Hello friends! 2018 was my first full year as a birth doula. Check out some stats about the births I attended:

11 births total

5 with midwives, 6 with OBs or family practice doctors (all at hospitals)

7 vaginal, 4 Cesarean (1 with OB was planned, 3 others were in midwifery care)

1 vaginal breech birth (family practice doctor)

Smallest baby: 5 lbs, 8 ozs

Biggest baby: 10 lbs, 5 ozs

3 inductions

Shortest support time: 6 hrs

Longest support time: 31 hrs

Most popular first initial of baby’s name: E

Gestational age range: 38 weeks - 40 weeks, 3 days

Any other stats you’d be interested in hearing about? I really love looking back at birth data! I’m on call for a client right now, so who knows, a last minute babe could sneak in tonight.

In addition to these births, I completed a mentorship with Birdsong Brooklyn (I’m actually doing it again this year because it’s THAT GOOD). I also took an amazing solo roadtrip to the Catskills of NY for Advanced Birth Doula training with Carriage House Birth. I feel like that long weekend took me to a whole new level as a doula. So much of doula work is mental work, and the trainers of Carriage House helped me uncover a lot that I continue to work on to improve my doula practice. I also become a DONA certified birth doula (that’s the CD(DONA) credentials after my name) and completed my training to become an Evidence Based Birth Professional.

I’m grateful for my family’s continued support (especially my husband and mother-in-law’s) and for the growing doula community in Central Kentucky. We’re a pretty stellar group of folks! Here’s to the end of calendar year 2018, but also to the continuation of growing and learning for all of those who support birthing people and their families in the Bluegrass. Cheers!