An update on Best of Both Worlds Doula Services operations and information from local hospitals and national health organizations:

As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout Raleigh and the Triangle area, Best of Both Worlds Doula Services is still taking precautions by practicing social distancing and staying at home through May. Meetings and consultations will continue through phone and video conferencing for the time being. Thank you for understanding.

Please be advised that I will be following North Carolina's guidelines on sheltering in place and I will likely extend them. I would like to start in person meetings again in June, but that is still unknown right now. Please check back for updates in mid/late May. Reduced virtual services will be available through the end of May as well. My operational hours have not changed and I am available by phone, text, email or video chat for your convenience.
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Below you can find all of the latest information from local hospitals regarding COID-19 and visitor policies. These policies are changing every day so please be sure to confirm what is stated here and on their website by calling or emailing. I will try to keep this post updated as I receive new information from the hospitals and other local doulas.

*UNC Health Care/Rex Hospital

Please note: At UNC, the partner can stay postpartum. However, if they leave the hospital for any reason, even to grab something from the car, they will not be allowed back in. Other hospitals may adopt this policy as well so please be advised. The Operating Room (cesarean sections) policy allows one support person. *Doulas must have gone through the OR training at UNC to provide support there.

*WakeMed Health and Hospitals

Update for WakeMed as of Thursday, May 7th, 2020: All WakeMed facilities are now allowing doulas plus one additional support person! The Operating Room (cesarean sections) policy allows one support person and a doula at Wake Med Main.

Women's Birth and Wellness Center

*Duke Health

Please note: As of last week, Duke Regional and Big Duke began universal testing for all birthing people coming into L&D. Anyone testing positive for COVID-19 will be separated from their partner/support person, & it will be recommended that the newborn be separated as well. Other hospitals may adopt this policy as well so please be advised.

Update for Duke as of Monday, April 27th, 2020: Duke Hospitals policy now states that every birthing person is entitled to a support person regardless of COVID-19 status!

Wake County Health Department

The * indicates the hospitals that are COVID-19 test sites.

Remember, you are the patient/parent and nothing should be decided or done in regards to you or your child(ren)'s care without your consent.
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Evidence Based Birth
EBB has a downloadable consent form that you can print off and discuss with your provider. You can find it here.

COVID-19 response updates & resources for North Carolina 

Center for Disease Control (CDC)

World Health Organization (WHO)

National Institute of Health (NIH)

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)

Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

La Leche League International

Postpartum Support International 

I want to again thank those who continue to go above and beyond to ensure that others have what they need and are taken care of during this uncertain time.

To the doctors, nurses, researchers and other medical staff working tirelessly to provide accurate, up-to-date information and quality care THANK YOU

To all essential employees, staff and city/government officials such as our child care workers, mail couriers, garbage collectors, bus drivers, grocery store clerks and cashiers, pharmacists, researchers, delivery persons, city workers, commissioners and other officials THANK YOU

To the liaisons helping people navigate if/when to see their providers and when/where they can get tested THANK YOU

To the janitors, custodians and cleaning crews of schools, businesses and the local & national government THANK YOU

To the generous community volunteers who are making sure their neighbors, friends, school aged children and the homeless have food, supplies, school lessons+resources and basic medical supplies+care THANK YOU

To all the mask makers THANK YOU

To the local small businesses who are still serving the people of the community THANK YOU

To my fellow birth workers who are continuing to serve clients in all capacities THANK YOU

True story: I was in the middle of a very different blog post highlighting some of my thoughts as a black woman+wife+mother+doula, but those thoughts shifted rapidly as my perspective changed and I feel the need to express how I feel in the now. Like right now. So here we are.

"Hi! Just checking in to see how you and your family are doing. How is everyone feeling? Is there anything I can assist you with today?" This is me. All. The. Time. Yes, I am that person who is always checking on everyone. And well, I'm tired. Every year during my son's spring break, I take time off for myself. This year was different because initially I felt guilty for taking time away from my business while so many families are seeking support right now. But as the days passed, the guilt quickly faded and a week turned into nearly two. A revelation was indeed coming.

​It has been 43 days since my family began sheltering in place. In the beginning, I was very productive and positive that this would all be temporary. Between checking in with my clients regularly, starting a new doula training, finishing my certification exam all while staying on top of the laundry, I was winning. Even the switch to 100% virtual services was smooth. I have offered virtual doula services for over a year now and while I believe I have done well supporting my current clients virtually during the COVID-19 outbreak, I began to feel weighted a couple of weeks ago. Weighted with being an advocate while I can't be physically present at the hospital, standing up to the health care industrial complex whose policies continue to change for birthing people & their support persons and generally being a savior for black birthing bodies even though I serve all types of families from different backgrounds.

