I emailed Miriam Perez over at RadicalDoula.com a few days ago to tell her about the Open Arms doula model and she wrote about us on her blog - check it out here. I'm adding their blog to our blogroll - it's definitely worth a read!
We'll see if their readers come up with any other doula programs like ours. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
The Support of Change
There is enough talk about change out there to make anyone turn off their ears. But the change we facilitate through the work at Open Arms in providing doulas for women and families during the childbearing year is so transformative, that the change is worth talking about. And if you know me, the step of talking about doula work on a blog is a big change for me....
There are a few times in person's life that represent the opportunity for something really big, different and maybe even great to happen. The most important one for me is just before and right after a new baby comes into this world. As a parent, I remember those crucial months with clarity like no other point in my life. Fortunately those times of panic about whether I knew how to take care of a baby or the challenge of trying once they arrived were met with assistance and just enough information and encouragement to move me and my baby along peacefully.
We all need our world to experience support in this way, for this very reason. We talk about the way that babies learn, through what they see. But what we fail to remember all to often is that everyone is in a place to learn and we can teach without knowing it. Maybe we have been reminded of this the hard way when a small person around us uses words they have heard from us. More importantly, there are countless times we are not reminded, but the message or lesson we have taught is still there. The support, advocacy, self-respect and understanding that a doula gives me a woman in labor are all lessons that are being mindlessly transferred. These imprints affect a woman's view of herself and the way she interacts with her child. Very few things can change life in this great way.
There are a few times in person's life that represent the opportunity for something really big, different and maybe even great to happen. The most important one for me is just before and right after a new baby comes into this world. As a parent, I remember those crucial months with clarity like no other point in my life. Fortunately those times of panic about whether I knew how to take care of a baby or the challenge of trying once they arrived were met with assistance and just enough information and encouragement to move me and my baby along peacefully.
We all need our world to experience support in this way, for this very reason. We talk about the way that babies learn, through what they see. But what we fail to remember all to often is that everyone is in a place to learn and we can teach without knowing it. Maybe we have been reminded of this the hard way when a small person around us uses words they have heard from us. More importantly, there are countless times we are not reminded, but the message or lesson we have taught is still there. The support, advocacy, self-respect and understanding that a doula gives me a woman in labor are all lessons that are being mindlessly transferred. These imprints affect a woman's view of herself and the way she interacts with her child. Very few things can change life in this great way.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Valuing women's work
Today I was searching the web for information about doula programs.
There are a number of doula programs in the US that provide volunteer doulas to low-income or other special-need women free of charge. But as far as I know, Open Arms is the only program that provides paid doulas to low-income women free of charge.
As much as we believe that women deserve to have the highest quality care during childbirth, we also believe that women's work is valuable and that doulas deserve to be paid.
That is why we pay market-rate to our paid doulas. Even our volunteers receive a stipend to defray the cost of serving our clients. None of our doulas serve completely for free. And none of our clients pay for services.
Radical, huh?
Do you know of any other program that has the same model? If so, I'd love to learn about them!
There are a number of doula programs in the US that provide volunteer doulas to low-income or other special-need women free of charge. But as far as I know, Open Arms is the only program that provides paid doulas to low-income women free of charge.
As much as we believe that women deserve to have the highest quality care during childbirth, we also believe that women's work is valuable and that doulas deserve to be paid.
That is why we pay market-rate to our paid doulas. Even our volunteers receive a stipend to defray the cost of serving our clients. None of our doulas serve completely for free. And none of our clients pay for services.
Radical, huh?
Do you know of any other program that has the same model? If so, I'd love to learn about them!
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