Jessica Atkins is no stranger to the fields of pregnancy and childbirth.  Throughout her nearly 19-year career as a doula and childbirth educator, she has not only helped hundreds of women attain their best births possible, she has also been instrumental in a number of programs serving birthing women and their families.  Since moving to Austin, TX from Minneapolis, MN in August of 2007, Atkins has focused on informing others about the work that doulas do while teaching new doulas and galvanizing the local community of existing birth professionals.

 
Q: How did you become a doula?
 

A: My first year in college, I had a friend who was pregnant.  She was a single mom, and I took childbirth classes with her and attended her birth. It was one of those births that any doula would consider difficult. It was long and drawn out, but at the end it was the best thing I had ever experienced. I also studied early childhood development and was a preschool teacher. I became really drawn to the parent/infant attachment idea and to mothers during pregnancy. I think I was so drawn to it that people were drawn to me. It wasn’t something that I set out to do as a profession, but within a year I had been to about four or five births, and I was just 18 at the time. Later I worked in the school system, leading early childhood development classes. From there I went to a local hospital and worked in maternity care. I’m not a nurse, but my desk was set up right by the maternity desk, and I met with every mom under the age of 21 and helped to connect them with resources. I also started a doula program in that hospital and taught childbirth education as well. A big part of that program was recruiting and training mentors from the community for those young moms. After that I went to the Minnesota Department of Health and developed a program specifically focused on reducing poor birth outcomes. The program went on to win national recognition for its unique methods. I have also been involved in starting many doula programs in various states.

 

Q:  Did you ever imagine you would be instrumental in starting programs like this?
 

A: I didn’t at first.  My focus has never been on being a catalyst (for programs). My focus was my passion for mothers and babies.

 

Q: What have you been doing in the Austin area?
 

A: I was just hired to begin working with St. David’s hospital, teaching childbirth education, and I substitute teach for childbirth education classes at Any Baby Can. I’m doing doula training here for birth doulas and advanced training for birth professionals. I have also been speaking at the UT nursing school about doulas and I think I’ve made some inroads there. Some of those nursing students have attended my workshops. I have been to Seton hospital to do grand rounds with the nurses in order to help inform them about exactly what it is that doulas do.

 

Q: What have you discovered as a result of your dialogue with medical staff in our area?

A: There seems to be a lack of clarity as far as what the scope of practice is for a doula. Doulas are really there at a birth for the very much the same reasons as the medical staff: for a healthy mom and a healthy baby. We just go about it in a different way and work in a complementary mode.

 

Q: How would you describe your services for laboring mothers and their partners?
 

A: What I do is very responsive to the specific needs of the parents. I provide a lot of hands-on support that is individual and tailored to whatever stage of labor that the mother is in. I think that’s the key to being a good doula. You must be responsive, intuitive and sensitive to the needs of parents.

 

Q:  How many births do you typically attend?
 

A:  At times it’s been 100 in a year, sometimes it’s 10.  Right now I’m supporting about one or two families a month.

 

Q: What is the value of a woman’s birth experience, and do you believe that it extends past the first few postpartum weeks? 

 
A:  The way a woman feels about her birth experience, her perceptions of how she was cared for, whether or not she was listened to, her level of support and involvement and how she was included in her birth process, all of that can contribute to a positive level of satisfaction for the mother, and for the father as well. When this is accomplished, all studies point to better bonding with baby, longer breastfeeding, faster healing, and lower incidences of postpartum depression. My goal is to help mothers have a birth experience that feels positive to them on whatever level they feel is best for them.

 

Q: Some people view doulas as exclusive advocates for medication-free birth. Is that accurate?

 
A: That’s another misperception. Sometimes doulas do see their role as avoiding all medication and intervention for their client. But what we have to look at is, what does mom feel is best for her? For some, that could mean an epidural. What I have seen in my experience is that when a woman feels confident and informed and when she is supported emotionally and physically, she is less fearful and doesn’t need as much in the way of medical pain management. I would say that only about 3 or 4 percent of my clients choose an epidural. Feeling safe and relaxed reduces the sensation of pain and requests for medication.

 

A: No, I don’t feel it is a requirement. But I do feel that there should be a doula for every woman who wants one. That’s part of the misson statement for DONA.

 

 
A:  To inform couples about the normalcy of birth. It is a normal body function, not a medical emergency. We have been having babies for millions of years, and if it wasn’t a perfect process, we all would have faded out long ago. Another thing is to discuss epidurals, inductions, c-sections, which are all interventions that are commonly used today. There is this misperception that they’re silver bullets.  As a culture we tend to go for a fast, efficient, planned outcome. We don’t like the unknown. But those interventions are not silver bullets. I hear birth story after birth story from women who had a first birth that was highly interventive, and now they’re terrified of what might happen the next time. We’re doing a huge disservice to our culture by terrifying women of birth. 

 

 
A: That level of anxiety affects birth outcomes, the way we view ourselves and ultimately the way we parent. It takes a sense of power away from us puts it out in an external place. When a woman feels empowered, like she has done something so hard with a beautiful ending product, it has such positive effects on her internal view of herself and on the culture and the community.

 

A: The most challenging thing is when women are misled about their options in childbirth. We talk about informed consent but that’s really not something that’s honored or followed 100 percent of the time and that’s frustrating. It is the most rewarding thing to see moms and babies connect and thrive and when women perceive themselves in empowering ways. Dads too. That’s the most rewarding.

 

 
A:  Yes. The growth in the use of doulas is pretty exponential, all around the country, and it is growing globally too. In the US, doula-attended births are very much growing because there are hospitals that are beginning to institute programs, insurance is beginning to pay for the service, and there is a popular demand. It is not uncommon to hear the word doula in context with birth anymore. And we’re working to do a lot to change that.

 

 
A: I’m part of a local group of doulas that is in the process of getting formalized. We’re coming together to be a little more intentional and to create a vision together, a vision of unity in the community. We can be part of an organization that is diverse but we can still have unity in our mission. This is at the heart of any successful doula group, and that very much exists here. I’m very encouraged about the future of our doula community.

Jessica Atkins teaches and resides in Austin, TX with her children and her husband. She can be reached at (512) 842-1280 or Jessica@FamilyBearing.com.  Learn more about Jessica at www.FamilyBearing.com.

 
 

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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, Clara, Ben and Calvin.