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About Doula Gina

I’m Gina Benson, or Doula Gina, the owner and doula at Atala Doula Services. Learn more about me by reading the following information, and if you have any questions or want additional details, please reach out. I look forward to serving your doula needs!

NOTE: There are content/trigger warnings (CW/TW) for my Personal Birthing Experiences, so please give consideration to whether you wish to read these during your pregnancy, and keep in mind that I did not have a doula for any of my birthing or postpartum experiences. I share my personal birthing history only if this interests you and benefits you in understanding how I have come to be so passionate about the importance of doulas for all birthing people.

Approach to Birth
Approach to Postpartum
Personal Birthing Experiences
Why I’m a Doula
Training/Certifications

My Approach to Birth

Birthing is a natural, instinctual process that should typically require very little intervention, and birthing people should be supported, listened to, and respected. I believe in our ability to attune to nature, ourselves, and our babies to have beautiful birthing experiences, regardless of where we birth, what modern options we choose to utilize, or what interventions are used to assist in birthing.

I know that fear can stop or prolong labor for our own protection and that ignorance can be a root cause for fear. As a doula, I want to help reduce or eliminate any ignorance surrounding the natural birthing process to prevent fear hindering your chances for an optimal birthing experience. I aim to educate and inform during prenatal visits so that you have the knowledge and confidence you need to make sound decisions that are not based in fear but in alignment with your own instincts. During labor and delivery, I will be a steady, available presence to reassure you that you and your baby are safe and that you are doing exactly what you need to do.

I understand that even when we believe we are strong and capable, we may need to be surrounded by others who also believe in us and who will remind us of what we can do.

BIRTH DOULA SERVICES

My Approach to Postpartum

The days, weeks, and few months immediately following birth is an emotional, exhilarating, and exhausting time. We have a new little person who depends on us for all their needs, yet we still have needs of our own that must be tended to. New parents should be encouraged to focus on bonding with their newborns and integrating their babies into their family, but this can be difficult to accomplish without support and assistance from others.

Even when new parents are blessed with supportive and caring family and friends, family and friends may struggle to understand how best to care for the needs of a new parent. As a doula, I want to ensure new families don’t have to worry about whether they can take care of themselves and their new babies and/or older children while life continues to happen around them. I can easily help new parents in the ways they most need, whether that is by temporarily assuming responsibility for some everyday tasks that take time away from caring from your baby, ensuring you have nourishment and a comfortable space to focus on bonding as a new family, occasionally relieving you of taking care of your baby in order to care for yourself, and/or providing information and resources so that you feel more confident and comfortable in your new parenthood journey.

I want to be a calm, reassuring presence during this vulnerable time for your new family so that you can smoothly transition through this phase of life and enjoy your new baby.

POSTPARTUM DOULA SERVICES

Personal Birthing Experiences

Doula Gina's sleeping newborn twins in hospital setting

2003

CW/TW: hospital birth, surgical birth, separation from babies, lactation struggle

I have always been an information seeker, and when I first became pregnant in 2003 and then found out I was having twins, I began to immerse myself in the world of pregnancy to ensure I could have the best outcome possible. I had wanted to have an unmedicated vaginal birth, but the positioning of my twins led to a scheduled surgical birth (or cesarean/c-section) at 37 weeks to ensure they could be delivered safely. I remember feeling panicky after the delivery while in a recovery room because I was kept separate from my babies for several hours, much longer than I’d been told to expect as part of the hospital’s standard post-surgery protocol. Once reunited with my babies, I needed support for my desire to breastfeed but felt undermined and ultimately insecure in my abilities. The physical recovery from this birth was much easier than I’d expected, but lactation was never successfully established so that human milk could be the primary source of nutrition for my babies.

2006

CW/TW: pregnancy loss, hospital induction, emergency surgery

My second pregnancy ended suddenly at 20 weeks after discovering the baby’s heart had stopped beating, also known as an early-term stillbirth or intrauterine fetal demise. I was induced in the hospital, successfully delivered her much more quickly than anticipated, but then had to be rushed into surgery because my cervix began to close before the placenta was out. That was the first time I’d ever been under general anesthesia, and I recall feeling scared about how quickly things had changed and how little time I had to try to understand what was happening. The recovery from this birthing experience was more physically difficult than I’d expected it would be as I felt sore all over from laboring and pushing and also had normal after-birth cramping.

