Contrary to popular belief, I don’t go into labor and delivery rooms, birth ball blazing, ready to battle with the hospital staff. In fact, it’s usually quite the opposite.
After I get the “OK, come now” call and I’m squaring away my kids and double-checking that I’ve restocked the snacks in my doula bag, I’m also reminding myself that I’m about to be a part of an intensely intimate experience. The team is waiting for me.
Yes – team. The birthing woman and her partner. The nurses. The midwives and/or OBs. We are collectively a team working together to safely and positively welcome this new life. And it’s one of the reasons I love working at a few particular hospitals in the Northern Virginia/DC area, most specifically George Washington University Hospital.
Every client I’ve served there has been treated not just with respect, but with kindness and love. Last week, I saw it when a nurse climbed bedside to massage a client feeling unsettled and worried. I heard it when a midwife whispered, “Yes, you can do this. Trust your body.” I saw it when a partner tenderly brushed his wife’s hair back between contractions and reminded her, “You are f-ing amazing.”
Teamwork makes the dream work.