Don't get me wrong, I have definitely shown up for my clients and given them the same quality service that I normally provide. I have made phone calls, sent emails, posted articles and updates from the WHO, CDC, FDA and Governor Cooper and local officials, stayed up-to-date on all the local hospital policy changes, provided referrals for food & educational sources and had more than a few virtual reassurance consultations with clients, friends and family. I have participated in Zoom calls for birth workers and I was even been interviewed to discuss how the virus has affected my work from a reproductive justice aspect. I have connected with different doulas and midwives from all over the country as we have been bonded by the impact of our work, clients and culture during this unstable time. I also started a birth story project so that others can share their unique birth and parenting stories during this global health crisis. But it was all with the thought that all of the chaos would be over in a few weeks and life would resume as normal.

My mind has raced with thoughts of what life will be like after this virus has left. I often think of those incarcerated, the immigrants who are still in cages and the homeless community. The back and forth of the media, health experts and leadership has caused more confusion and chaos among us while we try to stay connected to those we love virtually. Preparing to leave the house has now become more of a mental and emotional exercise than physical. Just one short month ago I was conducting final interviews for the first session of my doula mentorship program. Two weeks ago, when I sent out an email delaying the program because I didn't want my mentees burdened with the financial commitment during this time, my heart was already heavy. I was already questioning how I would be able to teach them and encourage their journey during a time when I myself was unsure. Truth be told, I probably ignored the biggest red flag. I have had no desire to be physically active while being sheltered in place. And if you know me, that is a big deal. I had a fleeting thought to move my Zumba classes online, but it would have been forced. I just didn't want to feel like I had to be "on" 24/7. Days, weeks and maybe soon, months will have passed and that feeling of being overwhelmed (even if you're safe) is only growing because there is no end in sight.

After a month of trying to be virtually present during a pandemic, I hit a wall. Trying to gain new clients during this time is stressful. Work was starting to feel like actual work and forcing productivity wasn't serving me at all. The fact that this all took place at the start of Black Maternal Health Week. That was very telling for me. I have slowly embraced the day to day changes that this virus has had on my personal and professional life. And while some of these changes have been great for me, I realized that other changes and practices have not. The more I come to grips with the fact that social distancing and shelter in place restrictions cannot be simply defined as temporary or short term because of so many uncertainties, the more I realize our new normal will change every generation to come in various capacities. Just look at what has already happened in a few weeks due to the delayed response from American leadership to keep us safe. That's pretty heavy.

So after acknowledging all of my feelings last week, I made a plan to replenish myself. I developed an outline that nourishes and nurtures me in the now and also prepares me to assist more families in the future. At the moment, I will be taking a limited number of new clients mostly those with late 2020 due dates and beyond. I want to be sure that there is ample time and space to develop our relationship and multiple plans for birth and postpartum. The good news is that there are so many doulas and birth workers who are offering quality services from their homes and even hospital parking lots and that is so needed. But I'm in a place where I need to step back and move and bit differently.

I will protect my family at all costs.
I will continue to support my clients in any way I can.
​I will continue to do what I know I can do (my to-do list) and trust that God will cover & keep His people.

Be well and stay safe.

It is no secret that we are living in a time where many things and concepts will never be the same due the pandemic that we are currently experiencing. We have been forced to face some hard truths about our ways of life, who is considered "essential" and question our leadership & the systems (or lack there of) we have in place to protect our basic human rights. The U. S. health care industrial complex will undoubted have to change as a whole and it must start at the beginning-with BIRTH.

As Black Maternal Health Week draws near, I wanted to invite any new parent you may know to share their birth stories. As a doula, I spend much of my time listening to birth stories and helping others process their birth experience and the feelings that surround these experiences. While trying to navigate my own feelings during this time as a wife, mother, business owner, believer and human being, I wanted to extend my listening ear further and find a way to support those who need to express themselves in a productive way.

Birth in 2020 is a passion project that will allow any birthing person or new/adoptive/surrogate/foster parent to share their COVID-19 birth and family experience. It is a 60 question survey outlining your birth and parenting experience during the outbreak. Please know that this information is being collected for research purposes and I hope it will be a catalyst for processing and healing. Thank you for your time and vulnerability. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.