ASK THE WOMEN IN YOUR LIFE
After you've read that primer, my strong recommendation is to follow your womanly chat instincts to find and assemble your ideal team. There are abundant links I could give to doula registries and midwife feedback sites, etc. However, I believe there is nothing more powerful in this, the most powerful time of your life, than to connect more deeply with your direct community from zero. Let the women in your life feed in to your search. It will bless you, even if you do nothing any one of them suggests.
GUIDE THE SEARCH CONVERSATIONS
Ask around and find mothers who enjoyed their birth experience, and felt fully supported. Who was on their team? What were the things they wished they'd done differently? See if something arises from here to follow, such as a contact for a well-respected midwife or doula. Did anyone you know need extra support for breastfeeding and who gave them this? Get in touch. The love trifecta of birthing is the midwife, doula and lactation consultant. When you hit your jackpot of deeply supportive birth resource in your area, you'll find that these women know a lot about each other and how the others work. Look for a cooperative, supportive vibe from those being referred to and those doing the referring. Take it all in, then let it rest. Your heart will know who is best to keep the conversation going with.
TAKE TO SOCIAL MEDIA TO MEET MORE LOCAL MOTHERS
This general direction applies to your search if you don't turn up any solid leads in your friend pool. If this is the case, take to Facebook. My go-to resource for any mama-centered and baby-loving motherhood advice is your local babywearing group. It is often the case that the mothers, who are most keen on gathering in this way, honoring together a baby and mother's need for closeness through babywearing and community, will be very open and supportive about local birth resources. Reach out to any one of the members, or join the group and post your desire to connect on the group wall. You will have amble invites to talk, I promise. Some of those mothers will even be doulas, midwives and lactation consultants. It's just the groove we're in: love, oxytocin-style.
I wish you a peaceful, love-filled birth and postpartum. π