"I'll Have What She's Having"
How Doula Care Enhances Your Birth Experience

I heard about the Doula concept while I was pregnant with my first baby. I read all I could find on the subject of birth support and doula care. When I found out that there are Doula training courses, I thought, "That's for me!"

During my training I had the privilege to meet many dynamic doulas (put a few hundred of these remarkable women together and you won't need electricity to light the room!) and got to see how doula care in action.

I love this work. It is a special honour to journey with a couple through such a special season of their lives. When I meet with a couple during their pregnancy, we take time to get to know each other. I listen to their birth stories and hear their hopes and vision for the up-coming birth. Every woman and baby is a unique combination, and I find that I learn a great deal from every woman and every birth. Despite our diversity, there are some things that every human female shares when it comes to our innate resources for giving birth.

So, we discuss such topics as "the Physics of Birth" - how you can work with your pelvis, using movement, gravity and positions to alter the dimensions of your pelvis and become familiar with your body's strength and cleverness. We practice exercises to strengthen your muscles and encourage the baby to lie in the anterior position which is optimal for a straight-forward labour. We talk about the care of your perineum: the benefits of perineal massage, pelvic floor exercises and soothing remedies for the healing perineum after birth.

Then there is "the Chemistry of Birth" how your body releases exactly the right hormones you need to birth your baby. The special cocktail of hormones released the pituitary gland of your hypothalamus is remarkably similar to the ones released during sexual intimacy. The hypothalamus is also known as the primal brain, old brain or deep brain'. It is the part of you that is responsible for emotions, feelings, intuition and conditioned reflexes. It activates the fight or flight' response to stress. Birth is a time to chill out, let your instinctive self rise up and let your thinking, analytical brain slumber for a while. Birth time is not Maths time! It's similar to other instinctive activities we do like sex and toileting.

Imagine if you were having a warm, intimate moment with your beloved and suddenly you hear, "By the way we got the quote for the renovations it's going

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