5 Incredible Ways That Birthing Women Inspire Me

There are many reasons that I became a doula. I loved my birth experiences and the magic of bringing my babies into the world. You could say I became a bit of a birth junkie after having them. It took me a little time to become a doula because of how intimidating the on-call life seemed, and because my babies were pretty small. Once I said yes and stepped into it, I don’t think I could have been truly prepared for all the incredible ways that birthing women would inspire me. Or for how much I would learn and grow personally as a result of it, and I just had to share some of this magic with you.

Though I could share a gazillion different ways that birthing women inspire me, here are my top 5.

Strength.

Labor is so unpredictable. I’ve supported women whose labors went incredibly fast, which some of you may be saying to yourselves, that sounds Ah-Maz-Ing. But as someone who’s birth went that way, it’s like going from 0-60 with little time to process what’s happening, and it’s very overwhelming.

I’ve also been witness to women who labor for hours on end, with what feels like no end in sight. Here is where the need and ability to dig deep is REAL. It never ceases to amaze me when a woman harnesses her strength, quiets the noise, and taps into her power to birth her tiny little human.

Flexibility.

Flexibility is the ability to let go of “the plan.” Many women have a plan, a vision of how they want their birth to go. I like to encourage Moms to have an ideal birth scenario, and, to then have birth preferences should things go a different way.

This is something that inspires me so much. I believe it’s a gift we give ourselves as birthing moms and as parents too. Our children teach us that there are many ways to arrive at a destination and sometimes it’s the farthest path from the one we thought we’d take to get there. Often times, it starts with their birth.

Trust.

I find this to be a choice and constant practice. To choose trust in birth, their baby, their body and their intuition and to face whatever is in the way, i.e fear, worry, or doubt, in order to come back to trust. Every woman’s journey to deepening their trust in themselves is different. They all have their unique starting place and each of their transformations is so inspiring to see.

Faith.

Creating babies, growing them and birthing them requires an immense amount of faith. And there are many variations to birth that require reliance on faith as well. Recently, I witnessed a baby going from tolerating labor just fine, to not tolerating labor and an emergency c-section and trip to the NICU, in a matter of minutes.

I watched that Mama solidly and powerfully rely on her faith; in her baby, her care givers, God/Spirit/The Divine, to guide their babe in health and well-being. And all during one of THE.MOST. vulnerable times in their lives. This one brings me to my knees with gratitude.  I have learned to deepen my own faith and to find the courage to stand in it when that’s all you’ve got. Her babe made a beautiful recovery and is healthy and well.

Courage.

This is something I am SO passionate about is supporting and cultivating in my clients: Courage. The courage to:

• Listen to their intuition and the courage to make choices from there.
• Speak up if something feels off in their care and/or recommendations.
• Know that they can trust themselves and to question the system that they are birthing in; to seek out the information they need in order to make the choices that feel right to them.
• Face their fears and use that fear to get clear about what feels right to them.

This is TRUE power and every woman deserves to have access to that.

I’m a different woman because of the women and families I’ve served. My clients are so generous with their love and appreciation for what I do and how I support them. I am equally as grateful for the ways that I am changed, left better, touched by how they grow on their journey to meeting their sweet babes, that I have the honor and privilege of witnessing. These are just a few of the ways that birthing women inspire me.