What Extra Services Do Doulas Offer In Their Business Outside of Doula Care?
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Kaely Harrod 0:01
Welcome back. Today we are diving into the question what extra services do doulas sometimes offer in their business outside of doula care? Welcome to doula Tips and Tits, 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 Kaely Harrod and experience 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. Hello, and welcome back to doula Tips and Tips. This is our 99th episode, I cannot tell you how excited I am about that. I am planning out at the time of recording this, I'm planning out kind of what I want the 100th episode to be. But I am just in awe that we are at this place in the podcast, I am so appreciative of all of you who join me every week. And listen to these ramblings that I have, and who have sent me messages saying how helpful it is for you, I so appreciate that. It is incredibly helpful and validating and also knows, it helps me know that I'm kind of on the right path and giving you what you need in this format in this platform. So I'm grateful for you. So we just finished up the doula Burnout series. And we went through those four causes. And so I want you to kind of along those lines, think through what other services or extra services to do lists sometimes offer. Now, I want you to think this through for a couple of reasons. One, sustainability is really linked to it being financially secure, right. And sometimes attending births feels a little less secure than doing some things that don't require your body, right that don't require your physical presence. So on a practical level, it can be helpful to your business to add in some extra services, if that feels aligned for you, if that feels good to you. And so I want you to think that through. Also, you can choose like which of these things feel good. Now, which of these things maybe do you want to add in the future, especially if something requires extra certification or a new amount of training or something like that? And which of these things are absolutely off the table. So I want to tell you a little story. I began this work. My very first kind of birth work experience is a leader being a leader of Lolly G League. So that's like a lactation centered sort of parent to parent support group, right? I did that when my youngest was really little she was a baby when I trained and became accredited for that. So I've been doing it for almost nine years. And that's like one of my first official roles in this kind of world right before that I did postpartum doula work essentially but with friends and family I didn't know that that's what it was called. Right like I knew about, I'd heard of overnight postpartum doulas, but I didn't do that really, I mainly did like, like coming home from the hospital with you and being like, you can do this right like that kind of that kind of postpartum doula care that's both like hey, I'm gonna take your baby so you can take a nap and also like, let me show you how to pump with the pump that you have because I have that same kind right. And so that's kind of how I got started in this work. Then as as it progressed as I got closer to like being actually like trained and certified and things. I started attending births and doing some postpartum care daytime primarily but a few overnights as well. And in that I started to see that do was did all these other things. And I started to feel this pressure to be all these different things right to do birth to do postpartum to childbirth ed to do placenta encapsulation. And it's funny because in my sort of previous life, my pre kid days, I was a Spanish professor. And I taught English as a second language to Spanish speakers as well. So I know teaching is something I love. And so that sort of made sense to eventually do childbirth, education, and maybe newborn care. And a dear mentor and friend of mine, Carolyn really got me kind of into that realm of my business. And I'm eternally grateful for her mentoring and love and support and comfort and wonderfulness in those early days, but Placenta Encapsulation was one thing that kept coming up over and over and over again. And funny story is that I am able to watch babies born all the time, right? I'm able to watch videos of babies being born, I'm able to see the whole process, I'm able to see placentas, I even, like, pack up placentas for people when they forget having taking them home with them, et cetera. But when I was in high school, I went to a biology lab. Well, a lab at a pathology lab, sorry, at a hospital as part of like a science class. And I saw a pathologist talk about kidney stones, and she like dissected a kidney. And, like pulled the stones out of it right. And I about passed out like I literally left the room kind of stumbled to a chair and was able to like breathe and calm myself down from passing out, right. So anytime I think about an organ getting cut, that is the response my body has. And I know that sounds wild, because I literally watched people have babies, but But I kept having that come up over and over and over. But I had certain doula saying like, you should really be a placenta encapsulator like, this is what you should do. And eventually I was like, I am never going to want to cut someone's placenta, I'm not going to want to do it. And I'm probably going to pass out if I try. And there are so many lovely people who do this service that I can refer to, I do not need to offer this, this is not something I ever have to do. And it became something where I was like, Oh, I actually feel like free and lovely. Being able to be like this is a boundary I have that like actually, I know that I'm not a person, that's a good idea for me to cut open organs of any kind, kidney stones or otherwise, right? And it's just not my cup of tea. And that is okay. And so for me, that meant just completely letting go of the potential of ever having Placenta Encapsulation training because guess what, I am never going to want to do that. I don't want to do it. I have dear friends who do it who I refer to I even bring them to pull centers, right? I'm happy to have clients choose and want that service. And I'm also happy to not be the person doing it. Okay. So I say that to say you have all the freedom to decide which of these services you absolutely don't ever want on your list. And which of these services you do aspire to have and feel like it would be good and aligned and sustainable in your business. So here's kind of a rough list of what I see a lot of