St. Gianna Catholic Doula Program™
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Blog

Benefits of Doulas....

2/2/2020

 
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Why a doula?
The researchers found that overall, people who have continuous support during childbirth experience a:
  • 25% decrease in the risk of Cesarean; the largest effect was seen with a doula (39% decrease)*
  • 8% increase in the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth; the largest effect was seen with a doula (15% increase)*
  • 10% decrease in the use of any medications for pain relief; the type of person providing continuous support did not make a difference
  • Shorter labors by 41 minutes on average; there is no data on if the type of person providing continuous support makes a difference
  • 38% decrease in the baby’s risk of a low five minute Apgar score; there is no data on if the type of person providing continuous support makes a difference
  • 31% decrease in the risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience; mothers’ risk of being dissatisfied with the birth experience was reduced with continuous support provided by a doula. (Info from Evidence Based Birth). ​

Holy Family and Doulaing

1/12/2020

 

Holy Family and Doulaing...

Today's feast - at least in the Traditional Latin Mass is the Feast of the Holy Family.
I think this is a great time to consider what the Holy Family went through. 
Mary and Joseph couldn't find "room in the inn" so they had their first born son- Jesus and laid him "in a manager" in "swaddling clothes".
I love this one - we like to train our doulas to know about swaddling the baby - so it is right here in the bible too! 
So, the shepherds come and worship.
I believe the Holy Family must have also did the circumcision in the manager most likely.  This is when Jesus was named as well.  They must have  gone to the temple to "purify Mary" though she was 100 percent holy - this was tradition and Mary submitted to this ritual. Then I believe the 3 wise men came sometime after this - that's just how I would see the order of things. It mentions that the three kings came to a "house" find the verse. So, the Holy Family did have a place in Bethlehem  somewhere - now it could be that the cave/stable was near a house - so I don't know for sure if they were in a real house or still in the stable area when the wise men came - but the did see  a star. However, remember in the Bible, the Wise Men even stopped in Jerusalem - it seemed the star had disappeared for a short time - they found out that the prophecies suggested the baby would be born in Bethlehem. They did seem to find the star again and find Jesus! 
After the wisemen left their gifts, an angel told them to go home a different way. Then, another angel appeared to Joseph to go fly to Egypt as  Herod was after killing all the babies ! So, Joseph obeyed and took Mary , Jesus and  went immediately in the middle of the night to Egypt! Imagine the Holy Family being "homeless" in a way for a few years in Egypt. I am sure they did find a place to live, etc. Joseph was  a resourceful man! Then finally, they hear from an angel that it is safe to return - but to go to Nazareth a safer region to live in. So, this is why Jesus is called a Nazarene.
So, what does all of above have to do with being a doula. First of all, we should meditate on life of Jesus - it is good for our doula souls! Secondly, we are reminded by this narrative, that no mother is perfect - she may have moved around 100 times or not be in the best place at this moment in her life - but she's having a baby and needs your best support. Don't judge a mother because of her circumstances. Look at the Holy Family they were even were homeless! 
Third, the Holy Family shows that no matter what God is with us. If we are feeling discourage in our doula business - then pray and God will provide our needs and desires. So, think about above and pray to God for your doula business needs. Pray to the Holy Family! 

Julie's 5 tips doula's need to know!

12/26/2019

 

Julie's 5 tips doula's need to know!

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I  am making a blogging goal to post something a t least once a  week or so and it might be here or might be on Catholic365.com or the Facebook page - so you may want to look at www.catholic365.com as I can schedule things there and Facebook better - however, I still want to post on our website here as well. It gives someone a reason to come here to find news and such...so...now here are my tips...
1. If you are working with a virtual client - make sure you have the right time zone when talking to them. This happened to me recently and I totally forgot she was on Eastern time while I am in Central time zone! So, I had to reschedule with her and then my computer decided to update about the time I tried to chat with her - but at least I gave her something to read - so I do  need to make sure my computer doesn't do that either - two tips in one here!! 
2. Get a schedule - calendar online or on paper. At the moment I am thinking paper - here's why I share my computer with my family and we use it for school to husband's work - so that means a paper calendar might be better to write my schedule on. I can always put it on a digital one later! I really need an i-pad or something - LOL...
3. Make weekly goals and monthly goals. If you write it down it is more likely going to happen for you. There' s a book called "Write it Down Make it Happen" - I would suggest reading it for goal setting. So, set your doula goals or whatever kinds of goals you have in mind. This goes for mom goals too!
4. Now do your goal - if it just sits on paper nothing is going to get done - really take action on your goals! I just started teaching a new course and want to make it set up with specific time frames for the students - and my students help motivate me - I just got a student who wants to get started now - I love it. So, motivation and motivating students help me reach my goals! 
5. Finding your clients - marketing hasn't been really my strong point - but one thing you can do even if you are a bit shy - get out into your community -go to events - go out to eat at the local cafe' and just meet people. This is going to be one of my goals for the new year - so hopefully you can do this too - even if you are shy - get out of your comfort zone! 
I hope these tips help you reach your goals in year 2020. One of my goals is getting to press at least digital for now is our book "Doing Business the Doula Way" -so look for that in an online store near you - I'll post more once it goes to press - Lisa Van Der Wilt and I put this book together. 


