All Birth Work should be full spectrum work
So often, I hear people—birthing people, doulas, medical providers, the friends and family of birthing people—just talk about the birth. Everyone wants to focus on the birth plan and the baby. Everyone has opinions on your labor and delivery.
But what if birth wasn’t just birth? Your birth experience doesn’t start in the delivery room and it doesn’t end there either. Your experience has been shaped by every single part of your life from whether or not you have siblings to your social circle. Reproduction is a universal aspect of our lives, but our individual reproductive experiences are not universal—no matter how inclined we are to believe that they can be. And equally important: reproduction does not live in a vacuum outside of the rest of our lives. It is identity shaping!
When looking at your birth experience, we should be considering things like:
What is your experience with pregnant people and parents?
How do other people—in your community but also in society at large—talk about pregnancy, birth, and parenting?
What are your values?
What were your educational experiences like?
What was your experience with your own childhood?
How do local laws impact your reproductive choices?
What are the biases held about people holding your identity in birthing and parenting spaces?
What does your community look like?
Do you have access to the resources that you need?
How will becoming a parent (or having another child) change your identity?
What is your personal experience with pregnancy and birth?
How do you experience joy?
What have been your experiences with grief?
What does your life look like after a baby is here?
And this is barely scratching the surface. Your pre-conception or pre-family building experiences, your antenatal experiences, and your anticipated postpartum experiences shape how you enter your birth space and how you walk into your current reproductive journey.
Choosing a full spectrum doula who is trauma-informed and equity centered can help you bridge this journey. You deserve more than someone who just shows up for your birth. You deserve relationship, community, continuity, and advocacy every step of the way.
Whether you hire me or not, I would love to be part of your flock,
Kyra
