Doula Burnout: What Role Does Trauma Play In Doula Burnout?
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Kaely Harrod 0:00
doula burnout is a well known phenomenon. These last three episodes have kind of dug into some of the leading causes of that today is the fourth of these episodes. And today we're asking the question, what role does trauma play in doula burnout? Welcome to doula Tips and Tips, the podcast where I answer one question about pregnancy postpartum or lactation. This is a space where it's safe to have questions and we're gonna give you real answers. We're not going to beat around the bush or give you what we want you to know. We're going to answer in an evidence based way. I'm Kaylee Herat and experienced doula mama three lactation counselor and a childbirth educator. I started this work in part because of my own lack of answers in my journey of pregnancy and birth. And I'm on a mission for families to be well informed and well supported through this time. This is a space where you will learn about questions that you didn't even know that you should be asking and have answers to ones that you're already asking. The whole purpose here is for you to feel a bit more educated and informed and competent in this journey that often feels very new, and a little bit disconcerting. If you have not already I would love for you to subscribe to this podcast so that you get updates when there are new episodes. or head to our website Herat doula services.com to subscribe to our email updates so that you get notifications when we have a new episode Episodes Episode out. Thank you for joining us today. Welcome back to this doula Burnout series. We have talked so far about the number of hours that a doula works, the fees that they charge, the self care that they do not in that order, because self care was second fees was third, and the fourth cause being how trauma or that the secondary trauma that doulas experience the primary trauma that doulas experience, how that impacts burnout. Now, the other three are easier to kind of preemptively get set up in your business, right? Like you can, right now before you even are full of clients decide that you're not going to have more than a certain number of people, right? You can decide how far apart you want your your due dates to be. You can decide how many hours a week are going to work how much you're going to charge for that work, right? What is the service going to cost your clients and so those are some things you can kind of build in now to make doula burnout less prevalent for you. Trauma is tricky, because it isn't usually known. Now. I will say in birth work, sometimes trauma is can be anticipated if we know some of the things that trigger that for ourselves and for our clients. So for instance, I live in the DC area we have, I would say a dozen hospitals at least within an hour radius, right? Give or take right like maybe we have a few more than that maybe less, but like a lot, we have a good number of hospitals. The culture of birth at each of those hospitals is incredibly different. Some are very, very, very highlighting, like firm and and well versed in trauma informed care in patient centered practices, right. I would say that's not the vast majority of hospitals in the DC area. But in general, like our health care system lacks trauma informed care. So that's not uncommon, right. But certainly, it's well known in the DC birth community that some hospitals are more intervention friendly have higher C section rates are less respectful of client autonomy. Right are less like inviting of doulas welcoming to doulas, right? So there's that is a known that's a known thing in the birth world here. Depending on where you are, that may or may not be the case right? Not all birth cultures are the same they vary significantly hospital to hospital and provider to provider right I don't mean to say that there's not birth trauma outside of a hospital because by all means there is right there can be they're not there isn't always but there can be so so on the one hand let's say you know a hospital in your area is well known for for not listening to patients right or for manipulation or for kind of dark Under overreach or something like that, right? Then I would, I would venture to say, if you know that, and you're going into that hospital that you have a pretty good sense that it's possible that you'll witness some trauma, right? Or that you'll at least witness some might gaslighting, right. And that's what I mean, when I say sometimes you can sort of anticipate that it might be there. That means in those scenarios, you have a couple choices like you can choose to not attend births at those places, right? You can also choose to not to kind of like have your pre birth ritual include a way for you to handle that trauma, right. But the biggest thing I think in in that scenario is that you're able to walk in fully aware of what the situation might be, which already helps significantly, in reducing the impact of the trauma on you as the doula, okay. Now, there's lots of different camps of trauma that can happen in this space in this time of birth and postpartum. One is treatment of from the care team, right? So that's kind of what I'm talking about when I talk about hospital cultures and patient centered care and things like that. Another is actual emergencies, right, like actual things that play out in the midst of birth that that you can't possibly anticipate things like a hemorrhage, things like you know, fetal distress, fetal demise, like a loss of a pregnancy, right? Those kinds of things are devastating and traumatic and never anticipated, right? Like, that's not I mean, I don't mean never like there is a sometimes you know that that is possible, because you have a higher risk factor or something like that. But it's not really known until you're in that scenario, right. Like, even if you're a high risk person, for some one of the conditions, one of the issues one of the emergencies, the still the hope is that that's not going to happen, right. And so, what I want you to think about is kind of twofold. One is, do you want to have particular boundaries around how you avoid trauma, whether that is not going to places that you know, are trauma filled birth scenarios, or not working with certain provider teams, or setting really good boundaries about like, what your you want your client families to look like, or be like, or whatever. And also, thinking through what the like kind of post care would be if you do experience some of that more like unexpected medical trauma in the midst of a birth or a postpartum time, right. And again, just like with everything in life, and in this work, I can't tell you exactly what that should look like. But if it's something like a loss, like I've supported a stillbirth, I've supported miscarriage, I've supported some very emergent, terrifying birth scenarios. And it always requires some level of processing and counseling from me from on my side, right? On top of, of course, the trauma that my clients are experiencing and feeling and the way that I'm encouraging them to have processing space and time, etc. So. So I think having that as an expectation is really important when you work in a field like this that does hold slightly higher risk of that happening, and also setting yourself up with firm boundaries to help kind of mitigate whatever you can in terms of trauma, okay? Now, trauma informed care is a super big part of what I do, I will kind of dive into that more in future episodes, but for the sake of this series, I just wanted to kind of touch on it because I think it can be a surprise when people experience it for the first time and are like oh my gosh, I don't know if I can keep doing this right. And it is something that I see sometimes sort of be the the last straw in doula work when when other factors have already been kind of wearing on you. Or also when you're just like, that was terrible. And so I really need to have some space and decide how much proximity I can have to this, like secondary trauma that can be a part of this work, right? So so I do want you to consider it. Think through what you think that might look like for you and how you want to function as a doula and also start to think through what would it look like if you experienced unexpected emergency kind of medical trauma with your client or your clients family and what sort of support could you have for yourself around that and Okay.
