Before I became a doula I worked as a database programmer. I had an engineering degree with a computer science minor and had worked in IT for six years. I left the workforce to be a stay at home mom and then worked part time in the same industry for another couple of years. During my part time employment I realized that my real passion was birth and I was overjoyed to find out about doulas! I did my research, signed up for a doula certification program through DONA International and started down a new career path. I was bursting with excitement. My husband was immediately supportive (thank goodness he didn’t REALLY know what the life of a doula looked like!!). I had a few friends and family which were encouraging, but many people said
“You are going to be a DOULA??? I don’t even know what that is!”
Nine years ago you rarely heard about doulas in Atlanta. I did not know of any doulas and didn't use one for my 2 births. I started getting nervous about discussing my plans about becoming a doula. I was afraid of the reaction. I was afraid of feeling…crazy!
For my certification requirement I had to attend a 12 hour childbirth education course and I distinctly remember the instructor saying
“How will you find any clients in Atlanta since no one uses doulas.
Everyone in Atlanta gets an epidural.”
I remember thinking that I wanted to be a doula so badly that it didn't matter if I could only find one client a year. I wanted it! It was what I was meant to do. Thankfully I didn't let these naysayers stop me from following my dream. Did you run into similar reactions when you disclosed your plan to become a doula? Share your tips on keeping up your dream despite negative reactions.
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Sarah
August 26, 2013
Hi have run into some people who aren’t super supportive. Others who are. At first my husband was not at all into it, telling me he couldn’t see me doing that type of work and that he doesn’t feel I would be good at it. I was offended that he would say that to me, but really I am not one who would give up just because of that. So here I am, I have 2 of my first clients coming up soon, and I am very excited. His mother is not very pleased I don’t think, everytime I bring it up to her she just shrugs it off, or asks really snarky questions about it.