Why You Need to Take Breaks as a Birth Worker and Student
CW: Mention of trauma
Relational work is important and valuable. It can be inspiring and may connect us to hopeful visions for the future. It also has the potential to be draining, tiring, and traumatic. This said, folks who are studying and/or practicing birth work need breaks in order for the work to be sustainable.
At BADT we aspire to contribute to the shift away from capitalism and into futures of care and community. Under capitalism, we– individually and collectively– are pushed to work harder and faster. Even if we are actively unlearning this mindset, we have to work to live, to pay the bills, to feed our families. Thus, there is a ton of nuance to this conversation. While we address the importance of breaks, we are also acknowledging the reality of life under capitalism.
The ideas below are just a starting point, and we invite you to explore them in ways that make sense for your unique needs and circumstances in this current climate.
How to Prioritize Breaks as Birth Worker
Become aware of your own signs of burnout or overwhelm. While we ideally want to pause or take breaks before burnout or overwhelm happens, it’s helpful to know the signs your body, mind, and spirit show when you are approaching these states. Consistent daily or weekly check-ins can be a tool for observing your capacity. Often, we are already doing these types of check-ins, but naming them and establishing them as ritual can be helpful. What information does your body/mind/spirit give you when you are feeling “in balance”? What information does your body/mind/spirit give you when you are burning out?
Create plans for self and community care. You require tending to. Plain and simple. This means establishing ways you can care for yourself, as well as naming the ways you can connect with your communities for care. No act of care is too small, leaving a birth space for 10 minutes to reset your body is care. Scheduling time off work is care. Planning to go to community events with fellow birth workers is care. Bringing headphones for the abortion clinic waiting room is care. Create lists for yourself, so that you have easier access to your tools. What acts of care fuel you? Who do you turn to for community care and support?
Establish systems of support and accountability. Learning and practicing as a birth worker requires being in and with community. Before and after supporting someone through a reproductive transition, we may need time to process, problem-solve, or research with colleagues. Creating your own ecomap (idea via the folks at @queersextherapy) can be a way to name and visualize the relationships in your life, as well as the quality of the relationships. Another related concept is pod mapping, which was developed by Mia Mingus and the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective (BATJC). Check out this article for an in-depth description and link to a pod mapping worksheet. Who are the people and communities that uplift you and your work? Who are the people and communities you are building mutuality with? Who are the people and communities you contribute to?
Consider creating a safety plan. Regardless of your personal mental health background, we suggest that you become familiar with the idea of safety and crisis planning. This is something we cover in our Crisis Response and Birth Work Workshop. (Read more about how crisis response training aligns with birth work here.) This guide to safety planning via National Sucicide Prevention Lifeline is one way to get started. What does safety mean to you? What supports and resources can you access if/when you experience a crisis?
Schedule times when you will not be working and/or off-call. Birth work requires great presence, and it can be demanding in all the ways– mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, logistically, and so on. Thus, time away from the work is crucial! Folks who offer birth support know all about the on-call life; having weeks or months where you are off-call can be an important way of resetting and allowing your nervous system to settle. How often are you able to schedule a full day (or two or more!) without work? How might you factor in time off-call when you make your schedule? How can you balance work that requires you to be on-call, with work that doesn’t? What supports do you need to access in order to prioritize this time away from work?
Take time away from the content. Whether you are studying and/or practicing birth work, putting down the reproductive justice books or pausing the podcasts, can be really important. Time away from content can mean time to integrate, as well as rest and play. You are a whole person beyond and including your role as a birth worker, and pauses in new learning are valuable. How do you like to spend your time outside of birth work? What are the ways that you enjoy playing, exploring, resting, and so on?
A Reminder for Aspiring and Practicing Birth Workers
You don’t need to attend five births a month to be a birth worker. You don’t need to have extensive training in every reproductive experience in order to show up for a client or community member. You don’t need to have years of experience in order to be present for a client. (These are the thoughts and requirements of imposter syndrome; read our blog on this topic here!)
However, what you do need is to be resourced and emotionally available for clients and colleagues. While training and experience are important, your wellbeing is of utmost importance.
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