Ask the Doula - doula training

It's Ask the Doula time again!
Please keep sending in your questions. You can add them as comments below, or send your questions to our facebook page, or twitter @montrealdoula.

This week I want to tackle another interesting question. I am always getting calls from women who feel a calling to midwifery. They often ask if they can take my doula courses, or if I would allow them to observe me at work or take them on as apprentices. This week, I am going to explore a question from an aspiring midwife.


Question Number Two

"I am 24 years old, single, without children (yet!). I have been interested in birth from a very young age - I was born at home but my older brother was a c-section baby, and my mother always told me about my wonderful birth day. I am applying to several midwifery schools and I am hoping to start my studies in the fall. Do you have any suggestions for me? How can  I increase my chances of getting accepted? Should I train to be a doula first?"

This is a lovely question. It's so interesting that many of the younger women I see moving into the birth "scene" are women whose mothers had wonderful birth experiences. In my generation, many of us went into birth work because of less-than optimum experiences.
First, I would like to wish this young woman all the luck in the world. It is very challenging to send in applications, to receive rejection letters, and to wonder what went wrong. Remember, there are many more women who want to become midwives than places in midwifery programs, and this is especially true in Canada.

I think the most important thing to remember, as an aspiring midwife, is that the road is long, and that the main goal is not just the diploma, the job, or the number of births you end up attending. The journey to becoming a midwife is full of twists and turns, and may take you to some unexpected places.

Of course, you do need to understand some basic principles, and you need a lot of theoretical and clinical 
preparation, and this is why you have to go to school. And here in Canada you cannot become a registered midwife just by apprenticing with an experienced midwife. So, what to do?

There are several important tasks you can take on that will not only increase your chances of getting accepted, but will also give you a good background for the important work of being a midwife.

First - go to births! You will learn from every single birth you attend. Take a doula training, and start volunteering with your local volunteer doula organization. If there isn't one, start one. Do not expect practicing doulas or midwives to welcome your presence at births. Their priority is the care of the women they are attending. So you need to get out there, get some doula education, find a partner, and volunteer. Some people suggest you go to the births of friends and family, but I think it is easier and "cleaner" if you do not.

Second - Read and keep reading. Read books for pregnant women; read scholarly journals; read blogs and e-zines. Make notes. Try to discover what you really believe about birth. You have an opinion, and it is valid. Don't go along with the crowd without really thinking about what the crowd is saying.

Third - Learn from others. If a doula or midwife allows you to observe a prenatal, birth, or a postpartum visit or group, by all means go and observe. But observe. Don't participate actively unless you are invited to. Take notes. Ask questions, afterwards when you feel it is appropriate. Learn from the medical staff when you are attending a hospital birth. You may ask questions, again, if it is appropriate. Do not try to be their equal. You are not. Be humble.

Fourth - Learn different skills. Take a yoga class. Take a knitting class. Start practicing staying up all night and remaining alert. Do a CPR class. Learn about your own body and how it works under stress and without sleep. Test your patience. Sometimes babies take a long, long time to come. If you have learned the art of sitting on your hands, you won't be imagining non-existent dangers that will lead to to wrong decisions.

I have been on this road for ... since I was thirteen. It is long, interesting, sometimes painful. Open your heart, and know that wherever it takes you, there you should be.

Montreal Doula Training revised schedule

I have been getting lots of positive response about the course, so I have decided to give you all some more details - here below is an outline ... remembering that the best class plans are never followed to the letter!

 Birth Companions Doula Course

a knowledge-based, hands-off approach

Introduction

This course is the first of three levels of the Birth Companions doula program. It includes 24 hours of class time.

When you have completed this level, you will be eligible to accompany clients from the Montreal Birth Companions volunteer doula program, under my mentorship and with a partner doula. Once you have completed three volunteer births, you will be able to proceed to Level Two, after which you will be able to work as a private practice doula.

The course will integrate theory and practice. Shadowing and mentoring may take place throughout.

The only prerequisite is enthusiasm and availability.

Materials

Bring your own experiences, a notebook, your hands and an open heart. We will utilize The Birth Conspiracyas our main reference. The book will be available on or before the first class. The cost is $24.95.