doulas offer alongside their doula support and I would encourage you to shoot me a message on Instagram for like yeah, Kayleigh there's another one that I've heard about right. I'd love to be able to widen broaden this list a bit. But this is kind of a general overview of what I know. So postpartum services both daytime and nighttime abortion doula services, sibling doula services. If you don't know what that is, that's when someone is on call to be present with a sibling during a birth. So if that's at home, you're obviously at home during the birth as well. But if it's like a hospital birth, you're there with the with the sibling or siblings with an s while the parents are at the hospital having the newest baby okay? Lactation counseling lactation consulting, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Lolly, chi League, etc. Any kind of lactation stuff, childbirth education, and childbirth education has a bunch of different branches. So there's that right, newborn care classes. There's also something called a newborn care specialist. I know people who teach infant CPR or adult and infant CPR
Kaely Harrod 9:45
herbal things like sitz baths and bath bombs, herbal teas, things like that. Affirmation cards, birth plans, hospital bag lists, registry cards, things that are like physical products that people buy or digital downloads, photography, birth photography, newborn photography, maternity photography, belly binding, some like there are a variety of beautiful, wonderful cultural, postpartum rituals that can be taught and and added as services. I will not dive into all of the nuance of appropriation there. But I do not want you to just start teaching yourself cultural practices around postpartum care if that is not the culture that you are from, because that is not a respectful way to kind of enter into those practices that are held very dear and kind of sacred in many of those cultures. So I just want to add that like asterik there. Belly binding is one of the practices that often goes in with that. Some of those practices culturally, and then some people do things like cooking or meal prep or things like that. Also, I know some doulas who are both doulas and physical therapists, or like a doula and also a midwife, or a labor and delivery nurse or something like that. Obviously, that's kind of having like a whole different career training, right. So that in my mind is a little bit different than you being like both a doula and a childbirth educator, although those are two entirely different trainings, and can be independent of each other and can be together, it's a little different than someone who's like already a full licensed physical therapist, for instance, and then becomes a doula kind of on top of that, right. And so, so that's the, that's the list that I would initially say, it's primarily what I've seen and heard, I want you to take that and help let yourself kind of start to brainstorm what you hope this will look like for you. Because the reality is that, you know, the awesome thing about having your own business is you get to make it your own. And also you have to invent it right. And so you have this like kind of the double edged sword of setting your own standard. But also, starting out, you absolutely do not need to have a ton of different services. And you don't need to have a ton of different certifications. You can start with one or two services, or even just one, and then slowly build, but think through what you want that to look like because it is helpful to have like a five year plan or a 10 year plan for for sustainability purposes so that you can kind of envision, okay, in five years, I want to be able to do my ibclc Well, then, what does that look like in terms of cost? What does that look like in terms of training, right? Like, how are you going to make that goal happen rather than it just be like a random thing that you have in your head for five years from now? Okay. So, I want you to think this through send me a message on Instagram, if you're like, Okay, Kaely I'm thinking about this, but I'm not sure if I should add that or not. There is still time if you have not yet registered for the free masterclass happening on March 7, at 12pm. Eastern with a replay available for a whole week. That is something that I really recommend that you come to if you are a newer doula meaning that you're in like your first year or two of doing this right or you're in your first handful of clients or something. However you kind of define that like newer doula space, okay. The masterclass is all about the three main ways to set up your doula business in a both sustainable and successful way. That is vital to having a doula practice. And I think that we don't have enough conversations about it, which is why I have created this class super pumped about it and also would love to have you there live so you can ask questions and kind of interface with me. If you're listening to this episode later, please send me a quick message because I want you to be able to connect with me on this level. I do hope to run this class in the future. So if you're listening to this and you're like, Ah, it's already April like I'm listening to this episode later. Then reach out to me and asked me when we're going to have that next class so that you can be on the list to hear about it first. Okay. Until next time, I wish you well informed consent filled birthing experience 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 hurrah 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
Sometimes as a doula you feel pressure to add all kinds of services to your business. The problem is that there are two problems with that: 1. There are costs involved with adding services and certifications and 2. You can end up adding services that you do not actually want to do!
My big example of this is placenta encapsulation. I was told for many years that I should add that service to my business. But the problem is that cutting a placenta kinda freaks me out. Not in a grossed out way, but in a woozy I-may-pass-out kind of way! So that is not in the cards for me, but would you believe that I seriously considered it for many years? Like many years I considered doing something that made me feel like I might pass out?!? So learn from that and seriously evaluate your decisions.
Key Takeaways:
What services are easier to do that you could add?
What services sound really amazing or excite you?
What services would pair well with what you already do in your business?
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
