While reading an article written by an OB on why she hired a doula for her birth, it got me to thinking about the differences between what I do at the hospital that hired me vs what I do for my clients that hire me directly. In both cases I’m here to serve the birther. I spend a lot of time working with the families in preparing them for their upcoming birth and some of the ins and outs of what to expect if things don’t go exactly as planned.
As non-medical professionals, we work for our clients, but beside the medical team, often acting as a mediator, explaining medical terms and even offering a discussion on options that may not have been thought of. Like in-person birth doulas, community-based doulas are generally from the communities they serve. Community doulas, however, usually work with families that are in crisis or are part of an underserved population. Working at the hospital doesn’t mean that I’m having to advocate for the medical team to my client. It means that the hospital sees the benefit of having doulas present and have hired me to help them better serve our community. I have the privilege to help change outcomes by my presence and continual support.
Being a support system for those that have little to no other emotional support in their pregnancy and birth is a lot of heart-heavy work. That is probably the biggest difference between the clients that hire me directly and the clients who utilize the hospital’s community doula program. The hospital pays me to be there for their patients instead of my client paying me directly. Which means I can serve people of all income levels.
Many people in the community as well as lawmakers, midwives, obstetricians, doulas, and others who are focused on addressing the maternal health crisis are calling for access to community-based doulas. There’s a push for access in hospitals, in the jails and prison systems, and in underserved communities everywhere. Because of our role in the hospitals, we are enabled with the unique position to challenge the heavily integrated biases in the medicalized system and undo the exclusion of traditional practices around pregnancy and birth.
In both instances doulas work for the birther to make their experience better and to help things go as smoothly as possible. It’s about being informed and empowered in your birth. This is our passion. This is our driving force. This is why we put our feet on the floor every morning.
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