When it rains, it pours

Hot season here... wish we'd get some rain... it's been 100+F for days now. Anyway....

When it rains, it pours. I can go for weeks and weeks with no one interesting in needing a doula or even wanting to talk about birth. I often pray and ask myself, is this really what I should be doing? I live in a country where C-sections are the norm for birth and there is rare evidence-based care. What can I do? And then there was this week:

Monday - I pray and ask, how can I know?

Tuesday - I go shopping and find some really nice skirts to fit my post-twin body. While poking around, I happen upon a store selling all the stuff for hot season. Including kiddie pools. I have looked high and low for a kiddie pool that would actually work for water births. I have found THE pool. Even Dayton helps me inspect it to see if we think it could work. I don't buy it, but now I knew where in this huge city that I can get one.

Wednesday - I get a call from "C". She is referred to me by another doula here. She wants a homebirth with a midwife or unassisted and wants me either as a doula or an untrained midwife. She's not sure yet, and neither am I. We have time and about until the Aug. 15th due date to figure it out. Someone wants to hire me.

Thursday morning - I go to our regular playgroup where I'm the oddball of the bunch. Should have seen the moms go bug-eyed when I nursed my 2.5yr old! A mom there "C" is pregnant with #4. The first 3 were waterbirths (2 here). With her last, she barely got to the hospital in time, and her husband caught the baby in the birth tub because her OB didn't make it in time. She said that she very well might not make it out of the house this time though she prefers the hospital. (Because she likes the postpartum vacation ?!?!? Okay, whatever.) But just in case it ends up being a precipitious birth, could I be prepared to come and help her with a homebirth?

Thursday evening- I get an official email from "S" and "W". They attended my crash course and had a birth plan for me to critique. And they want to hire me to attend their birth. Not sure if that will work. She's due June 7th and we leave for the USA June 11th. Also, with breastfeeding twins full time, I'm not sure how I can make that work just yet. They live about a 5 minute walk away so what I can do is help her stay at home for as long as possible and get her to the hospital with little time left for unnecessary interventions.

I'm just a doula. Not a trained midwife. I'm already being asked to do midwifery things. I can't wait until I'm fully trained and can do all of this skillfully. Even though I don't have the training (other than self-study and little hands-on) it's hard to say "no" to anyone because I think all women should have what they want for their birth. Women deserve a trained midwife at their birth. I'm on my way to provide that.

I'm certified!!! (and other info)

As of this week, I am officially:

Erin Kannon, Doula (CD CBI) and Childbirth Educator (CBE CBI)

I finished all of the births and requirements needed! The two required births were fulfilled in a non-conventional way. The first was a friend who wanted me to doula at her unassisted birth (Hi "M"!) which ended up at my house... maybe she'll OK it for me to post about it here??? The second birth ended up being for a mom that I did all of the prenatal meetings with. Did not attend her C-section, but still gave many hours in a Postpartum Doula role helping with breastfeeding, etc..


Midwifery studies: Though I'm not supposed to start officially with AAMI until Aug. 1st, I'm going ahead and doing the pre-orientation paperwork. I'm also ordering tons (probably 100lb worth!) of books to bring back from our summer visit.


Recently I have been asked how I as a midwife would support a woman in unassisted birth. Many midwives do not support women wanting this option. I am obviously a big fan of unassisted birth: I did a UC with my twins! Let me paste in one of my assignments on the topic.

Unassisted Birth

Unassisted birth is a great option for most women, if they choose to go that route. Women choose to go unassisted for many reasons, such as the need for privacy, previous sexual abuse, lack of money, lack of insurance, no caregiver with the same birth philosophy, previous birth history, or no desire for assistance. I believe that planned unassisted birth is one of the safest options for childbirth. Yes, most women choose a midwife for homebirth, but that isn’t necessarily always safe depending on the midwife’s ways of practice. It is unfortunate that little to no research has been done on this aspect of childbirth.
Living in a country with no options for childbirth other than high-intervention hospitals, I do know of some women who have chosen unassisted birth. I did labor support for one woman on one of the remote islands … over the phone! I am currently pregnant with twins and am planning an unassisted birth for my babies. I refuse the risky testing, “high risk” label, or the “necessary planned” C-section.
As a future midwife, I would be willing to offer support to pregnant women wanting unassisted births. That could be in any prenatal facet, for phone support during labor, coming over to assist when asked, to do postpartum checks, or to help with a birth certificate. The legal situation for a midwife doing this maybe be questionable, but I believe that women have the right to choose what they want for their own medical care and birth.