As a doula that is. Names will be kept private... I'm just curious where most of us fall. You may pick more than one if you're somewhere in between.

THANK YOU for allowing us to pick more than one! I'm mostly the second and third one. Now...I am VERY political, but not extremely politically active about birth in itself.

Thanks for letting us pick more than one too!

I would like to be the

person, but it is hard with an 18mo old and a baby on the way. But I am trying! I have started a birth network here, I just haven't had a lot of time to devote to it yet!

i aim for radical but sometimes fall short.

[color="Teal"]As I am for "active," (with plans for a networking group in the making), I also feel as thought I don't know where to start! Also, with a 1 mo old (I cannot believe he's that old! /:crying) I cannot do births right now, though I am interviewing, and with my 2 yr old and 4 yr old who keep me WAY busy, it's really hard to find the time and the *freedom* to take everythingon that I have plans for. Right now I am trying to get the word out about doulas by having a booth at a consignment fair next month (:unsure) and sending introductory letters to drs, as well as working on a new website for everything pregnancy, baby, birth, and breastfeeding related....we'll see how long it takes before it's live! [/color]

I am so NOT a radical activist. i hate all things political. So i just plug along helping on woman at time, and talking about my work to anyone who is interested. just trying to make a doulas a normal everyday word.

Active- network, collectively support & educate the community when necessary

That's me! Any chance I get. Lately I am more...
Radical- strong beliefs, rally, attend political events, write a lot to papers and politicians
As I have been setting up a VBACtivist group for my country and talking with OB's and medical aids about birth doulas and VBAC's
so I'd say I'm somewhere in between. The first 2.

I'm the third option,but wished I was the second -Active

I am at "one-woman-at-a-time", and I would like also to be "active" once I have a little more time on my hands. I would only become "radical" if I left the birthing profession or became a midwife. I feel that I would lose credibility if I went "radical" while still trying to work as a doula side-by-side with OB's in hospitals and help women have good births in hospitals... and trying to get childbirth ed clients from local OB's would be a joke (at least if the OB's and hospital-birthing mamas got wind of my efforts). My first priority is helping individual women, though I would like to do more to gently nudge the system in the right direction.
Megan

I'm one-woman-at-a-time right now. Someday, when I've got the time, I plan to be active/radical. Who knows when that will be.

I too am trying, a Birth network was started here. I was there in the beginning and now it seems like it is falling apart. I am trying to hold it together.

Good luck on your birth network. Find great women who will build it with you and keep you motivated when the going gets tough. There are some great ladies here who are really dedicated and want to see a very active Birth Network here in our town.

Keep us posted.

Hear Hear! I second that. I will also admit that i don't know enough about birth yet to have strong opinions, other than the way I want mine to go...

I am starting a birth network in my area as well. Those of you who did something similar, I'm curious what inspired you to take on that project. And those of you who are just members of a local birth network, is it mostly a professional referral sort of network? or something more of a volunteer doula network for women/families in need in your community?

If you have time, I'm hosting a chat on Sunday morning from 8 to 9 AM (Pacific Time) and the topic is on your personal mission as a doula, your personal principles that help shape your doula work. I think it would be interesting to chat about how our guiding principles expand our doula work to serve not just moms and families, but our communities as well.

I'm personally an active/one-woman at a time type. By actively networking and promoting doula work, I hope to be able to help more than one woman at a time, just by raising some awareness.

Very Active!!!
I am all about helping anyone I can. Clients and/or colleagues.