Urshita Saini talks about what compelled her to become a doula, what drives her to be one, and how she is making a difference
So Urshita you’re a birth photographer and a doula. So what is the difference when you were just a birth photographer and now that when you’re a doula, what changes? Okay. So, um, while I was a birth photographer, I was obviously trained in the nuances of how a labor delivery room works, how an OT works, but my training was always limited to the area I was working in.
Get, you know, there’s going to be so many doctors and nurses already, and we don’t, you know, you have to ensure that you are always very discreetly placed. You’re not in anybody’s waste because there are certain areas that are off-limits for any third person, who’s not medical, you know, um, personnel to say this area, you can’t block this in case of an emergency these areas needs to be clear. So I was always in a very discreet corner, taking pictures, being, being a part of that space, but always being very clearly told that you can never interfere in that space. You can not talk to anyone, not say anything. You just have to be very quiet. But, uh, there were a lot of instances where obviously the husband might not be allowed inside.
And there’s this woman with so many people around her in such a vulnerable, emotionally charged state. And there is nobody that she recognizes. And I was the only person because she hadn’t met me. She’d had conversations with me and I was the one person who was very quietly standing. And she, people, my clients just look at me for some sort of support or encouragement that, you know, you got this, it’s okay to whatever is happening, it’s all just because your baby’s going to be at any time, any moment with you and all this, this, this crazy overwhelming feeling that you’re having is all going to be worth it when your baby comes.
And I never knew how to just, you know, even by just being there, how to give them that assurance that it’s okay and all this that you see is just like the buildup for your baby’s grand entrance.
There’s nothing more to it. And that is when I realized that if I can just somehow understand what the emotions are because I know what the technicalities to birth but I did not understand emotions because I, I’m not a mother myself, so I could not connect to what that lady might be going through. And that is when I decided to come to you and, uh, be trained as a doula and understand those small little details that can, even if I’m not saying anything, even if I’m not doing anything, probably just a look or just a thumbs up or smile or anything that I can do that could make that lady, you know, little more comfortable and all that, overwhelming things that she’s going through.
So this is what I like to say, that doulas are professionally trained to make birth really personal for you. Yeah. Right. And as we are hearing, this is what we do. We support women. Um, the nuance part that I hope that you have received from this conversation is that while we can understand informational support, we can understand physical support.
We truly don’t understand the value of that emotional support. Science says that our bodies function naturally when we feel safe. So doulas are the container of safety so that babies can be welcomed into the world with joy.
