for sure it is. But there is also so much room for our work to shine in a virtual, remote setting as these current times demand.
Remote doula care provides an opportunity for our families to access our deep wells of knowledge, allows families to have our guidance and compassion by their side, and encourages partners to continue to be the first-line of support for their birthing person.
Best of all? Our remote doula support allows families who don’t live right here in the Triangle to have our doula team by their side. You can live anywhere in the world and, thanks to modern technology, still have all of these benefits!