Feb 6 2015
Full spectrum doulas support a woman in all of the experiences related to her maternity: antepartum (especially for pregnant mothers on bed rest), birth/labor, postpartum, bereavement/stillbirth/miscarriage, and even abortion. Obviously, if you are pregnant, there is a doula for whatever individual experience you are having. Full spectrum doulas even serve parents in the transition period after a child is adopted! As a doula, I believe my calling is merely to be present and lend emotional and physical support to women in their times of vulnerability, ensuring they are equipped and empowered to endure whatever trials they face. It is never the role of a doula to cast judgment on a mother for her personal decisions and wishes; that is God’s job alone.
Although I personally have not been through each of the experiences for which a doula might be employed, I empathize with women for each of them, knowing that their story easily could have been mine. As I was taught by my college poetry professor, Dr. Maya Angelou, “I am a human; nothing human can be alien to me. [Translated from Publius Terntius Afer].” Another source of literature that inspires my mission to serve comes from the book of Ecclesiastes (chapter 3, verses 1-8):
“There’s a season for everything
and a time for every matter under the heavens:
a time for giving birth and a time for dying,
a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted,
a time for killing and a time for healing,
a time for tearing down and a time for building up,
a time for crying and a time for laughing,
a time for mourning and a time for dancing,
a time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,
a time for embracing and a time for avoiding embraces,
a time for searching and a time for losing,
a time for keeping and a time for throwing away,
a time for tearing and a time for repairing,
a time for keeping silent and a time for speaking,
a time for loving and a time for hating,
a time for war and a time for peace.”
Surely, in the time that a mother is pregnant, all of these “times” can be possible, and over the course of all motherhood, they are vastly experienced. A mother should never feel alone through any of her challenges or joys. Please contact Tremendoulas today if you are interested in help for your unique maternity experience.
Christine Frackelton, CD(DONA), CBS 