It’s fun to have a baby, be the baby, and be the doula! I love the look on their faces. Photo courtesy of Doula Lauren.
Are you looking for a NYC doula? The word doula is weird. It’s Greek for slave. But it’s used in English to mean a birth attendant who is neither a doctor nor a midwife. If you’re a crunchy granola mama, you know all about doulas, all your friends are doulas, and you’ve hired one to attend your birth. If you aren’t, you haven’t the faintest.
Why Hire a Doula?
Continuous support during labor helps women feel more satisfied with their overall labor experiences and increases the likelihood of vaginal birth, according to the Cochrane Collaboration.
These researchers conclude, “All women should have support throughout labour and birth.”
Et Voilà. That’s why you hire a NYC doula.
What Do Doulas Do?
- Attend hospital births
- Attend home births
- Help you at home and then go with you to the hospital
- Provide moral support, birth smarts, and soothing words of reassurance for the birthing mama and her partner
- Advocate for moms in labor and their partners to help them stick to their birth plans
- Other stuff, like posting cool updates on Facebook and writing interesting blogs.
I actually don’t know that many doulas. The East Coast vibe might be different but the ones I do know here on the West Coast tend to be very healthy, very earthy, very kind, and very patient.
Patience is key.
It can take a l-o-n-g time to have a baby, especially the first time.
I have a friend, Lauren Kunis, who’s a NYC doula.
We hang on Facebook. I like her public posts, and appreciate the private messages she sends just to me.
We both love birth. And supporting birthing women (which I do through my journalism and the books I write and she does by being there, beside mamas and their partners as they birth in New York hospitals.)
I’m a homebirth and unassisted birth mom. NYC doula, Doula Lauren, specializes in hospital birth.
We have agreed to appreciate each other’s differences.
She’s been a doula for ten years. And she’s been there, done that many, many times.
So What’s It REALLY Like to be a NYC Doula?
At one of Doula Lauren’s births early on in her career, she was standing near the mother’s legs so she could inform her of where the baby’s head was and encourage her that she was almost done. The mama and everyone else in the room were very excited that the water was still intact and that the baby might be born in the caul. Doula Lauren was right there when … the baby’s head was birthed the water broke, ALL OVER HER.
About three years ago it happened again, only this time she did not get the spoils of the amniotic fluid.
I’ll let her tell this one:
“Mom was laboring and the doctor had just left the room. Mom and I were there alone. The doctor had just informed her he wanted to break her water [editor’s note: that means manually rupture the sac of amniotic fluid that surrounds and cushions the baby] and if when he came back he did not see any changes he was going to do so. Mom and I were talking. I was working on distraction and relaxation techniques with her. And then we heard an ear-splitting popping noise and the amniotic bag of waters exploded. It made it all the way to the wall! We laughed so hard. To this day that mom and I joke about that moment.”
Sadie the Cat took a break from reading The Vaccine-Friendly Plan to do some work at the computer. Photo courtesy of Doula Lauren.
Doula Lauren’s Cat Sadie
Doula Lauren recently posted a photo of her cat Sadie, helping her with some recent research on vaccine safety, efficacy, and necessity.
Sadie, I’m told, is the boss of the house. Everything in Doula Lauren’s house is actually Sadie’s: the computer, the food, the water, the couch.
Doula Lauren is her human.
Sadie loves to sit on and at the computer.
She’s also an avid reader.
Her favorite topics to read about on the computer? Birth, of course, and—what else?—the book I mailed to Lauren a couple weeks ago, co-authored by Paul Thomas, M.D.: The Vaccine- Friendly Plan.
Lauren’s already read it and Sadie’s helping her compile research from it for when she teaches childbirth education classes to her clients to help inform them of the most updated information about vaccines.
Her website:
Check it out.
In other news, my writer friend Kim Griswell has a brand new book coming out this fall. She made this advertisement to support the Rogue Valley Peace Choir. My littlest and I LOVE her two other Rufus books, illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev, and we can’t wait to read Rufus Blasts Off.
I posting this out to Midwives, Doulas and others in hopes that you will be able to assist getting the word out to other like-minded people in regards to this issue. If you don’t agree with this email that is fine, feel free to ignore it.
But if you DO agree, then
ACTION REQUESTED — A bill has just been introduced into the New York Senate to repeal the RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION for vaccination in NY State.
I am writing this to ask you to reach out to your state senator, assemblyman and other Albany leaders to let them know you support KEEPING and STANDARDIZING the RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION for vaccination. You can send emails, however we are asking that you send an actual, physical letter that you have signed. At the bottom of this email is a sample letter that you can use if you do not wish to write your own letter, or you can use a portion of the letter and make some changes to it.
The bill introduced by Senator Hoylman’s S2994 (companion bill to Dinowitz’s A02371 in the assembly) is an unconstitutional move denying citizens rights to freedom of religion under the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution There is no reason to get rid of the RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION that has existed in New York for decades.
If you want regular updates on what is happening in Albany regarding vaccine legislation, follow RITA PALMER on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/rita.palma.980?ref=br_rs
Please follow these 6 steps: Send your letter to:
1.) Your OWN Senator- find him/her at nysenate.gov
THEN send that same letter to:
2.) Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins at: 28 Wells Avenue, Building #3, Yonkers, NY 10701
3.) Speaker Carl Heastie, 1446 East Gun Hill Road
Bronx, NY 10469
4.) Senate Health Chair Gustavo Rivera: 2432 Grand Concourse,Suite 506, Bronx, NY 10458
5.) Assembly Health Chair Richard Gottfried, 214 West 29th Street ,Suite 1002,New York, NY 10001
and last, but not least,
6) Governor Cuomo at:
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
ASK FOR A RESPONSE- and NOT a canned/ form letter.
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A LETTER THAT YOU CAN USE:
Dear senator (or assemblyman/woman)
I am writing to you to express my full support for New York State keeping the right for parents to file for a Religious Exemption to vaccinate their children. I also fully support standardizing the process of filing for a religious exemption so that everyone has equal access to the utilizing the law.
I strongly oppose Senator Hoylman’s bill S2994 and the companion bill by assemblyman Dinowitz’s A02371. There is absolutely no reason to remove the religious exemption. It has existed in our state for decades and, despite what some try to claim, it has never caused any public health problems or concerns. It is also unconstitutional to deny citizens the ability to follow their own personally held religious beliefs. This is a major issue for me and my family, and I am watching your vote on this very closely. I would like to request a response from you on this issue, letting me know what your position is on this issue.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely;
*****
If anyone has any questions please feel free to email me
Thank you
Michael Kane
NYC High School Teacher, Union Member and Father