Reflections on another year in birth work
2023 is drawing to a close and I wanted to take a moment to reflect (if you will indulge me), on what an incredible year it has been for OBC doulas and trainees, what birth work is like at the moment for doulas and the world in general. Not much then!
OBC onwards and upwards
We have continued to expand and grow as a business, What started as an idea back in the winter of 2020 during the COVID pandemic, in yet another lockdown, has blossomed into an incredible community of birth workers. We trained another 20+ people this year and have plans to train many more in 2024. Thats 20+ beautiful people who answered the call and stepped into this incredible process. Because, as a newly graduated doula reminded me yesterday in a mentoring session … “this work makes you dive deep and it a real process that takes time and patience and passion”.
The OBC now offers new short courses to expand peoples skill base, and continuing education for its graduates. Including our Doula Mini Series, where we’re addressing various topics that our doulas felt they wanted more information on and time to discuss.
Birth work in a time of austerity and pain
We can’t help but acknowledge the financial difficulties many continue to face as a result of rising inflation and prices, unstable government, and the legacy of Brexit.
Many birth workers have also been rocked by the devastating violence across the world but particularly in the Ukraine, Sudan and Palestine which tests every ounce of our humanity. We’re often left feeling powerless to effect real and lasting change for those who suffer most as a result of this violence … women and children.
Despite both these things we’ve continued to see a rise in the numbers of people accessing doulas for support during fertility journeys, pregnancy, birth and loss. I feel this is because people continue to find a lack of individualised, compassionate care through the NHS as it creaks under its owns failings as a system of care. The unique continuity of support, education and compassion that doulas provide everyone who births within our communities appears to be needed now, more than ever. And parents are voting with their feet! Actively seeking out support and, some are disengaging from the NHS system altogether.
Reaching the masses … supporting their birth choices
As the work of birth workers and doulas appears to be needed more than ever, we’re also realistic that the majority of parents are still actively birthing in a system where our Caesarean rate is hovering around 50% in some trusts, with our national induction rate not far behind.
What does this mean for doulas and parents alike? It means that we need to reach more people. We need to continue to normalise physiological or “natural” birth in this country. We need to normalise choice. We need to normalise accessing obstetric care … but in true emergencies… not emergencies of healthcare professionals making because they’ve stuck ridgedly to a policy that serves no one.
We need to continue to educate families about the possibilities that are available to them. The benefits of having choice and exercising agency in their pregnancy and birth to have the best outcomes for them. Birth with less intervention, less medicalisation, greater choice is better for women and their babies.
So what next ….
Here at the OBC, we will continue to train incredible doulas (perhaps you’ll be one of them in 2024)! We’ll continue to speak up against the obstetric violence that we are seeing perpetrated in this country, and continue to bring awareness to the difficulties faced by women and birthing people when accessing NHS services to have their choices respected, their voices heard and their bodies and babies cared for.
We’re going to be expanding our training resources for doulas in 2024 … with the continuation of our Doula Mini Series (the next session will focus on induction), and new offerings that will be available later in 2024. We will continue to work with others within the birth world who support all those who birth in our communities, to help women and birthing people access doula support, have an advocate at their birth if they would like one and reach people who are looking to birth their babies beautifully, calmly and with respect.