Who’s taking care of moms? |
Before I became a doula, I was simply a mom trying to navigate pregnancy and everything that came with it.
I remember lying on the cold tile floor of my bathroom, pregnant with my first son, waiting to get sick again. I had a continuous IV in my arm and a pump strapped to my body. I couldn't work. I couldn't leave the house. And, most devastatingly, I couldn't recognize myself in the experience of pregnancy I had imagined.
One afternoon, I heard a woman on TV describing what I was going through. I pulled myself across the floor just to see her face. For the first time, I thought: I'm not the only one.
But even in that realization, I was still alone. I had a loving husband, a family and friends. But I didn't have anyone who truly understood what I was going through. And more importantly, I didn't have anyone whose role was to walk through that journey with me, step by step.
Years later, as a certified professional doula, I now know that is the role we play.
A doula is not there to replace your doctor or your nurse. We are there to complement your care--to translate, to support, to advocate, and most of all to be present for both the baby and the mother. Because while everyone naturally wants a healthy baby, we often forget about the health of the mother. Not just her physical health, but her emotional and mental well-being.
In Arkansas, that distinction matters more than........