Help me become a community DOULA, to help mums have a positive birthing experience!

By Marijke Lavens

NZ $550 pledged


7 people pledged


Closed


NZ $3,500 minimum target


15 15% Complete

This campaign failed to reach its target by 31/03/2017 at 12:00 AM (NZDT) and is now closed.

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About

Help Me Become A Community DOULA, To Help Mums Have A Positive Birthing Experience!

Project 2017-02-21 21:22:29 +1300

Hi there! 
My name is Marijke. I'm a mother of two gorgeous little creatures, who teach me the most important lessons in life on a daily basis. Most important lesson: do what you love and do it with heart and soul!
My dream when I was younger was to move to beautiful New Zealand! It took me more than a decade of dreaming, planning and doing, but here I am, finally a New Zealand resident! I have learned a lot from that experience and all the things I had to go through on this journey!


Blissful early days


This experience and what happened when I had my babies leads me directly to my next dream.  I personally had a very hard time starting my family without my social support in the country and this made my journey into motherhood a lot harder than it needed to be. However, this experience is pushing me to my new dream of becoming a DOULA which will benefit women who are having a baby but are in a socially or financially difficult position and need extra help in their journey to become a parent.

Why is this important?


Ask any mother and she will be able to tell you her child birth experience with great detail. It is a day that is engraved into our souls for eternity and it profoundly changes who we are as women. It is not just the birth of a baby, but the birth of a mother, and a father. An immensely important day that we can never go back to and change.

Unfortunately giving birth can be a terrifying and daunting experience for many women, as we are flooded with horrible birth scenario's in movies and books. When asking around, we will often hear about someones negative experiences, the feeling of being traumatized, or even violated, unprepared for what was happening and so on.

However, this does not need to be like this! With the right knowledge and support, ANY woman can tap into her inner strength and be empowered. When you feel safe, secure, comfortable and confident AND you have someone supporting you (emotionally and/or physically), giving birth can be an amazing, even blissfull or ecstatic experience!

This is why I have a vision, to become a doula. And more specifically, a community doula who can help those women in disadvantaged situations who need this type of support but cannot afford to.

What is a doula?

A doula is a person who provides mothers-to-be with invaluable support, education and guidance, throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and in the first few weeks after baby is born. She is a watchdog for post-partum depression, a source of information about breastfeeding, sleeping, baby care, relaxation techniques to help with labour pains, ... She is an advocate for the labouring woman's rights and will mediate and communicate between parents and medical professionals. She will be there when it becomes too much for the father-to-be to handle. She is the Ultimate Birth Companion!!

Recent research showes that the presence of a doula can greatly improve birthing outcomes:

  • When a doula is present, caesarian rates drop by 28%.
  • With the support of a doula, women spend less time in labour.
  • The use of drugs for induction and pain relief drops significantly (some studies even say by 40%).
  • Women report a much more positive experience when supported by a doula. 
  • Ultimately the whole event of childbirth (and the hormones involved) directly influence the baby, aswell as bonding between mother and bub, and the establishment of succesful breastfeeding.
  • The more positive the birthing experience, the lower the risk for postnatal depression!


A doula is a constant steady rock who acts like a buffer to make a potentially scary, clinical setting or a daunting first time birth seem much more manageble. 

It is clear that any woman about to have a baby would benefit from having a doula! However, it is the women who might need this support the most that cannot afford to hire a doula.

This is why I want to become a community doula: to provide high quality education, support and guidance for women in low income areas, immigrants, young parent with at-risk pregnancies or families where extra support is needed because of cultural barriers. 
Every birth matters and every birth should be an experience to reflect on with fond memories, instead of fear, pain or regret. 

Community doula program in USA watch here

How can you help?

For now, all I ask is for you to help me get certified.
This means helping me with the cost of the necessary training to ensure a high standard of expertise and credibility. 
The doula courses are filling up fast and I need to register and pay ASAP! 

After being certified and having done all the necessary training, it is up to me to connect people from community centres, midwifery, hospitals, etc to create a bigger network of like minded individuals. The end goal is to set up a bigger community doula program, because with more doula's on board we can reach a whole lot more women. 
Sometimes, all it takes for someone to get started with something great is that first little push!

Remember, the funds won't come my way untill the entire goal has been reached, so please keep sharing with everyone you think might be able to help untill we reach the goal!! 

Thank you for reading this and watching my video! If you are not quite convinced, please have a look at the awesome rewards I will give you in return for your help!

I am forever grateful, 

nga mihi

Marijke Lavens



Comments

Updates

Hey! Thanks for checking out this project.

We haven't made any updates yet, follow us if you want to be notified when we do.

Pledgers 7

Jo Hayes
05/03/2017 at 4:43pm
Aniek
02/03/2017 at 10:46pm

"Wat een super initiatief Marijke, past echt bij jou! En wat zie je er sterk en gelukkig uit, zo fijn om te zien! ;) Heel veel succes! xxx"

Thierry Kuppens
01/03/2017 at 12:46am
Katie
28/02/2017 at 2:32pm

"You will be wonderful!"

Reina Meeder
28/02/2017 at 12:38pm

"You go girl!"

Bode
28/02/2017 at 10:49am
Lavens Cindy
28/02/2017 at 8:26am

"I'm going for eternal fame and glory to support my amazing sister !!!!!"

