Douladom

I'm finally doing it, my friends. It was the summer of 2005 when I first started exploring the world of doulas and felt myself being called to join their ranks. I've continued longing for it ever since, but it just never felt like the right time and the trainings were cost-prohibitive. Well, the time has come.

Fortune smiled on me a few months back when I was interviewing home birth midwives. One of the midwives I interviewed happened to also be a doula trainer, and she mentioned to me that she was offering a free doula training in February! She decided to offer it as a service to the community and only asked that the participants promise to use their training to give back to the community as well. She was also offering it as a way to spread the word about a really cool group she was involved in starting: the BEEP Movement. BEEP stands for "Better Educated and Enlightened Parents." It's "a grassroots movement founded by mothers, fathers, and professionals dedicated to guiding families to the best information regarding pregnancy, birth, and parenting" (according to the Yahoogroup page). I was totally excited to find out about the training workshop as well as the BEEP Movement.

So, over Valentine's day weekend, I will spend all day everyday learning the doula's art. And I can't wait to start using the skills I learn to help other moms experience beautiful births! In the meantime, I'll be spending some time on the DONA website refreshing my memory about the certification requirements, etc.

P.S. Tomorrow morning I eat jelly beans. :-)