I'm training to become a doula!

So I'd been going back and forth over whether or not I should go to nursing school to eventually become a certified nurse midwife. It takes forever just to get the pre-reqs for nursing school (I don't have any sciences courses b.c. I got my B.A. in Sociology). I realized that I want to help pregnant women now and thought about how I could do that. I have such a passion and drive for it and spend many hours in my week on the internet reading blogs, research papers, medical articles, and giving advice to my pregnant friends. I thought my passion would end after my VBAC in May '08 but it has not. I plan to turn this passion into something useful.

So I made a decision last week...I would become a doula! So I went to DONA (Doulas of North American) International www.dona.org and found out what it would take to become a doula. First step, become a member of DONA International: check. Second step, buy the certification packet: check. Third step, buy the recommended and required readings (at least 5 books).

So I went to Barnes and Noble (I'm a Books a Million fan but they just didn't have much on childbirth sadly to say) and stood in the childbirth section for about 20 minutes, searching and picking out the books I needed. A woman who was in the parenting section was next to me and when she had glanced over and saw a book in my hand she said "That's a good book, I recommend it."

Well, she (Cherie), and I started talking and it turns out that she had a doula for the birth of her now 2 year old. She was able to have a natural birth despite her having a high risk pregnancy and premature labor. She went on and on about how wonderful doulas are and we talked about the birth climate in this community. It was so encouraging to talk to a woman about how much a doula had helped her. We bonded. So much so that after 1 hour of talking we gave each other a hug goodbye.

It has fueled my passion even more. I'm gonna go for it. I have a doula training workshop in October. That's also around the same time I'd apply for nursing school. So I'm going to pursue both and see where my passion, and God, lead me...