A humandural

"Human presence, touch, love, care and calmness are perhaps the greatest natural remedies we have in our birthkits. We might call ourselves “humandurals”! We can take these remedies to any prenatal visit or birth. They don’t need to be washed, autoclaved or re-packed. We need to do the constant work of being kind, loving, caring and non-judgmental, as well as knowledgeable. When we nurture those traits in ourselves, we have the very best natural remedy God ever created for birth."
Jan Tritten,
is the founder, editor-in-chief and mother of Midwifery Today magazine. She became a midwife in 1977 after the amazing homebirth of her second daughter. Her mission is to make loving midwifery care the norm for birthing women and their babies throughout the world.

I love this idea of a humandural, not just for birth.  I know my presence as a doula can help a laboring mother (and her partner) feel less pain, stay calmer and have a safer birth experience, not because of any procedure I do, but simply by my compassionate, loving, accepting and kind human presence.  But what about the rest of my life?

My doula clients often stare in disbelief if I speak of yelling at my kids or being short with my partner....."what?  our kind Sasha doesn't have a unkind bone in her body" they are thinking.  And they certainly haven't seen it, but it does exist.  In the rest of my life I often struggle to be gentle.  (There's that resolution again.)  Many times every day I have to try hard to be gentle to both others (those closest) and to myself.

What if I adopt this idea of being a humandural - permanently, everywhere, with everyone.  Hmmmmm, I have lots of experience and practice being gentle, it's about seeing the other person (or myself) as someone who needs (and deserves) the wonderful calm and compassionate practice.  Perhaps I need to leave my doula heart on throughout my day.