Recently we read an AMAZING article in the last edition of the DONA International Magazine. Most of the articles were about marketing and business ideas, things that new doulas need when venturing into this work. Penny Simkin, in her usual column "Ask Penny", posed an interesting question on doulas texting, updating their status and/or sharing info on their social networking sites.
As a lover of all things internet I myself have posted on my personal page "Off to a birth" or "Welcome to the World baby boy!" As the one who manages all of our social networking sites I have also posted, "Busy at Births!" or other similar phrases. But recently I have been seeing more and more postings from doulas who share lots of information about the births that they are attending. The information shared ranges from "Send positive thoughts for the mommy and baby I'm with. We are at ____ hospital!" to "This dad is such a butthead, he's no help at all!" At Mother's Care we've been amazed how many times both the "positive" and "negative" status updates and postings give out information that we feel is too personal and may violate the clients privacy.
This issue had us talking and thinking about how we can use our social networking sites while still maintaining the privacy and anonymity of our clients. How much info is "just enough" to give away who the family is that we are working with? How much is "too much"? But most importantly, how would a mom we are with in labor feel if she happened upon our page after her birth only to read how we felt during her birth? The argument can be made that a doula should NEVER add a client to their private profiles and pages but let's face it, haven't we all had that client that becomes more than just a client? Isn't it more like a doula to invite into her world and her life clients they feel "connected" to? So even if it is just a few present or former clients we allow on our pages how would they feel about reading postings about our other clients. Would it not be safe to assume that they would wonder what your postings were about when you work with them?
The ball swings on both ends...should we share or not share? We posed this question to our doula friends on our Facebook and received all manners of responses. Since our page is PUBLIC and free for anyone to see we've posted those comments (removing any names, just in case, lol). Feel free to share your thoughts on the subject...we'd love to hear from you!
Hey doulas...a question for you....Do you think it is appropriate to update your status online to include details/feelings feelings about a birth that you are attending? (Even if you leave out names but are still providing explicit information)....We're interested to know what you think...(If you are a doula, read "Social Networking & Texting by Doulas During Births" by Penny Simkin - DONA, Vol 18, Issue 3, 2010)
- I think it is if the person that is giving birth authorizes it19 hours ago ·
No, particularly not if the client is a fb friend. That said, if the client feels her birth was beautiful, and so do you AND gives permission, then it's fine.19 hours ago ·- my feelings about births maybe as long as anything about the momma was wonderful and positive, details of birth very vague not as problematic to me, pictures i am most uncomfortable with. nothing nothing explicit ever because it is not myplace to tell her birth story. not even gender of baby born unless mom says it is okay to share. i may say "waiting on a baby" or "cesarean" or "baby born and mom and baby doing great" or something similar. might say as i did recently i appreciate broward hospitals ever so much more after a day in a miami hospital, but hey, that is about the hospital, not the birth. haha. i see a lot of pics posted and that i would not do without written permission. i also think it depends on what page you are using, who is in your friends list who will see it, and what your privacy settings are. some have very strict privacy settings and do not share information with 'everyone' in their friends list and block groups of friends, send to only certain friends, etc. i would think no doula would post anything negative about one of her mommas or babies because, well, by definition we are our client's best advocate and we are there for them, can't imagine speaking or texting or posting negatively about a client. now, hospital staff? all bets are off. no staff names, but counties? hmmm...so wish they cared and would change based on fb comments, but they won't.19 hours ago ·
It is as UNprofessional as a police officer or Paramedic tweeting or FBing about a call they are on! When your job involves the private personal lives of others you owe it to them to keep your feelings about the circumstances of their ordeal private! Although "doulaing" is an act of love it is a paid JOB and should always be treated with the utmost professionalism! (IMO)19 hours ago · · 3 people- I agree in terms of police officers and paramedics, but doula's have a relationship with their clients that the other professions do not have. So, that makes the decision up to the client in a different way. I have no problem seeing a doula post something about going to a birth, waiting on a baby, or something similar. I would feel awkward I think reading something negative about the mom in any way. I just think the mom and the doula are different from the police officer and his criminal being arrested or traffic stop. So, that boundary may be a little more gray and knowing the client, and asking permission makes a huge difference. We would not do that as a police officer or paramedic or nurse, etc. The relationship is just different so I do know that many times the mom is more than aware the doula is sharing her baby's picture, it just personally makes me nervous to post anyone else's baby picture so I would want written consent. I do not consider it unprofessional of a doula since I do not know what her relationship is with her client and some are more than client/doula give me your money oriented and have formed a friendship that is not comparable to police officer or paramedic.
18 hours ago ·
I understand what you are saying- My husband is a police officer (for 16 years). The greatest misconception is that he deals with "criminals". In a 12 hour shift he will go on about 20 or more calls; resulting in maybe 2 arrests. Most shifts he arrests no one! Like a doula, he is called to help get people thru dramatic, major events. His job is to solve problems (typically NOT legal stuff just people who can't figure out how to deal with their own stuff). Still it would be inappropriate for him to give details of HIS personal feelings about a call.18 hours ago ·
keep it very vague and no names..i always just put something like "i welcomed a beautiful baby boy into this world today"18 hours ago ·
I so agree! I would not want an officer or a paramedic sharing any details of a call to my house should heaven forbid one be made. Yikes!! Even his personal feelings. Though if he said "had a rough day at work today dealing with the usual" that would be very appropriate, and similar I think to a doula saying "heaven help me a Miami Dade hospital is going to cause me to jump out a window". LOL Other officers would know just what he meant, and so would any doula dealing with Miami Dade hospital staff. No information specific, just general 'work' comment.
18 hours ago ·
YES! I'm with you! Because talking about a hospital is not the same as saying, "Ughhh had a rough night with a client that wouldn't shut up and abandoned her birth plan the second pain hit!" LOL You get my point....18 hours ago ·
OMG YES! So totally there with you! Yikes.18 hours ago ·
tion, not FB, myspace, twitter, etc...17 hours ago ·
I would say that it is inappropriate. The doula's attention should not be going towards their own gossipy needs. The mom should have your undivided atten17 hours ago ·
As a practicing perinatal nurse/doula, I am often surprised by the amount of information shared on FB. Consider HIPPA? We need to keep in mind...FB is a social networking tool!16 hours ago ·
I don't know how we would find time during a birth. I know I don't have time. Usually it is "off to a birth" when I am leaving dependig on time of day, followed by "back from a birth" when I am back. On the occasion we are sent out of the room, I may check my messages or send a fb message "still at a birth" . I have seen some very detailed messages myself with pictures, so I do assume the doula has a clue and has permission.13 hours ago ·
absolutely not! and especially NOT anything more than 'welcome baby' or something very general along those lines, it's completely unprofessional to post personal feelings a doula may have of a particular birth or couple. As a former client of yours and 'user of doula's' during birth, I would be appalled if I saw my doula was posting things about me, my birth experience or my partner. What goes on in the birthing room is a private and personal matter, not to be shared on fb unless by the parents.
No comments:
Post a Comment