An Honouring of World Doula Week
A Doula has a steady presence that you barely observe but deeply feel.
She is not the loudest voice in the room.
Nor is she giving orders or wearing a white coat.
A Doula is the one who notices when the breath shifts,
When the shoulders tense,
And when confidence wavers.
She doesn’t take up space in the birthing realm.
Rather, she protects it.
She translates when language becomes confusing.
She softens the edges of fear.
She reminds a woman of her own strength,
Uplifting and empowering families at the threshold.
A Doula understands that birth is not only physical.
It is spiritual.
It is profound.
It asks something of everyone in the room.
If not for the love of Doulas,
Who would protect the rhythm of the room
When systems move too quickly
Or fear begins to rise?
Who would remind a woman
That her body is not a problem to be managed
But a force to be trusted?
But because of the love of Doulas,
Women can move through birth seen, supported, and deeply capable.
Thank you, Doulas.
What Doulas Mean to Us at The WOMB
The WOMB began twelve years ago in a living room, founded by two experienced birth and postpartum Doulas.
At the time, families were being referred in every direction to different practitioners, for the best perinatal care. To a Chiropractor here and a Naturopathic Doctor there. Across town to a Counsellor and in the opposite direction for classes and workshops. The care existed, but it was scattered.
As Lorri Fleming, CEO of The WOMB recently said, “it simply didn’t exist, so we built it.”
What started as Doula work expanded into an integrated model of care, revolutionizing women’s health across Canada (and dare we say, the world).
But our roots have never changed.
They’re firmly planted in collaborative, relationship-based support.
We believe in continuity.
We believe no woman or family should have to navigate birth or postpartum alone.
Doula Care is not just a service we offer.
It is the philosophy that shaped The WOMB from it’s conception.
Thank you to all the Doulas out there, especially our own family of WOMB Doulas – truly birth and postnatal superheroes who also happen to rock the double hip-squeezes.
