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!

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.

Doula Burnout cause number three! Now, part of the goal here is to highlight causes of doula burnout that you can actively work to change in your business. I’m not necessarily saying everyone can change all of them at once, but they are able to be changed and as much as you can be prophylactic about burnout the more successful you’ll be at avoiding it. This third cause of burnout is not charging enough money. Now, there are multiple parts to this, and I would be entirely remiss to not factor in the extreme inequality of who has access to doulas in the United States especially. There is a VAST disparity.

Doula Burnout has a variety of causes, but there are four that seem primary to me. Last episode dove into overworking or hours worked. This episode goes into Self Care or lack of self care and how that contributes to doula burnout.

Today’s episode is the first of four talking about burnout. It’s diving into overworking or giving too many hours away to your work and clients. We have all done this, and still do sometimes. The reality is that if you’re attending births there’s not a ton you can do about how long/frequently you’re there. But the other hours you have and the rest you take intentionally can be something you build in.

How much can and do doulas charge? This is a follow-up question from our last episode about whether it’s possible to make a good living as a doula. Oftentimes when you are in a solo-business you have to set your own prices, but that means many Doulas set their prices on the lower end. This is for many issues from imposter syndrome to the ongoing lower value of female-dominated roles in society. But I digress. Today’s episode is all about what types of prices doulas have and how to set your rates.

How much money do doulas make? Is it possible to make a decent living in this work? Well that’s today’s topic! YES, as a doula you absolutely can work full-time and make a wonderful living. I get paid more now, from my work as a full time doula than I ever have in teaching or childcare or any other field I’ve been in.

It is absolutely possible to be a doula and also work a part time or full time job elsewhere. In fact, I know many doulas who do that. In the coming weeks we’ll discuss various additional services a doula can have in their business in addition to serving clients as a doula. Those services often are less on-call and therefore easier to do when you have additional employment.

Childbirth Education is often a service that people add to their birthwork services as their business grows. Whether you are looking to become a childbirth educator as your main role in the birthwork field or as an additional service for your clients there are some key factors to consider as you’re deciding how to become trained and certified.

How long doulas stay during and after a birth varies widely, but today’s episode goes into what’s typical and how to have clear expectations on both sides!

Postpartum Doulas function in a wide variety of ways! I know, I know, this is what I say about SO MANY of these questions. But it’s true. However, there’s still some typical and not typical situations in terms of shifts. Wondering what your shifts should look like? Tune in to this episode to help you start to make that determination!

Whether you are a doula trying to set expectations for yourself and your clients or a pregnant family trying to determine what’s normal, today’s episode is for you! Doulas all function a bit differently, so as always there’s some nuance to today’s answer. When a doula joins their clients during birth depends on a number of factors.

Mental resilience is a huge part of coping in birth. This is why I believe trauma-informed care is vital to birth work. To reduce additional trauma and decrease the chance of past trauma being triggered. When I read about mental resilience there are often formulas like the 5 pillars or 7 Cs. I love those resources overall, but also wanted to really hone in on the four key aspects of mental resilience when it comes to birth specifically.

This is a full on rant. I’m not going to lie. This episode is born of my frustration with the copious amounts of misinformation on this topic across the internet. If you were to search “signs of labor” or some such thing you will find a number of articles all saying something along the lines of “17 signs that labor is coming in the next 24-48 hrs”. Every time I see these I roll my eyes. Because if there were truly signs that labor is absolutely guaranteed to happen in the next 24-48 hrs that would be worth all the money in the world. But there is no such thing.

Doulas and Midwives have been confused for a long time by various people. One major misconception is that we are the same or that you only need one or the other if you’re giving birth. Midwives are not the same as doulas, we each play very distinct roles on the birth team. Today’s episode goes into the differences between midwives and doulas and how our different roles complement each other on a birth team.

Happy New Year! Learn about all the options for you this year with Harrod Doula Services. From Birth Preparation Courses to Birth Planning Sessions We are ready to get you in a confidence place for birth and postpartum!

It’s our last episode of 2022!!! How did this year both go SOOO slow and also completely zoom past? I feel like I’m settling into my old age of 36 when I say “how is it already (insert month or year here)!” To wrap up this year and this Postpartum series I want to answer a question that’s super important to me. That question is: does my body change after giving birth? The short answer is yes! Yes, it changes, but how does it change? What does that look and feel like for different people? You’ll have to listen to the episode to hear some of those glorious nuances.

Preparation for feeding your baby can feel a bit daunting because if your baby’s not here yet it’s very theoretical. However, depending on your feeding plan there are a few things you can prepare in advance and just know in advance to ease that journey. Today’s question is What are the top 5 tips every postpartum parent needs to know about infant feeding and it’s answered by our last Special Guest of 2022 Jess Morlan.

When and how do you know if you are struggling with a postpartum mental health disorder? What’s considered postpartum depression vs baby blues? These are common questions people have and questions I hear all the time from clients, so today we are talking all about that.

You’ve likely heard that your hormones go just a touch bananas in the postpartum time. That is true, but how does that feel and look? What is normal? When should you be concerned? That’s what this episode is all about. From postpartum night sweats to weepiness what might you feel in the early weeks postpartum and how to prepare for those things!