Community Partner: What’s her WHY?

Community partner post number two for the month, ya’ll! I asked Erin to explain WHY she does what she does and more specifically, why she chose to leave her role as a nurse practitioner to pursue doula work. Here’s her reply:

“I went into parenthood PREPARED. I was a healthcare professional with years of experience observing and managing labor and birth, spent countless hours babysitting while I was growing up, was financially and emotionally ready to have a baby with a partner that I was crazy about. And yet, pregnancy and birth rocked me. I experienced several miscarriages, then suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum when a pregnancy finally stuck. I labored for 72 unmedicated hours to deliver my sweet, stubborn daughter. I was still reeling (emotionally AND physically) when it was time to take her home 2 days later. I didn’t recognize my healing body, struggled to get into a breast feeding rhythm, and felt so unlike myself. I needed help, and I didn’t know how to ask for it, or where to turn. With time, and with the support of an amazing set of friends and birth workers I discovered along the way, we figured one another out and began to thrive. My next 3 pregnancies and births were infinitely easier, as I could feel my community’s support around me at every turn. As I settled into my new identity as a parent, I knew I needed to do my best to encourage other new parents through this enormous transition.”