A Note to the Haters
TW: abortion, pro-life versus pro-choice debate
I recently came across an Instagram story from another birth worker making an anti-choice declaration on her page. Pings of guilt ran through my body - I had referred this colleague out to my clients in the past, and felt really guilty about sending people to someone who’s values so radically clashed with my own. In response, I shared on my own Instagram stories how I believe in a person’s right to choose. And honestly? I’m not surprised by the feedback.
Some of you came out with open arms sharing your support for being transparent with my beliefs. However, I sat idly by as I watched my follower count trickle down, as Birth Boss after all is a community about growing families, right?
Kind of.
Birth Boss is about supporting YOUR choices, whatever they may be. Sure, I work in the world where I counsel people through the grief of infertility, and I get to see babies come into the world all the time - and I promise I don’t take a single moment of that for granted. What makes me love my work as a doula isn’t the fact that I work with babies every day, as cute as they may be - but rather, the fact that I get to see people come into their power during life’s biggest transitions.
For some people, empowerment looks like asking for a second opinion from a different care provider. Sometimes, it looks like choosing to raise a baby all by yourself because you’ve always wanted to be a parent and society’s expectations aren’t going to stop you. Sometimes, empowerment is calling in backup to watch baby so you can go to get your nails done and feel like YOU again.
Empowerment means a lot of different things to different people. That being said, empowerment is NEVER telling people what decisions they should make, or what their family should look like. I am in the business of empowering people as they make decisions regarding their fertility, I’m not in the business of making babies.
Simple as that.
We all make hundreds of choices every day. A doula should support those choices, and as a full-spectrum doula, I support your choice at every step of the fertility journey. I’m proud to offer pay-what-you-can abortion doula support for those in the Toronto community, or offer virtual support for those out of the area. Whether you need an escort, someone to vent to, or someone to explain the process to you, I’m happy to be with you, whatever you’re feeling.
Get in touch at info@thebirthboss.com to begin your journey of support.
