The Radical Doula Guide

Fundraising Goal Reached!

Serious thanks to everyone who supported my guide! It's now deep in production, with a planned release date by the end of the summer. I've got a working draft, a designer working on the layout, and some fabulous folks who've agreed to review the content and give feedback.

Once it's done, I'll start mailing out all the pre-ordered copies and rewards, and announce a date for the launch party in NYC. 

Thanks again for all your support!

What's a Radical Doula?

A doula is a person who provides emotional support during pregnancy and childbirth. I trained as a doula eight years ago, and I started RadicalDoula.com three years later because I felt alone in the birth community because of my identity and my politics. Radical Doula a place to connect the dots between issues I care about--race, reproductive rights, sexuality, gender, social justice and maternity care.

I decided to create The Radical Doula Guide to help others coming into this work connect the dots as well. It's a political primer to doula work as activism, and how being a doula connects to and must take into consideration things like race, class, sexuality, ability, immigration status and much, much more. 

The trainings that new doulas take are great, but many of them lack this important context. That's where the Radical Doula Guide comes in. 

Why the guide?

The doula community is growing rapidly. More people are learning about this role and how it can fit into their activism. We don't just want to lobby for legislative change, we also want to help people. Maternity care is also in serious crisis. These two things are inspiring lots of people to become doulas. 

The thing is, a lot of social justice issues are left out when doulas get trained. There are many reasons for this, including lack of time, ignorance on the part of some trainers and an attempt to keep the trainings focused. But we can't ignore these issues in our work as doulas. 

This guide will be an introduction to this work from a political perspective, and help folks begin an education process that incorporates these issues into their work as doulas. 

Why the fundraiser?

I want to sell the guide at an accessible cost so that everyone who wants one can get a copy. This fundraiser will cover the costs of design (working with the awesome Swash Design Studio), printing and mailing, fees and a bit to cover my time. I've got a working draft of the guide, and it's ready to get out the door by early May. 

Spread the word!

The more people who know about this guide, the better. You can also find more info about me and this project at radicaldoula.com, on twitter and facebook. Joining my email list is also a great way to stay informed about my work.