(July 16, 2020, 1:56 pm)
Before I was pregnant I didn’t even know what a doula was let alone think I’d even need one. Well, I was very wrong and naive because having Mary-Lynne there during my labour was the best thing that ever happened for my family. The night I went into labour was when the realization of how much we needed her truly sunk in. If it wasn’t for her calm, nurturing presence, things wouldn’t have gone the way they did. We didn’t know what was even happening and it was a god send that she arrived full of confidence and knowledge the second we called. At the hospital she cared for every need I didn’t even think I needed, from just placing a cold cloth on my forehead, to encouraging powerful words that got me through the pushing. Every little thing she did added to the bigger picture of educating me and giving me the confidence to be a great mom. Little did I know, postpartum was where I needed her the most. She equipped me with all the knowledge of the newborn stage, she helped with educating me on the proper latch with my daughter to have good feeds and get breastfeeding off to a great start, she helped when my breasts became engorged and showed me what I needed to do and how to use the breast pump and self express my milk to get the pressure down. She showed me the proper positions I was going to need to help with my forceful let down. She bathed my daughter for the first time because I was too scared to, even though they had showed me at the hospital. she was just there with the right words and the right energy to make everything a beautiful fluent experience. The relationship we’ve carried past this has stuck and I would without a doubt have Mary-Lynne by my side on my next birth. It’s crazy to me that I never knew what a doula was beforehand because no one should go through labour and postpartum without one.