Birthing a nation’ during a pandemic: Indigenous doulas try to maintain practices and protocols from afar – CBC
Birth workers getting creative to continue providing support to new Indigenous mothers despite COVID-19
Jun 10, 2020
Birth is a sacred ceremony in Indigenous cultures, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made following some protocols challenging.
“As an Indigenous doula, I really turned a lot to prayer. I really, really focus my mind and my spirit to being prayerful, especially when the mother is labouring, really recognizing and acknowledging that birth is a ceremony and to be in that space,” said Jolene Creely, a Cree doula based out of Regina.
But with physical distancing restrictions in place, Indigenous doulas like Creely are finding their prenatal classes nixed, their clients’ doctor appointments cancelled, and their other methods of connecting in person severed. In Saskatchewan, women giving birth are currently restricted to one support person in the hospital due to COVID-19.
