Lessons From The First 2 Months As A Doula

Danelle had been a certified doula in South Africa since 2024, but for various reasons, had yet to get the practical experience under her belt. Passionate about maternal care, she was eager to find a hands-on opportunity to live out her calling in birth work — though she never guessed that call would bring her out of her cherished home in South Africa.

When her friend told her about Breathe Life, Danelle was still not expecting to ever find herself halfway around the world. She had never worked with the Rohingya people before or traveled outside South Africa. The deep conviction that this was the place God was telling her to go came as quite a shock. 

“If I had any doubt [of that divine calling] before, it’s gone now,” Danelle said with a short laugh. “This is the road the Lord wants me walking — and I’ve started to dream about birth work becoming a long-term career or ministry back home.”

Throughout her internship, Danelle has walked pregnant women and new mothers through antenatal classes, the pre-hospital phases of birth, and their postnatal education with the First 1000 Days Initiative. She is on-call 24/7 for labor support — often holding a mother’s hand and rubbing her back as she labored without the circle of female relatives that would have surrounded her in Myanmar.

“It’s such a sacred space,” she shared. “These moms are so vulnerable, and many of them have no support system. Getting to be there, holding them when they cry, reassuring them, and just being present is a huge privilege.”

Assisting a woman with a birth is an emotionally, mentally, and physically intense experience. For a young woman working with multiple young moms all the time, a day of post-natals can require her to grieve alongside the mother of baby with a congenital heart infection, walk down one floor to celebrate with the mom that couldn’t be more excited to have a healthy child, and then drive five minutes down the road to assist a mom who doesn’t want the baby with coordinating an adoption. True Story.

“The emotional rollercoaster is real.”

Beyond the essential emotional support through the maternity process, Danelle’s classes on pregnancy and newborn care show her just how much misinformation or fear the women had been carrying. 

“I was shocked by how much was new to them — even for second-time moms. There’s such a hunger to learn, but they’ve also been told so many things that aren’t true… like being told to start pushing the moment contractions start.”

Her practical lessons were matched by deep personal growth in community health work. One of her most significant takeaways was learning to let go of perfectionism and control. She learned to find beauty in the mess, even on a day where her phone was broken, class plans fell through, and nothing went “right.” Sitting in a circle with the moms, she realized that this all still mattered — just being there, laughing, and sharing food with women who cannot leave home without fear. 

“I used to think days like that were a failure. But one time, everything fell apart — and instead, we just ate together, and they gave me a Rohingya language lesson. It has ended up being one of my favorite memories.”

Her biggest piece of advice to future interns? Expect to be out of your comfort zone — and give yourself grace.

“You don’t have to be the most prepared person in the room. It’s okay to be awkward. It’s okay to ask questions. It helps. That’s how you build relationships — not by being the expert, but by being curious, honest, and willing to learn.”

We are deeply thankful for Danelle’s gentleness, joy, and perseverance — from helping deliver babies to holding sick infants covered in yellow paint, to caring for mothers across the emotional highs and lows of new life. Her story is a beautiful reminder that healing comes not only through skill, but through presence, humility, and the willingness to walk alongside someone in their hardest moment.