Kaely Harrod 10:02
There are still a couple more spots left in my free masterclass, I want to make sure that you have a chance to sign up if you have not yet done. So I'm going to be diving into the three most important pillars to getting your business sustainable and successful as you're starting out as a doula it is on March 7, at 12 noon, Eastern Time, there'll be a replay for a whole week just in case babies come on that day, and you can't come in person. But attending live is going to give you a chance to have some kind of interface with me and ask questions and have a little bit more interaction. So that is my preference. That is what I encourage you to do. There's a link in the show notes to sign up for that I really do encourage you to to grab your spot soon because it is going to be maxed out. And so I can't have more than 100 Folks, and I want you to be one of those 100 So please do jump on that link and sign up before the spots are all gone. So until next time, I wish you well informed consent filled doula experiences this has been Kaylee daily doula Tips and Tips. I'm so glad that you were here joining us today. I am not your medical provider. And so all of this information is intended to be educational and entertainment. Please use it as such. And if you have questions about your own medical health, or need recommendations from your own provider, please do speak to them. This is not intended to replace them in any way. We are so happy that you are here joining us in this walk through pregnancy postpartum and lactation. Please take a second to like and subscribe, leave a positive review. That is how other families get to hear about us and get to learn from all the answers that we have here on this podcast. As always, I would really love to connect with you. I love answering questions. I know that you know that because you are here, but I would love to hear what your questions are. So if I have not yet answered them on the podcast, I would love to add them to the list of questions to be answered. please do reach out to me on Instagram or via email Kaely at Herat, doula services.com so that I can answer whatever question you have, and so that I can hear the feedback that you have about the podcast. Until we meet again, I wish you well informed consent filled birth and postpartum experiences
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
We are at the forth and final cause of Doula Burnout that we are diving into throughout this mini series. Today’s cause is trauma. Both primary and secondary. Now, the last three were a touch easier to control and buffer, but this one is the one that you have very little control over whether it happens, but you have lots of control over how you respond to it.
Trauma is hard because it looks/sounds/feels different for everyone. But having good tools to not only process, but protect yourself is vital. Sometimes that looks like healthy boundaries to not work with certain providers or boundaries about what types of clients you take on. Especially if you have your own birth or postpartum trauma, then you can do work to avoid those same triggers or experiences.
A big part of this one is giving yourself resources and space.
Key Takeaways:
You need a way to process both mentally, verbally and physically
You need a ritual to come down from the intensity of birth support
You need a set of support systems for when things are really hard
You need to know how to report abuse that you witness, because sadly many of us do witness it.
Join us in the New Doula Masterclass Just for YOU! This masterclass goes into the 3 steps for both success AND sustainability in your doula business. Spots are limited so be sure to grab your free spot today!
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/doula-mentoring-masterclass
CONNECT with Kaely on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/Harroddoula/
This podcast is hosted by the Birth Prep Blueprint - comprehensive Childbirth Education for expectant parents to feel calm, prepared and confident about labor and birth. Podcast listeners (that’s YOU!) get 10% off! Use the link below and coupon code PODCAST
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/birth-prep-blueprint
** The Birth Prep Blueprint is offered for only $20 to anyone who qualifies for any kind of social services (meaning that a family has a lower income to the point that they would qualify for WIC or SNAP or Medicaid, etc.). No need to disclose your income, just which service you qualify for and the link can be sent right over. Just email kaely@harroddoulaservices.com to learn more.
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Kaely Daily is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services
It is sponsored by The Birth Prep Blueprint Childbirth Class
Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay
