Asian-American professional dancer and mom-of-two, Karina Ikezoe, recounts how Janel helped her achieve the safe and supported unmedicated birth she had hoped for
Karina and her partner with newborn daughter leaving the hospital after a safe and unmedicated birth
When I found out I was pregnant with my second child in the spring of 2023, after my initial excitement, one of my first thoughts was that I wanted a different birth experience this time around. With my first birth happening at the height of the pandemic, there were a lot of ways in which that labor and delivery process was less than ideal— most of which were probably inevitable, given the circumstances, but there were a few things that I felt might have gone more favorably had I had the support of a doula by my side.
When I first began researching doulas, I honestly didn’t know where to start. Thankfully, because I had switched my pregnancy care over to Oula, they were able to share a comprehensive list of referrals from their network of midwives and doctors. While perusing this list, I was immediately drawn to Janel’s profile. Firstly, as a mixed-Asian woman myself, I naturally prioritize working with doctors and healthcare professionals who can empathize with my lived experience; and as a Filipina-American woman, Janel felt like a great match. Secondly, her website really stood out: not only was it professional and visually striking, but her profile and work experience were both impressive and extremely compelling. She struck the perfect balance between extensive medical knowledge/work experience and a more holistic approach that I was seeking as someone who was hoping for a natural/unmedicated birth in a hospital setting. Naturally, Janel was the first doula interview I scheduled, and from the moment we began speaking, I felt immediately at ease. The choice felt obvious.
Once my husband and I had agreed to move forward with Janel, our decision was re-affirmed multiple times at a number of prenatal appointments with various Oula midwives and doctors: each time they checked my chart to see if I had decided to work with a doula, their response to hearing Janel’s name was always some version of “Oh she’s fantastic! We love working with her…You’re in great hands.”
Janel and I started by chatting about my past birth experience, which, as I mentioned earlier, was less than ideal. Not that it was terribly traumatizing in the grand scheme of things (I had a vaginal birth with an epidural and minimal tearing), but every time I thought back on how that birth unfolded, I was left with feelings of sadness and disappointment. Janel and I talked about how, despite my express desire to the hospital staff to try for a natural/unmedicated birth, I was immediately met with an attitude of thinly veiled dismissiveness and condescension by the attending nurse who, because of the COVID restrictions at the time, was essentially the only person I interacted with for the first 8 or so hours of laboring at the hospital. In fact, it seemed that the only reason she would ever come in to check on me was to see if I was “finally ready for the epidural.” I felt myself becoming very small and hopeless in that hospital room, along with my husband who felt just as lost and scared as I was in that moment. This was, after all, the first time for both of us. Upon recounting (and emotionally re-living) this experience, Janel responded “I’m so sorry you went through that,” and I felt myself getting unexpectedly emotional. I realized later that this was the first time anyone had ever acknowledged my feelings of powerlessness during my son’s birth, and it caught me completely off-guard. I had always somehow felt that because I didn’t have to undergo an emergency C-section or excessive bleeding or tearing, for instance, that I should be satisfied with having given birth to a healthy child with no major medical complications. And so I pushed down any negative thoughts or feelings…Naming and releasing these feelings I had buried for almost 3 years was incredibly cathartic and allowed me to not only process and find closure for my past birth experience, but also to make space and move forward with confidence and clarity regarding the kind of birth I aspired to with my second.
As we discussed my husband and my shared goals for the prenatal journey all the way through labor and delivery, Janel was thoughtful and thorough in the questions she asked and the information she shared. One of the main things that appealed to us as a couple about Janel’s birth package was the number of classes and informational sessions she offered leading up to the birth. Since my husband and I were unable to take any in-person childbirth or maternity classes during my first pregnancy due to social distancing restrictions, we were eager to do so for the first time together with Janel and get some more hands-on instruction for everything from pain management to breastfeeding techniques. Her flexibility in terms of scheduling over zoom or in person worked really well, particularly for my husband, who has a fairly busy and unpredictable work schedule.
Moreover, throughout the process of getting to know each other, she took the time to really understand me as a person, and the things that I might want or need in moments of physical, emotional, and psychological stress. I explained to her that my desire to have a natural, unmedicated birth was rooted in my strong urge, as a dancer, to have a fully embodied experience — an urge that I feel she was able to intuitively understand through her work as a yoga instructor. She also took note of my preference for a calm, confident, encouraging presence with a firm physical touch to help me labor at home as long as possible. When my contractions started coming at 38 weeks, Janel incorporated all of these elements and helped expertly guide me through the waves of pain as they continued to increase in intensity and proximity through the middle of the night; all of which was as much a mental feat as it was physical. I’m absolutely convinced I would not have been able to labor at home so long had Janel not been by my side through every contraction. By the time we arrived at the hospital, I was just shy of 10 cm dilated and ended up giving birth to my baby girl relatively quickly, and — more importantly — in the way I had hoped: without any medication or medical intervention, and in an environment that encouraged me to fully feel and listen to my own body. While I wouldn’t necessarily say this delivery was ‘easier’ than the first, what I remember most about this experience was how supported and safe I felt throughout the entire process (even in moments where I completely doubted myself!) and I know this was in large part thanks to the work and presence of Janel. Additionally, if you are interested in her pre- or postpartum yoga sessions, I can confidently say, (as a dancer who’s taken her fair share of bodywork and yoga classes,) Janel is an excellent yoga instructor, and I can see how her knowledge and training in this field really complements her understanding of the body, as well as her birthwork.