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Q&A with Birth Doula Mairi Wood of Autonomous Birth

Many Bay Area moms appreciate the support of a birth doula during pregnancy, labor and birth. Birth Doula Mairi Wood shares more about what a birth doula is and how she supports moms and families during this time.

 

closeup of a pregnant woman wearing a pink dress and holding her belly

 

Meet Birth Doula Mairi Wood of Autonomous Birth

Before we jump in, tell us about yourself and your certifications!

I am a certified holistic birth and postpartum doula. I hold certifications through Intentional Birth, The Matrona and Cornerstone, and have also taken countless other doula related trainings. I’m definitely a lifelong learner! I am CPR & first aid certified through the Red Cross. I’m a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician; I help parents and caregivers learn to install and use their car seats safely. I also have a BS in Ecology & Evolution from UC Santa Cruz and an AA in Social Sciences from Foothill College.

When I was 7 years old I supported my mother through a physiologic birth and witnessed my sister coming into this world. This certainly formed an impression on my young mind! As an adult I began talking with my mother about her birth experiences and it honestly was hard to hear the ways that she wasn’t supported and the things that happened to her against her wishes. I felt like if she had the adult version of me in the room amplifying her voice, she would have had a more positive birth experience. After working as a nanny for 10 years, this motivated me to change careers and become a doula. I’m so glad I did because I love my job and I know that I am making a difference.

What is a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST)?

A CPST receives special training and a certification to be able to teach parents and caregivers how to safely use and install car seats in their vehicle. We know that car seats reduce injuries and save lives, but the truth is that many of them aren’t being used properly. I encourage everyone to make an appointment with a CPST and learn to use and install your car seat correctly; it quite literally saves lives. I offer this service to my birth clients.

You can find a CPST or community car seat check event near you here: https://cert.safekids.org/get-car-seat-checked

 

Now, let’s start with the basics! What is a doula?

A Birth Doula is a trained professional who provides emotional, physical, and informational support during pregnancy, labor, and birth. A Postpartum Doula provides support to the family after baby has arrived. There are also doulas that help people through other sorts of transitions or big life moments.

Doulas are not medical professionals and do not give their clients medical advice and we don’t deliver babies. We help people sort through all of the information out there and identify their values so that they can make decisions that align with their values. Sometimes we mediate tough conversations between our clients and their partners or other support people. We might help our clients write their birth plan, or practice talking to their care providers, or help them find answers to their many questions. During birth we may be providing a lot of physical comfort measures, we may be offering affirmations and words of encouragement, or facilitating conversations between our clients and their care providers. A Birth Doula can fill many roles. Doulas are not regulated by a licensing body so there are not strict guidelines about what support we can provide. Each doula decides what they can offer to clients.

What is the role of a birth doula and how often do you meet with families before the birth?

Prenatally my role is to introduce a lot of information and help people sort through it all. To listen to and address their concerns. To help my clients identify if the choices that they are making and the providers that they are choosing to work with are aligned with their values.

During labor a big part of my role is managing the energy in the room. I try to stay very grounded so that my client can count on me to be calm and present. This helps everyone feel more calm. I try to focus on my client, really read their body language and anticipate their needs. I may offer frequent sips of water, counter pressure during the more intense parts of labor, words of encouragement during tough moments.

Continuity of care is important. Spending time together prenatally and getting to know each other means that my client will have a familiar and safe person that stays with them throughout their experience. Overall my role is to help people have more positive birth experiences.

What is the role of a postpartum doula and how long after giving birth do you help families?

A Postpartum Doula supports families after the baby is born. This support usually starts within the first few days after arriving home. Just like with Birth Doulas, what each doula offers is a little different but can include help with breastfeeding, pumping, bottle-feeding, baby care, general advice, emotional support, processing birth experience, holding baby so new parents can shower or sleep, light housework, cooking, baby laundry, organizing baby stuff and connecting people to community resources. Some Postpartum Doulas work during the day and some offer overnight support. Most postpartum doulas support families for the first couple of months but some are open to supporting families for six months or even more. I am currently only offering postpartum support to my birth clients that sign up for it; I do six day time visits during the first month.

closeup of newborn feet

Tell me about your approach to supporting families as a doula.

