Prison doulas: on my mind once again

[DL]

Hi, you all...

I realize that this is not an altogether new topic here on AD, but it's been a while since it's been mentioned and we also have many new members. I have something on my mind that has entered my mind on and off for several years now (I think I've even mentioned it in an old AD thread before). Because it won't totally leave my mind, I'm beginning to think that this might be something that I'm supposed to do. I live near a women's prison. It's a prison that has all security levels, from minimum security all the way to maximum and I think there's even one on death row. I cannot drive by the place without wondering about the pregnant women in there.

I always wonder if the pregnant inmates get any cbe and if the birthing inmates are allowed non-medical staff support for their births. I know that they take them to a University Hospital in a city nearby to have their babies (have heard that there is a special, secured floor for prisoners and that they aren't on the regular L&D floor).

To be honest, the thought of supporting incarcerated women isn't at all appealing to me and it would definitely be way way way out of my comfort zone.... and that, coupled with the thought that I can't get it out of my head, is one of the big reasons why I'm thinking this might be a real thing that I may be involved in at some point. It's beginning to remind me of that phrase, "God doesn't call the qualified but qualifies the called." A few things (that are quite large in my mind) have been holding me back from even checking into the possiblity of doula-ing for these moms, up to this point:

1. I'm only one person and could not possibly always be available for every birth if there are many, as we also like to travel as a family and I do have dates that I black out from my availabilty calendar. I am simply not willing to live on-call constantly, either. I would have such a very hard time saying "no" to an incarcerated momma in need of support just so I could be doing whatever I wanted to be doing. I would imagine that would be heart-wrenching and so there lies my biggest inward battle. *sigh*

2. I don't presently know of any other doulas who would be interested or able to commit to doing something like this as I'm sure there's hardly, if any, money in doing this. I don't see how I could do something like this all on my own. As for recruiting new doulas, I cannot imagine an aspiring doula spending the money to become trained just to do a program like this. Although.... I do have a doula friend who is a doula trainer for one of the doula organizations who might could donate an "unofficial" training, not using the org's materials but rather her own skills/experience/knowledge to teach if I asked her (would this be wrong to do?). I personally think that training is crucial and I could not consider having help from anyone not willing to at least train, I don't think.

3. University Hospital (not known for it's birth-friendly practices) is about a about an hour's drive for me into the city and I would just dread that when my very favorite hospital for doula-ing is just 5 min. down the road from the prison and just 20 min. from me (but I guess one should expect that working like this would be a sacrifice in more ways than one, right?)

4. I hate to say it, but funds $$... For a little while I'm sure I could do it on a strictly volunteer basis, but eventually it would get pretty expensive with all the traveling back and forth (and especially since the hospital is an hour's drive). With things the way they are these days, I'm almost certain that a gov't. grant would not happen, and to be honest I would feel badly about accepting a gov't grant when our nation and our kids and future/present grandkids are already in such great debt. I am Lamaze Trained by PfB as a cbe, but I've never actually taught a series and have absolutely no cbe materials and so would need to purchase some things. Perhaps local churches and charity organizations could donate for material and transportation costs, and the materials would actually belong to the prison and not me? Which brings another concern to my mind: I would not feel right about accepting funds from giving churches and organizations that would give me any profit/income. I'm not sure whether or not I'm looking at this correctly as I've never done anything like this, but I'm thinking that all donated funds should be spent on directly educating/supporting the moms and not on giving me any supplemental income. It wouldn't be so hard to totally volunteer without income, however, if I had LOTS of help and we could spread the schedule and work load out quite a bit.

5. Where do I even start to consider doing something like this? I know that the prison has an existing baby care program that allows "short-term offenders" to keep their babies with them in a special nursery, they attend baby care/parenting classes, etc. Should I start with whoever heads that up? Should making an appointment to speak with the warden be the best first step? (she looks nice from her picture ) Heck, I'm not even totally sure I WANT to commit to such a large undertaking, but if I could find another doula or 2 or 3 or MORE who's heart is pushing them in this direction, it would be much easier for me to seriously check into this to see if it's even a possibility. Also...if I were to ever move out-of-state (which we do hope to do so at some point in the future), I would hope that there would be others that could continue supporting the women.

Any thoughts out there? Has anyone else out there ever done something like this? If so, how did that work? Am I making this way more complicated than it should be?

This is obviously something that I need to spend some time in prayer about. It's sounds like such a huge undertaking to me and I'm uncertain of when the right timing would be if I really am supposed to do it some day. Some doors would definitely have to be opened.

