Why Did I Become a Christian Birth Doula?
If you had told me when I was a kid that I would be supporting women through pregnancy and birth and integrating my faith into my job… I wouldn’t have believed you.
I still wouldn’t have believed you when I was in college – I considered the medical field, but there’s no way I was cut out for the intense coursework so I decided it wasn’t for me. After school, I was pretty happy with my copywriting job and I got to write about holistic health sometimes, which was one of my favorite topics.
Then I had children. Growing up and hearing about my mom’s experiences with natural birth (with all five of us kids), I knew I wanted to at least give unmedicated birth a shot. I got pregnant in early 2021, but there were still some Covid rules in hospitals that I didn’t really want to deal with. This prompted me to start looking into home birth – and that opened up a whole world I didn’t even know existed. My first birth was great, but I realized afterward how little I really knew about birth or babies.
When I was pregnant with my second, I started writing birth articles, which I not only enjoyed but helped me learn more about the natural physiology of birth at warp speed. I chose a water birth for my second home birth. It was such a perfect experience that I wished every woman knew she could approach birth with full serenity and surrender rather than fear of the unknown!
Not too long after this, I joined the Buckeye Birth Coalition as a board member, which seeks to increase birthing options in Ohio, provide licensure for midwives, and improve birth outcomes. Around the same time, I decided I wanted to do more than write about birth – I wanted to physically be part of it.
I trained to become a birth assistant for a local midwife and started attending births. I instantly knew this was the environment I wanted to be in, and while I enjoyed (and still enjoy!) working on the clinical side of birth, I also wanted to be involved in the more personal side – helping educate, building relationships, and physically and emotionally supporting during labor, birth, and postpartum.
That’s where becoming a birth doula came into play.
And the cool part? You don’t HAVE to be super crunchy, want to birth unmedicated, or have a home birth to enjoy doula support. The only requirement? Be pregnant!
So… why a Christian birth doula specifically?
First of all, faith is a big part of my life and I’m thrilled I can bring it into my work. Second, I believe that birth is directly impacted by how much faith and trust we bring into it versus fear and resistance. Opening up our minds, hearts, and birthing spaces to God’s will and strength is far more likely to leave us with a beautiful experience than if we close our minds off or try to do it in our own power.
Empowerment is something we hear a lot about in the birthing space. Do I believe in empowered birth? Yes – empowerment through Christ.
This is a huge reason why I am a Christian birth doula – I think faith is a puzzle piece often left out, even among Christian families, and I want to help bring it back into birth.