Getting That Itch

No, not THAT itch! Sheesh! The birth itch. My last doula client was in March. She had a Cesarean delivery. Prior to her, my last client was in October of last year. It's been 8 months since I've been at a vaginal birth. I have clients lined up for August, which isn't that far away. In fact, we're having our first prenatal meeting in a few weeks.

But last week the phone rang and on the other end was a man who is looking for a doula for his wife (actually his wife is looking for a doula, but for some reason I have only spoken to him in 3 different conversations; this strikes me as odd and has me a bit on guard, but they are neighbors and friends of a former client and she said they're great folks).

So I'm meeting with them tonight and hoping they'll hire me. The excitement is that she's nearly 37 weeks. So things would need to move pretty quickly. Can we squeeze in two prenatals before she delivers? With luck.

Having clients too close together can be quite draining. But having them too far apart is maddening. It gets to the point where I get the urge to approach pregnant women on the street to talk about birth. Not because I want to be their doula, but because if I don't have any clients, I don't have a place to satisfy my need to talk all things birth. Another good reason to make Doulas Drink At Dominick's a reality. T$? Push me on this!

Finally, think about this (if you haven't already). Thanks to LMF for noticing that referring to women as "mom" in the hospital setting is, what, rude? Patronizing? Impersonal? I hadn't stopped to think but that's definitely something I hear a lot of in the delivery room: "Let's have dad take a seat here, and mom, we're going to have you grab behind your knees and pull toward your chest..."