Case Study: Radiant Goddess Birth Services

As a young wife and mother, Ashima Ganguli experiences labor and delivery just like many other American women, in

There were numerous powerful testimonies and striking findings noted throughout the and first two chapters of the book Birth Matters by Ina May Gaskin. As a health care provider, and therefore someone who is entrusted to care for individuals during their most private and sacred times, I found Gaskin’s statements regarding the environment and care surrounding birth experiences very impactful. According to Gaskin (2011), the “women’s perceptions about their bodies and their babies’ capabilities will be deeply influenced by the care they recieve around the time of birth” (p. 22). The statements made by Gaskin in Birth Matters not only ring true, but inspires one

Annika the Doula is a full-service doula agency that is located in Northeast, Minneapolis. Annika the Doula is serving the Twin Cities metro area. Their doula services include 2 prenatal visits, unlimited prenatal phone, text and e-mail support, continuous emotional, physical and informational support during the client’s labor, 1-2 postpartum visits, and placenta encapsulation. Annika is a DONA-certified birth doula.

Doulas of Orlando is a birth doula agency that is located in Orlando, Florida. Doulas of Orlando is working for the best birth experience. Their services include doula packages, childbirth education, and placenta encapsulation. Doulas of Orlando offers maternity classes, maternity and birth photography, and 3D/4D ultrasounds. Their doula is M. Luna Jauregui, CD(DONA), CLC. M. Luna Jauregui, CD(DONA), CLC is bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish. Her qualifications as a doula include Certified Birth and Postpartum Doula via DONA international, Rebozo Certified under Instructor Gena Kirby, Sacred Bengkung belly binding certification, and more. M. Luna Jauregui, CD(DONA), CLC has been a Healthy Children Certified Lactation Counselor in

Birth Hands Doula Service is a full-service doula agency that is located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Birth Hands Doula Service serves the Piedmont area of North Carolina including Greensboro, Burlington, Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, and Durham. Their goal is to render a well rounded, woman-centered care throughout the entire pregnancy, birth, and early postpartum. This care constitutes education, advocacy, emotional, and physical support for the women, the parents, their families, and their desired support team. Their services include labor and birth support, birth plan consultation, birth partner support, recording the client’s birth story, blessingway or baby shower celebration, and postpartum support services. The doula of Birth Hands

Peaceful Beginnings Birth Services is a full-service doula agency that is located in Sacramento, California. Peaceful Beginnings Birth Services provides birth doula services, Birthing From Within® classes, and postpartum doula services. This doula agency offers prenatal visits, labor support, and breastfeeding and postpartum support. The doula of Peaceful Beginnings Birth Services, Chelsea Fredlund is a DONA International and Birthing From Within Certified Birth Doula.

Elena Vogel is a birth doula and lactation consultant that is located in Los Angeles, California. Her birth doula services include 2-3 prenatal visits, prenatal binder, unlimited phone/email support, 24 hour on call availability, labor support at the time of the birth, assistance with initial breastfeeding, plus more. Elena Vogel also conducts 2-3 postpartum visits. Elena Vogel is a certified birth doula through DONA International. Since 2002, she has assisted more than 300 births at hospitals, homes, and birth-centers. Elena Vogel has become a certified lactation educator in 2005. Elena Vogel is also home birth midwife assistant. Thus, she has attended a myriad of home deliveries since 2005. In the spring of 2011, Elena Vogel then completed

For hundred of years, women have wrestled with their womanhood, bodies, and what it means to be a woman in our society. Being a woman comes with a wonderful and empowering responsibility--giving birth. What sets us aside from other countries is that the process and expectations of giving birth has changed in our society; coming from midwifery, as it has always been since the early times, to hospitals where it is now expected to give birth at. Midwifery was a common practice in delivering babies in

Heavens Gateway Ministries, Inc. is a nonprofit organization established seven years ago South of Atlanta, in Jonesboro GA. We currently serve South Atlanta, Clayton County, parts of Fayetteville and McDonough area. Our mission statement is “Each one reach one” and we apply this by helping to provide physical, emotional and social assistance to those in need. This organization has been working very hard to accomplish our mission through feeding, clothing and more.

