#doula

by Elisa Bray

Jewish mothers-to-be are hiring doulas to protect them and their babies from NHS antisemitism, the JC can reveal.

Shoshana Maurer, a London-based doula – a non-medical professional who supports women during childbirth – said almost every pregnant Jewish woman who had hired her since October 7 feared antisemitism among medics.

Maurer estimated that at least 11 mothers-to-be had employed her specifically for this reason in the past two years.

This number did not include the women who had sought her advice and voiced the same fears, she added.

“There is no question that nearly every Jewish client I’ve had since October 7 has had the same anxiety about antisemitism in hospitals: are they going to be treated the same way as everyone else, will they be treated badly?” said Maurer. One British Jewish mother who recently gave birth and spoke on the condition of anonymity said during her pregnancy – in the weeks and months after October 7 – she felt “extremely anxious”, and asked a Jewish doula to accompany her to the birth to help her feel safer.

A flurry of antisemitic posts she saw on social media left her feeling “really nervous” about her Jewishness being exposed.

“I was really nervous that I didn’t know who from the NHS would be delivering my baby, and I became increasingly preoccupied with who that might be,” the mother said.

“I recognised that to have a good birth I really needed to relax. If had a midwife who might have an opinion on this stuff [the Israel-Hamas conflict], that might put my emotional safety at risk. I felt inherently unsafe [and] an awareness of my vulnerability within that space.”

The mother asked a Jewish doula to be present for the birth alongside NHS staff. “Giving birth a few months after October 7, it felt like I needed her to be there from an emotional safety perspective,” she said.

I am an infinite woman.

It is my N A T U R E to create.

I am healing like water + cleansing like fire.

Grounded like the earth + as free as the wind. Although most people think of water birth as a recent phenomenon, it is actually as A N C I E N T as Egypt. Women have birthed on river banks and ocean shores for thousands of years. Water births... ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀➖are known as the Midwife’s Epidural

➖utilize buoyancy for easier movement and more efficient uterine contractions

➖improve blood circulation to better oxygenate uterine muscles and relieve pain

➖are comforting to Mama, allowing her to focus on birth and inner strength

➖lower high blood pressure caused by anxiety

➖reduce stress hormones, allowing Mama to produce more endorphins that serve as pain inhibitors

➖cause the perineum to become more elastic and relaxed, lowering Mama’s chances of tearing and experiencing the ring of fire

➖provide a greater sense of privacy for Mama, which is linked to improved birth hormone efficiency

➖serve as a transitional environment for baby that is similar to the amniotic sac

➖ease the stress of birth, making baby feel more secure

I had the privilege to meet with this lovely young woman that grew up in west Africa not too long ago. Although our meeting was very brief, it touched me profoundly. It made me wonder what it must be like for a woman that grew up in west africa, in a completely different culture, to suddenly find herself here, in Canada. A muslim woman, who prays many times a day, a woman who has been educated, raised, to express her feminine nature in a way that clashes with the western world… 

Seeing her being here, in her early pregnancy, barely being able to afford anything in her life, alone, with no friends, no family other than her cousin that work day and night… Who does she talk to? Who is helping her? Who is supporting her? How is she and the baby receiving what they need?

As soon as she welcomed me into her home, and became aware of her reality, it awakened something in my heart that I couldn’t simply dismiss. It dawned on me that this is the reality of many women. It made me sad and also angry. It felt like I was witnessing my own daughter being completely alone and clueless.

Although I could feel that she needed help, on so many layers, she wasn’t able to say yes in receiving that help. Despite that there was a natural instinct inside of me to offer my services without receiving any money in return. Even then, She wasn’t able to say yes.

Why are women so afraid of receiving the help that they need?

In my experience of interacting with white women so far, I have noticed that there is something more willing inside of them to receive help. They take it, no matter what the cost is. They know what they want, so they take it. No second guessing.

I feel that it is different for women of colour…

It’s very internal, within the family, within those boundaries. Anything, anyone, outside of that family web, cannot really be trusted or welcomed in… 

Being a woman of colour myself, I understand this. It took me a very long time myself to open up to the women in my life. 

It’s a very profound wound in the feminine. That, at the of the day, no matter where you come from,  every woman carries inside of them.