Dads & Doulas

 I had never heard of a Doula before my wife suggested we get one for the birth of our first child. It had been a long time coming, with multiple miscarriages, and fertility problems for years; I wanted to do everything I could to make sure that my wife had the birth experience she wanted, and she wanted to hire a Doula, so we hired René.

At first, my wife wanted René to support her through the birth because she did not want me in the room. René listened to everything that my wife said about how she thought her experience would go, and René stepped in to give her advice and ideas on how to further the experience in the direction that my wife wanted.

My wife wanted the birth to be as natural as possible, with as little medical interventions as possible. René was able to put my wife at ease by teaching (through the many classes that we took with René) her that medical interventions are not all bad. As a matter of fact, you can use some medical interventions if they help you get closer to your most important goal, which for us, was to have a healthy baby while avoiding a cesarean section.

René’s classes also helped me learn about the birthing process and ways to help keep my wife be more comfortable. This eventually led to my wife changing her mind about having me in the room.

And on an early Wednesday morning in September., our first son was born naturally without an epidural and I was by my wife’s side the entire time; and René was by my side to help me be there for my wife in any way that she needed. René gave me tools and resources to help with my wife, because I am a man, and I had no idea what this experience was going to be like for my wife. She was a big help to me personally, because with her help, I was able to keep my wife comfortable and support her through the entire process. I don’t think I would have been as helpful to my wife without René’s expertise and experience.

When we first discussed a Doula, I had no idea what my wife was talking about. After the last few months, I look back and couldn’t imagine going through a natural birthing experience (or any birthing experience) without one. I would highly recommend René to anyone who is considering having a Doula. She was an awesome birth coach/support person for both of us. She genuinely cared about our feelings and she never made either of us feel as though our thoughts or feelings about something were not important.

Our experience was wonderful, and we are both glad that René was a part of it.

 Jody Pino