http://www.bastyr.edu/
The picture is from her personal Facebook.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Dr. Penny
On June 20th the amazing Penny Simkin was honored by Bastyr University with her honorary doctorate. For over 40 years Dr. Penny Simkin has worked tirelessly as a birth advocate, doula, childbirth education, birth counselor, and author to further our understanding of the power of birth. In short, she's an amazing person, we wouldn't be where we are today without her. I am honored to have been one of her students. *applause*
http://pennysimkin.com/
http://www.bastyr.edu/
The picture is from her personal Facebook.
http://www.bastyr.edu/
The picture is from her personal Facebook.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
The Other Side of the Glass
One of my very favorite parts of being a doula is becoming a team with the partner of the laboring person. To watch them as they go through the rollercoaster of emotions moment by moment during the labor and birth, and help them stay connected with their partner. I do my best to help them stay safely in the moment.
Janel Martin has been working on a documentary called "The Other Side of the Glass." It puts a light on the difficult topic of what kind of birth trauma are the partners experiencing in America's hospitals today? I encourage you to watch the trailer and donate what you can.
Her blog can be found here: http://www.theothersideoftheglassthefilm.blogspot.com/
 |
| Janel Martin |
Janel Martin has been working on a documentary called "The Other Side of the Glass." It puts a light on the difficult topic of what kind of birth trauma are the partners experiencing in America's hospitals today? I encourage you to watch the trailer and donate what you can.
Her blog can be found here: http://www.theothersideoftheglassthefilm.blogspot.com/
How it began...
In the spring of 2008 I was honored by a dear friend when she asked me to be by her side while she birthed her son. You see, she was faced with being alone during this tremendous event. The particulars are her story to tell, suffice to say it is a situation that no person should ever be in unless it is their choice.
I decided that if I was going to attend her birth I wanted to be helpful and useful, and not just another body in the room. I did a little research and decided to take the Labor Support Course through Seattle Midwifery School (SMS has since merges with Bastyr University) coming up in September of that year.
I was so lucky and didn't even know it at the time. My class was taught by the amazing Penny Simkin and Carrie Kenner. Penny wrote the book on being a doula (no really, she did, I'll put the link at the bottom.) Carrie, at the time, was the president of PALS Doulas. The class was a truly a life changing experience!
In it I was blessed with so much information! We went over the birthing process, talked about comfort measures such as breathing and massage techniques, it was a four day intensive download of everything one would need to know to accompany someone in labor.
This was it! THIS was what I'd been looking for! A "job" that I could do that really felt important. A place where I could make a real difference. It all sounded so good on paper. So, the class ended and I went about my life, working day to day and reading all I could about birth in my spare time. Then, on the snowy afternoon of December 28th, I got the call, it was showtime! The tiny baby boy let us know it was time for his debut! The birth was long and tiring for everyone involved. He was born via cesarean in the early morning of December 29th. The birth did not go AT ALL how we planned, but it was hers. With my support she felt like she was an active participant in her care, not just a belly having a baby. And that had been my goal all along.With my new found knowledge I understood that birth can be unpredictable, and even scary at times, but if the family has someone there that has done this before and is "on their side" it makes all the difference in the world. And that's what I want to do, help families get started on the right foot.
But to do that, I need your help. I would like to transition into being a full time, professional PALS certified birth doula that specializes in working with the Latin community. I was working towards that goal in 2009 but my life situation drastically changed and I had to commit myself to more hours at my day job to pay my bills.
Right now, I am the receptionist at a small spa. I am the only person that does my job, and if I hire someone else to cover for me when I need to take a class or go to a prenatal visit that means I don't get paid to work those hours. Not to mention running off to a birth in the middle of my scheduled work day with no replacement leaves my employer in a huge lurch. She has been nothing but wonderful to me and I do not want to burn that bridge. So I am kind of stuck.
I had been able to take a few steps forward. I bought a car in November of 2010 so that I could attend classes and workshops in further out locations. And in the future I can be by a mother's side much faster or at 2am without having to count on the bus system. That car has since passed away, I'm working towards another one. I have also taken Spanish classes at Seattle Language Institute, as well as several classes and workshops with Nekole Shapiro of Tantric Birth, and Teri Ciacchi and Tai Kulystin of the Living Love Revolution.
