I Get It; I'm a Man
/For most men, the idea of assisting in the birth process is a foreign and scary notion to digest. Most men are weak in the knees and need more support during labor than the women who are physically laboring. Men are weak in the knees when it comes to natural birth videos and seeing first hand what it takes to give birth, much less to provide verbal and emotional support. I get it; I’m a man. However, I was not weak in the knees after meeting René. She provides a confidence and expertise that can only be truly valued by those who aim to walk a natural birth process.
Hiring René as our doula, anchored by her experiential knowledge and educational background of the over-medicalized birthing industry, was easily the best decision we made throughout our pregnancy. We actually transferred hospitals at 37 weeks, not at Rene’s suggestions, but by our desire to achieve a birthing experience that was based upon education and the natural human experience.
René was available to us at any time we needed questions answered leading up to our delivery. She was at the hospital waiting on us, even in our fairly distressed state of having to induce, which was not part of the plan.
You cannot have the birth without expecting some pathways in the planned journey to be diverted and the only means of protecting your birth goals is education. The education René provided to us during our pregnancy, throughout our labor, and after our son arrived, was the single factor that allowed us to have the experience we truly desired.
And we got the experience we wanted due to Rene’s involvement as our doula. She was with us each step of the way making sure we knew what decisions we were making alongside our goals of the birth experience we desired. Without having René involved in our transition, I do believe the outcome would have been drastically different and we would not have had the natural experience we were able to have. Surgical intervention would have most likely been chosen for us; instead, we were able to choose to complete the transition with great assistance from René.
For the price she charges, every man should heed this message and do yourself a favor, do your partner a favor, do your child a favor…hire René and educate yourself!