We finish today the interview we have done to doula Carolina Cerro, which is part of our work of dissemination of primary health and the role of professionals who favor it.
Carolina Cerro will tell us today his own experience as a mother and his career as a doula, analyzing, in addition, The role of these professionals in each moment of pregnancy and childbirth, ending with this what he explained to us in the first and second part of this interview.
You told us earlier that your own revolution and your vocation as a doula began with your motherhood. How did you materialize it?
I began to form devouring websites, blogs and books, attending talks, congresses and conferences. I began to work with pregnant couples, to allow the meeting, the space to address topics of interest, release emotions, generate debates ... The Maternity / Conscious Paternity Workshops have been held without interruption since November 2008, with over 300 couples passing through here. Later I went to Barcelona with Mares Doules where I did the training course.
Canary is now a center of intense activity around the world of motherhood, right?
Now we are living a very beautiful moment in the islands, the Canary Islands Association of Doulas starts and my project, Project Life, has grown and strengthened and I am part of the team of advisors of Continuum Advisors and starts in October the first formation of Doulas de Gran Canaria But of course my training is continuous and I continue to grow and learn every day.
And how do you serve the doulas, specifically, to support the mother?
It is really every mother who tells you what she needs and we are at your service.
Sometimes mothers seek support since pregnancy, because they feel they want to connect more with their baby, with their instinct, to increase confidence in their body, in nature, in innate wisdom. For that we are the doulas. We help them find information about what they need, we offer them options, listen, we generate debate, we propose possible situations that deserve to be valued and if this is done with the couple, the work is incredible.
And how is the role of doula in childbirth?
In childbirth, we are available since the woman feels she loves you by her side, sometimes days before intimate conversations, sustaining emotions, logistical support. On the day of birth and birth we can be at your side both at home and in the hospital, taking care of the environment, protecting what we know the woman wants, explaining with vocabulary that she can understand what happens, we transmit her wishes to the staff, we take care of your intimacy, reflecting that it is possible and helping with methods of relaxation, breathing, movements and alternative care.
And when the baby is born and in the puerperium?
In the postpartum period, we are a continuum ... we can reconstruct the story by his side, we are someone known with whom the mother and father have lived the whole process. We provide listening, support, presence, containment to the emotions that overflow, breastfeeding support (it is important, in my opinion, that the doulas are trained in breastfeeding), logistics with the house, shopping, meals, care of little siblings, first outings, accompaniment to appointments and visits ... in short, everything the woman needs to feel better with her baby.
In your births did you have a doula accompaniment or would you have liked it?
In my first birth, I know that with the support and reinforcement of a doula I would not have felt so pressured and quite possibly it would have been all different. In my postpartum, it would also have been a huge difference ... I felt very lonely, I felt unsuccessful that I couldn't give birth, of not being able to breastfeed without pain, of feeling so vulnerable ...
Was the second birth different thanks to a doula?
In my second birth, which was at home, the midwife we chose is also trained as a doula, she is an exquisite woman and a great professional, who takes care of both the physical and emotional levels. He accompanied me during my pregnancy, during my wonderful home birth and also the following days. She, along with another midwife and my partner were the team that made me feel powerful, I did not feel helpless, nor alone at any time and obviously that makes me always tear tears to my eyes when I remember.
Every woman deserves what I lived and worked for it.
Thanks to this interview with Carolina Cerro we have known better the role of the doula and the way in which a woman who has that vocation can be formed to realize it. We appreciate your time and attention and hope it has helped you to better understand what these wonderful professionals offer.
