For over 2 decades Rivka has been supporting people who choose the option of an out-of-system birth. She will share with us tips and ways to provide authentic support for them.

You may have been asked by a mama to attend her birth, “just in case”. She is giving birth in her own home, and without the presence of a medical professional, and she wants someone there to reassure her that everything is normal.

Or you could be asked by a woman who has free birthed her first child and just wants emotional and some physical support during the birth of her second.

Whatever the situation, attending a birth without a medical professional present - and keeping within your boundaries as a doula (not to mention the legal boundaries of midwifery) - can be challenging.

I would love to share my experience with you, and provide you with some tips and ways that you can provide your own best and authentic support for women who choose this option.

ABOUT RIVKA
I am a mother and a grandmother, a writer, and a birth attendant based mostly in Montreal, Canada. I’ve been attending births since 1997, and I started studying midwifery a decade before that. Since then, I’ve supported close to a thousand births—as a hospital doula, Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), independent Birth Attendant, and quiet observer.
I’ve learned so much over the years, from midwifery theory back when I first started studying, to doula workshops and training, and then hands-on midwifery apprenticeships from Canada to the US to Bali. In 2017, I provided midwifery care to women fleeing war in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan at a refugee camp in Greece. Again and again, I’ve witnessed the strength of women and the transformative power of birth.
Since 2004, I have provided support for mothers who decide to opt out of the medical system and give birth in their own homes. I teach a course for birth attendants, I am writing a second edition of The Birth Conspiracy, and I’m developing an Open Data project on Out-of-System birth in Canada. I love to spend time with my family, and I love to run long distances.

https://rivkacymbalist.com/
https://www.instagram.com/montrealdoula