What is a doula?

A doula is a non-medical community care person who provides emotional, physical, and informational support to their clients throughout transitions in the reproductive lifecycle. Most people tend to associate doulas with birth, but full-spectrum doulas can support families through a variety of transitions: pre-conception, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, loss, abortion, and beyond. A full-spectrum doula is a companion with foresight and knowledge in the different possibilities that may arise and they have the capability to provide physical comfort measures, to create a container for processing the many emotions that arise, and to inform you of your options. Full-spectrum doulas are trained to understand the natural physiology of these processes and to uplift you non-judgmentally in all your decision-making while affirming your intuition. Lastly, full-spectrum doulas are family-centered and aim to uplift the entire community as desired; if you want your partner(s) and child(ren) involved in these big transitional moments, we fully embrace making everyone welcome.

In regards to birth outcomes, birth doulas have been empirically shown to:

• decrease dissatisfaction with the birth experience by 31%

• decrease the risk of cesarean by 25% (up to 39% for some clients)

• decrease the use of any medications for pain relief by 10%

• decrease the length of labor by 41 minutes on average

• increase the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth without medical intervention by 8%

• decrease the baby’s risk of a low Apgar score by 38%

Researched by Bohren et al., 2017
Read more about doulas here.

How is a doula different than an OB/GYN? Midwife? Partner?

Great question! While an OB/GYN, midwife, and partner are all able to provide some level of emotional, physical, and informational support, their roles vary greatly. OB/GYNs and midwives, for example, both hold clinical training and are medically responsible for your and your baby’s health - they are the professionals who perform tasks such as listening to fetal heart tones, conducting vaginal checks, catching the baby, cutting the umbilical cord, managing health issues, or answering medical questions. While clients typically choose to be under the care of either an OB/GYN or a midwife, neither of these replace the doula. While doulas cannot provide medical advice, prescribe medications, or deliver your baby, they do tend to have more time and space to focus on your emotional and physical support before, during, and after these big transitional moments. Given the way our medical industrial complex and current medical system is designed, patients tend to have little time with their care providers and find that having a continuous support system presence in addition to that on their care team can be greatly beneficial. Similarly, a doula can be a beneficial addition even for people that have involved and supportive partners present. Partners have a deep and intimate knowledge of their loved one’s personal needs and can provide care in a loving and affirmative way that no one else can simulate, but doulas are professionals that have personal and trained knowledge of the physiological art of labor. And, what’s more, is that doulas are present to uplift birthing partners just as much as they are present to uplift birthing people. Families about to welcome a life into the world are a team, and every team member is essential. Doulas are here to fill the gaps and make sure no need is left unmet.

What does your name, “Honeysuckle Doula” mean?

My doula name is very personal to me. As the symbolic flower of those born under the Aries zodiac like myself, honeysuckle has long been one of my favorite flowers. As spring begins blossoming and welcoming a new transition after a long cold winter, the fragrance of honeysuckle wafting from the distance always reminds me of the sweetness that comes with big change. Believed to have powerful properties that can cleanse negative energy and promote healing, they are also among the toughest of plants despite their sweet and fragile look - just like families undergoing immense transition. Those in transition between pregnancy, birth, postpartum, loss, or abortion are often portrayed to be fragile and in need of protection, but the reality is that they are some of the most powerful beings capable of withstanding earth-shattering changes.

And as someone intentionally hoping to support families walking through a spectrum of transitions - some that might weigh heavier on the heart than others through navigating the grief of a loss - I intend for the symbolism of the honeysuckle to embrace many peoples’ journeys; in some Native American cultures, for example, honeysuckle is seen as a symbol of the afterlife and is used in ceremony to help guide the soul of the deceased to the spirit world. The sweet fragrance of the flowers are thought to attract the spirits and help them find their way. Whatever your personal path is, this imagery can accompany you and your loved ones through the pain and into a place of rest and peace.

Lastly, in numerology, honeysuckles are associated with the number 9. What synchronicity it was, to learn this symbolism on top of all other roads that lead this flower to be so delightfully aligned with full-spectrum doula work! The number 9 - quintessentially representative of gestation and pregnancy - is often seen as a symbol of spiritual growth and enlightenment, and is thought to represent higher consciousness and the connection between physical and spiritual worlds. A beacon of love and compassion, the number 9 is a manifestation of personal growth and transformation. The honeysuckle welcomes you to ponder your own transformation as you walk this path into a new chapter of your life.

In an effort to honor my own birth under the Aries zodiac sign as I honor others’ journeys and transitions, as a way to invoke the imagery of newborns suckling on their parent(s)’ love and nourishment, and in hopes of welcoming families called to receive my offerings on a wide spectrum of support needs, Honeysuckle Doula wraps you in a warm embrace and invites you to honor the sweetness and strength that exists within yourself and those around you.

How does your pricing work? What is a sliding scale?

All services and packages are offered on a sliding scale fee model, meaning that families are welcome to select a price within the given range that reflects their needs and what they feel they can financially contribute. As a commitment to my values that encourage equitable wealth redistribution, I trust families I work with to honestly evaluate what they are able to pay for these services, rather than what they believe my work is valued to cost. This is founded on a basis of trust throughout the container of our relationship building, and I welcome all families to contribute to this agreement of community care where those who are able to pay the full true price of these offerings are sustaining those who may not be able to receive this level of care elsewhere.

Please refer to The Green Bottle model by Alexis J. Cunningfolk to reflect on where you might fall on this sliding scale. More about this philosophy can be read here.

