Give peas a chance. Just kidding. I recently saw Paul McCartney singing that song on t.v. somewhere, and it's been stuck in my head ever since. I think I am thinking about it because my children are, well, bad babies. We really do know what it means when people say, "Pray for peace!" because we do it every day! With four boys, it is usually only obtainable after they are tucked in bed, and usually not even then, but it is nice to dream about it!
However, peace is not entirely what I was wanting to blog about, so I guess I will awkwardly segue into my serious thought now, regardless. (And I applaud any of you who are still reading this far in....)
The other day I came across a discussion where a burnt-out doula-in-training, fresh from an exhausting birth, was contemplating charging future clients extra if they elected to have an epidural during their birth. Understandably, it caused quite a mixture of emotions amongst the other doulas, as our goal, very simply is to support the family in the varying decisions they must make. And, yes, that applies to decisions we wouldn't make ourselves.
This blog post isn't to put this doula's idea down, but to create some dialogue between whoever is reading this (I know you're out there!) and little ol' me. So what do you think?
In fairness--for those of you who have never been at an epidural birth--it is often more difficult to support someone with epidural anesthesia. You become the legs--and really, the lower body--for this woman because she generally can't move on her own any more. It certainly can be pretty taxing on everyone involved. But to charge extra? To scare mothers away from that option for whatever reason? What if a financially-strapped family has to pay an additional couple hundred dollars, in the end, for doula support? Will that mother feel guilty asking for an epidural knowing that she just spent the money that should've been spent on groceries or a utility bill? Will she feel violated, mentally, because she feels like a choice was taken away from her?
And, I always feel like those things you are most frightened of and focus upon--i.e., "The LAST thing I want is a c-section!" or "I don't know WHAT I will do if my baby is breech!"--are often self-fulfilling prophecies. While I don't place any real serious stock in the laws of attraction, my thought is that worrying about these scenarios really implants them in the back of your mind. Therefore, in my mind, to tell a woman that I will charge more if I have to support her while receiving epidural anesthesia, I am setting her up to need just that because it becomes a worry shoved away for a rainy day.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this, peeps. I also need to confirm that I'm not talking to myself.
However, peace is not entirely what I was wanting to blog about, so I guess I will awkwardly segue into my serious thought now, regardless. (And I applaud any of you who are still reading this far in....)
The other day I came across a discussion where a burnt-out doula-in-training, fresh from an exhausting birth, was contemplating charging future clients extra if they elected to have an epidural during their birth. Understandably, it caused quite a mixture of emotions amongst the other doulas, as our goal, very simply is to support the family in the varying decisions they must make. And, yes, that applies to decisions we wouldn't make ourselves.
This blog post isn't to put this doula's idea down, but to create some dialogue between whoever is reading this (I know you're out there!) and little ol' me. So what do you think?
In fairness--for those of you who have never been at an epidural birth--it is often more difficult to support someone with epidural anesthesia. You become the legs--and really, the lower body--for this woman because she generally can't move on her own any more. It certainly can be pretty taxing on everyone involved. But to charge extra? To scare mothers away from that option for whatever reason? What if a financially-strapped family has to pay an additional couple hundred dollars, in the end, for doula support? Will that mother feel guilty asking for an epidural knowing that she just spent the money that should've been spent on groceries or a utility bill? Will she feel violated, mentally, because she feels like a choice was taken away from her?
And, I always feel like those things you are most frightened of and focus upon--i.e., "The LAST thing I want is a c-section!" or "I don't know WHAT I will do if my baby is breech!"--are often self-fulfilling prophecies. While I don't place any real serious stock in the laws of attraction, my thought is that worrying about these scenarios really implants them in the back of your mind. Therefore, in my mind, to tell a woman that I will charge more if I have to support her while receiving epidural anesthesia, I am setting her up to need just that because it becomes a worry shoved away for a rainy day.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this, peeps. I also need to confirm that I'm not talking to myself.
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