Mary's Expectation - December 18 - 2019

12/18/2019

 

Mary's Expectation - a poem...

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Mary's expecting a son
She set out to travel afar
The decree by Caesar  said
​To register Bethlehem  star!

They traveled by day
They traveled by night
A donkey for the journey
It just felt right...

Mary was tired 
They stopped for a drink
Three camels coming
They didn't even blink...

Joseph searched for a place 
There was no room 
​The inn was full
This was so gloom...

However a boy said
Come over to this cave!
Then lay down here
Mary was so brave! 

Then Jesus came....
He came like a Light!
The stars were twinkling
They were twinkling so Bright!

The Angels appeared
To the shepherds of the field of may
They sang to them 
Jesus born today! Jesus born today!

Mary wrapped HIM
in swaddling clothes of hay
and laid HIM in the manager
as it was HIS birth Today!
as it was HIS birth Today! 

​By Rose Hill - aka Julie Larsen 

The 5 Tips that Every Doula Needs

11/1/2019

 
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Being a doula for a year has been one incredible journey. I have loved every moment of it. But somethings I wish I knew when I started my doula business are the following tips. These tips we hope you can become a better doula from or even learn more for your FUTURE business as a doula.

1. Don't bother with what other doulas think of you. Not every doula is going to like you. It isn't a field where most people like each other. I really was hoping that we all could work together but the competition can be hot. Don't let other's tear you down and what they do with their business you don't have to do with yours.

2.  Set a Goal for your Business each month. Something I wish I did in the beginning of my business is creating goals in the beginning I just did my training when I could and that worked but as I got other jobs at the same time it was really hard on my system to keep it all organized.

3. Take time to improve yourself with more training and knowledge. Even if you don't offer lots of different packages in everything like babywearing, birth, postpartum, fertility, nutrition... etc. You can always learn more. Learn it so you can teach your clients what they may want to know. Take a different training each year to improve yourself.

4. Take a Training that you agree with morally. So many trainings have different mission statements. You may not agree with abortion, you may not want to take a training that supports that. You may also want to see what you believe in on other things as well as something you can learn before your training.

5. Don't forget that being a doula is after all a business and it is work. You need to remember to take care of yourself and don't obsess over this so much that you are unable to take care of your health, and family time. 

Being a doula is amazing and I hope to continue being a doula for as long as I can before other things come up. But I wish I knew some of these things before I took my training, before having issues with other doulas because the competition was hot. Think about it and really do your research.

These are just the opinions of one doula. Lisa van der Wilt. 

Learning to Birth conference

10/28/2019

 

Join the Learning to Birth Conference

We found this wonderful conference online and you can learn so much from going to this conference everyday, but this is the last week to signup for FREE - so if you want the conference links in your inbox - go to www.learningtobirth.com and join the conference. One of my friends Maha Al Musa had a talk on it - so go learn about breastfeeding, birth, etc. Today's conference is from Anna Horn and breastfeeding! 
This conference continues through November and ends on December 1st - so enjoy. We want to continue sharing links like this.
Oh, by the way, we are going to plan an online Catholic Doula Conference next year - so wait for that one - we finally decided that online 2020 Conference and we do hope to offer a least a workshop in New Jersey area and possibly Denver. I also had a request for Florida and California - but not sure I can do more than 2 a year - so we will see! We just want to be able to do workshops more - so we will see!! 
So, go check out the Learning to Birth Conference! 

News will be here in our blog - St. Zelie Parent Classes...

10/26/2019

 

New St. Zelie Parent Classes Starting in January!