“Please be mindful that if you purchase a price at the lowest end of the scale when you can truthfully afford the higher ticket prices, you are limiting access to those who truly need the gift of financial flexibility. Being honest with yourself and your financial situation when engaging with sliding scale practices grows strong and sustainable communities. It also respects the work of teachers and creators, like myself, you have families to support and rent to pay. Additionally, when I am paid fairly, I am able to invest more time and resources to free and lower cost offerings.” - Alexis J. Cunningfolk

If your family is still not able to afford my services within the lower range of the sliding scale, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I am always happy to connect people to other community care workers and to evaluate my capacity for fundraising and mutual aid efforts.

Why do you use the terms “birthing parent” and “chestfeeding” instead of “mother” and “breastfeeding”?

While most resources on pregnancy, birth, and postpartum default to using gendered terms such as “mother,” not all pregnant people or birthing people identify as mothers. Inclusive language is gender-affirming and assumes an umbrella term that people of several identities can find themselves under, rather than excluding people who might find themselves elsewhere on the gender spectrum. Inclusion and validation of the variety of identities that may seek out full-spectrum doula care is essential, and as a non-binary and queer doula myself, I am committed to creating spaces where all families feel welcome. Of course, as we work together you are always welcome to share what language and terms feel most supportive to your needs, but until then I aim to use gender-neutral language so as to dissuade the erasure of gender diversity and promote a world in which this becomes the norm.

Gender-neutral language as a full-spectrum doula might include: pregnant parent, gestational parent, non-gestational parent, partner, co-parent, client, parenthood, pregnant people, chestfeeding, nursing, body feeding, lactation, people who have periods. More examples here.

Are you a parent yourself?

I do not have any children of my own. For those that value this quality in a doula, I may not be the right fit for you. However, I do bring much else to the table. I’ve been deeply rooted in care work for as long as I can remember and have extensive experience in supporting new families and their little ones, and am often acknowledged for my nurturing motherly energy by those around me. I mean, when it’s Mother’s Day and you have a bunch of friends and family reaching out to wish you a special day in honor of the open-hearted love you share with the world, what else can you do other than beam with pride for the cyclical threads of care that come back to show you all the versions of what motherhood can look like? I often think of how motherhood is about creation and action, how it takes on many meanings – a nurturer of children, of social movements and projects, giving birth to new vision, new conditions, and new ways of governing and making change. It emphasizes Audre Lorde’s sentiment that we can also mother ourselves.

As a queer non-binary person in particular, I also welcome definitions of mothering that fall outside of gendered expectations. As Alexis Pauline Gumbs invites us to do in her book Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Front Lines, we can “take the word ‘mother’ less as a gendered identity and more as a possible action, a technology that those people who do the most mothering labor are teaching us right now.” As we think about queerness in partnership with this, she says “our definition of queer is that which fundamentally transforms our state of being and the possibilities for life, that which does not reproduce the status quo. Mothering is an investment in the future that requires a person to change the status quo of their own lives, of their community and of the society as a whole again and again and again. To do the daily intergenerational care work of making a hostile world an affirming space for another person who is growing mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Mothering is a queer practice of transitioning the world through our desire for each other and another way to be.” While I may not be a mother in the traditional sense of having birthed or raised children myself, I welcome what alternative lenses we can offer to strengthening communities with each other.

What childbirth education classes do you recommend?

I highly recommend that all my birth clients attend a childbirth education class to prepare for the journey of welcoming their baby. Here are some specific classes as recommended by the Brooklyn Birthing Center.

Additional recommendations include:

JustBirth Space
Choices in Childbirth Videos
Birth Smarter Class
Birth Matters NYC
Carriage House Birth
Manhattan Birth
Boober

What kinds of community resources do you have available for your clients?

When clients agree to sign up for my offerings, they receive a plethora of referrals for community resources. While a majority of the resources are local to the NYC area, several virtual options are also provided for those located elsewhere or those unable to travel. Community resources include recommendations for childbirth education classes, mental health support groups, counselors, text lines, lactation consultants, acupuncturists, herbalists, massage therapists, nutritionists, chiropractors, yoga practitioners, pelvic floor therapists, pediatricians, placenta encapsulators, diaper banks, milk banks, and relevant books/videos/articles/podcasts as desired.

How do you contribute to community care and commit to radical practices of mutual aid to further the fight towards reproductive justice?

In addition to my sliding scale model and continuous expansion of my training to stay active in local initiatives, I participate in an ongoing monthly contributions to the following groups:

Ancient Song Doula Services
New York Abortion Access Fund
Manna-Hatta Fund
Seva Mandir

I invite anyone who has the financial resources to donate, support, and uplift these and the following organizations:

@luciathemidwife:uplift and center Black midwives & birth workers
Ashe Birthing Services 
The Arch App/ Te-Ana Souffrant   
The ARIAH Foundation 
Birth from The Earth, Inc/ Nubia Earth Martin
Birth Sanctuary Gainesville 
The Birthing Place 
Black Doula Project
Black Midwives Alliance
Black Mamas Matter 
Black Women Birthing Justice
Black Womens Blue print
Bronx Rebirth
Choices in Childbirth
CommonSense Childbirth/Jennie Joseph 
Divine Birth Wisdom
Doula Chronicles/Efe Osaren 
Doctor Shalon's Maternal Action Project 
Every Mother Counts
IRTH App
Just Birth Space​​​
National Advocates for Pregnant Women 
National Birth Equity Collaborative
Village Birth International ​​
Restoring Our Own Through Transformation (ROOTT)
ROOTS of Labor Birth Collective
SaveARose Foundation 
Sese Birthing Freedom​​​
Sister Song 
Speak Move Change
Respectful Care at Birth
The Tatia Oden French Memorial Foundation
Whole Body Pregnancy

*List curated in part by Katie Joy from Mothering Joy