Super exciting! My first interview with a man for YourHappyBox. This summer I got to know Gaëtan and his story is something that needs to be shared. Gaëtan is the very first Swiss male Doula and we spoke about his motivation to invest over 1000 hours into this training while actually being a lawyer.
Being a father of two changes you
First things first. What is a Doula? The short version of Wikipedia says: «A doula is a trained companion who is not a healthcare professional and who supports another person through childbirth». I, of course, wanted to understand what made Gaëtan decide to become such a trained companion. Gaëtan himself is a father of two and wants to be an equal parent. He and his wife experienced two very different pregnancies and birth stories. While the first one ended in an emergency C‑section, they both spent time preparing the 2nd birth to fulfil his wife’s wish for a natural vaginal birth. During this time, Gaëtan listened to a lot of fathers› podcasts on the topic of becoming a father. A common conclusion of these podcasts was the lack of preparation for fathers who want to be an equal parent (or a parent at all). Subconsciously the idea for Papa Doula started to form.
How did he decide to become the first Swiss male Doula?
Having a PhD in law, a patent to practice law in Geneva, Gaëtan is well aware of how important it is for us to have a professional certificate to be recognized as legitimate. The first Doula training he wanted to join was absolutely impossible for him. The killing prerequisite was «having given birth yourself». However, once he found a training, he spent the next six month learning everything about the female body, pregnancy, childbirth and much more.
The feeling of being the only man in the room becomes normal
Being the only woman in the room so many times, I can imagine how Gaëtan felt when he walked in the Doula course room the first time. Addressing the elephant in the room and being the kind and friendly himself, he was quickly accepted. Throughout the training his vision of «Papa Doula» was formed further. Gaëtan developed a workshop for becoming fathers that covers in four sessions à 3hours the most important topics on pregnancy, childbirth, and post-partum. The final session is an informal meeting of fathers after birth to share their experience among each other’s.
First training for father-to-be was a success
Gaëtan left his well paid, secure position in a law firm this year to make a difference for other fathers. He invested a lot of time in his first swiss male doula training and thought in how to be a good father himself, representing the «new generation» of fathers who want to be actively involved in their kids upbringing.
In June his first «Papa Doula» training was completed successfully. Gaëtan has many ideas and plans for «Papa Doula». We are looking forward to see his idea expand outside of Swiss Romandie to support fathers-to-be all over Switzerland.
Thank you Gaëtan for this wonderful insight into «Papa Doula». It is nice to see you making a difference in fathers education around pregnancy, childbirth and post-partum.
If you would like to learn more, please visit his website (in French) and follow him on Instagram.
More interviews with interesting personalities around pregnancy, childbirth, career and much more you find here.