So Excited!

I'm super excited, because tomorrow I will be meeting with Holly Dressel, who has co-authored books with David Suzuki, as well as done some of The Nature of Things shows. She is an amazingly engaged, involved lady, and an important voice on the subjects of environmentalism and healthcare. Holly is embarking upon a writing project with an OB/GYN friend of hers on the over-medicalization of birth. Guess what doula she's interviewing? Oh yeah, it's me...doing a little happy dance. I promise to represent us in a way that will make y'all proud. I know it's a big responsibility, and I don't take it lightly.

My agenda is to emphasise the importance of the emotional support a doula provides throughout the childbearing year to bring balance to births in higher tech settings (than home), emphasising that for women choosing to birth in a hospital, they can have what they perceive to be the best of both worlds....good clinical care with access to technology if necessary, and attention to their comfort/support needs and solid continuity of care. I will will also dispell some myths that we're all about only natural birth, and explain that we advocate choice. I will also discuss the role of doulas in out of hospital births with midwives, and talk about the studies done by Klaus and Kennel which give evidence of the efficacy of our care. I will mention the important organizations upon whose shoulders all doulas stand, whether or not they are affiliated with anyone in particular, and discuss how our job is to educate and provide proper information, and to be part of a team, meaning we work with the decisions of primary healthcare workers and their patients (our clients), keeping our own agendas out of it.

Wish me luck!