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Welcome to our blog - St. Zelie Parent classes will be starting in early January if we have signups. We started a new parent website at http://stzelie.weebly.com​  So, our parent classes are all online. They are meant for both parents to work through. However, if dad is busy - we kind of have dad section in each module or "suggested" area for dad to read. Also, there is suggested homework for both parents. The books you need for the course will be included in the $189 price for the class. Christ Centered Childbirth and The Gift of Birth are our readings for each module. This is a six week online class - but feel free to take your time for the class. We hope you will explore this new website.
Also, we will be posting more news articles on this section - so come on over and read our blog. We hope to post something fun to learn about once a week. If you subscribe to our "Mothers News" you will also be alerted to our blog posts.
We also have podcasts - and those will be part of our Mother's Newsletter - you subscribe for free and you will receive all our podcasts too! So, subscribe on our front page or email  

Why Catholic Doula Program?

4/21/2019

 

So, Why Catholic Doula Program? 

 1. 100% Pro-life training - we will never preach anything that is against life from conception to birth - this is a child in God's eyes. No "abortion doula" baloney. All life is precious! If we get to a fertility doula course, no contraception (birth control) as this is also anti-life. 
2. We are not politically correct! (We refer usually to father as that father/partner/husband) and mother as mother! 
3. We offer spiritual based training from Gifts of Holy Ghost to Joys or Sorrows of Mary included in our training! 
4. We want our students to be happy--interaction with student/teachers are important to us. 
5. We devote a lot of time to making the curriculum affordable and updating it often--keeping it evidenced based as much as possible. 
6. Rebozo training is included in the cost -- no need to take an extra rebozo course (birth doula only for this). 
7. We offer all things in a Christian/Catholic format -- no "goddess worship". 
8. Get a Mexican rebozo shawl with your birth doula course! 
​

Easter Giveaway and non-certified "doula" route for moms!

4/8/2019

 

 Easter Giveaway and non-certified "doula" route for moms!
We apologize for not posting on this blog for awhile - busy me! Today is my patron saint - St. Julie Billiart - she was a French nun! (Read about her here)
Our Easter Giveaway is the following items: A book Mission to Motherhood, either a wrap or homemade rebozo (I have some fabric - so I may make a rebozo), Mother's tea, a chapel veil from Regina Caeli Veils (Etsy shop)! So, go to the front page of our website and enter the giveaway on the form or the drop-pop-up form (looks like a donut!) 
Non-Certification route
We have a lot of inquiries sometimes of mothers or others who are interested in the doula course, but perhaps do not have time for all the certification requirements and would like to learn more about birth and doula work. So, we thought we could offer a simpler program - starting now as of April 8, 2019, if someone wants to work through the course and not worry about all the assignments or certification requirements for birth doula (for now- we may offer postpartum option soon) - we will let them take the self-pace course and we will take $100 off our normal pricing (see enrollment page), so if someone (Teens, Mothers, birth workers, etc.) is interested in learning about doulas and not interested in "certification" - please contact us via email and we will be glad to invoice you the difference in pricing for the course. We will also offer payment plan for any non-certification students as well.  For now the only way to do the non-certification route is to contact us direct. Thanks for understanding! Homeschooling teens may want this non-certification route option - we had thought about creating a separate program - but we are so busy - so this is the best option we can offer for now is to offer a non-certification route. If a teen wants to do the fast-track - we also have a lower cost option for them too. 
*Note if anyone wants to come back and  certify later - they will have to pay the $100 fee and make sure they do all the required certification work and quizzes or exams if they missed any of those. Thank you. 

Labor Day Mom Giveaway!!

8/4/2018

 

Mom Giveaway is going to include: The Calm Birth School Book and Eating for Two Book! Plus Receive a free entry into our new "Want to be a Doula?" Course worth $25! Just enter by emailing us at catholicdoulaprogram@gmail.com or use entry form on front page of Catholic Doula (near middle or bottom of page). All entries need to be in by Midnight on Labor Day! Thanks so much! 

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    Juliana Larsen is the author of the Catholic Doula Blog.

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  • Home
    • About
    • Pro-Life Pledge
    • Scope of Practice Statement
    • Student Policies
  • Courses Info
    • Birth Doula Info >
      • Projects_Birth_Doula
      • Fast-Track >
        • Register Fast-Track
      • Steps For Certification (Birth Doula)
    • Postpartum >
      • Steps for Certification (Postpartum)
    • Star of the Sea CBE
    • Bereavement updated >
      • Our Lady of Sorrows Bereavement
    • Teen Doula
  • Parent Classes
    • St Zelie Classes
  • Continuing Education
    • BLOOM Training
    • M.O.M. advocate
    • Herbal Course
  • Blog
  • Contact