When Arleen Cameron first heard about doulas during an episode of the TV drama Bones, she dismissed it as “hippie nonsense.”
But when difficulties arose during the birth of her first child, she was determined to save others from similar experiences.
The 37-year-old now runs Rebel Birth, and has forged strong bonds with clients since.
But she’s found that many people are still unaware of what this role can offer, suggesting: “If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to prescribe it.”
What is a doula?
Arleen describes a doula as a “non-medical layperson” – someone who can provide support before, during or after pregnancy.
“Some focus on pregnancy and birth, some work a set number of hours after the baby has arrived, and a lot of people do a bit of both,” she explained.
Their involvement can range from a couple of sessions to months of attention or handholding during birth – “either figuratively or literally” – all tailored to what their client wants.
Arleen said: “Everyone offers something different. Some do hypnobirthing, some teach yoga, and some focus solely on birth support and nothing else.
“We prepare the family, or single person, to the best of our ability, helping them discover the information for themselves.
“We don’t offer advice, but signpost them to good sources of evidence to make their own decisions.”
‘It was one-size-fits-all… but it didn’t fit me’
Arleen, who moved to Aberdeen from Fife at the start of last year, has doula clients right across the region.
And she credits this journey to a “lightbulb” moment when she was expecting her first child.
“I was one of those ‘go with the flow, the system knows best’ people,” she said.
“Then I realised I was being lumped in with other people in a similar category to me.
“The system is set up to provide the best outcomes for the majority of people, based on the average.
“It’s one-size-fits-all, and I realised the size they allotted me didn’t fit.”
Arleen kept reading up on the topic – learning more about doulas and hypnobirthing – but didn’t want to hire someone to help.
She recalled: “Despite thinking I’d armed myself with facts and information, my birth didn’t go according to my preferences.
“In hindsight, if I had somebody independent supporting me who knew where my red lines were, they could have defended that.”
Bond ‘forged in the fires of hell’
Seven months later, Arleen had sought and received training to become a doula.
She’s now attended six births in person, and helped with a further six remotely.
“Before this, I didn’t know what goes into this type of support behind-the-scenes,” she said.
“But when you compare it to what someone will spend on a pram or a wedding dress, it’s a drop in the ocean.”
Arleen says doulas often find clients through word of mouth, but is also an area rep for Doula UK and runs a Facebook community for people in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
She also advises everyone she works with to have interviews with other doulas before committing, to make sure both sides “click”.
“It means [from the start] you’re working with someone on the same wavelength as you,” she said.
“It’s such an intense and intimate experience – it’s hard to quantify the strength of the bond I have with some of my clients now.
“I recently said one, who had a difficult experience, is like a sister to me.
“We have a bond that was forged in the fires of hell. It feels unbreakable.”
Arleen is preparing to run group birth preparation classes next year in January, April, July and October, with a free online session on November 20.
She also runs a fortnightly NCT Bump Club on alternative Saturdays, and is bringing documentary Birth Time to Aberdeen on December 10.
Bookings can be made via her website.
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