This is a look at what I doand what I seeon a typical shift.
Hi, my name is Augusta," I say.
“Thanks for coming back with me.
Stocksy
How are you doing?
The patient tells me shes doing OK.
This is the point when I ask if she’s heard of an abortion doula.
Like with most medical procedures, friends and family arent allowed to accompany a patient during the actual abortion.
Thats where abortion doulas come inwe can offer free support to abortion patients throughout their time at the clinic.
I let her know Ill meet with her again once shes called back.
A bit later, I knock on the door to the procedure room.
I went back to school to study nursing for about two years.
Now, Im a registered labor and delivery nurse.
Labor is long or terrifyingly fast; hot, cold, exhausting, sometimes scary, but always unpredictable.
It swallows people whole.
Usually, its one of the happiest, though hardest, days of a persons life.
Other times, its the saddest.
Its common when reviewing obstetric history to see that a birthing parent has had one or more therapeutic abortions.
Abortion and birth are inextricably linkedtwo stops on the same spectrum.
Both are preceded by pregnancy and the multitude of factors that the weight of having a child begets.
It is the greatest responsibility.
During nursing school, a friend told me aboutDC Doulas for Choice.
I knew I had to join.
Ive been an abortion doula for a year and a half now.
On an average shift, I might work with four to ten patients.
We learned how to help patients experience, feel, and process what theyre going through.
Most opt for anesthesia if its financially feasible.
Still, some patients cant afford it or opt not to get it.
To prep for the anesthesia, the nurse inserts an IV.
Meanwhile, I talk with the patient about her day.
I ask what shes planning to eat and we weigh the pros and cons of hamburgers vs. pho.
The anesthesiologist and ob/gyn come in and introduce themselves.
The providers gently put her at ease while reviewing the procedure.
In a few seconds, shes asleep.
The anesthesiologist monitors the patients sedation level and vital signs.
I hold the patients hand through it all.
If she were awake, the patient might experience some intense cramping.
She whispers over and over, Thank you so much.
Thank you all so much.
In the patient lounge, she has some animal crackers and ginger ale.
I get her a heat pack to help with cramps and help her prop her legs up.
Somebody else is in the waiting room, visibly upset.
Still, I now move to sit next to her.
I didnt want to do this, she begins.
I wanted this baby, but Ive been on a medication that hurts babies.
Theyd been very careful, using condoms.
But she got pregnant.
She thought it would be selfish to have a baby that would certainly have a very hard life.
She says she knows getting an abortion was the right choice.
But she feels alone.
She hadnt told her husband because she didnt want him to feel guilty, too.
And its only my job to listen.
Abortion doulas arent there to judge if a story is valid or if an abortion is necessary.
Its not kind, its not fair, and its not right.
Abortion is legal in the U.S., and every woman deserves access to a safe abortion.
The patient from earlier is finished snacking and gets some ibuprofen from the nurse in the recovery room.
I can get a prescription for birth control pills, she says.
The nurse asks if she wants to be onthe Pill.
Its really hard to pick it up and pay for it all the time, the patient says.
Shed rather have something more reliable.
They talk about other optionsincludingIUDsand theNexplanonarm implant, two forms oflong-acting reversible contraceptionand create a follow-up plan.
Abortion is against our religion, she says.
And my sister is very religious.
She thinks Im doing the wrong thing.
She tells me that thinking about them, she knows she did the right thing.
