Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tracy Hartley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Tracy, thanks for joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

I was 49 years old and had a good job that I liked a lot. I had had many jobs before that one, including some really wonderful ones like helping Vietnam Veterans find jobs and training dogs to assist people with disabilities other than blindness. One morning, as I was getting ready to start my morning commute, I was listening to The Today Show for the traffic report when they said they would be talking about how doulas help women during childbirth. It sounded mildly interesting. Luckily, I wasn’t quite ready to leave the house and didn’t turn the TV off after the traffic report. The next thing I knew, my husband was asking if I was going to go to work that day because I was sitting on the edge of the bed, just staring at the TV.

Within 24 hours, I had signed up for doula training and had given six months’ notice at work. That was in 1996 — 27 years ago this month. I’ve read that “you are not your job” and I’m sure in most cases this is true; but not for me. Being a doula is who I am, just like I’m a mother and a grandmother. Those are the things that define me and they are who I am.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a birth doula and a childbirth educator. During Covid, some hospitals stopped allowing doulas to support birthing people. When that happened, I pivoted my focus to helping people prepare for their birth experience even if they couldn’t have a doula in the room. I’ve supported more than 700 families through their birth experience and have learned that birth in a hospital can be very complicated and frightening. Childbirth itself is complicated enough! The addition of being in a hospital that has rules and protocols that are new and unanticipated can add to the fear and anxiety which, in turn, increases the pain. I discovered that, although I couldn’t do the things I would ordinarily to help help the birthing person reduce the pain involved, I could reduce the fear and anxiety and I could teach the partner to be as involved as they wanted to be to help with the physical part of labor support.

My virtual childbirth classes help prepare birthing families to understand and anticipate hospital procedures. This knowledge reduces or eliminates the stress and confusion that often accompanies a hospital birth. I also offer virtual labor support options so that the families who have taken my classes can also sign up for virtual access to me to help answer any questions that arise during labor and help them figure out what is happening and what their options are.

Becoming a parent for the first time can be terrifying. I help pregnant people and their partners prepare for the birth and for bringing home a tiny human. I remember a nurse handing my son to me and asking her what I was supposed to do next. I felt so lost and scared and I don’t want new parents to feel that way.

I also teach classes for new doulas and I love to mentor them so they can have the same wonderful job that I have and help more people than I can possibly help on my own.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Birth is unpredicable Both the birth itself and the timing of when clients will give birth. One time I had back to back births with no break in between, which is not that unusual for a busy doula. After the second baby was born, I headed home to shower and sleep. As I stepped out of the shower, another client called and she was in labor. I thought about calling in one of my wonderful backup doulas but this was a repeat client having her second baby. Second babies often come much faster than first babies so I thought I’d be okay for a few more hours of labor, so I headed for the hospital.

This labor was not fast and I was exhausted. My client finally asked for an epidural and I got everyone tucked in and went to my car to take a nap. I hadn’t been asleep for more than 10 minutes when they called and asked me to come back to the room.

On my way back, I was crossing the street and, apparently, fell asleep. It was about 2:30 in the morning so there wasn’t much traffic. I remember seeing a car about 2 blocks away and then I was kneeling in the street, upright with my arms by my side with excruciating pain in my knees. The car was now stopped a few feet away and I was in the crosswalk and couldn’t move. I crawled to the sidewalk as the car drove around me and I finally managed to stand and hobble my way back to the hospital.

When I got back to the room, they were setting the room up for the pushing stage of labor. I got some ice chips and filled two gloves with ice and put one on each knee and stayed with my client until the baby was breastfeeding.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

The only regret I have about becoming a doula was that I was 49 years old when I first heard the word “doula.” If I could change anything, it would have been discovering this work much, much earlier in my life. The physical part of in person doula work is strenuous. I’ve had young fathers look at me and say, “I’m exhausted! I don’t know how you do this!”

Luckily, the Pandemic has taught me that I can still make a difference virtually and I should be able to do that for many years to come.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bestdoulas.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bestdoulas/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/birthempowerment/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-hartley-93b5194/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/best-doula-service-alhambra?osq=doula

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