How Do I Take Time Off As A Doula?
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Unknown Speaker 0:04
Welcome to doula Tips and Tits. This podcast is a place where we answer one question about doula work, both to support you and to help you support your clients. I'm Kaely Harrod. I've been supporting families in this perinatal space since my oldest was born 12 nearly 13 years ago. I am a birth and postpartum doula childbirth educator, lovely cheerleader, and a doula coach. I love guiding and supporting doulas as they work out their doula business, it is a tremendous joy to be trusted in this way. Thank you for joining us on this journey.
Unknown Speaker 0:40
Because we're coming off of the doula Burnout series, I wanted to dive into time off as a doula and how you handle that. As a reminder, I live in the city of DC. So if you're currently hearing the sirens in the background, that is just a part of my life that I cannot avoid. So I apologize for that.
Unknown Speaker 1:01
When we're thinking about managing both self care, and also time with family and vacation, and things like that, you want to really consider having some time off. Now, people schedule this in different kinds of ways in birthworks, I want to just give you some ideas of how it can be handled, and then kind of get you thinking about what maybe would work for you. So one thing that people do is plan vacations, nine months in advance, right? Because they know that if people aren't yet pregnant for that time, then they can be off and not have someone hire them for that same time.
Unknown Speaker 1:42
Ethically, you do want to make sure that if you are planning a vacation, and you have people do at that same time that you have, let them know that and that they're aware and willing to be taken care of by a backup and that you have backup in place for them. That should always be a part of what you're doing in terms of taking good care of your clients. Okay. Now, the other thing that I want you to think about is, are there special days, either holidays or family days or religious days or special dates that you want to be off call? Now, obviously, none of us decide when babies come. But one thing that I have learned, especially as a mother, and this is one thing that actually another doula taught me very early on that you want to make sure that your children are not feeling resentful towards your work because you don't get to be with them on particular days. So in the past, I have honestly not been great about this. But it is important to do to put in your contract. Any days that you do not attend births, and then have a backup doula ready. If someone is due around that time, you want to especially make sure that if you have a client do around a birthday, or another day that you're going to take off, and you would not attend their birth, they went into labor that day that they know that.
Unknown Speaker 3:12
But then you need to also think through? What would it look like for you? If they are in labor? What would it look like for you if they're in labor the day before? And then it becomes that day? Are you going to leave? Like, are there special rituals or practices that are part of that day? Or
Unknown Speaker 3:29
would you just not want to miss the entire day, but if you're going to be home early in the morning, it's okay. Because you really need to be upfront about that and have that planned out, that will also lower your own stress levels. When you're in the midst of having to actually enforce that time off, you're not going to be making up how it should look at the same time as trying to enforce it.
Unknown Speaker 3:52
So the other thing that I think is important to think through is if you need or want a particular amount of space, between births. Now, I say all of that with the huge abstract that there is not a perfect way to schedule due dates. I wish there was we would all have an easier time. I feel like if there was that thing,
Unknown Speaker 4:19
but there isn't. And so when you're thinking about spacing people out, you need to think about the two week period before and after their due dates. How sort of quick you are fine with turning around for doing a birth, how frequently you want to even attend to birth. I know doulas that attend five or six births in a month and I know doulas that attend one or one every other month and so there's a huge range. This is where you really do get to decide what works best for you.
Unknown Speaker 4:54
Historically, I've kind of hovered at around three a month as a maximum
Unknown Speaker 5:00
But I try to take only one or two some months so that I can go back and forth in terms of energy level. And because turns out that babies do not care, they just come in whatever month they want to come in. So sometimes they kind of group together in a really chaotic way. And then I get some time off built into that, because I naturally do not have as busy of a schedule your long, I also have started taking off the month of July, in part because my kids are getting older, I do not want to miss their summers every summer.
Unknown Speaker 5:35
That means if I have someone due in August, I'm going to make sure I have good backup for July. And they're going to know that I'm off call in July, okay, now, I don't have a hard fast like, I would absolutely not attend their birth in July, if they went into labor early or something like that. I take nobody do in July. And I plan to be out of town at least part of that month, so that I can see family so I can spend time with my children, things like that. And so that's how I set that out. Now, in the future, I would also like to be off for the month of December, because my kids have almost two weeks off from school, we could visit family if we want to. A lot of my family are teachers. And so that's time when we could also take vacations with them and things like that. So that's for my schedule for my family in my life. That's how that looks for me. But it can look different for you. The important thing to think about is how much wear and tear is it going to be on your mental health to be constantly on call. And if that's a lot of wear and tear, you really want to have days that you are not on call, you are actually off the clock, okay? Because this work can feel like you're doing work 24 hours a day. And you actually can do that if you don't set yourself good boundaries. And on top of that, like you could do actual work 24 hours a day, but also, you're always on. And so that ability for someone to call you at the drop of a hat can take a big wear and tear on your body and your brain if you're not really intentional about setting aside time when that is not the case. Okay. So I want to just leave you with that and let you think about that time because it is really important that you kind of weigh that and have it as part of what you're sort of planning. If you're listening to this episode on the day that it's released, which is March 3, then there is still time to sign up for my masterclass that is free. That's happening next week on March the seventh, all about building a successful and a sustainable doula business. The intended audience is you new doulas, doulas that are kind of working through getting their business up and running, figuring out the logistics of avoiding burnout and things like that. And so the link to sign up is in the show notes. If you're listening to this episode later, I would love to still connect with you hear what your questions are, I do plan to offer this class in the future again. And so I can hopefully give you a list of when that would be so that you can take it the next time that we do it. Alright, until next time, I wish you well informed consent filled doula experiences.
Unknown Speaker 8:30
were joining us for this episode of the doula Tips and Tips podcast. If you learned something today or had an aha moment, we'd love for you to share that on Instagram and tag us at Herat doula, so we can celebrate alongside you. If you found this podcast helpful. We would so appreciate you taking a second to leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast app that helps other doulas find us so we do this work together. This podcast is intended as educational and entertainment it is not medical or business advice. Please consult your own medical or legal team for your own needs in your life and business. See you
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Taking time off-call is very important to doula work. Being on-call has all kinds of wear and tear that comes along with it. Because of that doulas have to be more intentional than many professionals at prioritizing time off and healthy amounts of breaks. This is of course part of what we talked about in the doula burnout series as it is a major contributor to burnout! This episode dives into how to set those times off and what that can look like as your doula business is starting to fill up.
I think it’s important to figure out days that you need off due to family, religious holidays, birthdays, etc. And also figure out times to be away or at least unplugged from the business. This is easier for many of us if we are physically gone, but that’s not a necessary part of it if you are good at holding this boundary strong!
Key Takeaways:
Build dates into your calendar right away like birthdays, holidays, etc.
Try to plan bigger trips at least 9 months in advance!
Have at least a few weeks a year that you are entirely off call!
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
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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
