Birth as a rite of passage
Women have been ushering in new life since the beginning of humanity. This experience is a powerful rite of passage that expands a woman’s body, mind and spirit. Women have always supported other women during this sacred process, bearing witness to the miracle of life and weaving a web of interconnected sisters, mothers, aunties and daughters. I want nothing less than to bring our society back to this awareness and interconnectedness so that we may move forward, together, in deep gratitude to all the women who are and who have come before us.
What is a Birth Doula?
Mothering the Mother
Mainstream Western culture not only fails to recognize the work that women do as mothers, but completely fails to recognize the VALUE in this work. This has caused epidemic proportions of women becoming “The Giving Tree”. In order for women and mothers to continue the important work of nourishing and creating, they themselves have to be seen, supported, loved and nourished. Mothers also need to be supported in putting down their responsibilities for brief moments, so they can nourish their own mind, body and spirit.
Labor and Birth Support
The experience of labor and birth can be anything from arduous and harrowing to ecstatic and expansive. Oftentimes it is a blending of several of these emotions. Studies now show, however, that some of the most important aspects of a woman’s birth experience are most related to the degree of autonomy she perceived while birthing, how supported she felt during the process and how connected she felt to the people around her. Labor and birth doulas serve laboring women by providing emotional support, guidance on how to overcome challenges during labor, recommendations for position changes that could facilitate the baby’s descent and birth, awareness of “other options” when provider’s may be pressuring the birthing woman to deviate from her plan or wishes, wisdom for how to help the woman’s partner feel at ease in supporting the woman, assistance with breastfeeding, and postpartum “debriefing” to help the new mother integrate her experience and begin or deepen her transition to motherhood.
Maiden, Mother, Crone
The woman’s lifecycle can be divided into 3 parts: The Maiden, The Mother & The Crone. Each season of a woman’s life brings new challenges, growth, experiences, and roles. While many women experience an immediate sense of love and bonding with their new baby, it is not uncommon for the transition into a new identity - that of “Mother” - to take quite a bit more time. Like any transition into a new stage of life, the journey often takes years. From becoming a woman with the first bleed, to becoming a mother with the first baby, to becoming a crone with the last bleed - these transitions all take time and each season carries its own growth and purpose.
The season of the mother often brings a deeper degree of caring and nourishing others. With this, the importance of a strong, supportive community of women becomes increasingly paramount to the mother. Doulas can play an integral role in supporting and caring for the woman as she transitions into motherhood for either the first time, or as she continues to dive deeper while growing her family.
Meet the doula!
Hi! My name is Stacy Evans, DONA trained birth doula. I currently live in Anchorage, Alaska with my two rambunctious, loving and spunky children, my amazing and supportive husband and a black lab “doggie doula” named Leo. I am passionate about supporting and caring for pregnant and birthing mamas and their families and I believe that birth is SO MUCH MORE than just having a baby. I believe that all women should feel empowered to birth and mother the way they want to and that having a trusted source of wisdom, experience and knowledge can make a huge difference in this process of becoming a mother. I am currently a student of both midwifery and botanical medicine and hope to some day blend these two arts by providing comprehensive and holistic care for women of all stages of life. In my “spare time” (is that a thing??), I love gardening, running, doing yoga, painting, needle felting, and connecting with my family and community.
BOOKS
Pregnancy & Birth:
“The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother” by Heng Ou and Amely Greeven
“Nine Golden Months: The Essential Art of Nourishing the Mother-To-Be” by Heng Ou
“Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth” by Ina May Gaskin
“Birthing From Within” by Pam England and Rob Horowitz
“Hypnobirthing” by Marie Mongan
“Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby and Child Care” by Sally Fallon
Women’s Strength and Spirituality:
“If Women Rose Rooted” by Sharon Blackie
“Body of Wisdom: Women’s Spiritual Power and How it Serves” by Hilary Hart
“Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom” by Cristiane Northrup
“Her Blood is Gold: Awakening to the Wisdom of Menstruation” by Lara Own
INSPIRING REFERENCES
PODCASTS
“Evidence Based Birth” by Rebecca Dekker
“Free Birth Society” by Emilee Saldaya
“Taking Back Birth” by Maryn Green
“Doing it at Home” by Sarah and Matthew Bivens
“Midwifery for the People” by Margo Blackstone
BLOGS/OTHER SOURCES
Spinning Babies - a great resource for helping prepare mama’s bodies for birth.
Do Yoga With Me - this website has some free prenatal and postpartum yoga classes that are great. Also the app “Down Dog”, which has a monthly fee, is a GREAT resource for prenatal yoga and meditation.
Hypnobirthing - I cannot recommend this enough!! Mamas must be committed to practicing these meditations almost daily, but this can actually create new neural pathways to bring you into a deeper state of relaxation during birth. WOW, it’s powerful!
Aviva Romm - check out her website, blog and podcast (On Health) for everything related to women’s health, pregnancy and childbirth, herbalism, and wellness.