Open Arms' Birth Doula Services - which span from the last trimester of pregnancy until six weeks postpartum - offer women social and emotional support, prenatal and parenting education, continuous support throughout labor and birth, and home visits in the first six weeks after the baby is born. With the capacity to speak 7 different languages among our staff and doulas, Open Arms offers services that are culturally and linguistically appropriate to the families that we serve.

Ericka Pollard
Open Arms Birth Doula

What's your name, job position, and how long have you been with Open Arms?

My name is Ericka Pollard. I'm a birth doula with the Birth Doula Services program, and I've been attending births for Open Arms for about four years.

What makes this work interesting?

It begins with relationship-building. As a doula, one key role is to build stable, healthy and trusting relationships with my clients. In some cases, this is the first example my clients have of being able to have this kind of trusting relationship. Then during the process of supporting my clients through the birth of their baby, I can help my clients to identify and use the tools they need to be a support for their children and to build healthy relationships. This in turn can help children to be healthy - not just physically, but also emotionally and mentally.

It can be life-changing for some women to experience a nurturing, trusting relationship, and it inspires some women to want to be the parent that they never had. Showing love to clients is a key component for them in turn to show love to their babies. It's the idea of pay it forward. If they are able to have a healthy and memorable birth and feel cared for during this time, it helps them to use that experience as a model to then establish a deeper bond with their child.

I think birth itself can be life-changing. A positive birth experience - even if it's the hardest thing that woman has ever done in her life - is powerful. A model of a relationship with trust, someone who will not abandon or judge even if things get really hard, can stay with a woman throughout her life.

You are bilingual and often work with our Spanish-speaking clients. In your experience, what kind of value does it bring to a client to have a bilingual doula?

It makes a huge difference for my clients to be able to have someone who can understand them and speak in their first language. I wouldn't know what to do if I were presented with some hospital paperwork in a foreign language - say if I were birthing in China, I'd be lost. Having someone they can talk to is so important. Many times I've run into problems where it's hard to get interpreters for my clients, and I've had experiences with interpreters where they don't translate everything, so I know that being someone my clients can trust is important. I can really be an advocate for my clients. I don't do official interpretation, that's not my role. I am not their voice, but through our work together I can help them find their own voice - help them turn their whisper into a shout.

You're a second grade teacher in the Seattle Public Schools. What kind of impact do you think doulas can have on families that might help them later in school?

Students are more prepared for school when they have a solid foundation at home, and that begins as soon as a baby is born. If families have a good birth experience, it can help set the stage from the beginning for a solid, loving relationship with their children. It doesn't matter what a student's background is - the student can be homeless, but if students are shown love and are comfortable with themselves and others, I can see the difference in the classroom. Relationship-building is critical for a student's education. Students who are comfortable with themselves and others just do better. 

I do bring my doula skills to the classroom. When I'm a doula, I'm a teacher. But when I'm a teacher, I'm also being a doula, helping families and modeling that trusting, supportive relationship for the kids and encourage the parents to do the same. It's not that different, really.

Is there anything else you'd like to share about being an Open Arms doula?

Yes! I don't think people know the depth of the work of being an Open Arms doula. It's incredibly rewarding work and it's just an amazing program! It's a best-kept secret, but I just want to tell people how great it is.