A Doula for Teenage Mothers

A Doula for Teenage Mothers in Chicago Found Her Calling at CCY — Meet Nicole McCollum

By Cia Gabriel

“The doula training at the Center changed my life,” says Nicole McCollum. “Prior to coming to the Center, I was doing some prenatal massage, which I enjoyed, but I never imagined being a doula would be IT.”

With a new career as a community-based doula serving low-income pregnant teenagers in Chicago, and funded by the Ounce of Prevention Fund, it is clear that being a doula is “it” for McCollum. McCollum says that this work is fulfilling her life mission of service. After attending the Center’s doula training course in August of 2005, McCollum worked as a volunteer with the Doulas Care Program and as a private paid doula. She enjoyed working with a wide variety of clients, but felt especially fulfilled when working with low-income mothers through the volunteer program. She was inspired to find a paid position to continue her work.

“There’s a lack of education and resources if you’re lower class,” she explains. “You’re not given that much information about your pregnancy beyond being told, ‘attend your prenatal visits’ or ‘we’re going to do these tests.’ These women don’t know they have options for labor and there’s so much more to it. It’s bigger than what they think of it. I was a Women’s Studies major and I feel called to activism. To give women a voice. These women can be involved in making really important decisions. It’s not just labor. It‘s about opening their eyes to it for the rest of their lives. I tell the girls, ‘This is really big. Making decisions about labor and delivery, about raising a baby. You have to start thinking about bigger things. Labor is just a beginning.’”

Reflecting on her training with Patty Brennan at the Center for the Childbearing Year, McCollum sounds warm and passionate. She compares the atmosphere of the doula training to other professional trainings she has received and says, “It’s different from what you get in other places. Everyone is so warm. There’s just a beautiful spirit. I love the work. I love Patty. I love the Center.”

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