-Hi, I’m on my way now.
*moaning*
There’s always something about, like, being called for a birth,
and you know you're just, like, you just get a jolt of energy. It’s gonna be a baby day!
*screaming*
-Good.
My name is Regina Maria Conceição and I’m a doula.
I’ve been a doula for 17 years now.
It’s so crucial for women to be supported by other women.
Women are not supposed to be by themselves when they’re pregnant.
They’re not supposed to be by themselves when they’re in labor,
and they’re definitely not supposed to be by themselves in the postpartum period.
-I chose a doula because- this is our first full term pregnancy,
and I wanted to be educated on things that I have no idea about.
I think the more that I know- beforehand, the better I will be able to take in the pain.
-You’re 38 weeks and two days.
-Yup.
-So you know you could— you could go any day now.
Because birth is so personal and intimate,
you really wanna be with a client that you really get.
And you want the client to feel that, like back and forth.
-I’m all into energy and so is my husband,
and when we met Regina, it was a lot of spiritual connection.
-And I’ll remind you, like, with each contraction you’re getting closer to see your baby.
-She’s a good person to have by your side,
or have by your significant other’s side, as they’re going through something new.
-The advocacy that I want in the hospital, and why I think it’s important to have a doula,
is that I just don’t know, I’ve never gone through this experience before.
My doula, that’s her place, and she’ll really help me understand and make an informed decision.
It was important for me to have an African American doula because,
I wanted someone who shared the same experiences.
-Just simply being a woman of color, specifically a black woman,
born in the United States, that’s putting you at risk when you’re pregnant.
-This [is] my first baby.
I lost a baby, the beginning of this year.
My miscarriage made me realize that it can happen any time,
and that we need to be emotionally prepared for it to happen.
-After that, there was somewhat of a wake up call
on what we need to do for each other and to each other and voilà.
*laughing*
-For families who have dealt with a miscarriage, I usually follow the lead.
If I find that a mom suffered a loss and they’re talking about it,
then I’m gonna sit there and I’m gonna listen to you.
-I always said it’s whenever the good lord gives us the gift. So I felt like all in God’s time.
-E.T.
-No, like, for real. Why you gotta be all corny with it, though?
-That’s how people be, don’t they?
-In the countdown, I’m more, like, nervous, antsy— -Mm-hmm.
-Those are more the emotions than the excitement.
-One of the things that I love about births is not only seeing babies be born,
but seeing parents be born.
-The two with the wheels should be on the same side.
-Are they?
-Putting together the baby furniture was a little frustrating initially.
I like to read instructions and my husband does not like to read instructions…
-Center of the floor must be raised for top rails to lock.
-Right.
-Yeah, so why you saying “right” like you knew?
-I’m talking about putting everything together and then,
like, going back— I did that.
-...And finding the errors when you could just look at the instructions first?
-Yes, ma’am.
-I mean...
-For fifteen minutes, you just was asking me to put this thing back up, like how it was...
-Mhm.Like this.
-So you could...
-When we bang heads, we band heads.
When we work together, we work good together.
But, I know how I am, so I just be wanting her to just, to just leave me alone and just let me do it.
-Voilà, all finished.
-Manyell had sent me a text and just kind of gave me a little heads up —
“I’m feeling pain in my hips” — and (she was)
laboring throughout the night without me, and I’m like
“Oh, OK, I really think I probably should head over to you.”
So that moment is, ”OK, today is gonna be birth.”
-Hi. - Hi! - OK.
Is one coming? -Mhmm.
-Mhmm? OK. Get ready for it.
I mean, Manyell’s doing an amazing job.
She’s in her zone. Labor, it’s work.
They say it’s the hardest job you’ll ever have to do in your life, and it’s so true.
Good.
And it’s both mom and baby who have to work.
*moaning*
Good.
*moaning*
Rock it. Move into it. Like, try to move your hips if you can.
Good. It’s a long one right? Is it tapering off?
-Mhmm. It’s good.
-It’s good?
-Yeah.
-I am trying to get her just to kinda close her eyes in between the contractions,
just because she hasn’t been able to sleep all night.
And then when things start, like, to really pick up again, we’ll up it a notch.
We have a lot of stuff in our bag of tricks.
So you haven't eaten anything in the middle of the night? Kale?
Not even that, that was yesterday. -No. That was yesterday.
-Oh, I need you to eat something. What about— do you like peanut butter?
-Yeah.
-That would be amazing. OK.
One thing I learned of being a doula, like, it’s nice to have all your tools,
but sometimes you don’t touch it. It’s just you. That’s all that’s needed.
*screaming*
-Good.
*screaming*
-Mm-hmm. Good job.
*moaning*
-Good. Good job, Manyell. Dig deep, okay? Dig deep.
We headed to the hospital because she started reported she was feeling a lot of pressure.
I don’t know if she’s gonna like being in the car. She may not, but let’s try.
This work is so important — even though it’s difficult, it’s rewarding.
To see the accomplishments that women are able to achieve.
So we get to the hospital and we were given a room.
Someone came in and checked her and we definitely thought that she was going to be further along.
Good, nice deep breaths.
It’s day, really day three for Manyell
because she started having contractions on Friday night.
And we’re just, um, home stretching it.
So, we hope to see a baby soon.
*baby crying*
-That’s your first New York horn that you hearing.
-Doula Bae! -Hey, hey!
-Hi, how are you? - Good to see you. You looking great!
-Thank you, thank you. -Lovely colors.
-How are you?
-I’m good.
- Hi Zhalay! Zhalay, right? -Zhalay!
-Zhalay! “History maker”... Oh my goodness. I love it!
-The best part about postpartum visit, is seeing parents in their space again.
And just seeing them in action, watching them navigate, being parents to this little human.
-I want to tell our child that, your mom prepared herself for you —
that she really worked on herself for you, and she waited. And it all worked out.