DONA International

DONA (Doula's of North America) is an international, non-profit organization that strives to train and educate doula's all over the world. 

while it's true that anyone can call themselves a doula, i will be following DONA's recommendations and actually obtaining certification by reading books, taking part in workshops, attending births with a mentor and writing an essay- it is a lot of work but i am excited to start the process.

 according to their webiste "DONA International began in 1992, when a small group of some of the foremost experts in childbirth decided that the time had come to promote the importance of emotional support for mothers and their partners during birth and the postpartum period." in 2004, they decided to change their name to DONA International because their community had grown so large. they are now the leading doula association in the world.

 their website is extremely informative (follow the link above) but i will be writing a few posts breaking down the information that can be found there. every step i take in my journey will be because it is what is recommended by DONA, they are a very well respected association and i will be honored to be a part of their community.  

welcome

hello, my name is kristen chambers. 

i am married to my high school sweetheart, ian, and we have a one year old daughter, delaney. 

i recently became a stay at home mom with the goal of becoming a doula. 

this all started when i was asked what i want to do with my life. i have a bachelors of science in public health but i was just working as a receptionist at a doctor's office. while i absolutely loved my job and the people i worked with, it was not what i wanted to do forever. it was time to really decided what i wanted to do "when i grow up" (you know,  since i am a 25 year old, mother of one with a college degree!). this led me to start thinking about what i love and what i learned is that i have a passion for pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood and that i also have an appetite for educating, encouraging and inspiring others. when i put these two loves together i realized that i wanted needed to become a doula. 

a doula is simply a support person to a woman before, during and after childbirth. 

doula literally means "female servant" and that is just what i would like to do-- assist and serve women during their pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum experiences. 

i plan to use this blog to document my journey of becoming a doula. 

hopefully in the near future this will become a place that i share my experiences as a practicing doula with lots of wonderful clients.