Podcast - Episode 3 - Complimentary Medicine For Postpartum
You Are Here Because You Believe Birth Is About Making Mums Too.
Doula Interview with Kirrah Stewart
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 Kirrah Stewart, a Complementary Medicine Practitioner, Masseuse, Postpartum Doula and Lactation Counsellor with over 15 years of experience as a women's health consultant. Her goal is to help families feel excited about birth and nourished in early parenthood.
Kirrah talks about the best and the most challenging things about working as a postpartum doula, the fears and doubts of becoming a doula and the different ways doulas can set up a successful postpartum business in rural areas. Tune in to learn more on this and other exciting topics!
Kirrah Stewart has been a doula for 10+ years. She has a deep passion for helping families feel excited about birth and nourished in early parenthood.
She lives and works in the Northern Rivers region of Northern NSW, Australia.
You can connect with her online at www.doulawisdom.com or via Instagram at www.instagram.com/doulawisdom/
Listen Now
What You Will Learn
[01:31] About Kirrah Stewart
Kirrah’s background in complementary medicine, she went to University and completed a Bachelor of Clinical Science. She has a huge interest in natural therapy, massage and herbal medicine.
Through her course, she had the opportunity to attend a homebirth and realised that it is the most amazing thing in the world. She was able to use her years of training and niche down into pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
Did further training to become a birth doula and has been a birth doula for ten years. Her first doula baby will turn 11 this year.
Kirrah has developed a deeper interest in postpartum as she feels that women are left to their own devices, especially during the first 6 weeks. She thinks complementary medicine can be an awesome way to support these mothers.
[03:07] A typical week for Kirrah as a doula
Kirrah likes to have a lot of variety in her life and tries to make each day look a bit different. As she lives rurally, a lot of driving is involved on the days when she visiting clients.
Monday is a home day for Kirrah, she aims to set things in order for the week ahead and get admin stuff done. Kirrah also runs pregnancy and postpartum groups online that day.
Tuesday is a local day for Kirrah. She works in the towns which are quite close or working in her own studio. She performs pregnancy massages or teaches classes locally.
Wednesday and Fridays are travelling days around the Byron Bay area. She will use these days to teach antenatal classes and give postpartum visits. Kirrah aims to see two families each day.
Kirrah will do home massaging on Thursdays. She also looks after two little girls and teaches them horseriding, making it more of a home family day.
[05:07] The best thing about being a doula
Kirrah says it’s usually such a happy time in people’s lives. There are oxytocin highs from being welcomed into a family’s love bubble as they bring a baby into their lives. Kirrah watches as the parents’ lives are transformed. Her favourite part is giving to the mother and supporting her because the mother gives so much.
[05:33] The most challenging thing about being a doula
Having done this for 10 years, being on call for births and not knowing when it will happen is a challenge. These periods can stretch between 37-42 weeks, so the juggle can be hard. She’s working towards having less on-call time and more scheduled appointments.
[05:53] Kirrah’s fears and doubts about becoming a doula (or lack thereof)
Kirrah jumps into things without thinking about the possible things that could go wrong.
When she started, she was the only one she knew doing doula work, so she wasn't able to compare herself to anyone else, which can be a bigger issue today.
Now that there are more doulas, Kirrah has the confidence to niche down and work with the people she really wants to be serving.
[09:16] Things Kirrah has learned about postpartum work
Jump in and try it because there is so much you can learn on the job with this work.
Figure out what brings joy about this role and plan around making that happen.
Invest in business training. Joining n a mastermind is very valable for that accountability. It allows you to get perspectives from different angles to see what is and is not working so you can adjust your business and not burn out.
Listen to audiobooks to learn about other people’s journeys and be inspired.
[12:22] Tips for setting up a postpartum business in rural areas
There are fewer doulas in rural areas, where the city can be flooded with doulas, so it's easier to stand out when you work rurally, even though fewer clients may be available.
Getting people to commit to classes when they have to drive can be a challenge, Kirrah combats this by running classes online to connect with clients. This can allow you to leverage your time so that you can help more people.
Connect with Kirrah
Kirrah Stewart has been a doula for 10+ years. She has a deep passion for helping families feel excited about birth and nourished in early parenthood. She lives and works in the Northern Rivers region of Northern NSW, Australia.
Website: http://www.doulawisdom.com/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/doulawisdom/
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