Man Doula Education

           

I was lucky enough to attend a workshop over the weekend called “supporting Birth and Beyond- with Penny Simkin that was put on by the hard work of the Nova Scotia Doula Association. For those of you that do not know who she is, I would suggest a quick Google.  She is a pretty big deal in the doula world and from the looks on some of the women in the room, I would say that there were a few that were a bit star struck.  As I was sitting there in a room full of Doulas, Nurses and a Midwife I was struck by the fact that I was just one of the girls.  I am sure that some of the people there had the thought  “ what the heck is he doing here?” but no one seemed to mind. Ever since I started this Doula journey, I have been meet with nothing but acceptance.  When I took my Birth Doula course, everyone was very accepting.  When I took a Lactation Consultation Training course, yes you read it correctly, I was welcomed with an open mind.  I guess the fact is that while the majority of the birth communities are female there, are men intermixed.  I think that having more men in the birth community is a good thing and hope that there are more and more as time goes on.

When I put it out in the world that I was starting my journey to Doula hood, most comments from people are that it is a great idea and that it is a great addition to my massage therapy practice.  Some of my male friends just shook their heads, but for the most part it has all been positive.  People have the opinion that I will be of great help and support to the male partners that are going through the birth process.  I would agree but still I think that I can provide just as much support to the woman who is having the baby.  As far as I am concerned, a Doula is a trained Birth Support person who is there to provide the service to their clients.  The gender should not matter. Support is support, period.

I am looking forward to becoming more involved in the birth community here in Halifax and really believe that I have something to bring to the current landscape.

I hope that all of you are getting out in the sun and thank you to everyone that was at the conference on the weekend.