The growth in presence of midwives in both Indigenous and non-indigenous communities is increasing, indicating the overall difference in experience between what would be defined as “natural” birth and what western medicine dictates as “normal” birth. Though, this does not include the use of “assisted” birth during emergency situations, which is sometimes the case even with midwife patients (Green, 2017). But, this experience gives the mother an ally especially through emergency situations, which is related through both Dorothy Green and Kim Anderson’s experiences; Anderson whose first pregnancy needed to be terminated was assisted by an Indigenous birthing center to ensure that she would be able to bury the remains of her child, which is needed for both closure and ceremony (2006). Similarly, Green had to fight to make Indigenous medicine and options known in the hospital, to ensure that her patients were returned the pieces of their birthing process they needed to move forward and perform ceremony (2017). The use of traditional teachings, especially in an event as sacred as birthing, helps to heal Indigenous communities and families, and a healthy community leads to healthy identities of mothers.

I have always been interested in women’s health and after taking a course at Cal called Evolutionary Medicine I was introduced to what a Doula was. Since then I have been interested in the work that doulas do as I believe that providing support and care for pregnant women is pivotal for both the baby and mother’s health. My goal is to learn how to help support a mother by gaining the necessary clinical skills. I also wish to exercise my ability to speak Spanish and am particularly eager to be able to work with Latina women. I am excited to be a part of a team and to be in an environment that allows me to really learn about female prenatal/postnatal care and everything in between. I realize that the work will be challenging but I am excited

Over the years birthing methods have changed a great deal. When technology wasn’t so advanced there was only one method of giving birth, vaginally non-medicated. However, in today’s society there are now more than one method of giving birth. In fact, there are three methods: Non-medicated vaginal delivery, medicated vaginal delivery and cesarean delivery, also known as c-section. In the cesarean delivery there is not much to prepare for before the operation, except maybe the procedure of the operation. A few things that will be discussed are: the process of cesarean delivery, reasons for this birthing method and a few reasons for why this birthing method is used. Also a question that many women have is whether or not they can vaginally

Next, a non-hospital birth usually has midwifery or Doula. Midwifery is a profession in which providers take care of pregnant women during her labor and birth and during the postpartum period. Assisting the mother with the child after it is born. According to “Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America,” midwives attends the majority of births. Midwives are qualified for routine deliveries and minor medical emergencies; often operating as part of a medical term. As Cara Muhlhahn, a certified nurse midwife stated in “Business of Being Born,” she would rather be in the home of the patient so she would feel comfortable. And most women who have midwives are comfortable because they are in the privacy of their own home giving birth to their child and they feel empowered instead of the powerless vibe in a hospital. A Doula, on the other hand, does not have to make clinical decisions. Doulas offer emotional support and manage pain using massage, acupressure, and birthing positions; making it easier for the mother to cope with her complications. According to “Mothering the Mother: How a Doula Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier and Healthier Birth,” a Doula is a Greek word that literally means a woman who has experience that can help other women. Klaus Kennell and others who have researched the effects of the doula's presence during childbirth have come to define the term as a woman with experience in childbirth who will give the laboring mother emotional, physical and

Chinese women will take many precautions to protect their unborn and newborn babies from evil spirits. They will never attend a funeral and they will hang certain embellishments to ward of the spirits. A paper cut out of scissors is hung over the bed curtains of a pregnant woman and when a baby is born a special pendant is placed near the baby’s crib in hopes that any evil spirits would be more attracted to the pendant then the baby. Another example of keeping the spirits away is the parents of the child would make “arrows from wood of a peach tree and place near the cradle.” It is considered unlucky to name your child before they are born as well as to celebrate before the baby is born with a baby shower. This is normal for many cultures including some Native American cultures here is America. Though now it is more taboo and people are naming their babies as soon as they know the gender and having showers months before the baby is born to make sure that they are prepared when the baby arrives. When a baby is being born in China it is customary that the mother and mother-in-law of the mother to be, to be present during the delivery but not the father. It is considered terrible luck to be scared of labor as it is considered the woman’s job. After the baby is born the mother is in a “sitting period” for a month. This insures that the mother is completely healed and only has to focus on

Through the Grandmother’s Law women are assisted through the birth by strong and supportive women. Traditional healing practices used by Indigenous midwives during the birth, include therapeutic massage for relaxation, sand, heat, smoke and fire to help with pain and being spiritually strong after birth was important for the mother and baby. Traditional rituals aimed at stopping bleeding, healing, warming will be used.