Central Texas Birth Network Member Profile
May, 2009 - Ryka George, CD(DONA), PCD (DONA), Lactation Specialist and Founder and Executive Director of the Mothering Way based in Austin, TX
Q: How long have you worked in this field?A: I have been a full-time doula since January of 2002, but prior to that I helped many families unofficially just because they needed help. My own children were born in 1990 and 1994 and soon after that, people starting showing up and asking me for help, and I was glad to assist them. At first I was doing more postpartum work and a lot of breastfeeding assistance. But nothing official at that time because I didn't even know what a doula was. I had no idea it was an actual profession until someone said to me, “Why don't you become a doula?”
Q: The name of your practice is The Mothering Way. Why did you choose this name?
A: I tried to find a name that spoke to my heart. I feel like women used to live in communities where they were taught mothering from other mothers. I wanted to provide that feeling with my practice. I also believe that it is unfair to ask a partner, regardless of gender, to solely support the woman they love through the birthing process because they themselves are also in the process a becoming a parent. I believe in supporting partners. I say to partners, your only job is to love her, and whatever that looks like to you and your partner will be perfect. I feel like this takes tremendous pressure off of parents and grandparents who sometimes aren't sure of what they can do to best support mom and baby.
Q: In addition to birth doula services, what other services do you provide through The Mothering Way?
A: We provide antepartum and postpartum work, lactation services and massage services. I also have other women who work for my practice. It actually started out like that and has evolved through the years.
Q: Do you find that the majority of your birth clients gravitate toward natural birth?
A: In my birth practice, I seem to attract women who are drawn to natural childbirth. What I say to all women is, why don’t we discover where your personal wall is? You know, let's assume that you can birth without pain medication or interventions, and if you hit your personal wall in labor, then that will be totally respected. I really believe in helping women try to birth without pain meds because the bonding hormones are dramatically different for moms and babies who birth without medication. In breastmilk for example, endorphins are measurable for up to four days after birth. If a mom chooses to have medication, I try to help her so that she feels accomplished. In some cases an epidural is compassionate care, like if a baby is malpositioned or if the mother is exhausted. I also attend some planned surgical births, and these moms and dads still need emotional support. This is often overlooked in society and it's important to recognize that these women too are giving birth and they and their partners are becoming parents.
Q: For postpartum clients who may be struggling to process a difficult birth, how do you as a postpartum doula, help them heal?
A: I help through listening and through being fully present. I also help her see how well she knows her own baby, how her baby turns to her and I help her understand her baby's cues. If someone has had a surgical birth, we strongly suggest getting mom and baby skin to skin to do a lot of nuzzling. This contact can change a mom's hormones and helps to soften the edges for moms who have experienced a challenging birth.
Q: What about for first time mothers who may be feeling overwhelmed in the early postpartum period?
A: I try to help a mom get her mind around the new life that she is experiencing. I want her to discover her strength and also to discover that she can ask for help. I always gently remind my postpartum clients, I can't rest for you, I can't breastfeed for you, but I can make you a sandwich or do your laundry. This is really time for you to be honored. You have made a whole human being, and you deserve a rest. Pregnancy took 300 extra calories a day, but lactation takes 500 calories a day. You're doing a hard job.
Q: As far as your birth work goes, where do you attend the majority of your births?
A: Mostly in the hospital, although I would love to do more home births and birth center births.
Q: What is the doula's role in patient advocacy in birth settings?
A: We are not the advocates. We help parents learn how to advocate for themselves. In hospitals, we as doulas are guests. Instead we ask questions that could facilitate the care that we know our parents wish to have. For example, I could ask a care provider to explain the risks or benefits for certain procedures and make sure that parents understand. If we speak for other people, then we disempower them. We don’t strengthen a couple by speaking for a couple.
Q: Do you feel that the majority of your clients come to you well educated about pregnancy and childbirth?
A: There are some very, very well-educated consumers out there, but the vast majority do not understand their birth choices or the ramifications of some of the interventions being offered to them. A lot of the work that I do is to help them understand the possibilities that can happen. I want to help women discover their inner strength. We are changing an entire culture and population by how we are birthing right now. When babies and mothers do not receive their full compliment of bonding hormones, we begin to shift the entire society. I'm not saying that there is not a place for pain medication. I'm just saying it shouldn't be the standard of care.
Q: Has your work in this field changed you personally?
A: Dramatically. There is no separation between my spiritual work as human being and my doula work. It is very reflective. A mom, baby and new parents are very accurate mirrors. I find that almost all doulas are continuously growing as human beings if they're paying attention. It's such a heart-driven profession. I can't imagine not changing and growing as a human while helping new life enter the world.
Julia Hockenberry is a writer and doula living in Marble Falls, TX. She studied vocal music at Florida State University and was a classical music announcer for WFDD radio in Winston Salem, NC before becoming a news anchor for WNAV radio in Annapolis, MD. Hockenberry has also written extensively for The Capital newspaper in Annapolis, MD, as well serving as a contributing writer to The River Cities Daily Tribune and The Highland Lakes Business Journal in Marble Falls. In addition to being a perpetual student in the dynamic fields of pregnancy and childbirth, Julia is married to husband, Jay, and has three children.