For non-clinical perinatal care professionals, birthwork is not just a job, but a calling to help others on their path to parenthood. Doulas, childbirth and lactation educators, and newborn care specialists dedicate themselves to the well-being of their clients. But this commitment comes with challenges that can be tough to overcome, such as punishing schedules, vicarious trauma, and a sense of powerlessness in their working environments.
Trauma is a whole-body experience and to be truly trauma-informed we need to include the somatic experience in both the content and process of learning.
To address these realities in the perinatal care space, Lumos Transforms seeks to empower non-clinical birthworkers and provide them with the tools they need to navigate challenges while delivering the compassionate, trauma-informed care that families need.
A Journey Rooted in Collaboration
In 2019, the Los Angeles (LA) County Department of Public Health Maternal Child Adolescent Health Division approached us to develop a comprehensive, trauma-informed training program for doulas working with Black families in LA County. This initiative, sponsored by the African-American Infant and Maternal Mortality Project (AAIMM), aimed to extend access to trauma-informed care to the families that needed it most. What started as a project focused on a specific community eventually opened its doors to doulas serving families from all backgrounds across LA.
Going Beyond Training
The response to the AAIMM doula program was overwhelming. With requests to bring trauma-informed skills to birthworkers in other communities and job roles, our founder, Nkem Ndefo, a nurse-midwife and expert in trauma and resilience with extensive experience in various healthcare settings, envisioned a program beyond a one-time training. Understanding that trauma-informed care is not just a destination but a transformative journey, Lumos launched Tender Love, an embodied, trauma-informed, and resilience-oriented (eTIRO) program for non-clinical perinatal care professionals. Tender Love includes six sessions of interactive learning followed by three months of mentorship and access to an exclusive online community. This unique format allows birthworkers to integrate eTIRO practices into their lives and work, develop a supportive community of practice, and engage in real-time problem-solving.
Exploring eTIRO Care
Tender Love encourages birthworkers to critically examine how trauma manifests in their lives and the lives of their clients. While most trauma-informed approaches go beyond the individual and consider cultural, historical, and systemic factors, we recognize that this exploration cannot be a purely didactic and cognitive endeavor. Trauma is a whole-body experience and to be truly trauma-informed we need to include the somatic experience in both the content and process of learning. Trainees are guided to develop embodied skills using the Resilience Toolkit to navigate overwhelming experiences from their personal histories and those that arise in the course of serving birthing people. The Resilience Toolkit is a model that promotes embodied self-awareness and self-regulation in an ecologically sensitive framework and social justice context. Frontloading this skill set allows participants to practice the tools throughout the training, growing the confidence needed for successful implementation.
“[Tender Love] has given me more courage to face my own birth trauma stories so that I can live and love more freely and be the doula, mother, and woman that I naturally am.” – Shantay McKennie, US
Assuring Accessibility
Acknowledging current and historical inequity, it was important to us to ensure Tender Love is accessible to care workers who are from and support impacted communities. Thanks to generous underwriting from private sponsors, we’ve been able to offer a significant number of spots in the initial 10-week training for only $150!
Empathy and Self-Care
In Tender Love, we help birthworkers practice empathy without over-identifying with clients and incurring vicarious trauma. They learn how to take client trauma histories and engage in low-impact disclosure while giving and receiving peer support. Additionally, we recognize the importance of self-care for birthworkers. Tender Loveparticipants gain skills to prioritize their well-being, which also helps them sustain their care for others.
Connection and Community
Tender Love's exclusive online platform fosters connection, transcending borders to reach birthworkers internationally. We currently have members throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, and the Philippines. This platform nurtures a vibrant community of practice, encouraging peer support and mentorship, and creating a sustainable ecosystem of empowerment.
“The sensitivity of the facilitators and constant check on others in the group was in itself an experience on how to skillfully navigate traumatic events or conversations.” – Anonymous, Philippines
Empowering Non-Clinical Perinatal Care Workers
The success of Tender Love underscores the crucial role non-clinical care workers play in perinatal and early childhood health. While the medical model of obstetrics has historically been paternalistic and pathologizing, birthworkers are perfectly poised to bring an embodied, trauma-informed lens that is caring, inclusive, and collaborative. Tender Love aims to grow birthworkers’ knowledge and capacity and help them build power through strengthening cross-role peer connections.
Embodied Resilience in Action
As Tender Love birthworkers embark on their journeys of growth and empowerment, they become better equipped to guide others through the perinatal period with resilience, compassion, and a deep understanding of trauma's impact. In this process, Lumos Transforms illuminates a path toward healing, liberation, and a more compassionate world of childbirth.
If you are a birthworker passionate about making a difference and seeking support, Tender Love is here for you. Together, we can continue to shine a light on the path toward resilient, trauma-informed care.
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