Birth Pros are....
Dedicated Professionals, Explorers, Guides, Friends, Renegades and Closet Rebels, Empathetic, Patient, and Passionate Advocates for All Families.
We're busy...
taking care of mamas, dads, and babies, attending births, creating, nurturing families, listening, informing, educating, guiding, learning, organizing, supporting communities, challenging the status quo, working to broaden the spectrum of birth choices everywhere!
This Week's Featured Pro
Let's start with the basics. What's your name? Mavis Gewant
Who's in your family? My 2 sons, Sky, 24 and Ben, 19, partner Vieux Diaite and Lucy, my dog!
Where do you live? High Falls, NY in the Hudson Valley
Tell us about your work. I have been supporting women and their families as a labor and postpartum doula and I also teach childbirth classes. I work mostly in hospitals, and would love to support more home births. I have experience working with many types of diverse families and have supported many lesbian couples.
Why do you think the services you offer are unique? I very much feel that the baby is having her own experience and I am also there to support the baby through it. I have a lot of experience helping women with breastfeeding issues and I am a great cook, particularly Indian food! I am also a sacred artist and I incorporate artwork into my classes.
What kind of training have you had? I trained as a childbirth educator and doula through ALACE. I did a lactation educator training through CAPPA. I am currently a graduate student at the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, studying pre and perinatal psychology.
How long have you worked in this field? 16 years.
What lead you to this work? I was always interested in natural birth, even before I had my children. I started reading and studying a lot. Women I knew always used me as a birth resource, so I thought why not do it as a profession.
What is the most challenging thing about your work? The most challenging thing for me is working with birth professionals that have a lack of respect for the sacredness of birth.
What are some things you do to expand your business? Network with other birth professionals, have a website, do free classes and run support groups.
What is the attitude toward birth, in your part of the world? Attitudes vary; we do have quite a few women that have birthed at home. The local hospitals have a very high c-section rate, and many women prefer to go to one of the hospitals that have a more supportive view of birth.
What do women want? Women want to be honored, supported and respected, they want to make informed choices and not be pressured by medical staff.
What do you see as a positive future for maternity care? Birth in hospitals has always been about business. In the 80’s women started to make demands and hospitals started to change and become more mother and baby friendly. There has been a recent trend of birth becoming more and more medical and when it comes to insurance companies questioning all the unnecessary interventions, doctors are going to have to change. I think women are going to eventually revolt, either having their babies at home, or making demands and if they are not met, taking their business else where.
What are you doing to make this vision become reality? I want to help women to know that they have many options, can question, and if they don’t like the way they are being treated they can make demands. I think education is key for change. I am also starting a counseling practice to help women heal from traumatic births which will help them have the birth they want the next time around. I am also trying to have doula service available to all women in my community; I really think this will change birth outcomes.
Home or Hospital? I feel that home is the safest place to have a baby and I would like to see more options available for this to be able to happen. For some women home feels like the safest place to have a baby, for others the hospital. I would like to see the hospitals become a safe place for birth.
What do you do to unwind? Go on the Internet, take African dance classes, paint, read.
Give one good tip to new mamas. Trust yourself, listen to your baby!
What do you want people to know about your profession that they may not know? A labor doula is there to support all women, regardless of the type of birth they choose. A good doula is there as part of a team, the mother, partner, baby and doula, working together to have the best possible outcome.
How can people get in touch with you? mavis@gentlecaredoulaservice.com
845 616-1743
