#birth work

[standingatsinai]

16 March 2026 / 26 Adar 5786

Sorry it’s taken so long but I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who contributed to my last post about childbirth, pregnancy and their personal experiences + things/resources that helped them.

The reason I asked was because I have always been very passionate about birth work and all throughout my teens intended to study midwifery at university but ultimately went down a different path…one that I’m rethinking now at 26.

I decided against midwifery when the criteria for the degree changed in my country and a bachelors of nursing degree became a prerequisite, rather than a bachelors of midwifery being enough to then do a masters of midwifery. I have zero interest in other areas of nursing and didn’t want to do 3+ years of nursing study and rack up debt for that.

At 21, I also gave up my studies due to the Rabbi stating that I couldn’t complete conversion while studying. I decided that studying could wait until I was finished gerius.

Well, obviously my life took a couple of big detours and 5 years later here I am. Working a social services job that I feel hopeless in and still no end in sight to gerius.

I’ve spoken in bits and pieces about my job before but it’s generally considered one of the most “intense” in my field. I’m actually currently off for the next two weeks on worker’s compensation to prevent psychological injury due to being a$$aulted by a client.

I only do this job because it pays so well I only have to work part time.

But the good news is, the criteria for the midwifery degree changed back. Placements also aren’t unpaid anymore.

My sister recently gave birth to her second child, a healthy baby girl B”H and hearing about her birth has inspired me so much.

In Australia, most births happen in a hospital and the cesarean rate is still incredibly high by international standards but most births are predominantly midwife-led (in the US, that’s only around 10% of births). We only have

My sister had an incredible midwife-led water birth in a birthing centre and attributes her positive experience to a more positive postpartum experience this second time around B”H.

Of course, not everyone gets that experience and/or others find other ways of birthing empowering, but yeah, that inspired me and reignited my passion for sure.

As I’m getting prepared to G-d willing, officially begin gerius and move into a community soon, I don’t think taking on a whole 3+ year degree right now is a good idea. However what I can take on is doula studies and begin birth work in a non-medical capacity.

Unfortunately, doula support is (currently) unregulated in Australia, meaning anyone can just claim to be one! But I have found that there is actually one doula course that is fully accredited and that has a high quality code of ethics and conduct.

All of the study is self-paced online with 18 months to complete, except for the three births you have to attend at the end as student placement.

I think that working part time, these doula studies are something I can do to get my foot in the door without taking on too much. I hope it will keep me sane knowing that I can get out of my awful job soon.

Ultimately, birth work with a focus on working in the Jewish community (once I’ve completed conversion) is the ultimate dream.

Everyone’s feedback on that post really helped to inspire and motivate me, so thank you again.

[pro-birth]

What’s the difference between a midwife and a doula?

A midwife is a care provider who gives perinatal medical care; this includes things like checking for vitals, nutritional counseling, offering some medications, etc. Depending on her background and training, she can either limit her scope to just perinatal care stuff, or she could be a nurse midwife (CNM) who offers general well woman care (so from adolescence through menopause). Depending on her training, she could either work at home births, birth center births, or hospital births; some may be able to do all three at different points in their professional career.

A doula is a birth support person who offers practical and emotional help before, during, and after the birth. They help their client inform themselves on their birthing options, help them form a birth plan and back up plans, go over their fears and concerns about birth, postpartum, and infant care, and some also offer to do light household work or double their certification in lactation support. At the birth itself, they help the mom and other family support focus on working through the birth while they keep the birth space relaxing and safe. They can be as hands on or hands off as the mother wishes. Some may focus on a niche specialty, such as bereavement for pregnancy loss or only do postpartum support (such as helping at night with feeds and changes). Doulas can be used for home births, birth center births, and hospital births -- even medicated or surgical ones! The point

People often confuse the two as similar or the same, but they are different types of birth professionals! The main difference really is that midwives are medical professionals and doulas are more like birth coaches. I hope that helps.

[lunar-root]

love this - need to get it enlarged and printed

[pro-birth]

How Recognizing and Healing Trauma Helps Clients • Midwifery Today

Working with trauma is not easy. The author discusses how to identify trauma in clients and to work with them to heal their trauma and ours.

International Day of the Midwife: here is how birth workers, such as midwives, can benefit from recognizing and healing from birth trauma with the families they work with.

[lunar-root]

"Gestation is that enrinching time when a baby grows inside its mother. In the nine months of pregnancy, the fetus transforms from a meeting of and egg and a sperm to whole being with a mind and a physical body suitable for life outside the womb. The bond between mother and baby grows strong and deep as they spend twenty-four hours a day together. The baby becomes accustomed to the mother’s movements, her voice, her feelings, and the love she is sending to her womb. Concurrently, the mother becomes accustomed to carrying the baby, to caring for it, to incorporating it into her life. In Tibetan tradition, this time is also associated with increased spirituality…

As a lama, Gyatso observed a heightening of spirituality in women during pregnancy. “Whenever there is a time of solitude, such as a growth of inner attention during pregnancy, there is a tendency to turn to spirituality. Women know they must ultimately give birth alone, even if they are surrounded by family or friends."

