Our Interview with Accompany Doula Care Client Rachel DeGreef

Rachel DeGreef is an Accompany Doula Care client who recently worked with Jayne Augustin, a doula on our team. Rachel and her husband, Willem, recently moved to Massachusetts from the Netherlands, where they had lived for a couple of years. They have three children: Ivana, Joses and Tiberias. When considering working with a doula in her third pregnancy, Rachel was seeking additional knowledge, expertise and advocacy to support her through pregnancy and birth. Read our interview with Rachel below and learn more about her experience with Accompany Doula Care!

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am 31 years old. We just moved to Massachusetts, actually, from the Netherlands, where we were living for a couple of years. In the Netherlands, they actually also have some programs to help pregnant women, but they look a little bit different than in America. So, when I came to Massachusetts and we got pregnant, I thought, “You know, I would also like to find something in this area that could assist also in a similar way.”

We’ve been living in this area for about a year and a half now. Since we’ve been here, I’ve been doing caregiving, which is my area of expertise. I’ve been doing that for quite a whole now, maybe about nine or 10 years. That’s what I’m doing on and off, because I’ve been pregnant and you just kind of take a little time off sometimes due to how you’re feeling. I’ve been picking it back up again. 

I have three children now, with the new one, a girl and two boys. My girl is the oldest, and her name is Ivana, and my two sons are Joses and Tiberias. My daughter is three years old, almost four. My son is two, and Tiberias is now about three and a half months. 

What inspired you to work with a doula in the United States?

Before we moved to the Netherlands, I’d never worked with anybody. I didn’t work with anybody with my daughter. I wasn’t really familiar with that concept. Like I said, it was kind of introduced to me in the Netherlands. They have more of a focus on aftercare, and that’s just provided. That’s just kind of like a given. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, just having somebody there. So, I thought, “Okay, yeah, maybe it would be something that I would enjoy, if it’s after the pregnancy, during the pregnancy, whatever that looks like.” Just having some kind of support, because even after two kids, it doesn’t ever hurt to have an extra person that might have more knowledge or a different perspective than you do. 

When they suggested the doula to me, I said, “Yeah, you know what? I think I would actually consider that. I think that might be something I would enjoy having.” 

When you were looking to work with a doula, what kind of support were you seeking?

Well, specifically, I would say I wanted to learn more. I recognize that I’ve read some stuff, but I haven’t really taken any classes or anything for any of my pregnancies, just online knowledge. I think that that can be informative and you can learn a lot. There’s a lot of information out there, but when you have somebody that is doing it as a job, they’re always going to have expertise and knowledge that you probably don’t have. 

I like to have all the knowledge and expertise I can have when it comes to my baby and giving birth, because it is a big experience. So, just having someone along with you to inform you of things that you might not know, and then also, an advocate. You know, I actually had to look it up, because I wasn’t exactly sure what their role was completely. But when I did look it up and understand what the role was, I thought, “Yeah, that sounds like it could be helpful.”

What was your experience like working with Accompany Doula Care and what kind of support did you receive from your doula?

My experience was really good. Jayne is just a very friendly person, a very caring person. You can really tell that she just enjoys what she does, and that came across. It was always a pleasure meeting with her. I felt like she was very knowledgeable. She had hands-on things to show, like if she was saying, “Okay, well, the baby is doing this, and is in this position.” I’m a very visual learner, so that was actually very helpful for me. I think through the whole process, during the pregnancy, with our meetings, and at the actual birth at the hospital, at all stages, I felt like it was definitely helpful. 

Did you find that working with Jayne helped to alleviate some concerns you may have had going into the process?

I think so. I think when you have more knowledge, like with, “Okay, this is a position I could switch into when I’m feeling this kind of pain,” or I remember Jayne said, “This is something that your husband can do to relieve some of the pressure or apply pressure that helps with the rest of the pain,” or something like that. When you have those things in mind, it’s like, your brain can automatically go to those things when otherwise, you might be kind of panicking. I think having that information definitely helps to be calmer when you’re in the midst of birth, which is helpful. 

Could you tell us a little bit more about how your doula supported not only you, but your husband and your support system?

Absolutely. My husband, Willem, was like, “I’m not really sure what this is going to help with exactly,” in the beginning. But after meeting Jayne, he was like, “Oh, she’s great,” and he felt like he had learned some things. I think he’s a very sweet man, and he’s very empathetic. So, in the labor room, he gets really stressed out by it, because he’s seeing me in pain. He doesn’t feel like there’s much he can do to alleviate that, and that’s hard on him. He’s almost passed out on me a couple of times there, just from watching me go through pain and not feeling like he could step in and do anything. 

I think Jayne enabled him to be able to physically do something and gave him that knowledge that he didn’t previously have. That was helpful for him, because he was like, “Okay, if this is going on, I can do this.” He had steps that he could take, and he felt like he was really part of it, helping me, instead of just standing around, watching me be in pain or telling me to breathe, or whatever it is. I know he liked that, and he really liked Jayne as well. 

What would you say to someone who is also considering working with a doula?

I would say, absolutely do it. Hopefully, they’re all as great as Jayne. If they are, I would say absolutely, because even if you’re just like, “Okay, is it necessary to have this extra person?” It helps, because it’s a person who you develop a repertoire with. You meet with them. You have a connection with them. Then it’s like, “Okay, well, now I actually have a familiar face in the labor room with me who is going to advocate for me.” I feel like when they see that you have a doula, they’re a little more cautious, maybe handling things a little bit differently than they would if you didn’t have a doula present. So, I would say, do it. I think it’s worth it. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I would just take the time to say that, Jayne specifically, is really great, and we are really happy with our experience with her. We would 100 percent, highly recommend her, and we’re really thankful for her care.