Doula Alumni Spotlight: Joefin
A Journey Into Birthwork and Community Care
We’ve started a doula alumni spotlight series here on the Doula School blog where we highlight alumni and their journey into birthwork. Joefin is the founder of Oru Kutty Community, an organization that addresses mental, sexual & reproductive health through education, support & advocacy. Below you can read more about her journey.
What did you do before working as a doula?
I’ve volunteered and worked in many roles. A lot of them were healthcare adjacent but others were unrelated. However, I find that I have so many transferable skills and every experience has only helped me in being a doula. Two notable experiences that have shaped my journey are volunteering on Salal Sexual Violence Support Centre’s Support Line and working as a Community Resource Specialist on BC’s Racist Incident Helpline. The intersectional and multifaceted nature of the support that I had to provide to clients in those roles has set me up to be a doula today.
How long have you been a doula? What made you want to pursue a career as a birthworker?
I have been a community doula in the Lower Mainland of BC since 2013. I was trained by an obstetrician-gynaecologist in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India on providing practical support to pregnant and postpartum birthing people. She would weave her medical training, with clinical experience, and incorporate clients’ culture, religion, and spiritualism. She understood that no matter what she knew, she’d have to communicate to patients in a manner that they could relate to. I came back with this training and began supporting parents who had moved to Canada with health systems navigation. In November 2014, for take your kids to work day, I held someone’s hand as she had an emergency C-section. All I had to do was reassure her (in broken Hindi) that she is ok and that everything will be ok. This is what made me want to pursue a career in birthwork.
What has been the hardest part about being a doula?
I come from a religiously and culturally conservative background. Choosing to pursue a career in sexual and reproductive health has cost me my biological family, “friends”, and the community that comes from being a part of organized/fundamentalist religion. This has meant that my journey has been shaped by grief in the last couple of years. Nothing I have been able to do or accomplish gives me wholesome joy because of a shade of blue that passes over everything. What keeps me going is my chosen family, a wonderful group of friends, and my ability to create community for myself wherever I go. I know that while most can pursue their passion and the career of their dreams with the support of their biological family, I will never have the acceptance that I hope to have. I have come to terms with that. This understanding has been liberating for me. Going no contact and being in a “sink or swim” situation of survival has given me the opportunity to become truly independent, confident, and more determined than ever.
What's your go to TV show to binge?
Young Sheldon, Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders, Avatar: the Last Airbender.
What's the most used item in your doula bag?
My water bottle – I lived with invisible, chronic conditions and I couldn’t be doing the body heavy work that we all do as doulas without hydration. Gatorade powder is my best friend for births!
What has been the best part of being a doula? What's the best piece of advice you ever got?
I have been able to create a business for myself that allows me to be my truest, most authentic self in working with clients. I wouldn’t trade this feeling for anything. I was recently at an International Women’s Day Event where one of the speakers, Hermina Khara, said (something along the lines of) “I don’t know how others measure success, but I measure success based on if I am doing work that’s aligned with my purpose.” This really resonated with me!
What's your favourite book of all-time?
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Please approach any and every opportunity that is presented to you first as a human with interests. If something intrigues you and you have the capacity for it, try it out for a period of time. There’s nothing you’ll lose from that experience and even if you learned only one thing, you’ve gained from it. If it’s not for you, walk away and try another thing.
Joefin, Doula School Alumni