Truth in Love Interview with Emily Kiser

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Let us know that we can pray for you and Today we're going to be talking about a subject that that interests me when

I heard about it and I'm thankful that I have a Representative with me.

I am with Emily Kaiser and I'm currently also with my wife Kelly say hey

Kelly And we're with Emily's husband Jacob. Say hi Jacob. Hello we're glad to have everybody here with us doing this podcast and introducing me more to this service and introduce you to this service and hopefully someone that you know can

Utilize this service because it's an excellent service. It's called a doula and I was unfamiliar

With the service when I heard about it, but it intrigued me because it had to do with Assisting mothers and it had to do with assisting mothers

Who are pregnant? While they're pregnant during the the pregnancy during the

The the birth and also post pregnancy. So so they cover a wide range

They're helping the mother and that intrigued me because we as Christians.

We love mothers We love children and we want to see them flourish and we'll see them come to the Lord and also what intrigued me about doula was the fact that it was a

Greek word and And of course the New Testament The original language that was written in Greek and we have we found that word

Doula comes from the word doulos in Greek and we found that word all over the place in in the Greek New Testament So it intrigued me to research it not just what the service provides today

But also the background of where it comes from. I was doing a little bit of research and I saw that a lady named

Dana Raphael in 1969 seems to have Coined the the modern phrase and modern usage of the word doula not in an anthropological

Study she did and she found from what I read she found that Having assistance in the in the birthing process in the in the pregnancy helps a successful Helps for successful pregnancy and successful breastfeeding

After the pregnancy and and of course, it's I think it's been a practice For many many years that a woman would have help especially from a family member

Of course back in the day before modern technology for modern hospitals from a family member and and it really promoted the health of the pregnancy health of the child and a healthy post

Pregnancy so I want to give Emily opportunity to Tell us a few things about herself and and what she does as a doula

So Emily introduce yourself. Tell us who you are and tell us about your your children.

Give us their first names and tell us When you first heard about doula and and I'm sure that initial

Coming to know or Initial interaction with with doula and the doula service probably intrigued you a little bit

So tell us about how you first heard about it and what interests you in getting involved and becoming a doula

Okay, so I am Emily Kaiser. Thank you Robert for having me on today and Kelly and Jacob for joining us

So my experience Started when I was pregnant, so I have four children

Braden is our oldest Molly Olivia and Sutton and again my experience started when

I was pregnant with Molly She was born perfectly healthy and normal And then once she was born we had

I started breastfeeding and we had some trouble breastfeeding She had trouble gaining weight. She was losing weight

More than the doctor wanted her and we spent some time lots of pediatric appointments and then we were finally referred to a lactation consultant at the hospital

And we took some visits there And then I had to seek other options because we still were not being successful And so we went and had a consultation with a lactation

Consultant and they came to our house And she basically showed me How to breastfeed the benefits of it and how to be consistent and how to keep that bond and growing for for Molly and myself

And so once I once I did that I was like, oh, well, yeah, I really like breastfeeding. I kind of like The bonding experience that I had with her.

I like the action of it. I like the personal time that I got with her and God just started speaking to my heart and saying like this is something that We need in our community because you're not the only person who has trouble with it

And I researched some things and at this point in my life. I was just not ready to fully commit And so, you know

Jacob and I we went on with our lives. We've got two kids now We got pregnant again

And we lost that baby and that was hard Just knowing that That was a child that I was supposed to have

And we just couldn't bring him home We got pregnant with Olivia And we were very successful breastfeeding with her and God just continued to work on my heart

Needing needed to bond with other mothers Then we got pregnant with Sutton and With Sutton's pregnancy was hard.

