To the Birth Workers: A Love Letter ♥️
A note for those who show up when it matters most.
For those who leave their own families to tend to others’.
Who rise from warm beds to drive across town in the middle of the night.
For those who stand beside laboring mothers and families for hours, sometimes days.
Who carry mothers through their first moments, hours, weeks of motherhood — helping them feel held in a world that can be so cold.
Who remain on call through storms, milestones, fatigue, feelings of failure and grief.
Who are so often underpaid, undervalued, understaffed, underappreciated.
Who finish their family and work duties, then stay up late to study and hone their skills.
Who work through self-doubt, uncertainty, awkwardness and rejection.
Who walk with families through the most beautiful, joyous, transcendent — and sometimes heartbreaking, stretching, difficult — moments of their lives.
Who are fueled by pure, intimate moments with clients-turned-family — tiny slices of freedom and peace within the chaos. Preserving the sacred when no one else will.
Who show up anyway. Time after time.
In a culture with no pedestal for them. Not the public honor of, say, a doctor, a fireman, or an educator. Skills that can’t be easily quantified or neatly placed, yet remain essential to a thriving society.
If nobody has told you lately: thank you. Thank you for walking with us. For seeing us when we cannot see ourselves. For pushing us gently beyond our comfort zones, reminding us of our innate power. For bearing the brunt of institutions so we don’t have to.
Thank you. I see your sacrifice. I know you’ve been called, and that sometimes it feels like you have no choice.
But every day, you choose to show up — and in doing so, you create the world you wish to see. You put the collective before the self. You take the short-term L so we might reach the long-term W.
I’m sorry so much of this has been left on your shoulders. And I promise to do my part to help lighten the load.
Midwives. Doulas. Lactation consultants. Chiropractors. Childbirth educators. Advocates. Elders. Healers. Those named and unnamed. You are appreciated.
With utmost gratitude,
Lindsey
Mother, Doula & Founder of Borne
And if someone came to mind as you read this — a birth worker, a collective, an organization in your community — we’d love to know their name. Share their info with us, so we can celebrate them alongside you.