I want to open people’s minds to all the possibilities and ask a lot of questions. Have you thought about exploring midwifery care? Why did you decide to hire this provider, or to go to this hospital? Why do you want to hire a doula? When you say you want a natural birth, what does that mean and why do you want a natural birth? Why do you think you want an epidural?

I want to get to know my clients and understand the “why” behind their decisions. I make sure that they have all the information that they need to make these decisions. I encourage them to have deep conversations with their providers to make sure that they are working with a provider that will uplift my client as the decision maker.

I think that elevating my client as the decision maker is super important. Doctor, nurses and midwives make recommendations based on their education, experience, hospital policies and licensing bodies and patients get to decide what they want to do. This is so important because it reflects the legal reality and puts the power back in the hands of the person that is actually having the baby and who will be responsible for making decisions for this baby for years to come.

I spend a lot of time prenatally with my clients because I want to feel like a familiar and safe person by the time that they go into labor. I typically do four in-person prenatal visits that are each 3-4 hours. I also try to do weekly check-ins virtually or in-person during the last few weeks of pregnancy.

During birth I want to reduce any stimulation to the thinking part of the brain as this can interfere with labor. We can do this by lowering the lights, listening to nature sounds or calm music, reducing talking and beeping etc. But another impactful way to do this is by preparing the partner to field questions, and protect the birther from people touching them or talking too much. Basically we want to keep the room dark, quiet and calm.

What is your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part of my job is getting to know all of these amazing people and then witnessing them transform into the parents of this new baby.

What questions should an expectant mom ask a potential doula to see if they’re a good fit?

I think the most important questions are actually questions to ask yourself:

“Will this doula elevate me as the decision maker and amplify my voice?”

“If I check in with my body, how do I feel around this doula?”

“Do I want this person to be part of such an intimate and sacred moment of my life?”

Some questions you can ask a doula are:

“What is your birth philosophy?”

“What specifically do you go over in our prenatal sessions and how many prenatal sessions do you offer?”

“How do you prepare my partner to advocate for me during my labor?”

“How comfortable are you speaking up if you see a nurse/doctor/midwife doing something that you know isn’t on my birth plan?”

“What is your backup plan if you are unable to attend some or all of my birth?”

But as you are listening to their answers, be sure to keep those first three questions in mind. I encourage you to listen to your intuition and be really honest with yourself.

At what stage of pregnancy should someone hire a doula?

My preference is to start working with people in the 12-20 week window; the sooner the better. That gives us plenty of time to get to know each other and also can help shape their experience during pregnancy. Most people are seeing doctors as their primary care provider during pregnancy and doctors just don’t have the time to spend with their patients to really answer questions and provide important information that can be really helpful, a doula has time for this! There is also a greater selection of doulas if you look early and less pressure to choose quickly; this means that you are more likely to hire a doula that is aligned with your values.

While I do think it is ideal to start working with a doula early, it is never too late to decide that you want doula support! I have taken on a client that was in her 39th week. Doulas are usually connected in social networks, if someone reaches out looking for a doula later in their pregnancy, we often work together to find a doula who is available to support them. The bottom line is, if you are pregnant and want to work with a doula, start interviewing people now.

What area do you service?

I serve most of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. Roughly Burlingame to San Jose along the SF Peninsula.
pregnant woman and her husband both wearing pink sitting with their dog on a hillside

Where can people find you online?

www.YourAutonomousBirth.com

Birth Doula Mairi Wood

Thank you so much, Mairi, for sharing all about your role as a birth doula in the Bay Area. I love hearing how your support moms and families during this impactful time.
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