[Comfy]

I know a doula that does this here. It is something I am very interested in doing, but the prison is just too far a drive for me. I know that she does prentatal education, and then acts as their doula while they give birth.

If this is something that touched your heart, I think you should act on it Lori

[DoulaMegz]

Check out this blurb on our program at everyday miracles, you can also talk to Mamalunadoula here on alldoulas, as she is largely behind this program.

http://www.everyday-miracles.org/isis.shtml

[doulajamie]

Lori:

I, personally, would not rule out grants. There are a lot of costs involved in a new program. In addition to your time serving women, you will need to set up the program that all the doulas will follow so that there is consistency. There will be time compiling notes from visits. Then there's evaluation, if you want sustainable funding you have to show the results of your program. A grant is meant to help gather information and improve the knowledge base for future programs. In addition, getting published in many of the journals requires a PhD who knows how to compile the data and submit the results.

I don't think that you should bear the burdens of start up out of your pocket. Evaluation by a trained professional is not an inexpensive undertaking. Of course, the value is that they are able to interpret the data and assist with program development throughout the life of the project. This is what will assist you in getting funding that will create a sustainable funding stream. In addition, you need office space for your doulas to meet in and to store HIPPA sensitive data. You need office supplies, cell phones/pagers, computers, programming--if you want to submit data on line, materials for clients, uniforms, training, doula bags, resource library, etc.

I also have a hard time envisioning a program like this running entirely on volunteer services. The emotional needs of these women is high. There are special needs that must be taken into account and that doulas working with this population must be trained . Training is not cheap and yet the potential problems when there is inadequate training are high. Designing a program is a huge undertaking, it will take hours of research time to figure which elements seem to have benefit and which do not. Once you design the program, you have to develop a way that the doulas can meet the specified goals consistently and create/find/develop the materials needed. Writing the grant will also take a lot of time, your evaluator will be a huge help in developing goals and objectives. The structure of the grant really does help in creating a more effective program, at least that's my experience. In accepting grant funding, you can always set a goal of becoming a sustainable program and be always working towards that outcome. In the meantime, start up costs are covered, the knowledge base is increasing on what improves maternity care for this population, and you have a better chance of consistent and stable doulas in your program.

Those are just my thoughts. I can tell you that getting funding for a new program without showing some positive outcomes (yes, I see the cotradiction but this is real life!) is next to impossible. No one wants to fund a program without a clear benefit.

This is an honorable goal. I know I gave you lots to think about. I took a class on grant writing and program development before I wrote on my grant and still found the process overwhelming, I was thrilled to be under my organization and 2 experienced grant writers. The evaluators have been a huge asset to keeping development on track, reminding us of sub-goals in the grant (trainings, certifications, in-services, etc) that need to be accomplished. In addition, they are able to mine and evaluate our data so we have a cohesive report that details our accomplishments. I wish you the best as you ponder this and hope you will gain the answers and insight that is right for you. I think a grant could be a great starting point as you build a sustainable program for this vulnerable population and your data could help promote the creation of additonal programs.

[Falling Leaves]

i've visited inmates in the past, not as a doula though. i'd look if there are alresdy any groups or organisations going to "your" prison, like prison fellowship or tha salvation army, or maybe there is an official volunteer program? and go through any of them. this could provide you with 1) helpful contacts 2) organisational structure already in place 3) possibly funding for expenses 4) maybe individuals interested in a training... around here, it is usually hard gor new groups or individuals to get permissions, and it so depends on the prison's director…
waiting for what others and specially mamalunadoula have to say!

[Apple Blossom]

Lori,

By the sound of your post, I would definitely encourage you to pursue this further. I have no experience in the area, but similar thoughts have also crossed my mind when I drive past a women's prison near my home. The other posters have some great advice!

Please keep us updated with how all this pans out

[Garden Doula]

Wow, Lori I commend you for thinking about this as much as you have! I love what you said, "God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called".

I am just listening. I have some kind of calling around helping inmates. It is something that I've thought about since I was young in CCD and a nun talked to us about the prison system. I haven't felt anything specific like you have, but I understand the pull toward something that you don't understand.

[sunshine]

good luck lori, i think your heart and hands are being called and that in some way you will find yourself helping out these women and babies. perhaps you will be the one that starts a program that others will continue to fruition. sometimes only one person can inspire others to do wonderful things. you don't have to be the one who does all of it yourself.

i would personally begin by going or calling the prison and talking w/ whomever is in charge of the birthing mothers. that may open many doors and point you in a starting direction.

