2021 Wrap-Up
What a year!
2021 has come and (nearly) gone, and with it came ten beautiful families for me to support, seven new certifications and trainings, and a whole heckuva lot to be excited about.
Birth Stats
Half of this year’s births were at UK Hospital, under the care of the UK midwives. Babies this year were caught by Hayden Meza (x2), Megan Sharp, Chrissie Adams, and Angie Chisholm, with labor support provided by several others.
Though COVID restrictions were challenging, I was able to support three families at Baptist Lexington. Two of these patients were supported by Lexington Women’s Health (Grace Gibbs and Allison Cook), and the third was supported by the Baptist laborist, Seamus O’Broin.
I also had my first births out of town: one scheduled C-section at Norton Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Louisville, KY (with Michelle Buck), and an unscheduled C-section at the birthing spa at Ephraim McDowell Fort Logan Hospital in Stanford, KY (with James Miller).
These ten babies, (four girls and six boys), represent nearly 76 pounds of squishy perfection.
2021’s babies ranged from 18” to 21” long, and 6lb 2oz to 9lb 4oz in weight.
Seven out of ten births were vaginal. One of these special births was a VBAC for a very excited mom!
Of the three Cesarean births, two were planned. The third mother labored for an amazing 96 hours before requiring an intrapartum C-section.
No babies this year made their appearance right on their due date. The earliest came 41 days early, and the latest was five days late. All of them came right when they needed to! The median birth was three days before estimated due date.
These incredible parents labored for hundreds of hours total to meet their babies! My in-person labor support came to a total of 177 hours for the year, with an average of 17.7 hours per client.
My longest stretch with a client was 32.5 hours and the shortest was a quick 6 hour stint—limited by COVID restrictions, unfortunately.
Speaking of time, these clients represent more than 70 hours of consulting, planning, educating, practicing, and preparing with me for their birth. (When I say it’s important to choose a doula you vibe with, this is why it matters!)
Those 70 hours are in addition to childbirth education, birthing classes, and appointments with doctors, midwives, lactation consultants, and more that parents attend outside of our time together. Getting ready for a baby is no small task!
Accomplishments
This was a HUGE year for Balsam + Pine as a company, as well as for myself as a doula.
Learning is one of my very favorite things, and the birth world has no shortage of new information to soak up. In 2021, I completed four courses (marked with an asterisk) and enrolled in three others that are still ongoing:
Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC), through Evidence Based Birth Academy*
TENS for Labor, through DONA International*
Herbs and Oils for Birth Professionals, through Natural Abundance Health and Birthing*
Trauma-Informed Fundamentals, through Resilient Birth*
LGBTQ+ Affirming Healthcare Series, through University of Louisville
Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss, through the Institute of Birth, Breath, and Death
Comforting Touch for Doulas, through Yiska Obadia
Additionally, I read seven books related to pregnancy and childbirth, as well as numerous articles and studies.
My birthy to-be-read pile is constantly growing!
I made connections with a ton of new perinatal professionals, including mental health therapists, pelvic floor therapists, massage therapists, childbirth educators, birth and postpartum doulas, lactation consultants, doctors, midwives, nurses, and so many more. This birth world is vast and beautiful.
Aside from helping my clients, my biggest accomplishment this year was applying for certification from my doula organization,
DONA International.
This application is the culmination of a two years of hard work, beginning with my birth doula training in January 2020. For certification, I had to:
Complete 16 hours of birth doula training
Complete 12 hours of childbirth education
Complete 3 hours of breastfeeding training
Complete 1 business webinar on running a successful business
Read 7 books, covering 6 different perinatal topics
Support and closely document 3 births with specific criteria, for at least 15 hours
Receive positive feedback and scores from these 3 birthing people, rating my support
Receive positive feedback and scores from 3 doctors, nurses, or midwives, rating my support
Receive a positive, detailed reference form from 1 client
Receive a positive, detailed reference form from 1 perinatal health professional
Write a 1,000 word essay on the value and purpose of labor support
Gather a resource list of 45+ local resources, spanning across 30+ categories
Review and abide by the DONA International standards of practice and code of ethics
Maintain active membership in good standing with DONA International
Pay application fees, both to purchase the certification packet and to submit it for review
I owe a HUGE thank you to the clients and perinatal professionals who helped me in this endeavor, allowing me to meticulously document everything, taking the time to review my support right after doing the hardest thing they’ve ever done, and putting into words their experience with working with me, so that DONA International can get a feel for what kind of doula I am. I (quite literally) could not have done this without you. Thank you so much, sincerely.
On the business side of things, I celebrated my first anniversary of being an LLC, paid business taxes for the first time (this is decidedly NOT exciting) and opened a separate business checking account. I also converted a spare bedroom in our house to an office, with plenty of dedicated space for B+P.
I spent some time exploring rental spaces in town, hoping to find somewhere to act as an office, meeting space for clients (and clients-to-be), and future workshop area. 2021 was the year for looking into this potential move; 2022 will dictate whether that’s a step to be taken or not.
Other miscellaneous celebrations include creating a life-size (and accurately weighted!) placenta, umbilical cord, and baby to demonstrate labor to my clients; being recognized with, “oh, you’re the doula!” in a restaurant; and hearing the encouraging words of so many clients and partners who say things like, “there’s no way I could’ve done that without you,” and “other than IVF, hiring you was the best decision we made.”
Looking Ahead
Moving into the new year, I see a lot of exciting growth on the horizon. 2022 will mark the beginning of my work as a fully certified doula, with those shiny new letters after my name. I’ve got several clients already on my calendar, and a couple more potential families in line. I’ve even been contacted by someone who isn’t pregnant yet but knows she wants to hire me once it happens.
I’ve got an entire Trello board dedicated to trainings I want to take, organized by type.
I have to sit on my hands to not sign up for all of them at once, but I am thrilled to knock out several of these in 2022. There will be some exciting new offerings from me in the future!
Big things are coming, for me and therefore for you. I am so grateful for the support I receive and can’t wait to share more with all of you! Thank you for helping make this birthy dream possible!