If you are in birth work it is because you know how important it is to change the birthing experiences of mothers worldwide. This is not something that is only about the mother. If we want healthier children, families, communities… if we want a better world, we must improve the experiences of women when it comes to childbirth.

One of the driving principles of Madriella is that it is time for a cultural shift around childbirth and the way to achieve that is by making doula support more accessible. Our way of contributing to that effort is by making doula education very accessible in the same ways that CPR/First Aid training is accessible. We are doing our part but there has been a subtle, sneaky, obstacle to this movement: division among birth workers.

I have personally experienced doulas judge, look down upon, and refuse to support each other because of cultural differences, gender, race, who they were certified by… And the irony is that we all, regardless of our training, know that women being supported during pregnancy and childbirth is the actual norm and that day is returning very soon.

We need to learn to support each other in the ways we can. Even when we don’t agree on some things the power is being able to relate to one another about the things we do agree upon. No more angry doulas. We take the beauty out of the work we are doing when we are ego driven and not focused on the reasons we felt compelled to do this work.

If we return to healthy socializing we will make great strides in this. So what is step one? Well, just simply get to know one another before thinking about what you can get from each other.