I’ve been fascinated with the idea of natural childbirth and breastfeeding since I was a kid. Long before online discussions of doulas, midwives, and home births were trending, I was a pre-teen watching “A Baby Story” and immediately asking my mother if she had a videotape of my birth when she came home. When she said no and that those options weren’t a thing that Black women discussed back then, from then on I knew I wanted to have a water birth. I remember the first time I talked with someone who had a water birth in real life, I was 19 and a part-time nanny in undergrad and I was so excited!
The woman I worked for had her daughter in a birthing pool via a hospital. After I asked her about a zillion questions, I called my mom and she and I started to look up hospitals in my area that facilitated water births. Years later, that inquisitive little girl is now a woman who lives in a world where we have so many options in childbirth and the experience as a whole. Yet with all those options, many Black women are unfortunately still left vulnerable.
It crushed me to learn that as a Black woman, the options and experiences that I watched on television as a child are often harder for us. That studies show doctors are falsely taught that we have a higher tolerance for pain so our cries are ignored. That Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. That Black girls and women aren’t offered the same support in breastfeeding. I couldn’t believe that the same world that I watched women safely deliver babies on TV as a child had so many barriers that I might have to face in order to give birth one day when it was my turn. I’m immensely grateful for the Black women in my life who reminded me that I didn’t have to lead with my fear and that bringing life into this world doesn’t have to be a traumatic experience.
Let’s discuss what that care looks like so we can be armed with information and get back to the beauty and joy of childbirth:
Doula (childbirth, postpartum, and full-spectrum)
Have you ever wondered, what is a doula?! Well doulas are people experienced in childbirth who provide advice, information, emotional support, and physical comfort to a mother before, during, and immediately after childbirth. Not to be confused with a doctor or a midwife (as a doula does not deliver your baby) your doula is essentially a support and an advocate for you as you create a birthing plan and can be there to support you at doctor’s appointments and during delivery. Doula services can also include postpartum care to help new mamas adjust to life at home, support feeding, infant care, etc. Lastly, full-spectrum doulas who work with people across the full spectrum of pregnancy issues, including abortion, stillbirth and miscarriage, fertility, sex, and more.
Birth coach
I know, I know, if you look up what a birthing coach is often the services seem like the same offering as what a doula provides. However, while birth coaches and doulas are very similar, the distinct difference in their roles is that while a doula is more physically hands on during the labor and delivery process, the birth coach is there to provide physical and emotional support to the expectant mama, and their partner during the delivery.
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Midwife
Black women have been midwives for centuries (we ain’t new to this, y’all)! A midwife essentially allows for a more holistic approach to pregnancy and delivery and unlike a doula can deliver children in the place of a doctor. Midwives provide a full range of pregnancy, birthing and primary health care services and allow the expectant mama to deliver at home, at a birthing center, or a hospital. With a midwife, you have more say on the birthing experience that you’d prefer. Yes to that autonomy!
Birthing center
If you’re on the fence about a home north but still don’t want to give birth at the hospital, birth centers are a happy medium. A birthing center provides more comfort and privacy than the hospital, but the facility itself is still staffed by nurses, midwives, and/or obstetricians, for expectant mama. The midwives monitor the labor, and well-being of the mother and the baby during birth and you’re given alternative pain method options vs. the standard epidural that you’d be provided at the hospital.
Night nurse
It’s the extra sleep and help for me! A night nurse is a newborn specialist that is there to walk you through your first few weeks at home. They help you tend to your newborn (through changing, swaddling, feeding, and soothing your new baby) and allow you to catch up on the sleep that you’ll need and give you time to adjust to your new normal.
Lactation consultant
I know so many women who have shared openly about how they struggled to nurse and felt shame, but the truth is getting a newborn to latch isn’t always easy. Breastfeeding requires support and a lactation consultant is a certified health professional that supports you and shows you the best ways to breastfeed your newborn. Many first time mamas struggle with nursing their babies and when that first latch doesn’t happen as easily as they thought, discouragement sets in. The consultant will be there to help you every step of the way.
Expectant parents, know that you have options and you are not in this alone. Many of these roles can work in tandem and there are birthing centers and many birth teams who work together to support you so that finding the support you need won’t be difficult. You got this and remember that you deserve support!
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