While doulas are very well-educated in the medical aspects of their chosen specialties, they are not medical professionals. They will not give medical advice or practice medicine in any way. However, they will help you understand medical information if you need it, and they may help you communicate with medical staff if you want them to. They are by your side to fill in the gaps between the medical staff and your loved ones. Doctors, nurses, and midwives provide you medical care, your family and friends offer you their love as always, and a doula builds a bridge between these two worlds with knowledge, empathy, consistency, and strength. 

What many people don’t know is that a doula is not there only to support the person going through the transitional life event, but also to support the partner and family of that person. A birth doula spends much of their time encouraging birth partners and giving them tools to help the laboring mother. Many birth partners feel overwhelmed if they have never been by the side of a laboring woman before, and they sometimes feel helpless while seeing their partner in discomfort or pain that they can’t “fix”. Doulas help give the birth partner confidence in their ability to support as well. That may be as simple as some encouraging words, or it could be suggesting how to massage their laboring partner, recommending they help their laboring partner change positions, or reminding them to hydrate and take care of themselves as well. It can be easy to feel at a loss as a birth partner, but a doula acts as an anchor in a storm, grounding all involved so they don’t feel so out of control. A doula does not replace a birth partner, but rather complements them to create a solid support team which is the best scaffolding for a positive birth experience. ​

Here at Cincinnati Birth and Parenting Doula Agency, we see, honor, and celebrate mothers and partners every day of the year! 

We are constantly in awe of all that Mothers and birthing people go through. As mothers we are not only expected to survive, but to thrive and to raise these little people who have completely changed us on the inside and out. ​

No pressure, right? 

Some of us go through hell and high water to get pregnant in the first place or we jump through hundreds of hoops to adopt our children. We sometimes spend years of heart ache and thousands of dollars to have a child. 

We grow these little people in our hearts, minds, and in our bodies. This part is still crazy to me and I've done it several times and see it all the time.
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And then, so many of us endear hours of labor, eventually pushing our babies out into the world​...while others of us go through major abdominal surgery in order to meet our babies.

When it comes time to meet our baby, we literally and figuratively say, ''I'll do whatever I have to do. I just want my baby to be okay.'' 

And then, the real fun begins... 

We love them. We lose sleep for them. We question our own existence. We often go through blood, sweat, and tears to feed them. We worry about them. We stay home with them through flu season to keep them safe. We take them places to expand their world view. We spend our money on them. 

We do. We do. We do.
and still... 
We love them. We love them. We love them. 

And for that, we all deserve on Mother's Day and every day of the year. 

A special shout-out to: 
Mothers who go through hell and high water to have a baby. 
Mothers who are parenting without a partner. 
Mothers who adopt their children. 
Mothers who've love and lost their children. 
Mothers without family nearby.
Mothers who don't identify as women. 
Mothers who've experienced a traumatic birth or postpartum. 
Mothers who have experienced Postpartum Mood Disorder. 
Mothers who are mothering without a mother. 
Mothers who are just getting by. 

We see, honor, and celebrate each and every one of you.