Just a little something to share...

This is something I have dubbed a poessay...not quite an essay (although it was supposed to be) but definetely poetry. I had to write this as a part of my registration to become a doula and I wanted to share it with you. I am infinitely proud of how this evolved...

The Value and Purpose of Labour Support

I am a doula.
I speak with my voice, but also with my heart and my hands.
I massage backs and squeeze hips; stroke legs and wipe foreheads.
I whisper words of encouragement in moments of exhaustion and revel in the glow of a labouring woman’s energy.
I educate, inform, reassure and comfort with my knowledge and experience. I turn ‘informed consent’ into informed choice.
I help women have faith in their bodies, their babies and the fact that thousands of years of evolution cannot be wrong.
I assist couples and individuals in creating birth environments that they feel safe, secure and comfortable in.
I protect the space surrounding the childbearing family by acting as a filter and cushion between the outside world and the labouring.
I meet with families not only when they are in labour, but before and after as well.
I help to dispel myths and ease fears.
I include fathers and partners so that they can be as involved in the birth experience as they wish to be.
I give strength, energy and hope when a woman feels hopeless and weary.
I hold hands, cradle faces, lock eyes and facilitate breathing for hours on end.
I am a professional, a friend, and a confidant.
I provide families with clear, concise, unbiased information and access to resources so they can make choices that are best for their situations.
I give women the confidence and guts to advocate for themselves when faced with adversity.
I am calm and firm, soft and strong, patient and eager.
I believe in a woman’s body and ability to achieve anything she sets her heart on.
I walk halls, climb stairs, and do lunges and squats.
I help mothers learn how to latch and hold their new nurslings.
I am a shoulder to cry on, a sounding board to express frustration at, a body to grab when a contraction takes over.
I empathize.
I am on call for clients day and night and always show up with a smile on my face and love in my heart.
I document the birth on paper and in pictures. I can capture the essence of the moment in a single photograph.
I provide continuous emotional and physical support regardless of the outcome. I am in this for the journey as well as the final destination of birth.
I am a woman, a mother, a sister, a mentor.
I believe that birth is normal, natural and safe.
I help families fulfill their birth wishes and achieve the things that they feel are important.
I am blessed and honoured to be able to be a part of such a momentous, spiritual event in the lives of women and their families.
I am a doula.