1. Your presence in the early hours and days postpartum places you in a key position to support nursing. By learning all you can about lactation and infant feeding, you can help parents and babies get off to a good start. “Doulas should understand they can help clients reach their breastfeeding goals by ensuring babies …
Six Things IBCLCs Wish All Doulas Knew About Lactation Support Continue reading »
Many clients hire doulas because they want to avoid unnecessary intervention, and we all know the best way to do this is to arrive at the hospital at the “right” time. A doula’s job is to balance the ever-evolving needs of the birthing family, their care provider, and our scope of practice. This includes taking …
Timing Arrival to the Hospital During Labor Continue reading »
Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy and postpartum-related causes than white women. Multiple factors contribute to these disparities, such as quality of healthcare, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias. As CAPPA educators and doulas, we are committed to improving birth and postpartum for all people. Therefore, it is …
Why is Anti-racism work important for doulas and educators? Continue reading »
The progression in this business has some very similar and familiar characteristics and you may find them in yourself as you travel through the journey of being a professional Doula. How will you change your business practices or your opinions on clients and the interactions with other professionals within the community? Will the things you …
I’m a doula and educator, not a social media coach; however, I did want to grow on IG and I wasn’t sure how. Posts, stories, reels…what was I doing? In the last few months, I have seen my account grow to 4 times its size, and I hope to share with my CAPPA friends what …
As postpartum doulas, one of our major roles is that of communicator/coach/counselor. The skills we develop to successfully fill this role can greatly enhance our support as we become enmeshed in the family’s life. This role of communicator/coach/counselor enables us to be one of the best lines of defense against some of the emotional and …
Helping Clients Process Emotions After Birth Continue reading »
One of the most popular questions in my Postpartum Doula trainings and on social media is “what should I pack in my postpartum doula bag?”. When discussing this with my students or other new doulas, I often rattle off a list of common items, and then throw a few other ideas at them that they …
The American Psychological Association defines trauma as an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster. However, a person may experience trauma as a response to any event they find physically or emotionally threatening or harmful. Our minds are so powerful, powerful enough to work, study, engage, and manage the …
What is trauma-informed? Be trauma-informed is to recognize that trauma is very common in people’s lives. Simply put, “There’s a story behind every person. There’s a reason why they are the way they are. They aren’t just like that because they want to be. Something in the past created them, and sometimes it is impossible …
I began my Labor Doula career when my sister-in-law found out she was expecting twins. She was getting frustrated with her doctors sharing various opinions about how she should birth these babies. Some doctors said the safest option was to schedule a Cesarean at 36 weeks. Other doctors in the same practice said she could …
Supporting Labor Doula Clients Expecting Twins Continue reading »