Since 2014, I’ve been working here in Evansville, Indiana as a birth doula. That was the year that I formed the Doula Group of Evansville with a few other doulas. Though we’ve been through several different forms since then, the core values that we started with have always remained the same. I recently realized that we’ve never really publicly declared them, though they definitely come up in every conversation I have with potential doulas who want to join the team. We want you to know our values, because they are very important to us as a group. We come from a place of learning and acceptance, and aren’t trying to force anyone to think or do anything with these. The thought behind making these public is so you can know us better as a group. We want you to know where we stand and how we approach things, including how we do business and how we put our values into action in our services.
(Side note: Documentaries are one of my favorite things to watch. I recently watched a documentary on a cult, and the leader made all her insiders sign some document that detailed her non-negotiables. Let me tell you, that list scared me, especially as I’ve been using the term “non-negotiables” for a few years with regards to our values. I promise, this short 3 item list is nothing like that.)
1. Science is Real
I LOVE science! One of the reasons that I wanted to become a doula was because I was so upset about the gap between what we know and how maternity care is practiced. I read Henci Goer’s The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth during my pregnancy and my mind was blown. One of my favorite things about science is that it changes; with new information comes new ideas and eventually, new practices too. We learn all the time that new doesn’t equal better either, and that can be hard, especially as techno-loving Americans, but I digress.
When I say that we love science, what I don’t mean is that we believe there is one right way that works for everyone. I’m a social scientist with a PhD and I’m pretty sure they’ll come take my degree away if I say something so absurd as that. I’m also not saying that science has all the answers. What I am saying when I state that one of our core values is that science is real, is that we believe the scientific method is the best framework for understanding what is going on in reality. When we “do research” we’re looking for scholarly articles and trying to understand what the scientific consensus is, and we’re being picky about our sources. We know that anecdotal evidence is one source, but we want you to show us the numbers behind the assumptions. We ask questions like, “what is the absolute risk” instead of being persuaded by “the risk doubles” type of relative numbers arguments. We know that a scientific understanding can help us make more rational decisions based on actual evidence and not coercive language. Feelings are important, and knowledge can be powerful.
2. Anti-Racism
We work to actively proceed from a place of anti-racism. That means understanding that some of us have privilege in this world because of our presumed race, and racism is a massive problem. This holds especially true in healthcare, and everyone on this team has committed to learning about the effects of racism and how to affect change by working in and through an anti-racism framework. If you’re unfamiliar with anti-racism, this community curated bibliography is a great starting point for learning. We know that being “not racist” is not enough, and we are attempting to do better.
We also know that people deserve to have a doula on their team that understands their perspective from the inside and not from any sort of savior perspective. We have very intentionally built a team of doulas who reflect our community and the communities/families that we want to serve. We take that service very seriously, especially for BIPOC families who are at risk of experiencing medical racism that increases their morbidity and mortality as they welcome new babies into the world. We see you and are here if you want support and resources.
3. LOVE the Rainbow
We are cognizant of the ways that some businesses seem to want to capitalize on their lip-service to the LGBTQIA2S+ community, and that is not us. Some of us identify as part of the “rainbow community.” Several of us have children who identify with the LGBTQIA2S+ community. Everyone on this team is an ally/accomplice, and will ask you your pronouns. We approach our doula work with LOVE and know that LOVE is what makes a family. We will always do our best to make sure all our client families feel seen and heard by us. All the doulas on this team LOVE our LGBTQIA2S+ community, family, & friends, and that goes so much deeper than tolerance. We also specifically seek out learning opportunities to better understand how to be/do better at using inclusive language, Supporting Queer Birth, & how to be better allies/accomplices.
Who We Are
We are a group of doulas working to help make our community a better place for all families. We do that by helping families go from expecting through beginning. These 3 non-negotiable values are the starting points to everything that we do as a group, and how we choose to focus our working energy. You don’t have to believe the exact same things as we do, and we promise we have served all types of families who don’t believe these things at all. These are not a dogma that we are attempting to force on anyone; we just want to be transparent about our values. Most of all we approach this work with curiosity, love, and hearts for service. We seek to understand our clients so that we can better serve their specific needs. These non-negotiables are unapologetically part of who we are.