Gloria Lemay

[westcoastma]

So I've taken the plunge. I'm officially enrolled in Gloria Lemay's doula training classes at the end of this month. I'm so excited!! It's a four day (all day) course which seems pretty intensive. After hearing some of you praise her work and style I've decided her class is a good fit (thank you!). I figure that if it seems necessary to be DONA certified, by client feedback and my own comfort level with my skills, I can always do that later. For now I don't think it's a suitable fit for the kind of services I want to provide.

I am a little concerned with the fact that it's only 4 days. I mean, will I be ready? I know my career as a birth assistant will always seem like a work in progress to me. There are other courses I'd like to take (outside of solely doula training to "build my portfolio", if you will) and other areas of my life I need to get sorted out (like getting a car!!! lol, doula on transit? not really...) but I'd like to feel confident with my skill set after this course.

Any advice? Words of comfort?

[gentleearthmama]

The DONA training is only 3 days.
The real training comes with each woman you take on.
If being a doula is for you, you'll know!
I took the DONA training not so much to become a doula, since I am not ready to be on call all the time, but for the educational background I can apply to my prenatal yoga teaching. I would still doula for a friend though, and have before.
Good luck!
Birth is a beautiful thing!

[Sage.Naissance]

You will have so much fun with Gloria, she's nuts, in a great way.
My doula training is 28 weeks long (1 3hr class a week, 2 shadowed births 3 independant, neonatal recuss etc.) Most of us are hoping to go onto be midwives.
Our class is geared towards our particular situation here in Montreal, the assumptions being that:
We will be working in busy hospitals that are severely understaffed and clients will be underserviced and undermonitored
our clients will mostly be in the hospitals
Many of our clients will have wanted midwife assisted births but without the option(we have VERY few midwives in Montreal and huge legal restrictions on practice here)

We learn in detail; the physiology of childbirth, pain coping techniques, nutrition, emotional issues, their effect on birth, resolving emotional issues, signs of problems in pregnancy, normal ailments of pregnancy and how to safely and naturally alleviate them, signs problems in labour and birth, hospital proceedures, how to do things like; read fetal monitors; understand Blood pressure, diagnostic tests etc., we see ourselves as the first line of defence agains PreEclampsia, unneccesary induction, misjudged duedates, ect.
DONA would say we are completely out of line but we are doing what people need, and are educated to do it. I believe I prevented a C-section yesterday/today by turning a breech baby with homeopathics and visualization, so as far as I am concerned someone has to do this work and doulas are the ones to do it.

But that was a tangent. What I am saying is that it depends on who your clients are, and what the needs of your area is. If you are dealing with people who are horrified of hospitals, trying to have natural birth, wish they were having a midwife assisted birth, and are in a less than ideal hospital setting, they need more help to have that natural birth. If they are empowered homebirthers they probably just need you to hold their hand and put pressure on their lower back, and tell them they are awesome. Gloria and DONA will do that, Gloria will do it better. damn well, and she'll wash all of those silly 'stages of labour' and 'this is birth and the positions you should use' ideas out of your head if they are there.
Congrats, I hope you love doulaing.
And indeed the best learning happens at births. I just had my first long difficult birth and did I ever learn from this one! (3 days in hopsital, but with great result)

[westcoastma]

Thanks for your replies. I'm pretty psyched to be taught by her.

So DONA is only 3 days?! I studied their web site for the correspondance course and it seemed like it'd take 4-6 months. Plus CB classes, attended births, exams, reports etc etc. Seemed like jumping through a lot of hoops. I'm sure it'd be great training in the end though. Maybe one day. As a SAHM I'm looking forward to getting out of the house for Gloria's class.

[gentleearthmama]

let me clarify
the actual DONA workshop I attended was 3 days. Then you have the homework, which includes attending the births, the essay, attending childbirth education classes, etc.
It could take awhile to get certified, depending on how fast you do your homework.
I chose DONA not because I think its the best, or that I even did tons of research, but because the woman doing trainings in my local area teaches DONA trainings. It was easier for me to attend something in my area than to travel for a training that may be better or more suited to my birth philosophy somewhere else.
I checked out Gloria Lemay's website, I am sure she is awesome!
By the way, homeopathy and visualization are not considered out of scope for DONA doulas. As long as the woman is encouraged to ask her doctor, "Is there any medical reason why I should not try (homeopathy or other remedy) right now?"
DONA doulas are encouraged not to step over the medical line of what goes on in a hospital. There is nothing wrong with understanding medical things, but a DONA doula would not be checking blood pressure or doing internal exams.
That said, the first hospital birth I attended, the nurse showed my how to read the monitors so I could understand what was going on.
Enjoy your training!

[birthmamma]

I took Gloria's Doula class 2 years ago and loved it. Be prepared for an intense 4 days. It is jam packed full of info, insight, and experience. Gloria is a basically a human enclyclopedia on birth,lol.

[dewi]

I'm around long enough to tell you that If you gave birth you don't need to be "trained" or "certified" to be a doula! Educate yourself, you need education and practial life experiece about normal birth.

You will absolutely benefit from any education you receive, and Gloria is a fabulous mentor to learn from.
Have fun and keep on learning!

[Sage.Naissance]

My DONA teachers told me we weren't even allowed to recommend teas, and most definitely not do homeopathy, herbalism body work(outside of gentle massage) and definitely not nutrition councelling. Even if we are qualified to do those things we need to wear our 'doula hats' not our 'naturopath hats' or 'herbalist hats' or whatever.
Anyways I do what I need to do but definitely dont mess with things in the hospital and never recommend anything I dont know about.

Anyways, Have fun with Gloria, she's a world renound birth professional.

[cathicog]

Originally Posted by Sage.Naissance

DONA would say we are completely out of line but we are doing what people need, and are educated to do it.

ah, but you are doing what the client may need to have the natural/normal birth she hired you for...(PS, ALACE would probably be happy with it! )

What I am saying is that it depends on who your clients are, and what the needs of your area is. If you are dealing with people who are horrified of hospitals, trying to have natural birth, wish they were having a midwife assisted birth, and are in a less than ideal hospital setting, they need more help to have that natural birth.

Amen

[westcoastma]

Dear god... I've been emailing Gloria and briefly asked if 4 days was long enough training to feel confident with my skills and I haven't heard back from her yet! It's been about 4 days (granted I didn't expect her to answer on the weekend). I hope i didn't offend her in any way.

[birthmamma]

I wouldn't worry.....she is pretty hard to offend,lol.
You will leave her class feeling inspired, confident in your abilities and a new respect for birth and what the female body is capable of

Gloria is a pretty busy lady so keep trying..

[Inner_Serenity]

Originally Posted by westcoastma

Dear god... I've been emailing Gloria and briefly asked if 4 days was long enough training to feel confident with my skills and I haven't heard back from her yet! It's been about 4 days (granted I didn't expect her to answer on the weekend). I hope i didn't offend her in any way.

Gloria was at the Trust Birth Conference from last Thursday the 6th till probably today, Monday the 10th.

I am sure you will hear from her soon, when she can get caught up

Tia

[westcoastma]

funny you know her schedule. lol thanks.

my boyfriend is going to have to bring ds to me on breaks so i can nurse him. should be interesting, but i want to mke this work!!