Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathleen Wilson.
Hi Kathleen, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have been a doula here in Houston since 2003. I became interested in Doula work after the birth of my second child. My first baby was born during Tropical Storm Allison in the Texas Medical Center and she unfortunately died 12 weeks later. We found out shortly after we had been evacuated from the hospital that she had multiple congential heart defects and although we tried our very best to help her, in late August she died. Deep in my grief, I knew I wanted to try again. We were fearful and we went through a lot of testing to make sure I could conceive and carry a healthy pregnancy. This was truly the beginning of my understanding and navigation of reproductive health care. We were able to conceive and deliver our second child in early 2003. She was born in to my loving hands with very little intervention at the same hospital I had birthed at previously. I was supported and loved by my family and medical team and was able to pour all of that into my new child. I had quit my job so I could focus on having a healthy pregnancy, but quickly realized that while I loved staying home with my children I felt something drawing back to reproductive healthcare and the stories of birth and birthing folks. I started talking to my friends and asking them to share their stories with me…. Hearing my friends weep over their stories shattered me. I wanted so badly to help people have better experiences, not just physically healthy, but emotionally supportive, empowering birth – I wanted people to love their birth stories and I knew there was a path to that. I didn’t know what a doula was, but the first time I heard that word, I knew it was me. I could be the support, the change, the education. I could help prepare families for this very difficult, life transitioning event. I could walk them through it and help them have new experiences that empowered them. I could give them the keys to unlock their own power. And I fell in love immediately. I went to a training in Austin with ALACE (The Association of Labor Assistants and Childbirth Educators) a now defunct organization. I spent a long weekend immersed in all things birth and reproductive healthcare and my body and mind were alight with a drive to revolutionize pregnancy, birth and postpartum and really anything that had to do with the patient experience. I wanted to change things and I came home on fire. I dove in head first and never looked back. I have since had two more babies, one at a free standing birth center and one at home in my kitchen. I have built Houston’s oldest Doula Cooperative with my amazing partners – TLC Doula Group. My partner Joli Ammons and I have built a Childbirth Education curriculum that we teach at our office in Spring called Rebel Birth Education and it is revolutionary with a focus on patient knowledge and empowerment. I started training doulas about thriteen years ago through the Labor Enabler Apprenticeship program and that has been some of the most gratifying work – helping new doulas walk into their first birth with confidence. I am constantly in awe of my clients, the people I work with, the medical teams that put in the extra effort to care for their patients with kindness and dignity. It took me a while to figure it out, but systemic changes come from making tiny waves. Those little thoughts I had years ago….I see them now in big ways. In big changes that took a lot of time. Twenty-two years later I amazed by what my community has accomplished. I am so proud of us.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
So many struggles…
– One of the biggest challenges we all face as doulas is backup. We can’t be everywhere always. We get sick. We go on vacations. Sometimes two people go into labor at the same time. When that happens we need amazing people to step into our shoes and help the folks we have promised to assist. I had no idea when I started that this would be one of my biggest challenges. This is such an intimate job, the idea of handing my clients over to someone made me feel queasy. I found a great backup doula early on! She was smart and clever, but after a while I realized I didn’t really know her as a doula, just as a person and she retired pretty quickly leaving me on the search again. I wanted folks who agreed with me about how we care for clients, who shared a philosophy and style of practice. I couldn’t send just anyone. So when I found someone that matched, I latched onto them and we decided to build a co-operative practice togther. TLC Doula Group was born. We seek out like minded doulas and offer them support and training as they grow into their practice. We share an agreed upon practice philosophy: There is no wrong way to have a baby. Patient led care is imperative. Collobrative care with experienced professionals is paramount. Relationship building in the community is vital. TLC is now eleven doulas strong and I am so proud of all the work we have done and continue to do. The doula community at large has grown dynamically as well. Doulas now are more well known, understood and accepted in medical spaces. It’s so cool to be a part of this growing movement of patient centered care.
-Finding work life balance has always been challenging. As doulas we are on call all the time. Making sure to schedule time off for vacations and recovery after a long birth is vital to avoiding burtout. Having the team at TLC also gives me a space to talk and decompress after hard experiences. A loving and supportive spouse and family allow me to grieve or celebrate through the hardest and longest of days.
