Volume 10

~ News From "Your Birthing Family" ~

Issue 12

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Our Charis Family Emily Unruh Emily Unruh holding her baby brother Hello there! I’m Emily and I just started this amazing journey towards becoming a CD/CE/CLC in the beginning of October. I have already been so blessed by everyone that I have interacted with and by what I have studied through this course!   My family and I have been in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia for nearly a year now. As far as my interests go, I love the outdoors, working with my hands, making jewelry, reading good books, making good food, and spending time with others!   My interest in becoming a doula began back in 2012, when my mom found out she was pregnant with her sixth baby. We were living in Oregon at that time. After doing a little research about doula certification in that area, we discovered a doula certification course and my mom and I both began working through the required reading list for that organization. My mother’s OB/GYN was a proponent of natural birth and let me be involved during the prenatal visits, showing me how to use the Doppler, helping me find the baby’s position, and just teaching me in general during the appointments. I loved every bit of it! During my mom’s labor, I saw just how helpful it was to have another person there besides my dad and the nursing staff to be looking out for my mom’s needs. Her doctor also let me catch the baby, which was an amazing experience! At that point, I decided that this was what I was supposed to do. There were many difficulties, however, with getting my certification. We lived in a small town at the time and the closest doulas were more than two hours away. The commute made it impossible for me to attend the workshops, and trying to attend births with the certified doulas seemed like an impossibility as well. At that point, I became very discouraged about my chances of ever being a doula. I thought perhaps there was something else for me. About two years later (in the fall of last year), my family was surprised with a job change that involved a move all the way across the country, to Virginia. So, we sold the farm, packed up our belongings, and headed east. Just a short while after we arrived, we visited a church in the area and stayed for the congregational lunch. Over the course of the meal, I met a couple of young ladies who, as it turns out, were going to pursue doula certification through Charis Childbirth. Not only was it a doula program, but it was a Christian doula program! Maybe this could be a possibility in my life again! When the opportunity came for me to join Charis and then attend the comfort measures workshop this fall, I cannot express how excited I was! I have already seen the Lord use Charis to grow and bless me personally and I pray that He will use it to help me bless others. “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9    'Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them from the ends of the earth,  Among  them the blind and the lame, The woman with child and The one who labors with child,  together,  A great throng shall return there...And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD.'  Jeremiah 31:8, 14 ~~~ ©2015 Charis Childbirth Services, All Rights Reserved Feel free to forward this newsletter to friends in its entirety, leaving all attribution intact. December 2015