Followers

Followers of Help me become a community DOULA, to help mums have a positive birthing experience!

Help Me Become A Community DOULA, To Help Mums Have A Positive Birthing Experience!

Project 2017-02-21 21:22:29 +1300

Hi there! 
My name is Marijke. I'm a mother of two gorgeous little creatures, who teach me the most important lessons in life on a daily basis. Most important lesson: do what you love and do it with heart and soul!
My dream when I was younger was to move to beautiful New Zealand! It took me more than a decade of dreaming, planning and doing, but here I am, finally a New Zealand resident! I have learned a lot from that experience and all the things I had to go through on this journey!


Blissful early days


This experience and what happened when I had my babies leads me directly to my next dream.  I personally had a very hard time starting my family without my social support in the country and this made my journey into motherhood a lot harder than it needed to be. However, this experience is pushing me to my new dream of becoming a DOULA which will benefit women who are having a baby but are in a socially or financially difficult position and need extra help in their journey to become a parent.

Why is this important?


Ask any mother and she will be able to tell you her child birth experience with great detail. It is a day that is engraved into our souls for eternity and it profoundly changes who we are as women. It is not just the birth of a baby, but the birth of a mother, and a father. An immensely important day that we can never go back to and change.

Unfortunately giving birth can be a terrifying and daunting experience for many women, as we are flooded with horrible birth scenario's in movies and books. When asking around, we will often hear about someones negative experiences, the feeling of being traumatized, or even violated, unprepared for what was happening and so on.

However, this does not need to be like this! With the right knowledge and support, ANY woman can tap into her inner strength and be empowered. When you feel safe, secure, comfortable and confident AND you have someone supporting you (emotionally and/or physically), giving birth can be an amazing, even blissfull or ecstatic experience!

This is why I have a vision, to become a doula. And more specifically, a community doula who can help those women in disadvantaged situations who need this type of support but cannot afford to.

What is a doula?

A doula is a person who provides mothers-to-be with invaluable support, education and guidance, throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and in the first few weeks after baby is born. She is a watchdog for post-partum depression, a source of information about breastfeeding, sleeping, baby care, relaxation techniques to help with labour pains, ... She is an advocate for the labouring woman's rights and will mediate and communicate between parents and medical professionals. She will be there when it becomes too much for the father-to-be to handle. She is the Ultimate Birth Companion!!

Recent research showes that the presence of a doula can greatly improve birthing outcomes:

  • When a doula is present, caesarian rates drop by 28%.
  • With the support of a doula, women spend less time in labour.
  • The use of drugs for induction and pain relief drops significantly (some studies even say by 40%).
  • Women report a much more positive experience when supported by a doula. 
  • Ultimately the whole event of childbirth (and the hormones involved) directly influence the baby, aswell as bonding between mother and bub, and the establishment of succesful breastfeeding.
  • The more positive the birthing experience, the lower the risk for postnatal depression!


A doula is a constant steady rock who acts like a buffer to make a potentially scary, clinical setting or a daunting first time birth seem much more manageble. 

It is clear that any woman about to have a baby would benefit from having a doula! However, it is the women who might need this support the most that cannot afford to hire a doula.

This is why I want to become a community doula: to provide high quality education, support and guidance for women in low income areas, immigrants, young parent with at-risk pregnancies or families where extra support is needed because of cultural barriers. 
Every birth matters and every birth should be an experience to reflect on with fond memories, instead of fear, pain or regret. 

Community doula program in USA watch here

How can you help?

For now, all I ask is for you to help me get certified.
This means helping me with the cost of the necessary training to ensure a high standard of expertise and credibility. 
The doula courses are filling up fast and I need to register and pay ASAP! 

After being certified and having done all the necessary training, it is up to me to connect people from community centres, midwifery, hospitals, etc to create a bigger network of like minded individuals. The end goal is to set up a bigger community doula program, because with more doula's on board we can reach a whole lot more women. 
Sometimes, all it takes for someone to get started with something great is that first little push!

Remember, the funds won't come my way untill the entire goal has been reached, so please keep sharing with everyone you think might be able to help untill we reach the goal!! 

Thank you for reading this and watching my video! If you are not quite convinced, please have a look at the awesome rewards I will give you in return for your help!

I am forever grateful, 

nga mihi

Marijke Lavens



Comments

Hey! Thanks for checking out this project.

We haven't made any updates yet, follow us if you want to be notified when we do.

Jo Hayes
05/03/2017 at 4:43pm
Aniek
02/03/2017 at 10:46pm

"Wat een super initiatief Marijke, past echt bij jou! En wat zie je er sterk en gelukkig uit, zo fijn om te zien! ;) Heel veel succes! xxx"

Thierry Kuppens
01/03/2017 at 12:46am
Katie
28/02/2017 at 2:32pm

"You will be wonderful!"

Reina Meeder
28/02/2017 at 12:38pm

"You go girl!"

Bode
28/02/2017 at 10:49am
Lavens Cindy
28/02/2017 at 8:26am

"I'm going for eternal fame and glory to support my amazing sister !!!!!"

Followers of Help me become a community DOULA, to help mums have a positive birthing experience!

This campaign was unsuccessful and finished on 31/03/2017 at 12:00 AM.