Doulas Join The Fight For Toxic-Free Pregnancies

This is a guest post by Rebecca Allen of Down to Earth Doulas

The list of Dos and Don’ts given to a pregnant woman is nearly endless: don’t drink alcohol, avoid unpasteurized cheeses, go to prenatal yoga classes, get more sleep, take a daily prenatal vitamin, strengthen your pelvic floor, skip coffee, find the perfect birth location and medical provider, hire a doula (we hope that’s on the list!), learn to recognize the stages of labor, buy and install a car seat…and on and on! 

Many mothers-to-be follow these recommendations faithfully, and sometimes struggle with guilt and anger when they can’t do it all. One expecting mother we know was scolded by her barista when she ordered an espresso drink to celebrate her birthday! Everyone has an opinion around a pregnant belly, and most don’t hesitate to share.

As birth doulas, we work hard to avoid adding to the list. We want to help families have wonderful, empowered memories from their child’s birthday; we make that possible by offering unconditional, continuous emotional and physical support to mothers and their partners during childbirth. But what do we actually do, you ask? 

Our work involves many things, including--but not limited to--verbal encouragement, relaxing massage, running a hot bath, suggesting birth positions for comfort and labor progress, keeping your water glass full, and helping your partner and grandma-to-be know what to do. But ultimately, the foundation of our doula work boils down to one thing: making sure the environment around you is safe, supportive and nurturing so you can do whatever you need to do to give birth to your baby.

That’s why we joined the Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition: to make sure the environment around birthing women is safe. When we read the Earliest Exposures report and realized how vulnerable our clients are to the toxics found in everyday products like shampoo (shampoo!), we knew we had to stand up. Sure, having a doula at your birth will lower your chances of medical interventions and give you a better chance of having a great experience. But until we demand safe policies to protect our most vulnerable and hold industry accountable for creating safe products, babies will still be at risk. 

We’re grateful to Washington Toxics Coalition for the research that created the Earliest Exposures report, and for the practical suggestions they compiled in “Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy” and “5 Steps to a Healthy Nursery or Child’s Room.” But all of us in the coalition know that every family can’t do everything on every list. And that’s why we will continue to work with the Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition for better policy and responsible industry standards in our state.

Let’s work together to take “avoid toxic chemicals” off the pregnancy to-do list. We've sent letters to our legislators in support of the Toxic-Free Kids Act, which will remove many of these dangerous chemicals from children's products. It's not a complete solution, but it's a great next step to help protect babies and kids from these dangerous chemicals. Join us in supporting the Toxic-Free Kids Act by sending a letter to your legislators!