A doula who helps mothers-to-be plan a better birth

Photo: Ayala Shooter

I never dreamed of becoming a doula. I’m a practical person, and even though I knew I’d enjoy working in the medical field, it didn’t feel like the right choice for my family. Instead, I did office work from home. As my family grew, I loved the flexibility of being my own boss and working my own hours. Life was predictable.

And then I received a phone call from a friend. Sara Goldstein, a well-known doula, was doing a week-long training session. Did I want to attend? I had three little kids ranging in age from two to six, and I was expecting my fourth, but it sounded intriguing.

“I’ll be a doula when I’m fifty,” I said. It was a great course, and I enjoyed it, and then it was time to put the doula knowledge away for later. “Later” was the following week. A family friend heard I took a course and wanted to use my services. I warned her that I was new and didn’t have (any) experience.

This woman had already gone through one C-section, so she really wanted to try for a natural birth this time around. Things seemed to be progressing well — until they weren’t. She was in pain, and I wasn’t sure what to do. Her two-day labor ended with another C-section, and I felt discouraged and depressed. Watching someone struggle and feeling so powerless to help was a terrible experience. I’d failed this mother, and I was never doing this again.