We were lucky to catch up with Rachel Ginger recently and have shared our conversation below.
Rachel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
I birthed both of my daughters out-of-hospital in a birth center, and was blown away by my body’s ability to bring life into the world and how prepared and empowered I felt doing so. I had been drawn to birth work for a while, but wasn’t sure what my involvement would look like. It wasn’t until shortly before I gave birth to my second and had talked to others who were pregnant that I realized just how little knowledge there is of pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum. It became so clear how often people, usually at no fault of their own, blindly trust and make labor and birth-related decisions they really know nothing about. Time after time I heard stories of beauty and strength and joy, but I also heard a lot with fear and trauma and regret; families wishing they had known more, prepared better or differently, or simply had more support. It was in those moments that I found my birth worker purpose – I knew I wanted to help educate, support, and walk with other families, prepping them to navigate the ebbs and flows of pregnancy, the fear of childbirth, and the unknowns of postpartum.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Rachel Ginger. By day, I’m Mom to two beautiful girls, Briella (3) and Stella (1), and wife to my person, Cameron. By night (and sometimes day, because babies come whenever they want) I’m a childbirth educator and certified birth doula working to help change the narrative of modern-day birth. I’m a book-lover, iced chai connoisseur, and aspiring roller skater, learning to navigate motherhood one day at a time.
After birthing both of my daughters out-of-hospital in a birth center, I became aware of the beautiful world of birth work and quickly realized just how little most people actually know about pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Assuming everyone had similar experiences to mine (fearless, empowered, supported), I was shocked by how much trauma, fear, and regret there is out there. My heart broke for those women whose experiences and birth stories could have been so different with a little intentional prep-work and support. One day, I thought, “There’s no on-size-fits-all for birth. There can’t be. How great would it be if people had private, one-on-one education and support that was completely customized and tailored to their specific questions, situations, and circumstances?”
I launched my business, The Pregnancy Doula, in August of 2021 with the goal of educating and supporting women and their families through one of life’s most beautiful and vulnerable seasons. To help support expecting families, I offer private, customized prenatal and postpartum support and education (both in-person and virtually), as well as birth doula services where I assist and support Mom and her birth partner in their birth space. Together, we walk through everything from basic physiological education about the pregnant body, Baby’s growth and development, and what labor is like, to more personal questions about their own fears, concerns, and circumstances. I put a special focus on both mental and partner prep and support, and believe they are two of the biggest factors to a successful, trauma-free birth.
As I’ve grown my business, I’ve learned just how important and invaluable customized curriculum and support is for my clients, and absolutely believe it’s what makes my services different from your average birth class. Your pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journeys are all unique to you, your baby, your personality, and your circumstances. So why wouldn’t how you prep need to be unique as well?
If you had asked me 5 years ago if this is what I’d be doing with my life, I would have laughed and called you crazy. In fact, before I had my girls, I was terrified to give birth. Now, in hindsight, I think that speaks volumes to how important good prep and support is – it can completely change your entire perspective. Birth is beautiful, and our bodies are perfectly designed to accommodate it. It’s simultaneously one of the hardest and most incredible things you’ll ever experience, and it’s been an honor to play even a small role in helping bring awareness to that.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
Training and knowledge are incredibly important in my field. I, obviously, couldn’t do the education part of it without them. But working in my field would be impossible without the care, passion, and dedication to serve and walk with expecting families, no matter what their experiences end up looking like. It can be fun and rewarding to play a role in bringing new life into the world, but the job doesn’t come without its share of hardships. I’ve walked with women struggling to conceive. I’ve cried with them after miscarriages and loss. I’ve worked with many who are trying to overcome trauma from past births so they can have a positive and redemptive experience this go-around. I’ve processed through fear with women who have trauma from past abuse and/or body-image issues. I’ve talked with partners who can’t help but think of all the “what ifs” and are terrified something bad will happen to the most special person in their life. My heart has broken over and over again for families, women, partners, who long so badly for a baby to call theirs, but instead, wake up every day and have to fight through hurt, disappointment, anger, fear, and doubt.
Yes, training and knowledge is important. But to work in my field, you have to have a heart for loving people, and sometimes that means supporting them through some of their darkest moments. You have to be willing to get down in the trenches with them and be as much of a support as you can be, no matter what happens.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Finding my niche has been really important. When I first started brainstorming my business and putting content out there, I had a very broad view of what I wanted it to be and look like. It didn’t take long for me to realize that if I wanted to grow and stand out in the market, I needed to get really specific about who my ideal client was and what exactly I wanted to offer them. So now, instead of simply offering childbirth education, I provide customized curriculum and support in private, one-on-one sessions (both in-person and virtually) with my clients. While I do educate along the way, it’s completely tailored to each client’s specific needs, questions, and concerns. I also put a special focus on both mental and partner prep, and that’s something I’ve heard incredibly positive feedback from. Almost 100% of my clients to-date have contacted me because they want their partner to feel educated and prepared to support them well in birth. It’s something that’s so overlooked, but so important! Being able to narrow down my reach based on more specific and unique services has been so helpful in establishing myself and building my reputation in the market.
In addition to finding my niche and targeting unique content to my clients, having clear and unique branding has been really helpful for my business. I’ve built everything I have on my own and organically from the ground up – literally – and have had many people message me just to comment on my branding. As a creator, it’s so great to hear – it’s a lot of work! Not only does it stand out from other brands, but it’s something they’re hopefully going to remember over time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thepregnancydoula.com
- Instagram: @thepregnancydoula
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/preggydoula
Image Credits
Erin Stetson Erin Beth Birth Photography