Preparing for Birth, Dealing with Trauma & What is a Birth Worker? | Jenevieve Russell

Not Another Wellness Podcast

“You can both be grateful, & have trauma” after your birth

Birth Trauma

• The difference between a difficult and traumatic birth
• What is happening in the brain during labor, primal brain
• About “1 in 10 people feel their birth was traumatic”
• About “1 in 6 people can be diagnoses with postpartum PTSD”
• What are the common threads between a persons birth and their likelihood for experiencing trauma in birth

Preparing for Birth

• Managing past traumas before you give birth
  • “Letting the nervous system know that it is safe, and seen, and soothed”

Doulas/Birth Workers

• The language of “doula” is shifting to “birth worker”
• What is the role of the doula
• Birth preferences vs. a birth plan
• Helping birthing people feel empowered
• The difference between a birth worker and a partner
• Minimize the unexpected with education and preparation
• Birth is safe in lots of difference places

The top 3 things that seem to help people have the most satisfying birth experiences (and make the whole birthing team more successful)

1. A team with whom they feel supported

2. Use the strengths you already have

3. Have flexibility

• Why wanting to “control” birth doesn’t always work
• Postpartum workers/doulas and what that can look like
  • What is postnatal depletion?
• Post Trauma GROWTH!

Jenevieve Russell: Jenevieve has been in the pregnancy/parenting world for the past 20 years as a doula, psychotherapist, support group host. She has witnessed 450 births in that time as a birth worker. She is a psychotherapist through her Nurturing Strategies, LLC [psychotherapy, trauma/birth processing and perinatal adjustment] and motherhood support group, and a doula/birthworker through Doulas of Boulder. She delights in exploring her own journey of motherhood with her family and is ecstatic about supporting expecting families. She draws on her vast, eclectic experiences (more below) when supporting families before, during and after birthing, specifically she has attended/supported births since 1996.

Get in touch with Jenevieve:

www.NurturingStrategies.com

Jenevieve is also an experienced doula:

Doulas of Boulder

Other links from the show!

Doula Database:

https://www.dona.org/what-is-a-doula/find-a-doula/

https://referral.dancyperinatal.com/

https://psidirectory.com/

Soul 2 Soul Sisters: out of Colorado

https://soul2soulsisters.org/sacred-seeds-black-birthworker-collective-of-colorado/