EP 34: Communal Parenting and Advocacy in the Birth Space with Doula Lauren Archer
You can hear why Lauren is such a great Doula in how she listens and supports the birthing people she works with. Her passion for advocacy in the birth space is inspiring.
Co-parenting, birthing trauma, postpartum lifestyle. Gain insights in how to advocate for yourself and ways to feel your consent is honored in the birth space.
Lauren is a doula and lactation specialist that brings non-judgemental and unbiased support to her clients and their families. She’s been a doula for six years and has spent the last two years studying lactation.
Lauren explains that as a doula she provides emotional, physical, and mental support during birth, labor, and postpartum. She compares pregnancy to a “fishbowl” experience, where when you’re in it, you’re only able to see the perspective from the inside. A doula can see what’s going on from outside the fishbowl to help you through it, and help you if the waters start to get muddy.
The feels the role of a doula has shifted positively from a supportive, helping hand, to more of an advocate role for those going through labor.
“People just don’t know what they don’t know. A lot is breaking down: what you’re gonna be offered, why you might be offered it, how do you feel about that?”
She emphasizes how many marginalized birthing people are treated differently due to systemic racism and white privilege in the birthing room, so doulas are an excellent resource in representing the birth person’s needs in that space. Lauren teaches a childbirth ed class to help educate people and their partners on how to advocate for themselves and their needs.
In addition to advocating for her clients, she also helps find resources for clients who maybe have experienced trauma during birthing or are experiencing postpartum depression or anxiety.
Consent is required in any environment, but Lauren urges her clients to remember that consent can always be taken away in the birth space as well.
“Nobody should be sticking their fingers inside of you without consent. Nobody should be touching your breasts if they have not explicitly gained consent. You don’t NOT need consent just because the baby’s already here.”
She has also been very deliberate in educating her son about consent and reaches out to her close circle of “co-parents” when talking to her son about big topics.
She reminds us we used to rely on the support of an entire community to help us raise kids but nowadays it’s easy to feel isolated. There is power in reaching out and remembering that we are not meant to do this alone.
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