Anne Hubbell Maiden and Edie Farwell,The Tibetan Art of Parenting

[lunar-root]

"As I prepare for my class for Pregnancy and Birth Workers tonight at the CommonWealth Center for Holistic Herbalism, I am looking at my list of materia medica. Some herbs I hope to go over tonight have been previously mentioned in this post. Others, I hope to add to the list as time goes on. Calendula (Calendula officinalis) – this soothing, lymphatic support herb is great when added to a postpartum sitz bath. I love to use calendula oil on backed-up lymph (like in my neck/behind my ears when I’m getting a cold), or to sooth my belly when I’m feeling bloated. Goat’s Rue (Galega officinalis) – has been used to support milk production since dairy farmers noticed their goats increased output from eating this common meadow weed. A great breastfeeding herb, and contains chromium, which is a trace mineral helpful for glucose metabolism and curbing sugar cravings! Marshmallow (Althea officinalis) – a moistening and soothing plant. Cold brew of the root is how you get the most mucilage (nourishing long-chain polysaccharides). I always add a pinch to long-steep lactation tea. Moringa (Moringa oleifera) – a plant not-at-all native to New England, but often used by nursing mothers in the product “GoLacta”. My opinion is that almost any herb taken in a tea form will be more effective (as many have milk supply issues from simply being dehydrated). Morninga is much cheaper in loose-leaf tea than in the marketed capsules, also. Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) – a gentle, trustworthy liver-support herb. Often seen in “mother’s milk” tea blends, but the best way to take the herb is in capsules of the ground up seed. Historically used for nursing support, my theory is this plant supports lactation by helping the liver process the hormonal dump of postpartum reality (cortisol, anyone?) Plantain (Plantago officinalis) – an edible local weed. Used to soothe bee stings and rashes, support kidneys and heal guts. I always add a little to my postpartum sitz baths."

[lunar-root]

"I frequently make up batches of nourishing galactagogue herbal tea blends for postpartum clients. Galactagogue is a kooky herbalist term for plants that encourage the production of breast milk. My most recent batch was this: Custom-mixed “Mother’s Milk” tea: It contains goat’s rue, nettle, linden (leaf and flower), marshmallow (root), moringa and fenugreek. Should be steeped overnight (or however long you can manage, because really, whatever you manage to do postpartum is appropriate!). Maximum mineral extraction happens the longer the tea is steeped, and the cooled water allows the mucilaginous components of both the linden and marshmallow to come through. These are extra moistening, and extra soothing to frayed nerves of under-slept new parents.  Many folks rely on herbs to support nursing, and this blend is much stronger and more effective than its grocery store counterpart. I had a client exclusively breastfeeding her twin boys with the help of a blend like this! Herbs to soothe a postpartum bottom: This recipe includes plantain and comfrey leaves, calendula blossoms, rose petals, lavender flowers and yarrow. I love making these baths because the calendula, rose and lavender give it such beautiful color. Plantain contains the tissue proliferant allantoin, which gently encourages skin to heal (especially nice if stitches were needed). Other herbs encourage healing (yarrow), are antimicrobial (lavender), and gently astringent to tighten and tonify tissue back to its comfortable state. These herbs can be steeped for 20 minutes, like a tea, strained well, and added to a sitz bath or used in a peri-rinse bottle. My ceramic herb mixing bowl is a product of Liz Kinder pottery. I used to sell her pots when I worked at Wild Indigo Boutique in Boston’s South End."

[stepherazing]

How do you know it's time to move on?

I'm exhausted with Florida. I'm scared for my children.

I'm burnt out in my advocacy and doula work. My heart hurts and is so heavy with anxiety when I'm attending a birth. If I cannot stop my clients from being traumatized or their wants pushed aside, why am I even doing this work? Why am I crying in my car, carrying trauma for them, if I don't even feel I make a difference?

I've been doing this work for the better part of a decade and now I'm having nightmares about hospitals. I start to shake when I park in a hospital parking garage. When I'm attending a birth I can't eat normally, it causes intense nausea, which I believe is from my adrenaline level.

Mindfulness and Xanax don't help.

I've become bitter and angry at the doctors and nurses who just bend so easily to policy. I'm not against modern medicine, in fact, I'm grateful for it. There are many clients of mine who benefited tremendously from it. But it's terrifying to walk into a hospital knowing that my clients have about a 40-60% chance of an unexpected C-section from just walking in the door.

My company keeps asking me when I'm going to come back and take on clients. We're all losing money because I'm not working.

I just don't know anymore, and it's making me depressed. For months I've been hoping for a sign, but the way isn't any clearer to me.

This feels as if I've lost part of my soul to this pain and I don't comprehend how I can get it back.