What qualifies you to start an organization that trains birth professionals?
Thank you for this question! Since I am not the only one contributing to the curriculum and training, I can only answer for myself, but please take a look at our board of advisors and the experience and wisdom they also bring to the organization. I could not build an organization by myself. The collective knowledge and education has been so valuable to our efforts.
First I will answer referring to our current certification program...
Am I a postpartum doula myself? Yes, with over 8 years of experience - caring for families as a volunteer with single mothers before I knew it had a name. I've cared for more than 35 families as a postpartum doula, made up of both my birth doula clientele and on a volunteer basis for underprivileged families. I have been certified as a birth doula with DONA and have served families in that capacity for over 5 years. I enjoy serving mothers at home, both before, during and after the birth. I am a long-term student with AAMI, and while on my journey, have chosen not to pursue licensure in my state for political reasons. I have currently put my midwifery training "on hold" while MaternityWise is booming. In addition, I've held over 15 postpartum doula training workshops internationally since 2006.
I have attended about 10-12 births a year as a childbirth doula, and teach approximately 10 childbirth classes through the year including a Psychology of Birth presentation each semester at the University of MN for their Psychology of Women Department. In the last year or so, I have purposefully kept the numbers down as I have been asked to travel and speak more, and it's difficult to be home and on-call and balance the educator-factor, since I don't want all my moms to have my back-up for their caregiver on the big day. That and my family is my number 1 priority. If I were any busier, I would miss them too much!!!
More of my credentials:
- I am an ongoing speaker for NIFDA, the Minnesota Women's Source and at other conferences teaching on business growth.
- I've been interviewed on a number of local and internet radio shows about birth and new mothers & babies.
- My college major was psychology with an emphasis on memory and personality development.
- I'm the mother of 4 myself. I have also walked closely with a number of mothers through stillbirth and newborn loss. I understand and have studied pregnancy-related psychological trauma in depth.
- I co-host a radio show on Monday nights called The Women's Hour, where we interview and talk about moms and birth 95% of the time. - currently on hiatus.
- I've privately published a couple nutritional guides on postpartum eating (to be included on the website ASAP!).
The most popular one is for husbands/partners called "Mrs. Johnson's Postpartum Menu".
- I co-founded the Take Birth Back Movement and also the Trust Birth Initiative with amazing Carla Hartley - Founder and Director of AAMI. In the need to streamline my work and family life, I have had to cut back drastically on the amount of work I put toward these awesome organizations. I am currently involved with local Labor Day efforts.
- I teach 2-3 separate business classes each week through the Community Education program in MN, which includes every county and school district within 75 miles of my home.
- I'm a sought-after speaker for expos and Small Business Conferences, teaching internet marketing and other frugal business growth skills.
- I own and moderate 2 separate natural mothering Yahoo Groups, where new mothers and mothers-to-be frequent, ask questions and we have the privilege of many skilled birth workers who provide information regularly there.
Who have I trained with to be a postpartum doula? No previously existing organization. I continue to educate myself as I gather information for my trainee doulas. At MaternityWise, we do things differently from other organizations. We have curriculum advisors including women who've had 20 and 30 years experience, accredited and not. We have an advisor who has cared for over 160 families of multiples, and another who serves mostly adoptive families, and others who work with special needs moms, dads and babies.
We also have connections to many homebirth midwives as advisors, and I pick their brains regularly! ha ha I have learned so much from these awesome women. We really believe in putting the power of research and information into the hands of the individual servant (doula), along with teaching the business skills that it takes to do this as a career.
Trainings in person include everything the site mentions - Here is a good layout of the day:
http://maternitywise.com/postpartum_doula_training_Georgia.html
It seemed natural for me - being an educator, to share the things I've learned, lean on the women who know more that I do and combine as much wisdom as possible to teach and train a new breed of childbirth servants.
This is not a one-woman show. *wink*
I plan to bring on additional, skilled women as the organization grows. That is where my invitation to you comes in. This organization has so much room for growth and our desire is for every woman that wants to, shall have a business they love, that pays like a business, for the sake of their families.
With growth comes the need for leadership. Are you interested in becoming a leader within our growing organization...?
Future goals: To train as many postpartum doulas as possible. To begin a second arm of MaternityWise, training Labor Doulas (already underway). To then also begin a childbirth educator program and a childbirth advocate program - a new idea that does not yet exist with any other organization, but will be legal-minded in nature. I see the need for this becoming more and more prevalent. We have not and will not copy what is currently out there for any of our programs. It looks and requires different things because we don't think the programs that currently exist are completely adequate.
My goal as the MaternityWise Director is to make our program as comprehensive as possible without being ridiculously difficult to obtain the status of "certified" which infers "trust-able". I want the MaternityWise women to be passionate, as well as armed and dangerous! More than the average professional birth worker. Eventually, as we grow larger, my hope is that we'll raise the bar and having a MaternityWise certification will be a status symbol of women who will change the world.
Let me know if you have any questions.
I would not mind hopping onto your online discussion group for some question/answer sessions, if you think that would be helpful!
Let me know how I can serve you!
Blessings,
Chris Anne Johnson