We almost lost him a couple times And made me more thankful for Having him

And being able to bond with him And then once I had once we did that I was like, you know what

God is still working on me and I need to explore this option So I started looking and researching a little bit calling colleges going institutes and I found

It's the International Dual Institute and they specialize in breastfeeding and birthing dual

And so I started some classes and I take it completely online I take it from home and so I was able to be with my kids still work a full career

And then still do my classes on the side. So it was a lot to juggle But I felt like it was something that my heart needed

So we continue that and I got my certificates. I am certified

With birth doula postpartum doula lactation consultant and Childbirth educator, which is the

I can teach classes like at the hospital for new moms or Pregnant moms and that can also teach breastfeeding classes before you go any further

Can you repeat all those certifications because I know you have multiple certifications. I do. Can you repeat all those again?

Sure, so everybody knows what what services you offer because There's multiple certifications because there's multiple multiple multiple jobs.

Yeah, and yeah sure. So birthing doula is I meet with pregnant moms pregnant families and we kind of talk about What their ideal birthing situation looks like like do you want an all -natural birth?

Do you want? Epidural do you are you planning a c -section? How can

I best serve you? How can I advocate for you? As a person in your support system.

What does that look like for you? And some people know and some people don't and that's a that's something that we explore together

Figuring out what's the best option for them? I also am certified in postpartum doula, which is

Once the baby's born I can come and kind of help with bonding experiences help with just regular maintenance of the house

As you get accustomed to having a new baby into that house, whether you've had children before if this is your new one and then also helps with like spousal support because Having the support system built in Makes you more successful I Am certified as a breastfeeding counselor which is

I can help with like positionings if your child is born with tongue tie

Like what's the best position for that? Can we try different positions to help the baby more successful the mom be more successful?

Again building that support system that makes you Or helps you be like if you want to breastfeed for a year.

Well, let's build that up and let's Give you the support that makes you consistent with that If you're going back to work, how do

I make sure that I have enough? Breast milk to make it through the day. How do I make my supply?

increase So all of those things are techniques that I I do I also am certified as a childbirth educator

So that basically means that I teach classes to Like groups of people I can do

Virtual experiences, which I've done before because of the times We don't really allow

We don't are we Society at this point is not really allowing groups of people. So I've done some virtual experiences

I also offer classes at my house So like last weekend, I had a breastfeeding class that I did at my house

And had some folks come out and we just play games and got to know each other And then we did some experiments of let's test out.

How should I hold my baby? How should I change a diaper? Because there are lots of people in our society who this is new, right?

And so I again I just felt like this was a calling that God had brought me to that said that our society needs

People to wrap their arms around new moms And and be a constant support and be an advocate for them

And so I just wanted to make sure that they had Everything that they needed all the education

So I am NOT as a doula. I'm not a medical professional And that's it.

That's kind of a new term So I can't like Treat illnesses or write prescriptions

I can give you medical information And then you from there need to make your own decision of how you want to labor how you want to deliver how you want to feed

How you want a parent? That's all your your decisions, and I don't make any of those for you

But I will advocate for you if this is what you want to do And then you know, we kind of talk through it.

This is the information that I have This is some websites that I can give you to look at These are people that can give you a job too, but you have to make those decisions ultimately for yourself, right?

But just building that support system around families Because family is the basis

For everything that the Bible teaches and everything that we Our family stands for is just building that relationship together

And that was going to be my next question what you can't do and you cover that because that's important to know what what you

Can't do and then there's certain things that you can't do you can't give birth like a midwife

So explain the difference between a doula and a midwife. So a doula is a medical professional

They can you see those in like when you go to OBGYN Doctors appointments you can you can choose to see those

Midwife. Yes And a midwife can deliver a child They can monitor the child from in the womb

They can do like vaginal examinations They can they can be your doctor essentially they can write prescriptions they can deliver a child

Okay, I do not do any of those things I can I have

Delivered But it was an emergency situation like I'm the only one there, right

So and because I've had that experience three times I Kind of know what that's supposed to look like and I have some

I have the knowledge of what happens in the body and the anatomy But my my primary job is not to Deliver a child right

But for the safety of the baby and and my my primary job is to support and advocate for the mom, right?