-You can never really be prepared for the things you see. Birth is hard. Healthcare is hard. Hard things happen. People die. No one really prepared me for that. Learning how to balance other peoples experiences, processing the hard stuff and carrying it with you, but not letting it color your care is super challenging. I think ultimately it will always inform your practice, but you can’t let it make you work from a place of fear. That requires processing and support of my own. TLC gives me that place. My amazing spouse and children give me that gift every day.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Labor Enabler Doula Services, TLC DOULA Group, Rebel Birth Education?
In 2003 I started Labor Enabler™️Doula Services providing prenatal counseling, education, labor support and postpartum support for families in their reproductive processes. I loved my job, but definitely felt a special call to support families in high risk scenarios: VBACs, high risk pregnant folks, high risk babies and surrogacy. I really belive that all birth can be beautiful. It is a transformative experience, not just for the birthing person, but for their spouse, partner or family. They are changing everyone. I wanted families to have beautiful patient centered experiences, where their voices were heard and they felt supported in their decisions. In 2008 I started TLC Doula Group with two other doulas, Amanda and Dorin. This was a life changing moment for how I worked as a doula. We are not an agency, but a collective of like minded folks working together to provide patient centered care for our clients. We also take care of each other, providing back up support, peer review and continuing education opportunities. TLC also loves to support our communities! Showing up and showing out with unwavering support at community events. This October we will be at The Woodlands Pride festival offering up a cool place of respite and refreshment for the community in our TLC Doula Chill Out tent. TLC is now eleven members strong with a focus on supporting each other and also mentoring and growing the next generation of effective and confident doulas. In 2013 I started Rebel Birth Education with my amazing business partner Joli Ammons. Rebel Birth is an amazing childbirth education Joli and I spent several years writing. We teach weekly group classes at our office and offer private classes as well. Rebel Birth teaches all the usual stuff with a special focus on teaching hospital procedures, protocols, provider communication and patient centered management.
I am so very proud of how we center our clients – being a doula, childbirth educator, nurse or anyone who helps people works in healthcare or healthcare adjacent – having a patient centered practice is central to positive outcomes.
We focus on preparing people for real world scenarios and teach our clients how to advocate, not just for themselves, but for their loved ones as well. How to navigate complex conversations around healthcare decisions leads to patient empowerment and empowered patients feel better about their healthcare outcomes.
We are a comprehensive program seeing clients from pre-pregnancy through the postpartum and beyond.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
For folks just starting out – no one can define your practice except you. Build a skill set you belive in and practice in a model that is comfortable for you. Continuing education increases your skill set and allows you to serve your clients better. There is no wrong way to have a baby. Meet your clients where they are. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!!! Most of what I learned was from doctors, midwives and nurses in the field. If something was happening and I didn’t understand, I made mental notes and asked the medical team afterwards or sought out a class about it. There is no such thing as too much knowledge. I am still always learning from the folks around me and I continue to seek classes that can help me improve patient experiences.
Honestly – I wish I knew how much I didn’t know. I understood the physiology – how birth worked – but I didn’t understand the complexities of giving birth in a modern world. I also did not understand the pressure my clients were under to perform in specific ways. I have learned over time to help my clients build their village, to include collaborative care partners, to facilitate communication and ease tension. I really didn’t know what I was doing when I started. My training definitely had value, but left me with so much to learn. The really learning happens by doing! That is why O created the mentorship and apprenticeship program.
Pricing:
- Labor Doula Services with Prenatal and Postpartum Consulting $2600
- Labor Enabler™️Apprenticeship Program $100-$3000
- Group Childbirth Education $300
- Private Childbirth Education $800
- Virtual Doula Services $1600
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.laborenabler.com
- Instagram: https://www.threads.com/@laborenabler
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaborEnabler
- Other: www.tlcdoulagroup.com www.rebelbirth.com
Image Credits
Birth Photography by Stephanie Shirley with Houston Birth Photographer
Office Photos by Amber Star with Hello Baby!
Family photo by Ashley Newman with Ashley Newman Photography
There are photos within the work photos by Kelly Richman with Lifetime of Clicks (group photo by Amber Star) – wasn’t sure if that needed to be stated.
