Doula-ing...it sucks not being a super hero

Okay, so I love my job.  I love helping moms achieve the kind of birth they want.  I love seeing the look in their eyes as their baby is being born.  I love hearing a newborn cry.  I love watching a woman labor down, utilizing the tricks of the trade.  I love hearing a woman say, "I did it!" and "Hi baby.  It's your momma.  I love you."
Then there are days like this.  Days where a beautiful first time momma heads to the hospital intending to birth naturally and without complications...but ends up with every intervention known to man.  Broken-hearted and beaten-down she looks to you for answers, but all you can do is give her information to make her own choice.  Don't get me wrong, information is a very powerful thing.  Letting the momma make a decision with all the information on the choices available at hand is such an empowering gift.  But, when she and her husband are looking at you, not knowing what choice to make, my job sucks.  I want to tell her to get up and walk out and go find a midwife and have a home birth right now.  I want to tell her to keep on trucking because she can do this, she IS doing it.  And I do tell her that.  But she is defeated.  She's tired.  She's hungry.  She's tethered and hep locked.  She's on pit and has an epi.  Her legs are numb and her belly aches.  And then all you can do is watch as they wheel her down the hall, prepped for surgery. 
Then you remember that you're there for support.  And you've done that.  You've provided her with information to make educated choices.  That is your job.  You've applied counter-pressure.  You've massaged. You've listened and validated.  You've supported her decisions.  You've cried in your car on the drive home.

What's New...

I almost have enough births under my belt to be a certified toLabor doula!  This is pretty exciting.
In addition to being a birth doula, I'm expanding my reportoire of trainings.  In October I'll be attending a Childbirth Educator training.  In November I'll be attending a Postpartum Doula training.  This is all big, big, big for me.  This will open up new opportunities for me and for my clients.  
As a Childbirth Educator I'll be able to inform women on birthing choices more indepthly than I can now.  I'll be able to teach, something I love doing, and give women the tools to help their birthing process be a more comfortable one.  As a Postpartum Doula, I'll be available to my doula clients for extended periods after birthing their babies.  I'll also be available to mamas who I was not a doula for. 
I have this dream in my head:  providing personalized childbirth education to doula clients with postpartum care afterwards.  This can provide women with a very personalized experience. 
I can hope and dream, right?

Doula

Doo-lah

Greek for "a woman who serves".

A trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.

A doula will meet with the mother and family, generally, two or three times prior to labor.  During labor, a doula will provide continuous support to the laboring woman.  After the birth, a doula will spend two hours thereafter with the mama, providing additional support.  After mama and baby go home, a doula will come to visit to further attend to the mama. 

What does "continuous"mean, exactly?  Continuous means non-stop.  Wherever the locale, a doula will remain with the laboring woman the entire time. 

Why two hours after?  Many times after the baby is born the focus shifts from the mama to the baby.  A doula will keep the focus on the mama, as the placenta is being delivered, for example, and she is recovering from her little one's birth. 

Why is a doula coming to our home after the baby is born?  A doula may answer questions regarding breastfeeding, formula-feeding, lochia, sleep, stress, etc.  A doula may also be inclined to bring do a load of laundry or hold the baby while mama takes a shower.  A doula may engage other children while mama and baby share a moment together.  A doula might just be the solace a tired, frazzled mama needs...someone to talk to over a cup of tea...