The Art of Doula Care
We came across this beautiful poem recently and were struck by her portrayal of the art of doula care. Women have been supporting women in birth since the beginning, just as we support one another in daily life. Friends, sisters, mothers, over and over again our hands, hearts and casserole dishes reach out in support and love. As Kelly Corrigan shares on her extraordinary talk on Women and Strength, this is simply what we do.
As doulas, we wear many hats and learn the art of many crafts.
We are teachers, we are students, we are listeners and we are talkers.
We massage, we meditate, we motivate. We are windows and we are brick walls.
As doulas, we sit and knit in corners or rock and roar like tigers.
We hold hands, we rub backs, we sit in dark corners of strange houses
and hold naked women while they cry on us.
Weep on us.
Throw up on us.
We are heater – uppers and cooler – downers, we are professional tea makers.
We knead, we navigate, we negotiate. We are pillars and we are ladders.
As doulas, we quietly advocate…brick…by…brick.
We make room – for these women, we hold space so they can breathe, so they can focus, so they can trust.
And they look to us.
And Trust in us.
by Carli Spielman, Birth Doula in the Fraser Valley of BC, www.thedivinechild.com
