The emotional and physical labor of birthing a child can be as painful as the physical labor of birthing a child, as many mothers can attest to 鈥� and that does not include the postpartum stress that many experience after having a baby.
Some turn to health care professionals like doulas in support of parental health during and after birth. Others turn to substances.
Birth coach Britt Westmoreland, who is in recovery from substance use disorder and the mother of a two-year-old son, acknowledges that 鈥淧regnancy, labor, and the first year postpartum are really difficult for people. While the medical support is great, it doesn鈥檛 really wrap around the whole human. When I was in labor, I was in excruciating pain, and I wasn鈥檛 really 鈥榯here.鈥� And there were these doctors who were telling me what was happening,鈥� she said.
She might be considered one of the lucky ones: drug overdose deaths during pregnancy and postpartum have increased sharply in recent years. This is why Westmoreland decided to become a doula that specifically helps pregnant and postpartum people who are struggling with addiction or are in recovery.
鈥淲orking with pregnant women with substance use disorder is important to me because I saw early on through my work in the field that that population has even more stigma placed on them, on top of the huge stigma that is already on people with substance use disorder,鈥� she said.
Westmoreland said she witnessed how pregnant and postpartum people with addictions were treated. 鈥淚 wanted to get my foot in the door and make a change,鈥� she added.
She was able to make that kind of change through an initiative started by the University of Colorado College of Nursing. The college trains doulas who are in recovery to work in the peer recovery doula program.
鈥淲hat we鈥檝e noticed in the state of Colorado is that we have an issue with pregnant and postpartum people dying [of overdoses, both accidental and intentional] because of substance use disorder,鈥� said Jessica Anderson, the director of midwifery and women鈥檚 health services at the CU College of Nursing. 鈥淲e decided we wanted to provide more support to the patients that we are caring for in our practices.鈥�
Anderson believes that trained doulas with a history of addiction are the best doulas to help pregnant people who have also struggled with substance use disorder.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 have a conversation with someone with substance use disorder because I haven鈥檛 lived it. I don鈥檛 know what it鈥檚 like. I don鈥檛 know what the challenges are. I can make assumptions, but I really don鈥檛 know,鈥� Anderson added.
鈥淧eople with that lived experience, they have additional support and training and they鈥檙e able to connect with people at a different level that is just so much more meaningful than anything I could say as a provider or something that I learned in school or [that I] learned from a journal article or a textbook,鈥� Anderson added, explaining that emotional connection during healing is paramount.
The recovery doula program has 10 patients and two doulas. Westmoreland recently helped in her first birth. The parents are both in recovery and sometimes still struggle with substances.
鈥淭he birth really impacted me. I started crying watching the dad meet the baby,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for my recovery because first and foremost, I couldn鈥檛 do this if I was under the influence of substances鈥� and it鈥檚 not something I鈥檓 really willing to give up.鈥�
Lindsey Ford is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at lindseyford@rmpbs.org.
Dana Knowles is the managing editor at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at danaknowles@rmpbs.org.