a a oe April 2, 2003 Jennifer Duggan, A Doula Michelle Froese OP Contributor Are you a mother or father-to-be and look- ing for stfpport throughout the pregnancy and delivery of your child? If so, Jennifer Duggan can help. Duggan offers pre- and post-natal care and education to expectant parents, and to date she has attended over thirty births. Duggan is not a nurse or even a midwife, but a doula. “Doula is a Greek word meaning, ser- vant-woman, and refers to a woman who assists during childbirth and labour by pro- viding support to the mother, the father, and the child,” Duggan explains. She is seated beside a window at Subeez, a down- town Vancouver café-slash-restaurant with a fifties retro décor. Before continuing, she adds a packet of sugar to her coffee and tucks a strand of curly hair behind her ear. “Unlike midwives, who are licensed to per- form medical tasks and deliver babies, doulas purely offer emotional and physical support.” Duggan holds her coffee up to her bot- tom lip and blows lightly into the cup before taking a sip. Afterward, she reaches into an oversized cotton handbag. “This is my birthing bag,” she says with a smile. “I carry it with me everywhere because it has the things I may need for doula care.” As if to give credence to her statement, Duggan pulls out a carton the size of a shoebox. “Have you ever seen one of these?” she asks. The carton has graphics of women nursing babies, and a label that reads, The Best Friend. She says that it holds the best pillow available for breast- feeding mothers. “It’s a narrow cushion that wraps around the woman, so that both her front and back are supported.” Duggan places the carton on the table beside her and says that being a doula not only means helping out new and expectant moms, but dads as well. “Helping fathers relate to what their part- ner is going through, and easing the pres- sure that’s on them through educational means is important,” Duggan pauses for a moment as she moves her chair closer to the table. “It’s a big issue for them to know that things are going smoothly.” This is especially true during childbirth, when Duggan claims there can be a lot of fear and scattered energy. “Often the hus- band is standing away from the bed and the nurse is holding the woman’s hand, while he is just looking scared. I’m there to bring him in, and tell the husband to put his hands here,” Duggan places a hand on her opposite shoulder as if to show where, “and to say, Look, doesn't your wife look beauti- ful?” The prenatal visits with the expectant parents are a little different, Duggan says with a grin. Although the mothers are © page 20 ‘Features the other press http://otherpress.douglas.bc.ca Supporting Expectant Moms & Dads: interested in a lengthy discussion about their concerns in regards to pregnancy and labour, the fathers tend to only stick around for part of the discussion. “I'll be having a conversation about prenatal care with a couple where the dad is expressing a great deal of interest in what I have to say, and then he'll just disappear half way through the discussion,” Duggan says, her brown eyes wide open. “It happens so often that I think the dads must become over- loaded with information, so that they have to leave to absorb it all.” Duggan looks out the window, a smile still on her lips. Duggan received her doula training at Douglas College in New Westminster four years ago, and has been supporting herself as a full-time doula for the last two years. It took her a couple of years to fully establish her business, but she knew upon seeing her first delivery that being a doula was what she was meant to do. “Spontaneously, upon the baby’s crowning, I knew that was what I was put on the earth to do... I can’t put it into words, but it was unbelievably pow- erful.” As she speaks, Duggan plays with a glass-blown pendant that’s on a chain around her neck. The pendant is in the shape of a woman. “A good friend of mine made it for me. He moulded it after the Egyptian Goddess, Isis, who represented new life.” Duggan says that the statistics in North American on doula care show reductions in the rate of women requiring epidurals, cae- sareans, and pain medications. What's more is that the physicians are generally grateful for her presence. “The doctors love it because they are usually only there for the birth and not the labour. I am there to help connect the experience,” Duggan clasps her hands together as she says the word, “con- nect.” “When the nurses go off shift, and the doctors go off shift, I’m still there to encourage the parents and answer their questions.” Despite her job, Duggan doesn’t have any children herself. “Although it’s a disadvan- tage because I haven't experienced labour myself, none of my clients have said it was vital to them.” Duggan also says that she is lucky because without a family right now, she has ample time to spend with expectant parents. After taking a final sip of her cof- fee, Duggan adds, “Besides, I’m waiting for a husband first.” Jennifer Duggan can be reached via email at jen@doula4u.com, or visited her website at www.doula4u.com. For more informa- tion about doula care and becoming a doula, visit the Douglas College Web site at: DOUGLAS COLLEGE LEAGUE OF oe COMPOSERS “pe Douglas College League of Composers: An Evening of New Music with Special Guest The Douglas College Composition Class Date: Friday April 25, 2003 Donation at the door (suggested $5) Doors open @7pm Show Starts @ 7:30pm Catering after the Show The Students’ Union Pride Collective meets Wednesdays at 4:00pm in the Pride Resource Room (Room 110 in the Students’ Union Building). All lesbian, gay, bi, transgendered, questioning and allied students are welcome.