Round the Circle: Doulas Share Their Experiences

by Julie Brill

Are you a doula, a professional who supports women and their partners during the childbearing year? Do you feel called to become a doula because of your passion for women, birth, and babies?

In Round the Circle, Julie Brill gathers the wisdom of 23 established doulas, who generously share what they’ve learned to create a doula mentorship in book format. Contributors include Laurel Wilson and Tracy Wilson Peters, authors of The Attachment Pregnancy, Rivka Cymbalist, author of The Birth Conspiracy, and Amy Wright Glenn, author of Birth, Breath, and Death.
Learn more about addressing fears; encouraging the motherbaby bond; supporting religious and spiritual practices; working with LGBTQ families, teen mothers, surrogates, immigrants, incarcerated moms, friends and family; the doula’s role in planned and unexpected homebirths and cesarean births; supporting families after the birth; building and marketing your business; and doula self-care.

This anthology will prove interesting and helpful reading for anyone considering becoming a doula, and for those already practicing.

Genres: Nonfiction

174 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2015

About the author

As a child, Julie Brill held two conflicting beliefs. She knew her Jewish grandfather had been murdered by Germans in occupied Yugoslavia, yet she somehow believed the Holocaust had never come to his hometown of Belgrade. The family anecdotes her father passed down, a blend of his early memories and what his mother told him, didn’t match what Julie had heard about Germany, Poland, and Anne Frank in Holland during World War II.

Even frequent readers of Holocaust history likely do not understand the Serbian story. Destruction there came early and fast. Without cattle cars, gas chambers, or distant camps, the Nazis murdered almost the entire Jewish population before the plan for the Final Solution was even set.

With so few Jewish survivors and descendants from Serbia, the story of the Shoah there has gone untold. Julie’s quest to understand and share what she learned lead to Hidden in Plain Sight: A Family Memoir and the Untold Story of the Holocaust in Serbia.

Julie has written for Haaretz, the Forward, Kveller, WBUR’s Cognocenti, The Times of Israel, Balkan Insight, and elsewhere. A dedicated Holocaust educator, she shares her family’s experiences in middle and high school classrooms through Living Links.

Additionally, she is a lactation consultant, doula, childbirth educator, and the author of the anthology Round the Circle: Doulas Share Their Experiences. She began attending births and teaching childbirth classes in 1992 and has supported thousands of families in the childbearing year. She graduated from Tufts University, with a degree in Sociology and Gender Studies, and completed the Massachusetts Midwifery Alliance Apprenticeship Course. She is the mother of two grown daughters.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so pleased that I read this book. It has 22 essays on a broad range of focus areas and special topics within doula work. Each one was really intriguing and so valuable, it is very challenging to select a few to highlight. I loved getting more insight on a doula's scope of practice, supporting families in cesarean birth, honoring spiritual practices, supporting LGBTQA parents, friends as clients, growing a doula business, and ideas for working with underserved populations such as immigrant, incarcerated, and teenage moms. I especially like how contact information for each author is included in the book along with encouragement to reach out for additional information and support in implementing the focus areas in doula work. It's an incredible resource for both new and experienced doulas, or related professionals.

[Holly Zurer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this down. Granted I am a doula geek/nerd, but I felt like all these people were sharing their experiences with me. Great!

[Brittany Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a very new doula trainee, this book was eye opening and incredibly helpful. It introduced me to perspectives and challenges to becoming a doula that I had not previously considered, and provided clear and extremely helpful pieces of advice encompassing all areas of being a doula, from how to navigate ideological preferences of clients to how to successfully market yourself, and everything in between. The essay style of the book helps to deliver concise advice across many topics in a way that feels like you’re speaking with a very experienced doula friend. A must-read for anyone in this field.

[Rasee · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a strictly hospital doula, a lot of the chapters in this book really had nothing to do with me; but even those chapters had great advice. I think this is such a good book for new doulas who are figuring out their responsibility, their scope, their boundaries, and how to take care of themselves. These are things you learn as you become more experienced in your work, but I don't remember being taught these in training. This is a small book that's easy to read and understand, and a valuable resource for the trainee and experienced doula.

[Leeann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers many, many relevant issues. Good to read through and also to keep for reference.