Requirements

To fulfill requirements for Level One, you need to attend all of the classes, if possible. I may ask you to present or prepare assignments, but these will be done within class time. If you are interested in doing an independent project, please speak to me and I will be available for mentorship.

Cost

We are pricing this course to be accessible for as many women as possible. The cost for Level One is $400.00.

Please see the outline below, for the class program. This course will take place at Studio Vie, 5175C, Sherbrooke West, Montreal, H4A 1T5

Class One April 15, 2012, 10am to 1pm

Introductions

“What is a Doula?”

Class Project

Nutrition assignment

Class Two April 22, 2012, 1pm to 4pm

Bare Bones – anatomy

The birth process, cardinal movements

Class Three April 29, 2012, 1pm to 4pm

Questions and Review

The Childbearing Year

Centering Exercise

Class Four May 6, 2012, 10am to 1pm

Nutrition

Breastfeeding

Role playing

Class Five May 13, 2012, 1pm to 5pm*** note this class is a four hour class

Doula Care A to Z, the process, the doula bag

Doula Techniques – alternative ways for coping with the pain of childbirth

Role playing

Class Six May 20, 2012, 1pm to 5pm *** note this class is a four hour class

Common Interventions – Induction, Epidural, C-Section, Episiotomy, Instruments, Exams

Role playing

No class May 27

Class Seven June 3, 2012, 1pm to 5pm *** note this class is a four hour class

Presentations – Nutrition Guides

Review

Montreal Doula Training April 15, 2012

I am happy to announce that I have teamed up with Jana from Studio Vie to organize a doula course that will be starting on April 15, 2012.

The program is based on the approach that I have explored in my book, and we will be using the book as our text.

This program is comprised of three levels. Completion of the Level One course will allow the participants to volunteer as doulas for Montreal Birth Companions volunteer doula organization.

Level Two is a continuation and an exploration of themes introduced in Level One. This level will provide doulas with the necessary skills to run a private doula practice.



 Level Three courses are specialized, and they take place in all sorts of interesting places.

We will be going to Cuba together next spring, and this summer we will be exploring storytelling and healing with Lewis Mehl-Madrona, in Italy.

To be accepted into Level Three you need to have attended births as a doula or lay midwife, and you need a strong foundation in self-directed learning.

If you are interested in accompanying me on any or all of these journeys, please let me know. Our courses are filling up fast!

Feel the Love

Blackberries are my favorite fruit. I made four jars of blackberry jam this morning. I made a blackberry pie the other night. They are in season around my birthday, so they are a yearly treat for me. They taste of the end of summer, the sugary heat of June and July is stored in their black bubbly taste. They have a rich taste that lends itself well to jam. So I'm jamming.

Jamming and reading my emails. And I read a beautiful account of a birth attended by one of "our" volunteers doulas. She assisted a mother who labored for many hours, and finally the decision was made to go to surgery. The baby was born, and the mother is recovering well from surgery and is mothering, as we do, to the best of her ability. Her doula was fully present for mother and baby from the beginning of labor, in the labor room, in the operating room, and at home.

If I look at the details of the story, I could probably find places where decisions were made that were not optimum, that may have led to further interventions, where this woman could have avoided surgery. But that's what I love about "my" volunteers and apprentice doulas. They are not working from information, experience, or an agenda. They are the best doulas I know, because they are working from a sense of companionship. They are loving the birthing woman.

I know several artists and musicians. A familiar refrain in the world of creativity is "Ah, if I could draw/see/play as a child does! If I could regain that way of looking at the world, where everything is new and interesting." In the birth world, as well, that sense of innocence, of wonder at birth, is something that we all strive to keep. I remember when I was looking forward to going to my first birth - I would have done anything just to be at that woman's side and accompany her through labor and birth. Not to say that I am not as dedicated to birthing women as I used to be. But I know them better - I've seen more - I don't have that freshness of vision that a "new" doula or a child has.

As doulas, we need to remember to forget ourselves and our knowledge when we are accompanying a woman in labor. Just as I greet the first wild blackberries with joy and appreciation, we should greet every birthing woman with respect and with a sense of her "newness" in the world.Forget about how much or what you know, and remember that it is her journey and you are a guest. Be happy.