I knew I wanted to hire a doula very early in my pregnancy, but it was well into the third trimester when I finally started looking. After a brief phone conversation with Teresa, I knew A Labor of Love was for me. Teresa made me feel confident in my ability to choose the best birth for me and my baby. I attended the next Meet The Doulas Tea. I listened to each doula speak about herself, and I felt drawn to the Ladies of the Labyrinth. I hired them on the spot.
I met with the Ladies the next week for our first prenatal meeting. Teresa said she had a feeling she would be present for the birth even though she was not on call for my due date. The baby surprised us all when he decided to come the following week. I was just 37 weeks and 3 days, and the Ladies weren't even on call for me yet. Of course they still responded when I called.
Pam was the primary doula at the time, and Guina was the designated backup. At the time I called, both had just returned from long births. And so, just as she had predicted, Teresa came to be with me. I had a much different concept os "intense" at the beginning of labor than I had at the end, and I decided to go the hospital way too soon. Teresa met us there.
As soon as I arrived, my birth choices were already called into play. The first nurse I saw asked me to put on a hospital gown. It seemed such a small thing, so easy to comply with, so silly to argue over. But I imagined the look on Teresa's face if she saw me in it, and I stuck to my guns. My resolve was strengthened by even just the promise of her presence!
The rest of my birth experience plays out much the same way. I was at the hospital much too early, and statistically in greater danger of unnecessary medical intervention as a result. Every time the hospital staff did something to challenge my birth ideals, I stood firm. After the first twelve hours in the hospital, Guina joined us, and while her presence was very different, she still brought the same strength from inside me. I'm not certain that I would have been able to continue asking for (and getting!) what I wanted without the presence of my doulas.
The best way to describe my experience is that the Ladies supported me in being the best me, in birthing the best way that I could, in standing by the decisions that I made for myself and my baby. As a result, I beat the statistics and had a completely unmedicated vaginal birth in spite of being at the hospital for almost twenty-four hours. The Ladies made it possible not by making my choices or speaking for me, but by showing me how to draw on my own strength. It was the most empowering experience of my life.
Thank you, Ladies of the Labyrinth, not for showing me the way through my own labyrinth but for making me realize I already knew it.
Sincerely,
Brook Abrams
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