What is a ‘doula’?
It’s spelled “d-o-u-l-a”
and signed with one hand making the sign for stomach,
and the other making the sign for “support”.
Pregnant.
Baby.
Contractions.
When I give birth at a hospital
I’ll have trouble understanding the gynaecologist.
And I’ll suffer the consequences!
I won’t understand the midwife either,
no matter how attentive she is.
Should I suffer because I’m deaf?
I wouldn’t be comfortable with an interpreter.
I’m be too embarrassed,
with my legs all spread out.
No, no, that wouldn’t feel right.
I prefer the two doulas who know sign language.
I chose the two doulas for the following reasons:
According to certain media outlets,
Spain is not overly concerned about respecting natural births.
The statistics show a large number of C-sections.
and many births involve forceps,
suction cups, episiotomies,
epidurals, oxytocin...
In Scandinavia, most births are natural.
They respect them.
In Spain there are many C-sections and induced deliveries.
But my dream is to have a natural birth,
despite this alarming information.
And to do so, I chose two expert doulas.
They know what a natural birth is
and how to help women deliver naturally.
Natural
By natural birth I mean
a vaginal delivery, without a C-section or epidural.
It depends on the pain you can endure.
Without an epidural it’s a natural birth,
and with an epidural, a vaginal birth.
They’re different things.
And that’s what I want.
The more we talk, the more I trust their expertise.
I ask questions, and they explain everything...
They recommend I give birth at Sant Joan de Déu
because doulas are allowed in the delivery room.
They also allow two or three accompanying persons.
They also help prepare the birth plan,
a document many women are unfamiliar with.
In it, you describe how you want to deliver.
If you want a water birth
or a large exercise ball,
or ropes to pull on,
dim lighting, music, the people you want in the room,
if you want an epidural, oxytocin.
To express what you want, you need to bring a birth plan.
I need to move around.
When I give birth, I’d rather the doulas be there
than family members or friends.
They’re professionals.
They’ve had proper training, unlike family or friends.
They’ll know what I need: when to move, breathe, a massage.
Deliveries that take too long often end in a C-section.
Gynaecologists want to get it done as quickly as possible.
The doulas will ask for more time,
more time for the contractions.
Their aim is to defend natural births.
We’ve gotten to know each other,
When the pain starts I’ll have trouble communicating.
The doulas will know what I want. Everything will be decided beforehand.
It’s important they’re there.
Confidence.
Risk.
In most hospitals, they wash newborns.
Then the visits begin, and the baby is passed around.
And the umbilical cord is cut too quickly.
The doulas have told me to put the baby at my breast.
To keep it on my skin for as long as I want.
To not let the nurses wash it,
but to keep it there until my milk comes in.
It’s important to establish this bond
and keep them from cutting the cord too soon.
For the baby’s health, they recommend not cutting it while it’s still beating.
Once it stops, then it can be cut.
Most mothers don’t know these things.
I do thanks to the doulas, who have explained everything.
Now I know what giving birth is like.
The doulas give me confidence.