Podcast - Episode 6 - Birth And Postpartum Doula With Decades Of Experience
You Are Here Because You Believe Birth Is About Making Mums Too.
Doula Interview with Julie-Anne Mauno
As a Newborn Mother, you are being invited to reinvent yourself because when a baby is born so is a mother, and the birth of a mother can be more intense than childbirth. You'll learn how to find peace and joy in the first 40 days after birth and how your postpartum experience can change your life.
In this episode, we are joined by an experienced birth and postpartum doula, Julie-Anne Mauno from Canada. Julie has been supporting women and their families throughout pregnancy, birth and postpartum for almost 20 years. During that time, she had seven precious babies of her own. Shortly after becoming a mother, Julie knew that she needed to join other professionals trying to bridge the gap in support that so many mothers experience.
Julie’s training includes formal midwifery studies, midwifery workshops and a doula training certification. She cultivates a gentle and nurturing style of support and a wealth of up to date knowledge to the table to help her clients build confidence.
Julie shares her story of shifting from birth to postpartum doula. She talks about how she became a supporter of mothers, what her week as a doula looks like, and gives top tips on how to succeed in your doula business. Tune in to learn more on this and other exciting topics!
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What You Will Learn
[01:12] About Julie-Anne Mauno
Julie has been a doula for 20 years, she started as a birth doula, and in the last year, she has shifted to more and more postpartum work.
[01:40] Julie’s shift from birth support to postpartum doula
When she was doing birth work only, Julie took a course at a college in her area to upgrade her qualifications. It involved postpartum in-home support work, and she was hooked after the second home visit. She could see the impact she made on new families.
She decided to learn more about postpartum work and signed up for the Newborn Mothers Collective course and devoured it quickly. She was drawn to the idea that postpartum is a transformational time for families.
This was a shift from being the expert to being a support and treating mothers as the experts of their own bodies.
[06:20] Becoming a supporter of newborn mothers
Julie decided to listen more and talk less, she encouraged her clients to listen to their own bodies and babies. Instead of giving the answer to a question straight away, Julie listens and acknowledges, and asks questions till the mother finds her answer. She says this is empowering for them and helps build up their confidence in their own knowledge.
Julie says it's about drawing the knowledge from the mothers and getting them to realise that they have what they need inside of them.
[09:23] A typical week for Julie as a doula
During a busy week, Julie will work with three clients. She spends 3-4 hours in her client’s homes during the day. She’ll chat to her client about their biggest challenge at that time and what they’re going to do today.
Julie connects emotionally with her clients and will give practical support by cooking at their home, making them some lunch and hanging out with the baby as the mother takes a shower.
[18:30] The pricing
Julie said she didn’t break even financially when she did her birth work. She now has the courage to charge prices to reflect her time, effort, training and expenses. She says she really values her clients with the work she does and feels they value her by being happy to pay for her services.
This allows Julie to invest in systems that help her improve her work.
Julie believes it is a good exchange and that her clients are happy to pay for the services.
[20:48] Creating work for yourself that is sustainable
Julie has seven kids, and she loves postpartum work as it suits her family's needs and lifestyles. She works during the day and can be home for her kids in the evenings and nights.
This had also allowed her to create clear boundaries in terms of how many clients she can work with, when she is available to her clients and what days are blocked off for her own family.
Julie has learned to practise what she preaches to others by reaching out for support and getting help. She has a cleaner to help with the housework.
She knows creating time for work can be messy, but it's worth the effort to ask for help.
Julie tells her mothers that it’s important to ask for help and that they are worth helping.
[23:37] Julie’s Top Tips for doulas
Invest in some business systems as they save time and are so helpful
Reach out and ask for your help so that you are not running ragged or spread too thin.
“Don’t get discouraged when your client’s list changes and you’ve got busy seasons and slow seasons because it is all part of the journey.”
Connect with Julie-Anne
Julie-Anne Mauno is a Perinatal Support Worker, Doula, Holistic Postpartum Practitioner and mother of 7. She has dedicated the last 20 years to helping women have a positive experience with their pregnancy, birth and postpartum. She recently decided to focus on postpartum support in her business and offers holistic postpartum care to mothers and their families during the first 40 days after birth and beyond. She is currently working on creating a postpartum collective with a team of holistic professionals that will offer in-home postpartum recovery food, body work and support. Most of all, she is passionate about shifting the cultural ideas around postpartum motherhood from one that normalizes exhaustion, isolation and depression to one that is focused on showing up as a village to support mothers and their families during this sacred and magical transition of life with a new baby.
Website: http://www.positivebirthservices.ca/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/positivebirthservices
Email: info@positivebirthservices.ca
Newborn Mother’s Podcast
This episode is part of a series of interviews to answer the question "what does a doula actually do!?" I am often asked by people who want to be doulas how it all works, so I've found some people working as doulas to tell us what a week in their life looks like. This episode features Julie-Anne Mauno, Perinatal Support Worker, Doula, Holistic Postpartum Practitioner and mother of 7!
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