As a birth doula, I spend many of my days attending births, talking with clients about birth, keeping up on current birth practices and recommendations, and being asked questions about birth.

One of the concepts that’s been floating around for years is the perception that a c-section is not a “real” birth, and/or that it’s a lesser form of giving birth the “real” way (a vaginal delivery after a certain number of hours in labor).

I always thought “What do you do?” is a fairly straightforward question.

When it’s met with, “I’m an electrician, “ or “I’m a bank teller” people have a little picture in their heads of what fills your workday. And then I became a doula.

Once you’ve narrowed down your list of potential doulas to two or three, you may be wondering “How in the world am I supposed to decide from here?” Most doulas offer a complimentary consultation to see if you’re all a good fit, and I highly recommend taking advantage of this offer!