Doula Gina's keepsake gown, hat, and booties from pregnancy loss
Doula Gina's sleeping newborn son in hospital setting

2008

CW/TW: hospital birth, surgical birth, difficult recovery

In my third pregnancy, I was asked whether I wanted a repeat c-section or to try for a vaginal birth. My healthcare team did not proactively initiate a discussion about the benefits and risks of each of these choices, so given my previous two birthing experiences along with some hyperbolic stories I’d heard about of the dangers of VBACs, I opted for a repeat planned cesarean shortly after 39 weeks. I went into this birth more prepared than my first delivery, and I made sure to be clear with my healthcare providers that I did not want to be separated from my baby unless there was a truly crucial medical need to do so. This one change helped set me up for a better immediate postpartum experience, including easier establishment of a successful breastfeeding relationship, but the physical recovery from this surgery was much more difficult than the first, making caring for my newborn and four-year-old twins more difficult as well.

2011

CW/TW: hospital birth, VBAC with less supportive healthcare providers

When I began the journey to have my last baby, I spent time researching the real risks associated with VBAC and whether a vaginal birth was even possible after multiple prior surgical births. I found a wealth of information and support and success stories, which opened my eyes to many of the disconnects between routine perinatal care and evidence-based birthing practices and ignited my passion for discussing pregnancy and birth. I opted to utilize the Hypnobabies self-study course* to prepare myself for a positive birthing experience, and it was truly an incredible birth, and the recovery after this birth was the easiest of all. I spent less than an hour at the hospital prior to delivery of my baby, and I recall the nurse telling me that my arrival to the hospital at such a late stage of labor was likely largely responsible for how I was able to achieve the birth I wanted. The sense of accomplishment and peace I felt from this birthing experience is something I cherish still.

*AFFILIATE LINK DISCLOSURE: If you use this link and decide to purchase the product, I will receive a modest commission. I will only offer affiliate links for products I believe in. Thank you for your support!

Doula Gina's sleeping newborn baby girl

Why I’m a Doula

Having spent most of my adult working life as a technical writer, which involves gathering information from subject matter experts and creating written resources that even non-technical people can easily understand and follow, I realized the work was not as rewarding or fulfilling as I wish it would be. So, I embarked on some introspection to evaluate my personality, my strengths, what I enjoyed about my prior work, and what I most want to do in the future…be a source of support and empowerment for others.

You know that question about what topic you could give a presentation on without time to prepare? I realized that pregnancy/birth is at the top of my list of topics because I’ve never stopped being interested in pregnancy and birth since I first started learning about these subjects. I am amazed by the intricacies of successful pregnancy and birth. After the birth of my youngest child, I remembered thinking I would probably enjoy being a doula to assist others in achieving awesome birthing experiences, but I didn’t think I could provide the type of support for others during their pregnancies that I felt they deserved while also being as present for my family as I desired. I have now been drawn to birth work as I know I can serve others without feeling my family will have to make too many sacrifices.

Even though I’ve never had a doula present for my births, I can easily see how it would have been a benefit for each of my birthing experiences. With my twins, a doula may have been able to help me advocate to be with my babies, to facilitate communication between hospital staff and my family, and to amplify my desire to breastfeed with the confidence that it was a reasonable expectation. For my pregnancy loss, a doula could have provided additional emotional support and captured pictures of the brief time I’d had with my baby. I believe a postpartum doula would have been such a relief for my last surgical birth, to help reassure me that I would heal and to assist with some of the everyday tasks that were difficult for me to do on my own in the meantime. With my last birth, I’m certain a doula would have been very helpful for my partner, to ease his concerns as I moved through the phases of labor and to encourage me in moving to the car as we left for the hospital.

I too often felt unheard, disregarded, and disempowered during my birthing experiences, and I wholeheartedly believe having a doula, someone with knowledge and training present specifically to support me, would have prevented some of those feelings.

Training

In addition to my personal birthing experiences (scheduled surgical birth, induction followed by an emergency surgery under general anesthesia, and an unmedicated VBAC using self-hypnosis for pain management) that have resulted in a great deal of insight as to how a doula could support any birthing person, I have completed or am currently enrolled in the following training programs to provide the highest quality of services to my doula clients.

Certifications

  • Certified VBAC Doula (The VBAC Link)
  • Certified Dancing For BirthTM Instructor (DFB)
  • Red Cross Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED
  • Red Cross Basic Life Support
  • California Food Handlers Card

Are you ready to feel supported, empowered, and at peace as you begin this life-changing journey?

Please reach out so we can discuss your needs and how Atala Doula Services can best serve you.

CONTACT
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