I’ve heard variations on the above question, accompanied by incredulous looks from well-meaning friends and acquaintances, when I mentioned I was taking a Birth Doula course at Mount Royal University in late August of this year. Midwifery and doula work are professions I had been curious about since 1995 or so. At that time, I was honoured to be present at a home birth attended by two midwives and a doula. While my friends and I took turns timing contractions, the midwives and doula gently guided the mother through the labour: explaining, assisting, reassuring, checking, and then more explaining, assisting, reassuring, and checking. I was used to hearing about hospital births, so a home birth was a novel concept to me. I was impressed with the knowledge and professionalism of the midwives and doula, and how wonderful they were to the parents to be. When a healthy baby girl finally made her world debut (her birthday is one day after mine) after a long night of labour, my opinion on home births had completely changed. The doula that night was a woman who was around the same age as I am now, and like me, had no children of her own. Her doula training, however, along with her unlimited patience and life experience, made her the perfect person to help the mother to the finish line of the marathon (birthing is a LOT of work!). Fast forward to over a decade ago: By this time, I was a Reiki Master. I was making my living doing other jobs, but I enjoyed giving Reiki sessions in my apartment. A friend of mine was pregnant with her second child. Her first child had been born via Caesarean section, and the medical thinking at the time meant it was likely that this second child would be born via C-section, too. My friend explained to me the concept of VBAC (vaginal birth after C-section) and that this was the route that she wanted to go. She wanted to try everything possible to create the best circumstances for a VBAC, including trying Reiki, which was new to her. I admit I was skeptical, and cautioned her to be ready for “plan B” (C-section) in case it turned out the VBAC wasn’t going to be possible. She wouldn’t hear of it. She came to my apartment and I spent a good deal of time flowing Reiki to the area of her pelvis where the previous trauma of the C-section was. We were both satisfied with the session, and I didn’t expect to hear from her until closer to her due date, nearly a month away. Three days later, and three weeks early, I got a phone call from my friend’s sister while I was at the Calgary Folk Festival. My friend was in labour. To my delight and surprise, my friend’s second child was successfully VBAC’d. I never doubted the possibility of VBAC again, and I sure didn’t underestimate the value of Reiki either! By the way, thanks to that Reiki session, my friend took Reiki training and is now a Reiki Master herself! Fast forward---again---to 2016: Due to the economic downturn in the oil and gas industry, I was laid off from the job I held for eight years. Now I had the time (LOTS of it!) to evaluate what I wanted to do next in my life. I asked myself, how could I be of service? I attended the International Day of the Midwife conference at MRU to gather information and listen to birth stories. That conference was inspiring! I gathered several editions of Birthing magazine, including the VBAC issue. I learned that, while we “have come a long way, baby,” I was dismayed that there is still some resistance to advocating parents’ choices in childbirth, including home birth, VBAC, and breastfeeding. I started wondering if I could be an advocate and empower the power of choice for parents? After researching midwifery and doula training, I discovered a birth doula course at MRU, and attended in late August of 2016. What an inspiring group in our class! We learned about the stages of childbirth, birth planning, comfort measures during labour, breastfeeding, and so much more. The learning won’t stop there. I am determined to work towards obtaining my Birth Doula certification with DONA International. And that, dear reader, is the latest chapter in my journey! May we all find our passion, and live it! In Love and Light, Catherine
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Catherine MylesI am a Reiki Master, Angel healer, student doula, administrative assistant, and a work in progress. Welcome to my blog. ArchivesCategories |