My Doula Journey

In 2003, I was thinking about having my second baby at home. It was in the middle of the SARS outbreak and I wanted more than the allotted one support person with me during my labour and birth. My husband, at the time and I decided to ask our Midwife about the options of having a home birth. My first labour was only four hours, so the idea of a homebirth made sense for many reasons.

Good thing we did because from the time I woke up, it was 20 minutes later and my second daughter was born! Her birth had happened so quickly that it was “unattended”; meaning no medical practitioner was present. My mom caught my daughter as she slid, without me pushing, on a contraction into a tub that I hadn’t been able to leave after attempting to have a morning shower.

This happened on what would have been my Grandma’s 100th birthday. How amazing was that?! Essentially 4 generations present for this birth. From that moment forward I became a huge advocate of birth having the potential to be a beautiful event instead of the chaotic traumatizing emergency as we are shown through images on tv and media.

From then, with women’s fitness already my focus, I added Doula and Lactation Counselor to my empowerment tool kit. A Doula is a non-medical support person during pregnancy, labour/birth, and postpartum. I wanted to help empower and equip women with knowledge, physical and emotional support, and advocacy during a time when they need it most. It’s too easy for a birthing woman to drift from the focus of attention to a non-consenting machine to be monitored.

During that time, I spent time in lactation clinics helping new mothers with breastfeeding. I loved supporting woman and their partners as their families grew and expanded.

It is amazing how when a woman feels empowered emotionally, physically, and informationally, the focus of her pregnancy and birth is less on the outcome and more on the experience of how she felt. My focus has never been whether the mother had an epidural or how long she stuck with breastfeeding but about helping her to discover what she wants and helping her to find the courage and strength to connect with that.

Juggling my own young children and a very work-focused husband followed by a move far away from all family, I decided to hang my Doula hat up for a while. Life moved on for a few years and eventually my life situation changed. I entered a phase where I was changing and shifting focus to take the lead in my own life.

It was at this time I was introduced to hypnosis and decided to use it to help heal some of my own issues. From there I realized how in line with my values and principles it was and how in essence it was what I had already been using for so many years with my birthing Doula clients. I started training with people from all over the world and started up my very own Hypnosis practice. That is how Grounded Hypnosis was formed.

In amongst all the hypnosis training, I took my Doula hat off the shelf, brushed up on some training, and paired that into my practice again.

It’s been such a rewarding and inspiring opportunity to support birthing women and their families. I’m so grateful to be invited into such an intimate and powerful experience.

I look forward to continuing on this path with love.