If my path towards my purpose had a guide, her name would be Care. If I was to describe my choice to follow this calling, I would do so with the word Alignment. For me, this business o fbeing a Doula is m personal practice of care, it is my labour of love and my heart work. When learning from Lesley Everest during Mother Wit's postpartum training, she spoke of Doulas being a "healing balm" and said this work is, "sacred activism"... this is how I continue to think of my role and this calling.

My interest and attention has always been grasped by people moving through transformative human experiences. Beginning in my childhood, I was fascinated by people becoming pregnant, giving birth and then transitioning into parenthood. Witnessing this, as little Alana, I thought "WOW" and I also thought, "how can I help?". As a little one, I always wanted to hold babies but I also wanted to "hold" their mothers too. Recently, I spoke to a psychic, she said to me, "what are you doing now for work is what you have done for several lifetimes before this one." Taking this into account, it would make sense that even with I was relatively new to this life, I already felt so comfortable in the world of birth, like I had been there before!

That being said, my first initiation into working in the field of care was as a social worker. My social work knowledge and experiences have laid a loving, strong and fiesty foundation to my Doula care. The world of social work has taught me how to work alongside folks as they navigate life experiences, how to communicate honestly and consciously, how to share meaningful information, to advocate, to connect clearly and kindly, to hold safe space and how to be comfortable with the 'uncomfortable'. Social work grew into Doula care and I am curious as to how Doula care will continue to grow and expand... bon courage!

With gratitude, I can say that being a Doula is natural and "known" to my mindbody. When taking Jessica Austin and Gloria Lemay's Wise Women Way of Birth Doula training, I felt I was being nourished by the information that I had always longed to hear. Jessica and Gloria's teachings resonated with me as the capital T, Truth.

But oh! This learning is continuous and so rich, layer after layer peels off, with everyday and in every way. As this work is supporting a human experience, the growth is endless. But as I keep exploring what being a Doula looks like for me, and how I wish to contribute to this community, there are a few things that I am becoming quite sure of. In sharing my learnings, I am reminding myself of what I believe to be true, holding myself accountable and hopefully, for any eyes readings this... sharing information to personally reflect upon!

Thank you for reading along! Commitment to community care is something I feel passionate about. Continuing to learn and critically reflect about my participation in the world of birth is also very important to me. I'm grateful to be a part of this community and to be invited into the full spectrum of folk's experiences. I feel very at home with Bunky and so supported by Emma and this circle of birth workers. As the mama Doulas, Erica and Laura, of Birdsong Brooklyn say "let's tether together".

Major love!
Your neighbourhood Doula,
Alana

We managed to attend every birth, despite COVID raging on (and we even snuck into some ORs!)

We welcomed many new Bunky babies, like Sunny Francis (lounging above)

You all kept blowing our minds, expectations and hearts out of the water. Feeding TWO babies, making tough decisions for your care, supporting your babies through sleep leaps, and juggling all that this year has brought us!

We improved mentor meetings when the weather was on our side! Joining at parks and gathering to learn skills and share stories.

As the second wave of this pandemic rages on, we wanted to drop in and let you know about our COVID policies. Put in place to keep our Doulas and Bunky families safe and healthy.

We wanted to remind folks that Doulas shifts are not social interactions and we are not guests in your space, we are hired professionals providing a paid in-home care service.

To read our full COVID-19 procedures, click here.

As the new future that lays ahead changes and morphs, we will continue to adapt our procedures to keep you all supported as we best can.

Funds for Quill an Anishinaabeg artist and youth worker, who has just welcomed her first child. You are supporting a new parent be set up with the many baby-related costs.

Support Diane as she embarks on her motherhood journey, in these isolating and expense ridden times.

Maria is a young Dené artisan and a single mother, living in the Yukon.  She created this GoFundMe to help support her to give birth at home, with the support of a Midwife and an Indigenous Doula. 

At Bunky Bambino, we believe that redistribution of wealth to our community, to marginalized folks and other BIPOC birth workers is an essential part of being an ethical business. Especially as we acknowledge that we live and work on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded Indigenous territories of the ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh).

In saying and doing so, here are some of the GoFundMe's we have found, donated to and are wanting to share with our families. We believe in redistributing part of our profits year round, but are hoping the holidays and seasonal gift giving are an incentive for folks who are hoping to make it a more regular part of their financial structure.

Next  year, we are hoping to honour local initiatives,  folks and organizations exclusively. If you have any British Columbia based non-profits, services or birth workers - do let us know in the comments below!

As final reminders, let us continue to redistribute our wealth, do our best to have hard conversations with our communities and loved ones, and maintain openness and willingness to continue growing.