Professionalism in the Birth Industry | Katie Foerster

Today, we talk with Katie Foerster, who offers postpartum and birth doula services through her company Freya Birth (freyabirth.com). We start our conversation with Katie sharing how she became a doula. We talk about the importance supporting birth workers, who often work for relatively low rates, and have to carry the extra burdens of being on-call 24/7, working more than 24 hour shifts, experiencing birth worker trauma and secondary trauma, and deal with other physical and emotional demands. We talk about how doulas are drawn to birth work primarily by passion, and so they are more emotionally connected to their work and sometimes reluctant to charge competitive rates. We list and discuss the different specialties of doulas, such as certified message therapist doulas, VBAC specialists, Birth Yoga specialists, as well as those who prefer working in a home birth other than a hospital and vice versa. We talk about the details behind charging for your work as a birth worker, including different costs to cover, investing in training, and taking your own childcare and burnout from being on-call into account. We talk about how important it is to invest in a positive birth experience, pointing out that your relationship with your child is a lifetime commitment, and is an event just as worthy of investment as your wedding. We discuss the valuable and even necessary help that midwives and doulas can provide. Katie talks about a course she offers for doulas for how to put their best foot forward at consults. She gives suggestions on how to be the right birth worker for your client, as well as finding the doula that is the right fit for your own birth. We emphasize the importance of specialization, and talk about how to build your birth career, chasing the opportunities that will continue to feed your passion and bring fulfillment into your life. 

• 1:50 Katie’s Experience With Birth 
• 9:29 Evolution of the Birth Worker Industry
• 12:05 Different Specialties of Doulas
• 15:32 Investing in Birth and Birth Workers; Rates and Costs
• 30:34 Interviewing Birth Professionals 

“Birth matters. And the way you feel at your birth matters. And studies have shown, clearly, that a doula, and a provider like a midwife that cares for you, or an LMT for your body, that all of these things will improve your experience — it’ll make for a more positive experience.”  24:51

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