S2 Episode 9: The Birth of a Doula. Holding Space for Women.

Being young, fit and healthy, Gabrielle naturally thought her first pregnancy would progress smoothly. Having never known anyone who had experienced or spoken about miscarriage, Gabrielle’s world was rocked by the loss of her first pregnancy. Despite being surrounded by people in New York City, she felt completely alone. Where were the people who understood, the women who had been through something similar, to be with her and to hold her? This was to be the first moment that led Gabrielle to start Gather - a Collective Space for Women, on her return home to Melbourne. Gabrielle also takes us through the subsequent births of her children and how they inspired her to undergo a complete career change and retrain as a Birth Doula . Gabrielle shares the story of her massive postpartum hemorrhage following the birth of her first child, the disconnect in her care experience in her second birth, and finally the healing experience of her third birth. Covering everything from mother guilt, to the importance of the postpartum period, to the beauty of matrescence. This is a story of the birth of a Doula.