When I began interviewing doulas more than twenty years ago, I thought I was studying what they did. How did they provide effective labor support? What made their care meaningful to the people they served? But as the research unfolded, [...]
Discussing brain differences is popular right now. Many people—especially those who identify as women or who were assigned female at birth (AFAB)—are discovering that their brain differences fit the description of neurodivergence (ND), rather than having a neurotypical (NT) brain. [...]
DONA International was my organizational home for many years. I was trained by Penny Simkin in 1996 along with my training partners, Karen Kohls, PT, and Ruth Ancheta, MA. By putting our three minds and specialties together...
The Ironic Tragedy Of “One Visitor Plus Doula” Hospital Labor And Delivery Policies When I first heard about hospitals making exceptions for doulas and not considering them as a “visitor”, I was thrilled. It meant we were being [...]
Advocacy Resources for Birth, Postpartum, and Palliative Care Doulas on COVID-19 As doulas worldwide prepare for the arrival of coronavirus in their region, many of us are concerned about the ability to support our clients during their birth, [...]
When the Doula Screws Up Recent press has spotlighted the tragedy of more Black women and babies dying than Whites in the United States. It has amplified the voices of Black women and allowed more people to hear their [...]
It’s Your Turn to Make Doula History Lately I’ve thought a lot about what’s left after someone is gone – and who tells their story. It has made me really think about who is going to write the story of [...]
Take a Doula Training, Change the World Almost ten years ago I noticed many happy participants at the end of trainings but few people actually went on to become doulas. Being a researcher I decided to do a [...]
Hospital Agreements: An Opportunity For Engagement [Part II] If a doula agreement is being waved in front of you, congratulations! It means that your doula community has gotten too large to ignore and is having enough of an impact [...]
Birthrape And The Doula “At many births, while I have my hand on a woman’s arm reminding her to breathe, someone has their hand in her vagina digging around, her eyes are wide, she’s trying to get away, [...]
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