[mommadoula]

Lorie~ I am a volunteer for a doula program for incarcerated women ( I havent been called yet) but if you do decide to go further with it I could give you the name of the women who started the program... ( I would need to check with her first)

[mamalunadoula]

Lori- Just saw this post after doing a google search on prison doula programs. (yes, this is what I stay up late at night doing!) I am in the middle of getting a prison doula program off the ground here in Minnesota through the non-profit I work for. I would love to chat with you more about this if you want, feel free to send me a pm with questions.
Go for it, these women need you! I am confident you could find a couple more doulas with a passion for this kind of work who would work on it with you as well. If you build it, they will come...

[mamalunadoula]

Hello ladies- I was thinking about starting a seperate forum for prison doulas, and then I found this thread again. I have been coordinating a prison doula program here in MN for the past year and I wanted to tell you all about our expreince:

1)Getting in: I have been working with another doula who is also a social worker and used to work at the facility we have started up the program at. Having her already being a known quantity, and having some contacts inside the prison certainly helped. I would say that would be step number one- learn about the facility and identify people who are receptive to your program. If there is already a prison nursery (which is what it sounds like is at the facility you are near, Lori) I would definitely talk with the person in charge of that. Simply tell them you want to get involved in supporting incarcerated moms, you are a doula, and ask what kind of help they need. We went into this with studies and info about other prison doula programs, which certainly helped in winning over the doubters. I can help you find this if you need it. Do your research, read the Rebecca Project report from this year, which grades each state on it's treatment of incarcerated mothers, and lists prison nurseries, residential parenting programs, etc. Read "Resistance Behind Bars" by Victoria Law, which contains a whole section on prenatal care in prisons. Learn about the conditions of pregnant women in prison, and the facility you want to work at specifically.

2)Take baby steps: We worked as volunteers for two years to research and get the program going. We also started by doing prenatal classes at the prison as a way to prove ourselves to the prison administration. We did classes for 9 months before we were allowed to start attending births. At the time I was rather salty about this, but in hindsight it was beneficial because it helped us to establish a presence within the facility, get to know who our allies are, get to know the women, and get to know the regulations and feel of functioning within the prison. We recently secured grant funding, and are now starting to get paid for our work. We attended our first prison birth earlier this month, and things are steadily moving forward.

3)Only do this if you really feel your heart is in it. This is hard, hard work. If you think working with at risk women is hard, working with prisoners will break your heart over and over again. The conditions the women (and their babies) face is inhumane, often times illegal and unjust, and there is often little you can do about it. Medical care in prisons is subpar to say the least, and most prisons offer no prenatal education or support. But the rewards are also tremendous, and the difference you make in the lives of these women and their families is more than you can imagine.

4)Network, network, network: identify the other groups in your area who are doing prisoner rights work and contact them. Ask how they got their programs going, how they got funding etc. identify other birth workers in your community (and this could be midwives as well) who want to do this work with you. Do not do this yourself, it is too emotionally taxing for solo work. Talk with other prison doulas around the country. I am setting up a yahoo group for prison doulas, please contact me if you would like to join. We also have a FB page at Isis Rising Prison Doula Program. And of course you can contact me anytime with more questions.

Good luck to everyone who is doing this work. The women I work with feel abandoned by society, and think no one cares about what they are going through. Find a way to get inside, and if nothing more listen to their stories non-judgmentally and empathetically. This is vital work, and we need more folks supporting these women.

Again, good luck, and feel free to contact me with any questions.

[LParks]

Lori, if you have worked anything out, or are still thinking about it, I would be interested in working with you. I live in Newark so am about an hour from the prisson and from osu hospital. I wouldnt be able to do much on a volunteer basis right now though. Just not in our budget.

[Falling Leaves]

hi mamaluna,
thank you so much for posting! congratulations on your first prison birth!! i'm very interested in hearing more about your experiences.
i wasn't able to find you on facebook though, is there a direct link?
wow, it's been a whole year since i posted in this tread, and i must admit i didn't take one single step towards a prision doula ministry i just feel i can't make that longterm commitment at the moment i'm so thankful that there are other doulas around the world willing and commited to work with inmate moms!!!

[mamalunadoula]

The program's listing on FB is Isis Rising Prison Doula Program, or if that doesn't work friend me and I will get you to it. I am Meg Babylon on FB.

[Hallielynn01]

Are you guys familiar with Birth Behind Bars? We have a very successful jail proram here and she is now doing trainings/webinars to help people start programs in their areas