Becoming A Doula
My journey in the medical field has been winding. My first position was becoming a Doula. A Doula helps a mother in labor. I was always at the head of the bed. Encouraging the mother to push! I also kept her comfortable while the birth process was going on.
I was inspired after the birth of my first son. Labor and delivery was traumatic for me. A few other things happened and I knew this was not what labor was supposed to be like. I knew my next birth would not be in the hospital. It was not. I had a painful and long but satisfying birth at home. Looking into the more natural births for my future child I found out more about Doulas. I went to a class that Hillcrest held and finally I was involved in natural births.
The other side of Doula work is post partum doula. My specialty was colicky babies. I helped a frazzled mother relax and bond with her child. I did not interfere with that process. Also as a post partum Doula, you can help mothers who suffer from post partum depression. Very satisfying work to help a mother relieve her fears and relax. I have found that most suffering from post partum feel like if they tell someone, they will lose their child. depression can do that.
Being a Doula was a journey for me. I loved it. So much that I only did volunteer work. I was introduced to attachment parenting and I eventually moved into nursing and now I have a hand in creating future healthcare workers as an instructor. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Hester spent 15 years in radio. She was on-air and has her FCC license. After that she decided to try out the medical field and became a certified Doula. After a few years of helping women in labor she went to nursing school. Hester became an LPN and was the booking nurse for the jail, an Alzheimer unit, hospice, and spent some time doing wound care. She went to Community Care College to add on to her nursing bag of tricks and became an LMT. Combining her previous credentials to be a nurse massage therapist. Currently she is working as an MA Instructor at CCC and is CMA (AAMA) and CPI certified.
Want to learn more about maintaining or achieving health, teaching others about health and working in a career that uses this knowledge? Contact Community Care College and ask about our Medical Assistant program. We educate and prepare you to work in the fast growing professional field of Medical Assisting. After completing our program you are also qualified to sit for the American Association of Medical Assistants’ national certification exam to become a CMA (AAMA), which is recognized in all fifty states!
Thanks for sharing your journey, Hester. We had a midwife help deliver two of my sons. I would have loved to have a Doula coaching me as well.