I am a doula, but I chose to be trained in Neonatal Resuscitation. You never know when a baby will be born before a midwife gets there or in an emergency situation. Knowing I have some basic training is comforting. I hope and pray I never need to use it, but If you are prepared, you need not fear.
There have been times when I was prompted to review the information I learned before going to a birth. I always do review it when I get such a prompting. I have never had to put it to use, but knowing I am following the Spirit, gives me faith that if something does come up I will be prepared.
Should expecting parents learn this skill? Certainly they should learn CPR and choking skills for infants and children. I would love it if there was a simple, not scary video that explained some basics of neonatal resuscitation. I looked and didn’t find any. But most parents would not need this information.
Should birth workers such as doula’s learn this skill? I would say yes. I have attended around 44 births and 2 the baby arrived before the midwife did. I was there and luckily things went really smoothly. But I was glad I had that training!
Later this week I will share one of the birth stories where I made it before the midwife!
