- Decide WHY the birth story is being written. For many of my clients this is a time to see God at work in their life. This is a time of testing, pain, vulnerability, faith… how does this all fit together. I include my own thoughts as well… often referring to creation, running the race, come to me all those who are heavy laden… you get the picture.
- Make this personal. Include the season, weather, time of day and what you were doing when you got the call to come, or how you felt to be asked to be the doula.
- Share anecdotes: what songs did you sing, verses did you read, books did you share, jokes you told?
- talk about the prayers and how they were answered
- talk about the pain/pressure/discomfort and how it was dealt with: scripture, positions, breathing, birthing pool, use of light, etc.
- talk about the personalities present to help flesh out the setting
- talk about how decisions were made
- contraction patterns throughout
- when does labor start? bag of waters break? baby arrive?
- what is learned about the laboring couple?
TAKE NOTES! Obviously when I write a story 6, 12 or 18 months late notes would have REALLY helped. But, even if you are writing the story the next day it helps to have notes to which you may refer. You don’t have to have pages written, simply things to jog your mind. When I first started I divided my paper into sections: The call, early labor, active labor, transition, delivery, meds, other. This helped put things in their proper time order. Again, you don’t want to be so busy writing that you miss out on being a doula… Ask the couple what they remember about the birth. Ask them if they want to help write the story. Don’t be afraid to offer the story and then to do several more drafts.
Enjoy the process. I can look back and read the stories of the couples I helped and it gives me great satisfaction and also helps me to learn how to be a better doula.
Happy Birthing!Kim
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