The Power of Milk - DONA International

Feature Storydid youknow?Valuable informationis gleaned from everybirth YOU attend!Complete aDATACOLLECTIONFORMfor each and everybirth YOU attendas a DONA traineddoula and mailor fax it tothe DONAhome office:P.O. Box 626Jasper, IN 47547FAX: (812) 634-1491How Your Doula Training—continued from page 20would chat and people thought it was oddthat a security officer knew so much aboutbirth and breastfeeding.One of the main things that I learnedfrom my work as a doula was compassion.I am often ridiculed for being so compassionatewith the patients. The staff andmy fellow officers claim that I cater tothem. It is hard to refrain from getting abin for someone to vomit in even thoughthey overdosed on drugs or alcohol. I tellthem it’s going to be alright now that theyare here. I also run to get blankets, coolcloths, food, ice chips and the nurse whenthey need assistance. Am I doulaing thepatients? I think so, but I just can’t help it!Compassion is so hard to come byand I don’t want to lose that compassion.I am so grateful for the training I had asa doula. I was an extremely shy personbefore becoming a doula. I wasn’t sure Iwould be able to talk with people I hadn’tmet before let alone sell myself to them sothey would hire me. The skills I learned inmy DONA International workshop helpedin all aspects of my life. Serving as a doulahelped me learn patience, compassionand empathy; it was there before but it’smuch stronger now. I have confidence inmyself that I never had before, even afterspending four years in the Marine Corps!I hope all of you can get through thesetrying times. If you have to step away foreither a part-time or full-time job, the skillsyou learned from your experience will bemore helpful than you could ever realize.Bottom line is, even though I had to slowdown my practice to almost non-existent, Ican still be a doula even if I am not helpingpregnant women like I used to. The skills welearn in doula training and from runningour own businesses can be applied toalmost any job. People often say to me,“Being an officer is so far from being adoula.” I tell them, “No, the jobs are verysimilar. I just want to help people and I cando it better now because I am a doula!”Elizabeth Petrucelli, CD(DONA) lives in Parker,Colorado with her husband and son whose birthwas her inspiration for becoming a doula.Appreciating the Slower Labor—continued from page 21worrying or intervening to change thenatural pace of a labor. This is in essencethe doula approach to birth. Doulas areby definition the antidote to the racementality. Amazingly, the act of givingunhurried time to the mother and familyhas a welcome side effect—shorter labors.It is absolutely critical that parentsadjust their attitude about labor lengthbefore going into their birth journeybecause it affects their expectations anddecisions during labor. Doulas see upclose how powerfully parents’ expectationsand feelings shape their birth. The momwho appreciates the longer breaks of herslower labor stays positive, relaxed andconserves her energy. The mom whoexpects to dilate one centimeter per hourright from the start will be disappointedwith her slow progress, start to worrywhether her body is doing it right, doubther ability to give birth and begin torelease high levels of stress hormones(catecholamines), which can slow or evenstop contractions altogether—a selffulfillingprophecy.Here is a couple who appreciated theirslow labor, a whole week of it. Melissaand Scott (not their real names) came tothe childbirth class reunion with a uniquelabor story. Shortly after her due dateMelissa started to have very light contractions,building over a few hours. At thehospital Melissa was found to be onecentimeter dilated. She labored a few morehours and reached three centimeters. Atthat point her labor slowed and essentiallystopped. Melissa and Scott consulted withtheir doctor, a family practitioner, anddecided to go home to await the return oflabor. They were surprised to have to waitthree days until contractions started upagain. This time Melissa was four centimetersat admission and progressed to sixcentimeters, when again labor came to ahalt. With membranes still intact and inagreement with their doctor the coupledecided against labor augmentation andagain went home. Two days later Melissaand Scott showed up at the hospital sevencentimeters dilated and proceeded tohave their first baby swiftly and withoutneed for any medical intervention. Eventhough this labor would not have won atrophy on the race track, the parents werepositively glowing as they recalled theirbeautiful birth.Marianne Donch lives in Bozeman, Montana,with her husband and two daughters, ages 12and 14. She is a birth doula, childbirth educator,lactation counselor and a DONA approved birthdoula trainer. Besides her love for all things birthand breastfeeding, she enjoys gardening inthe short mountain season and traveling to hernative Germany.22 International Doula Volume 17, Issue 3