Photo by Sarah Dorweiler on Unsplash
Life is complicated. The world is complicated, so that means pregnancy and parenting is complicated, sometimes overwhelmingly so. On a micro level, the million and one choices we have to make every day, the conflicting advice – and the differing needs of all the kids and everyone else we are caring for – can stretch us super-thin, physically and emotionally. And on the macro level, the suffering in the world, the looming environmental crisis, war, famine, political chaos and the constant stream of social media posts entreating us to think and act in a certain way, send money, sign petitions, make choices and have an opinion can bamboozle, discombobulate and frankly, affect our mental health.
Having a doula can simplify the experience of becoming a parent, helping clients zero in on what’s most important to them and focus on the transformational journey they are travelling. And it is with this in mind that I sometimes think we all need life doulas, supporting us to cut through the noise and home in on our priorities, basic needs and identify our goals.
Thankfully, many of us in the doula community have the ultimate privilege of being surrounded by doulas and wise women, always there to be a sounding board, generous with suggestions, options and the laser-pointer ability to help us cut through the crap so we can quickly get to the heart of the matter. This year, the DD facilitators team have been doing this for each other in spades.
Like all humans we have found our personal challenges difficult at times. Parenting, health, mental health and moral quandaries have all reared their heads, all alongside our ongoing goals to deepen the support we give our community and the work we are doing to ensure that our community is inclusive and diverse.
In 2024, after a three year hiatus because of COVID and Maddie’s ongoing health crisis, we revisited our goal to launch a postnatal-only course. We welcomed Zara back into the fold after her time out for self care and have worked hard on creating a course that will deeply celebrate the postpartum. We will be launching the course in February and have dates scheduled for March and June. We hope this course will simplify the process of becoming a doula for those who cannot support births and make it easier for DDs to dive deeper into postnatal work if they feel that call.
This year we have also made the journey to choosing a doula course simpler by running regular Introductory Taster Sessions. These are monthly and are designed to support people who are grappling with the question of whether they could become a doula and give them a taste of what a doula course might feel like.
Most of all, this year has been an emotional one, for so many reasons, not least the loss of our wonderful DD Mimi. Our thoughts have been with her family this Christmas and her death continues to remind us to focus on the simple pleasures of life.
We have also grappled this year with the horror at the situation for mothers and newborns in Palestine, Ukraine, Yemen, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Sudan and the feelings of helplessness and outrage these conflicts cause. We have supported humanitarian efforts with donations, both to NGOs and individual families, and maintain a firm moral stance that pregnant woman and people, babies and children should be kept safe from the horrors of war and given safe haven away from the danger of death and privation, whatever their race, religion or nationality. We continue to support our community by trusting that each individual will react to these conflicts with empathy and respond in ways that seem appropriate given their circumstances and abilities.
Our dreams and goals for 2025 are simple: peace and the continued striving for continuity of care for all new families everywhere, delivered with respect, compassion and dignity, with a balance of medical care that avoids too much intervention too soon and ensuring no one has to suffer the consequences of too little medical intervention too late.
We hope your 2025 can be full of simple pleasures too – the joys of nature, the company of loved ones, a roof over your head and healthy food on your plate. We are filled with gratitude that every day we can play a small part in making maternity care just a little more loving, by creating new doulas and supporting our clients to bring babies into the world gently, surrounded by love.
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