Accountability in birthwork is community work!
As an advocate doula companion, I believe I am accountable for addressing the systems of oppression, rights violations and injustice that people face in their reproductive care experiences. I also believe that supporting doulas and birthworkers to stand in their autonomy and power, to self reflect and to heal, is essential to making meaningful changes in care on individual, collective and systemic levels. Undertaking essential foundational and accountability work as a doula or birthworker is long term, requires supportive community and for existing gaps in birthroom doula advocacy skills training to be addressed.
To support doulas in this foundational work, I am proud to be a Community Leader in the Doula Instincts Mentoring Membership founded and owned by Traci Weafer, a doula who has served in Alabama for over 25 years. The online community provides a supportive healing and learning space that facilitates birthworkers to undertake essential growth. Through a focus on birthroom advocacy, the birthing person receiving care is held centrally, and we rehumanize the way in which birthwork is undertaken, relationships are built and care is provided. We are committed, in community, to respectful care and reducing trauma in the birth space.
As a Community Leader, I recognize that my experience of advocating in the birthroom as a privileged, white doula companion, is not the same as doulas who are Black, Indigenous and people of the global majority (BIPGM). I hold myself and all doulas who sit within multiple layers of power and privilege accountable for addressing their beliefs, bias and behaviors which directly contribute to the barriers, challenges and discrimination that BIPGM doulas face when advocating for their communities within perinatal care systems that are set up for, and center birthing people who look like me. This essential accountability work can be safely undertaken within the membership.
The Doula Instincts Mentoring Membership
It is a joy to work alongside Traci Weafer to support doulas and other birthworkers as they navigate their own journey of personal growth and accountability, learn new skills and own their power in their birthroom advocacy role. Doulas are powerful and have a a vitally important and unique relationship with the person they serve, yet they too, experience oppression within the system, despite the hierarchy of power within the system being a myth. It takes preparation, skill and confidence to navigate the system as a doula or birthworker, and to bring the team together in productive conversations that focus the birthing person as the powerful decision maker in their care.
The challenges of advocating as a doula or birthworker inside the broken system can feel lonely and frustrating for everyone on the birth team, and learning in community is absolutely essential to change harmful reproductive care systems, and in reducing the 1 in 3 rate of birth trauma. If, as a doula or birthworker, you are leaving births cloudy-headed, traumatized, feeling powerless, or are asking yourself if you could have done something different, then the Doula Instincts Mentoring Membership can help you. Through supportive community, self and collective reflection, skill building, workshops, and if needed, 1:1 mentoring, you can lift those clouds and negative feelings, begin to process any trauma and identify what you need to do to stand in your power.
Birthworker Community
GREAT FOR ALL BIRTH WORKERS!
The community level is for anyone who has a commitment to respectful care and reducing trauma in the birth space.
This is a special, safe, & supportive community for all kinds of birth workers. Perfect for Doulas, L&D Nurses, OBs, Midwives, Birth Photographers, and any other person working in the birth space!
You will receive:
- Access to a private community of advocate birth workers
- Peer-to-peer support from other birth workers and Community Leaders
- Brainstorming with other professionals on the birth team for perspective
- Access to on demand pay per view workshops
- 10% Discount to Products/Workshops
- Option to upgrade to the “Growth Level” at any time
Investment: $20/Month. Cancel anytime!
30% of proceeds per month will be donated to the National Birth Equity Collaborative (NBEC)
Doula Mentoring – Growth
PERFECT FOR DOULAS WHO ARE SERIOUS ABOUT & MAKING REAL IMPACT
Whether you’re a seasoned doula or just starting out, this option gives you all of the tools and support you need to be a confident advocate doula for yourself and your clients. Get everything from the COMMUNITY plus one-on-one mentoring with Traci so you can dig into what practical skills you can build on as an advocate.
You will receive:
- Everything from the Community
- Monthly one-on-one mentoring and coaching with Traci
- Quarterly VIP deep dives into important advocate doula topics
- VIP discount rate for in-person workshops and all products in Traci’s shop
- Monthly VIP workbooks and special content with actionable steps to improve your advocacy and conversation skills in prenatals and the birthing space
- Real-time access to Traci through text support
Investment $199/month
Join Us!
“Advocacy in birth work starts with YOU! We can not be 100% for our clients if we are not 100% ourselves” (Traci Weafer).
If you are ready to step in, click the link below!
