The Lifestyle of Being a Doula & Virtual Doula Support

Doula That!

Balancing doula work with family life as a single mom. 0:00

• Aspiring doula struggles with balancing work and family as a single mom to young children.
• Challenges of being a single parent and doula. 2:09
• Single parents face significant stress, and adding on-call responsibilities may not improve quality of life.
• Plan ahead for childcare during nighttime calls as a doula.
• Doula work, business tips, and bartering. 5:21
• Ravae Sinclair suggests creating a business that supports birthing and postpartum families, such as meal prep or childbirth education, to help balance work and family life.
• Denise Bolds adds that there is a growing market for nutrition and meal prep services, and that skills in yoga, fitness, or art therapy can also be applied to the parenting space.
• Ravae Sinclair and Denise Bolds discuss the option of bartering as a way for doulas to receive payment for their services, with Denise sharing her experience of not having much experience with bartering in New York City.
• Both Ravae and Denise agree that paying doula services off in installments is a more common practice in their area.
• Contracts and exchanges in birth doula work. 10:53
• Ravae Sinclair emphasizes the importance of written contracts for exchanging services, especially when it comes to rural families trading goods or services.
• Ravae Sinclair discusses challenges with upfront payments for birth and postpartum work, including the risk of non-refundable contracts and PayPal refunds.
• Birth work excellence and virtual doula support. 13:49
• Ravae emphasizes the importance of providing value to clients immediately after contract signing.
• Denise Bolds and Ravae Sinclair discuss the importance of responsiveness in client communication, particularly when it comes to exchanging deposits and manifesting energy.
• Ravae emphasizes the need to be proactive and set up the next steps for clients, such as sending an email with links and a welcome packet, to ensure a smooth onboarding process.
• Ravae Sinclair discusses virtual doula support reducing C-sections by 60%, with a higher impact on black women.
• Virtual doula work and its challenges. 19:52
• Denise Bolds highlights the importance of assessment skills in virtual doula work, using her experience as a social worker to provide valuable insights.
• Virtual doula work has become more prevalent since the pandemic, with successful businesses emerging globally, despite initial skepticism.
• Ravae Sinclair discusses the challenges of virtual doula work, including disruptions from technology and lack of continuity in support.
• Sinclair highlights the importance of being able to see and observe the birthing person and their support system in virtual doula work.
• Virtual doula work and pricing. 24:30
• Ravae Sinclair emphasizes the importance of experience and anticipation in virtual birth support, using her own expertise to help families prepare and navigate the process.
• Sinclair navigates tech challenges and preps partners for physical aspects of birth, while also maintaining a consistent and connected presence for families.
• Ravae Sinclair discusses the challenges of virtual doula work, including relying on others for physical comfort measures and communication.
• Sinclair believes virtual doula support should not be priced the same as in-person support due to the differences in workload and responsibilities.
• Virtual doula work and pricing. 28:51
• Denise Bolds emphasizes the importance of hands-on experience and assessment skills for virtual doulas, citing her own 10-year experience with over 287 births.
• Ravae Sinclair disagrees, arguing that lower prices for virtual doula services make them more accessible and affordable for clients, despite potentially doing less work.
• Ravae Sinclair is a virtual doula who offers in-person comfort measures sessions with a local birth worker.
• Ravae is open to working with a childbirth educator or other support person in case of a loss during birth.
• Virtual doula support during pandemic. 33:42
• Labor and delivery team's support is crucial for successful virtual doula support during birth.
• Doulas may need formal training for virtual support, as it requires different skills than in-person support.
• Denise Bolds and Ravae Sinclair discuss the importance of virtual doula support during unexpected situations, such as a partner being deployed or incarcerated.
• They emphasize the need for doulas to be skilled in virtual support and able to pivot quickly in emergency situations.
• Virtual doula support and training. 39:29
• Anticipation and proactive problem-solving are key doula skills.
• Denise Bolds and Ravae Sinclair discuss the importance of continuous electronic connection during childbirth, including video calls and speakerphone use.
• They emphasize the risks of disconnection, such as missing important information and microaggressions, and the importance of advocacy and communication between care providers and clients.
• Ravae Sinclair and Denise Bolds discuss the importance of virtual support for doulas, including the need for extra phone numbers and a control center for families and home births.
• They emphasize the value of working through insecurities and concerns, and knowing the stages of labor for virtual doulas.

Linked article: https://www.healthcare-brew.com/stories/2023/12/06/study-virtual-doula-visits-are-just-as-effective-as-in-person-appointments

Denise virtually doulaing in 2020 in New York City: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Dni2D8Ru0

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How to find us:

Ravae Sinclair @birthconnections and natlbirthpostpartumpros

Denise Bolds @BoldDoula and @blackwomendovbac

Website: www.doulathatpodcast.com

IG:@doulathatpodcast

Platforms: Apple, Spotify, Stitcher & Google