I picked active, I'm in between that and one woman at a time but after opening the center in the face of opposition I think I can safely fall under the active category

I picked active and one woman at a time. I did (re)start a birthing circle in my area, but right now we are just getting off the ground. I do have to say I am not militant, as there are so many negative connotations to being "militant". I think that the best way to get people to listen to what you have to say is to listen to them first. I feel as though if you are too "hardcore" people shut down and feel like you are telling them that they are wrong in what they think. Then no one gets anywhere. Anyhow, I try to maintain a healthy balance between informative and ... whats the word... convincing... I guess?

Personally, my goal is to help one woman at a time, to achieve the birth she envisions and to guide her, protect her, and empower her throughout her journey in the medical community. I'd love to see change but I don't believe that change is going to or should come from me. I want each client I have to have a great birth story and for them to share that story with their friends and daughters so women know and grow up knowing that birth is a beautiful and natural and not a medical sickness or something to be managed or cured.

We learned about birth from television, our mothers and our friends telling us about the horrors of it all. Well I feel that we need to stop this trend and have the stories told be beautiful and empowering and full of joy.

Those are my two cents. I'll leave the activism up to the stronger more established doulas.

Trying to work towards change one person at a time (or in small groups) just seems to work better for my personality. That can be through clients (when they come), friends, family or anyone who asks about what I do, conversations about pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding etc. -- you know anytime there's a group of women together those topics almost always seem to come up.

To me, it's all about knowing your options and making informed decisions. I might not agree with your choices, and you might not agree with mine, but if you make them knowing all the facts then that's all I ask for. Unfortunately, the way things are now, most women DON"T know all of the facts unless they do a lot of digging on their own. That's where I come in -- helping those who ask find the information they need or letting others know in a casual way that there's more to find out than just what their doctor tells them.

Great poll!

Very Active and Going with my Flow.....Humm Wondering where the Heck to start lol...

Hey You Guys if your on Myspace add me
http://www.myspace.com/paintedreamz_702

Ummm...it comes as no surprise, I am sure, that I am radical. I can't help it. For long periods of my life I have tried to squelch my crazy, insane, ranting, political, raging self and it always backfires. I can't help but go to rallies and talks and protests and stir up the patriarchal paradigm. I am sure it does me very little good in this rural town, but I can't stop it...How does the saying go? Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History...Let's start a revolution ladies! :bugeye(I really like this guy/gal)

It's time for a Venus Uprising!

I put down radical. I definitely fit into that category. That being said, though, once you've entered into a doula relationship with a client, I think personal politics should be put aside. If you are discussing a choice or preference they have, it is fine and sometimes welcome to give them a short, informative perspective, but once they've made their decision, its our job to support it, not manipulate it. Thats what we are trying to protect them from.

I am on the border of Radical & Active. I choose active. I have very strong beliefs, but I certainly never push them on another person. If someone asks me my opinion, I will not hold back how At the same time I do not judge or offer unsolicited advice. I am very involved in our birthing community and as well as educating the community about alternative birthing options.

I am definately 1 & 2. I support and educate the community, strong beliefs, write lots of papers and YES! I attend political rallies(there is history here), news junkie, knows who voted for what bill (especially those that concern me) and who voted against it.

[color="Blue"]I'm in between radical and active. I would like to start a group that helps low income and teen mothers have the best possible pregnancy and birth experience. These groups of women don't always have access to the same information and services as more fortunate women do. It is not uncommon for them to get overlooked due to their circumstances. I would like to help empower and educate these women so they can pass the message on and help build up other women and mothers in their communities.
Sorry if I'm a little too wordy, it just means a lot to me to help![/color]

I put "active" because I would consider myself the first 3 and that seemed like a good in between! I truly take each woman at a time and I am working at making my services better as I go...but I also (with the help and hard work of my brother, who was interning at our State Capitol) was able to get May 2008 declared International Doula Month in the State of Oklahoma! We were able to get a resolution passed by our House of Representatives to honor birth and postpartum doulas and their service to the families in the state. Also, we worded it in such a way that our Governor, Lt Governor, State Sec of Health, all the state Senators and Representative AND all of the Oklahoma Senators and Reps in the nation's Capitol all got copies of the resolution!

I think I am working at maintaining a balance between educating the community along with my fellow doulas here in Oklahoma and supporting each client one at a time...

I would say radical, as I have made this my life, as I am sure most of us have. Lovin every second of it, too!

I had to pick between #2 and #3 because I am kind of in-between. What a neat poll.

"Active" for the most part. I have rallied and written letters to politicians regarding various things (not all of them related to birth or maternal and infant health), but that was pre-baby when I had more time.

There are certain issues I feel VERY strongly about - breastfeeding being one of them. I think that we really need some very assertive ad campaigns about the risks of formula feeding (such as some other countries have done). If we show the benefits of breastfeeding, it will be ignored. As harsh as it may sound, the only way we will convince people who otherwise would not even consider breastfeeding to do so is to scare them out of formula feeding.

Same thing with c-sections and induction - if you show video of women talking about the trauma they endured, it will make other women think twice about questioning their care providers before going through with these things.