But the meaty part of my education, ie. experience attending births to get my certification is still out of reach without some financial help. If I could take 6 months off I could fully devote myself to the mastery of Spanish. I could acquire knowledge and experience by volunteering for births at the University of Washington, also by apprenticing at births through PALS Doulas. I could attend classes and workshops that will help me be the best birth doula I can possibly be. For me to do that and maintain my bills would cost $9000. I'm not asking for that from you, I am asking for whatever you can help me with, and what that guy over there can help me with, and my facebook friends, and a bunch of random strangers that want to take a risk on me. Together we can pull it off. If I can even get half that amount I can hire someone to work with me at the spa and make me immensely more flexible. That would help me reach my goal so much sooner. With this blog, I will be keeping a log of everything I am doing to reach this goal so that you can watch me flourish.
What is so special about me? I believe in this work. I believe that supporting people thought empowering experiences is vital to the growth of our individual selves and our collective communities. I've done the math and throughout my career I have the potential to attend well over 1000 births. That is 1000 families that could potentially have a better start than they would have had without me. The ripple effect from that would be amazing!
www.pennysimkin.com
www.palsdoulas.org
http://tantricbirth.com/Home.html
http://www.livingloverevolution.com/
http://www.bastyr.edu/
I decided that if I was going to attend her birth I wanted to be helpful and useful, and not just another body in the room. I did a little research and decided to take the Labor Support Course through Seattle Midwifery School (SMS has since merges with Bastyr University) coming up in September of that year.
I was so lucky and didn't even know it at the time. My class was taught by the amazing Penny Simkin and Carrie Kenner. Penny wrote the book on being a doula (no really, she did, I'll put the link at the bottom.) Carrie, at the time, was the president of PALS Doulas. The class was a truly a life changing experience!
In it I was blessed with so much information! We went over the birthing process, talked about comfort measures such as breathing and massage techniques, it was a four day intensive download of everything one would need to know to accompany someone in labor.
This was it! THIS was what I'd been looking for! A "job" that I could do that really felt important. A place where I could make a real difference. It all sounded so good on paper. So, the class ended and I went about my life, working day to day and reading all I could about birth in my spare time. Then, on the snowy afternoon of December 28th, I got the call, it was showtime! The tiny baby boy let us know it was time for his debut! The birth was long and tiring for everyone involved. He was born via cesarean in the early morning of December 29th. The birth did not go AT ALL how we planned, but it was hers. With my support she felt like she was an active participant in her care, not just a belly having a baby. And that had been my goal all along.With my new found knowledge I understood that birth can be unpredictable, and even scary at times, but if the family has someone there that has done this before and is "on their side" it makes all the difference in the world. And that's what I want to do, help families get started on the right foot.
But to do that, I need your help. I would like to transition into being a full time, professional PALS certified birth doula that specializes in working with the Latin community. I was working towards that goal in 2009 but my life situation drastically changed and I had to commit myself to more hours at my day job to pay my bills.
Right now, I am the receptionist at a small spa. I am the only person that does my job, and if I hire someone else to cover for me when I need to take a class or go to a prenatal visit that means I don't get paid to work those hours. Not to mention running off to a birth in the middle of my scheduled work day with no replacement leaves my employer in a huge lurch. She has been nothing but wonderful to me and I do not want to burn that bridge. So I am kind of stuck.
I had been able to take a few steps forward. I bought a car in November of 2010 so that I could attend classes and workshops in further out locations. And in the future I can be by a mother's side much faster or at 2am without having to count on the bus system. That car has since passed away, I'm working towards another one. I have also taken Spanish classes at Seattle Language Institute, as well as several classes and workshops with Nekole Shapiro of Tantric Birth, and Teri Ciacchi and Tai Kulystin of the Living Love Revolution.
But the meaty part of my education, ie. experience attending births to get my certification is still out of reach without some financial help. If I could take 6 months off I could fully devote myself to the mastery of Spanish. I could acquire knowledge and experience by volunteering for births at the University of Washington, also by apprenticing at births through PALS Doulas. I could attend classes and workshops that will help me be the best birth doula I can possibly be. For me to do that and maintain my bills would cost $9000. I'm not asking for that from you, I am asking for whatever you can help me with, and what that guy over there can help me with, and my facebook friends, and a bunch of random strangers that want to take a risk on me. Together we can pull it off. If I can even get half that amount I can hire someone to work with me at the spa and make me immensely more flexible. That would help me reach my goal so much sooner. With this blog, I will be keeping a log of everything I am doing to reach this goal so that you can watch me flourish.
What is so special about me? I believe in this work. I believe that supporting people thought empowering experiences is vital to the growth of our individual selves and our collective communities. I've done the math and throughout my career I have the potential to attend well over 1000 births. That is 1000 families that could potentially have a better start than they would have had without me. The ripple effect from that would be amazing!
www.pennysimkin.com
www.palsdoulas.org
http://tantricbirth.com/Home.html
http://www.livingloverevolution.com/
http://www.bastyr.edu/
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)