Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Melanie Maldonado. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Melanie, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I definitely get my resilience from the women in my family. My mom and my grandmother who raised me. As a child I always looked at them and thought they recover from anything life throws at them. They would do it so effortlessly. As an adult, when I learned of their traumas, I was amazed at how they continued through life pushing forward. I knew that I wanted to do the same. I have daughters that watch me and I want to teach them to be resilient too! As women, it’s important. As women of color, it’s even more important! We are not defined by our traumas, it’s what we do with it that makes us be who we are on the other side of it!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a certified doula. My job is to support the birthing person in any physical, emotional or informational support that they need. Some people get a doula and a midwife confused so it is important to understand each role. The midwife would provide prenatal care and assist delivering of the baby. As a doula I help provide whatever support the mom needs or the partner needs. As your doula I pride myself in catering to your needs. You may be someone who wants to be massaged or you may be someone who wants to be coached in techniques your partner can help you with through labor. You may be someone who just needs me postpartum. As a postpartum doula my job is to assist you so that you may get the rest you really need and coach you with basic lactation support.
I became a doula because I realized women who look like me and other women of color need more doulas that can hold space for them who look like us. I couldn’t find a doula that I needed when I wanted one. I think hiring a doula that can be there for you and provide the support you need is important to guide you through a healthy labor for a happy and healthy outcome!
Being a doula is super special to me. Coaching each mama and her partner that THIS is what they were made for gives me great joy. My motto is EMPOWERING WOMEN, EMPOWERING BIRTHS. Mama just needs to know she was made for this and she can birth her way!
I have been presented with an opportunity of a lifetime to travel to Ecuador and learn from indigenous midwives, as a birth worker in 2024! Purchasing an Empower Women, Empower Births Tee or Hoodie through my website will raise the funds needed to attend!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I have acquired many skills as a Registered Medical Assistant. Learning about how things work and how things go in the medical field allowed me to decide on becoming a doula. As a trusted family member and friend, I have assisted many women during their births with emotional and physical support prior to becoming certified.
The first skill that has helped me is listening to their wants and their needs. Allowing them to feel all of their feelings and assuring them it’s okay.
Accepting that I will NOT know it all and be okay with that. I am not going to ever know it all. I can’t help everyone. But building my network with others who may be able to provide their skills is better than knowing it all.
Finally, trusting myself with what I do know and being confident is worth more than everything else. Clients want to hire doulas who are confident. The client will want to know that you can be there for them even when it gets rough.
If you are looking to become a doula, research where you want to get your certification from. You want to make sure it is reputable and that they coincide with your values as well. Trust yourself and be confident. And never be afraid that you don’t know it all, because you won’t ever know it all.
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal client is someone who is not sure about pregnancy or labor or birth. No matter what number baby you’re on, whether your first or your fifth, each time it is different. If it’s your first, who have so many questions and you don’t know how this really goes. As a repeater, (on your fifth) there may be traumas from previous pregnancies or births that you don’t want to manifest in this one. Having me as your doula, I will provide you with research and evidence-based information to help you make your informed decisions about what YOU WANT!
Contact Info:
- Website: Goldenlovebirthwork.com
- Instagram: @Goldenlovedoula
Image Credits
@Louislensphotography
