Starting up as a Doula in July 2016 and going through the process of becoming a Doula UK Recognised Doula, I have come across many courses (aimed at Doula’s and Maternity Practitioners) which I want to indulge in, to develop my knowledge, skills and what I have to offer to my clients. One of the course’s I chose was, ” Loving the Multiple Mama” (approved by Doula Uk).  

 

The knowledge I gained doing this workshop was way higher than my expectation.  The workshop facilitator is, Senior Doula & Doula UK Mentor (my mentor) Mars Lord, who specialises in multiple births and placenta encapsulation.

Oh yes this is her with that big lovely smile.  “Mars has been a Doula for over 11years, and has also been blessed to be a multiple mama having had twins herself”.

Mars, was able to answer all those niggle question that we (me and other Doulas) had in realtions to twins/multiple pregnancy, birth and postnatal mama’s, how to help our mama’s to embrace the joys of being a multiple mama and how we can best help them to have a positive journey from start (conception) to end (parenting).

 

This workshop was designed to get us thinking about the way we work with our clients who are expecting or has had twins, how they are conceived, what they may experience through pregnancy, how they may birth and how they feed their babies, exploring birth rights, options and discover how exciting life with twins can be using evidence based information.

We looked at a variety of twin pregnancies for mums who conceived naturally and mums who had IVF, we discussed what conciderations may arise and how we can support multiple mama’s and their families the way they need us to support them as evey mother, pregnancy and baby is unique.

One thing Mars said is, that we as Doula’s must try to stray away from the words “RISK/HIGH RISK” and replace it with “CONCIDERATIONS”.

 

This is what I like about being a doula, we find ways to support our clients reducing their fears and anxieties by removing the negative thoughts they have and replacing them with positives”.

We looked at the pros and cons and gained great understanding on how we can support and empower multiple mama’s to make informed choices on how they would like to birth and parent their babies and have a positive outcome, whether they choose to have a vaginal birth, caesarean, home or hospital birth.

What we discussed and researched about twin birth options:

  • Pressures multiple mama’s face

  • NICE guidelines about multiple birth

  • Risk (conciderations), why is twin pregnancies classed as high risk

  • Prematurity – Gastational rates of twins in UK

  • Caesarean vs vaginal birth

  • Home birth vs hospital birth

  • SUBU – what it means for babies and parents and how to give the support when babies are in SCBU

  • Birth plans samples tailored for the multiple mama.

  • Where to source evidence based information relating to twins.

And much more…..

I would like to thank Mars for sharing her knowledge, experience and wisdom with me and I am happy to say that I am confident to put what I have learnt into practice, in my role as a Doula taking great care and providing great support and knowledge to the multiple mama’s.