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| Photo Credit: Millennial Mama |
So tell us about the woman behind the doula - what do you like to do on your days off?
I am the mama
of a beautiful, smart and wild four-year-old boy, who just started
JK. In that theme I have also gone back to University full time, so
when I am not attending births and supporting birthing people, I am
attending class/buried under a mountain of reading. The benefit of
going back as an adult is the broader life experience that has me
choosing my courses for different reasons than say, how I would have
when I was 22. Having a young child that is wild about the outdoors
has made a forest loving woman out of this homebody, living in the
city, creates a unique hobby of finding new and exciting places to
hike and to explore. I am also a yogi, that is certified to teach
Hatha yoga as well as pre and post-natal yoga. On time off you can
find my husband, son and I trying new vegetarian and vegan
restaurants throughout the city.
What is your favourite birth support and why?
I am often
asked, what I bring in my birthing bag, and while I have some
interesting tools to support birth, at the end of the day, my
favourite way to support a birth is with my hands and my voice.
Birth doesn’t need a lot of gadgets, although they are wonderful
to have sometimes, birth only needs support – counter pressure
while working through contractions or a soothing voice to remind you
that you know how to birth your baby and you’re doing it
perfectly.
Why did you want to go into doula work? What other areas of parenting and birth are you passionate about? Do they influence your work as a doula?
The part of
birth I am most passionate about is evidenced based information,
there is so much access to information out there, but sometimes
pregnant people don’t know where to start and some resources can
be poorly researched and biased. Knowing the current research and
where to find it, is something I am always trying to keep up with.
What advice do you have for a new (or new again) mom as she nears birth?
As
far as parenting/birth advice, I don’t specifically subscribe to
anything, exactly. My view, as is with supporting birth, is to make
the best choices you can with the information you have, to trust
your intuition and love your children and yourself fiercely. We are
all doing our best. There are so many more avenues for criticism in
this generation of parents, which can be exhausting, no matter your
choice someone is going to disagree with you. But only you know what
is best for you, for your baby and for your family. Just do you.
To schedule in a consultation with Jena or to learn more about private birth education, email her at jena@sweetstellas.com.
