Traditional Moroccan Postpartum Care and the closing of the bones ceremony are just a few of the wonderful things our podcast guest today does in the birth world. Fatima is a birth and postpartum doula who brings her clients a postpartum experience that really encompasses the whole self and not just the survival mentality we often have in the early days after births!

Lactation is one of the many topics that doulas tend to frequently overstep their scope in. Today’s special guest is talking us through when and how to refer to an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). If you’re working with families in the early postpartum hours/days/weeks it’s imperative to have some basic knowledge of lactation in terms of what’s normal and what’s not.

Sleep is a hot topic in the postpartum world, but honestly most doula training is woefully lacking in biological norms for newborns! If we, as doulas are functioning from a place of ignorance if we are recommending sleep strategies that are not supporting of newborn biological norms or, even worse, dangerous for the age we’re working with! Today’s special guest is a sleep coach and my first call and constant referral to my clients.

Doulas often think of Pelvic Floor PT for post-delivery, but there is much more to a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist’s role in a pregnant person’s whole pregnancy as well! There are a wide range of issues treated by a Pelvic Floor PT from muscle pain in the pelvic floor to pelvic pain in the sacrum or hips! The pelvic floor is connected to the whole body, so there are many issues that can impact its health and tone.

Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum require a level of care from a variety of different sources so doulas need to have a solid idea of when and how to refer to different providers. This is especially important when doula clients look to us for answers on who they need to see or what they need to do about a particular issue they are having.

Doulas need a network of providers to refer their clients to. There are many service and medical providers who can and should be included in the pregnancy, birth and postpartum process. It is important for doulas to have a good network not only for their client’s sake but also for themselves!

Doulas do advocate, we talked about that in the last episode which is linked below. But HOW? How do doulas advocate without making decisions for our clients? Or making a birth scenario about us? That’s today’s episode. How do doulas advocate for their clients during a birth? What are some phrases and strategies doulas can use to advocate for their clients?

Doulas are advocates. I will stand firm on this. If you do not see your role as ever advocating for your client then you are probably coming from a very privileged place. If you ever work with clients who are marginalized in our healthcare system you have to be ready and willing to advocate and amplify their voice. You center them, absolutely, you don’t speak for them or decide things for them, but you DO absolutely need to know how to advocate for and with them when needed.

The Doula Biz Blueprint is a group coaching program for doulas to grow and expand in their business now and into the future. It includes one-on-one coaching as well as small group coaching, larger group community and TONS of resources that you have access to forever. This program is designed to get you going and keep you going in your doula business. Whether you’re just barely started or a year down the road, you’re able to grow and expand in this group alongside other doulas.

Just in case you’re wondering we are definitely channeling your inner Dori today! Just keep swimming! How do we keep going when we feel like quitting? How do we pick the towel back up after we throw it in? This is our speciality as doulas, right? We are excellent at coaching our clients through this, so need a dose of our own medicine in business!

Business reviews are a big part of social proof! Doulas need reviews and recommendations from current and past clients in order to get traction with future clients. The reality is that it can be tricky to get reviews either because you’re nervous to ask or because your clients just had a baby! Keep listening to hear what my favorite way to ask is!

Big Dreams are super important in any business. As a doula, do you dream big? Do you give yourself time to dream as a doula AND as a business owner? Do you give yourself space to think WAY bigger than usual? Join me in doing just that!

Doulas need emotional and relational encouragement just as much as any other person. But this work is especially taxing in how you give of yourself for the type of support you are giving to clients. While we need those skills in all of life to really decipher who is a good support person that is really vital for doulas. This episode outlines what types of support every doula needs to have on their team.

What do I need to know to be a doula? What might I be missing? What if there’s something crucial that I’ve never known and I find it out later?? These are hard questions, but normal questions! When we are coming to anything new we are faced with questions like theses that can be debilitating if we let them be!

Branding and consistency in marketing is important, but can be daunting. As a new doula you already have many things to think about in your business, but you don’t want to skip over thinking about what your business is about and what your core values are in your business and how you want to connect with your future clients. Today’s episode dives into how to start thinking about this in your business.

Doulas need things that all businesses need! Websites, branding, marketing, networking, etc. Today we are working on websites! What to write, when to write it and how to make it work for you. Doulas can let their websites speak to their ideal clients before ever connecting with them on a call.

A baby race is what I affectionately call two babies coming on the same day. Today’s episode is a continuation of the last episode about planning for possible baby races and babies getting all mixed up together. Spacing out due dates is one way doulas help to avoid this situation, but it’s not entirely avoidable.

Avoiding a baby race is the aim of doulas near and far! Two babies coming at once when they are not both due at once is a contingency that a doula has to plan for, even if it’s unlikely, and even if it’s fairly rare. Having a solid backup system that works well and is full of trustworthy doulas is the biggest key in this regard.

You are a doula. You are also a business owner. You’re self-employed! That can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be! It is often something that I see doulas neglect. They want to be a doula, they are excited to work with clients, but they do NOT love the idea of running a business!

Doulas come in all shapes and sizes, for lack of a better phrase! We have all different struggles physically and otherwise just like all humans! As a person with various chronic conditions, I want to talk through doing doula work while also supporting your own body’s needs and limitations.