Podcast - Episode 4 - Brand New Doula - Starting From Scratch
You Are Here Because You Believe Birth Is About Making Mums Too.
Doula Interview with Antonia Anderson
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 Antonia Anderson who is new in her jouney as a Postpartum Doula, starting her business one year ago. Antonia’s mission is to support mothers in Canberra to overcome the challenges in the postpartum year.
Antonia had a challenging postnatal experience herself, after loving her pregnancy and her birth experiences. She wished there was more support for new mothers and felt interested in that work but didn’t realise that being a postpartum doula was a career she could pursue. Antonia began training with Newborn Mothers Collective and also trained as a breastfeeding educator. As a new postpartum doula Antonia has quickly learned the ins and outs of running a business while raising her two children.
Antonia gives us insight to the challenges she has faced starting her business and the routines that help her succeed in her work. She takes us through what her typical week looks like and gives her top tips to those who want to join the postpartum doula profession. Tune in to learn more on this and other exciting topics!
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What You Will Learn
[01:30] About Antonia Anderson
Antonia is a postnatal doula based in Canberra, she runs her business under the name Peaceful Postnatal.
Antonia’s mission is to support mothers in Canberra to overcome the challenges in the first postnatal year to help them feel calm, confident and connected to their communities.
Antonia is at the start of her doula journey, she has been training with Newborn Mothers and running her business for one year.
Antonia identifies that she had a challenging postnatal experience after her first pregnancy and feels this “planted the seed” for her interest in this career.
She wished there were people around to give more support and “take a load off” new mothers, but she didn’t realise that postnatal doulas existed at this time.
[04:58] Antonia’s challenges and how she overcame them
Antonia’s biggest challenge was starting out and feeling “I’m not enough, I have to learn all of these skills, I have to be really experienced, I have to know everything,” which she now knows isn’t true!
She quickly realised that she didn't need to be perfect or the most experienced doula on the block and felt great relief.
Connecting with other like-minded professionals helped Antonia realise that she was not alone. These people from different specialities helped her create a supportive community around her.
[07:20] A typical week for Antonia as a doula
On days Antonia is seeing her clients, she likes to keep the morning free so that she does not feel rushed.
Antonia will try to schedule self-care into her work days so she doesn’t get too into her own head, and on a day she visits a client, she’ll normally take a walk in the morning.
Antonia visits her clients and talks with them about challenges that are coming up for them in their journeys like sleep deprivation, depression or isolation.
Antonia finds her clients will connect with a concept like completing small productive tasks throughout the day. She will brainstorm with them ways they can achieve their goals.
She will give her new mothers practical support like cooking and doing the laundry, and she will provide breastfeeding support to clients if needed.
When Antonia goes home, she will make notes from her day, do research for her clients and email them reminders about any intentions that they have set.
If there are no clients that day, Antonia does some admin work on her website and practise skills like cooking.
[14:52] Antonia’s tips for new doulas
Start talking to people as soon as you have the idea that this might be something you are interested in. Don’t wait to have it all figured out.
Build connections with people in the field and build your community. You don't have to have a business plan to have these conversations. It’s good practice for when you’ll talk to clients in the future.
“You can feel fear and anxiety and still do it”
Connect with Antonia
When women are nourished and nurtured after giving birth, they feel calm, connected and confident. Antonia Anderson's passion is to provide this high level of postnatal support to women in Canberra, Australia. She guides expectant parents to create a vision for life with their baby and gives them the practical tools to make their vision a reality.
Antonia’s premium postnatal packages include nourishing meals, breastfeeding support, gentle massage, belly-binding, and practical support of all kinds. She helps new parents make sense of the dizzying array of Canberra services and organisations and build a “village” of support that may last them a lifetime.
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