A Day With... Nathalie Solis Pérez

What drew you to become a doula ? For someone who doesn’t know, can you describe what a doula does and what makes your role so important ?

I’ve always had a deep interest in women’s health, rituals, healing, and spirituality which led me to get a Masters in Cultural Anthropology with a focus on gender studies, cosmology and traditional medicine amongst indigenous people in Latin America.
When I became interested to work in the birth field it felt like an organic continuation of my previous work. Being a doula doesn’t even feel like work to me - I just love it so much and never tire of supporting and empowering parents as they embark on this journey into the unknown. When I started out as a birth professional I had a strong desire to learn everything I could from the best in this field which led me to train with Michel Odent, Liliana Lammers, Spinning Babies, She Births and many more.

In my work I ensure parents have the most optimal experience possible during pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. How we bring babies into this world is not only important on a personal level but has implications for humanity at large. As a doula I work with parents to ensure they have a positive and satisfying birth experience. I am their emotional, informational and practical support from the moment they find out they are pregnant until their baby is a few months old. I meet with parents prenatally to talk about how to best prepare for birth, providing antenatal education, discussing birth preferences as well as doing postpartum planning. I provide hands-on support throughout labour and birth and visit the family at home after birth to ensure mum is recovering well and to help parents feel confident in caring for their newborn.
As a doula I work in harmony with both natural and medically assisted births and offer non-judgmental, evidence-based education and continuous support to ensure parents feel heard, respected and cared for. We were never meant to go through this stage of life without support!

Read the full interview here.