March 23, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
The world just passed the one year anniversary of the declaration of the COVID-19 global pandemic, and vaccinations are being rolled out in many countries with varying degrees of access and participation. In the meantime, birthing parents continue to welcome their babies, and many families have done so with a doula by the side. This week is also World Doula Week. Birth doulas support the family with emotional, physical and informational support during labor and birth, with prenatal and postpartum visits on either side. There are also postpartum doulas who support families after the baby is born.
I wanted to share my experiences as a birth doula throughout this pandemic, and how this pandemic has impacted birth doula support. I want to acknowledge that I live in Seattle, WA, USA and this part of the country is very “doula friendly” and we have many, many doulas here. Doulas practicing elsewhere in the world, may have different experiences than mine.
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