Okay, so obviously I'm coming at this from a spiritual standpoint and you've

You've touched on this a couple times already and I would love for you to touch on this just a little bit more

From my understanding Doula the doula services the doula program itself today modern doula is not

Advertised or it's not primarily a Christian based organization there's

You know, it's pretty much secular type of thing, right? Yes, so but but as a

Christian Do you view this as? Your Christian act of service and how to how do you do that?

How do you how do you see that as you? As you as you bring this service to a mother to a family how do you represent

Christ In this service, so how do you bring your Christianity into this doula service?

So let's take a question. My my business is called by his faith And I stand on on that That led by faith completely

Because I began this journey. I'm taking that giant leap of faith for me And I want that to be my solid foundation

And so once I you know At the beginning when I meet with families I come off by saying first of all know that I'm coming at this from a

Christian standpoint And we always pray together They know that I Try to make it very clear that what

I am doing is bringing faith and bringing love Because again,

I want them to feel love and I want them to feel the support around them So so my my main objective is to teach them

That That I am here for you, but in the that this is my service to God So a good my motto is

Esther 414, which is perhaps this is the moment for which you were made And I think this is the moment that I was made for Because this is my service and being a mom was a moment that I was made for And so I want

Mothers who are pregnant or new moms to think maybe this is the moment they were made for whether the child is planned or unplanned

This was a moment. They were created for or disabled or not or disabled or not disabled or However, God created that child

They needed that mom right at that moment, right? And maybe the mom needed that child at that moment, right

And so if I if I come at it from that stance, I'm coming at it. Not secular. I'm I'm completely biblical, right?

right, I think that's so important because It's probably not just in our society today, you know, it's been seems to be rampant

For so many generations now that the the family is is not important anymore

Even people who and this is you know, just my opinion my perspective from what I see Even people that Desire to have children and try to have children even after they have their child.

They seem to put parenting on the back burner they they hand their children off to someone else or or they're not focusing on that that life that God has given them and I appreciate what you're doing and bringing your faith into it and and The importance of the responsibility that God has given them to to be that parent

So I think I think it's a wonderful service and I appreciate the fact that you are Bringing it with a

Christian aspect Christian attitude you bring Christ into it bring the gospel into it You're sharing your fruits of the

Spirit. This is a service ministry So everything that we should be doing as a Christian loving our neighbor sharing the gospel service ministry

You know sharing our fruits of the Spirit that's You're doing all those things within that service

And I know this sounds kind of weird a guy a man talking to a woman about For lack of better term a breastfeeding class

But that's just one aspects of what Emily does but but the dualist services seems to be geared more toward women mothers and in pregnancy

But you talk to you know both Mother and father

I do I have Classes that I provide on just spousal support.

What does it look like for you to support your wife? For you to support the family

I also do classes for I call them becoming a big So it's for children explaining to them what is happening and Kind of showing them and giving them some responsibility of how can

I help mom? How can I help dad around the house? What does this new baby do for me? I'm not being a big sister.

Yeah, right. Yeah some families You know have

I have literature that I give them To help them explain to children

You know kind of where do babies come from and what all happens what's growing in mommy's tell me?

Just helping them Realize kind of what's happening and be able to express those emotions

For some children becoming a big sister and a big brother. That's a that's a big deal and it's a life changer

And so, you know sometimes sitting down with them playing games Kind of helps them express those emotions

Also gives mom and dad a time where they don't feel like the older child is being ignored

Because now I have to take care of a baby And so I'm there that's part of that postpartum service that I provide is just going in and playing with the older child

So they don't feel ignored But I do like to offer it is primarily for moms

But I do offer services for the whole family so they can still feel that family union, right?

so I hope it I Know it may sound kind of weird again, you know a male talking to a female about Being becoming a mother and the things that a mother goes through But I hope to do

I hope to talk to more people about their profession and I may Hopefully I can talk

Emily and maybe Kelly my wife into speaking about their other Emily's other profession

They're both teachers and and just speaking about that profession and bringing Christ into that profession

But today talking about dual and the dual service that Emily does This is truth and love and we we get it from Ephesians chapter 4 verse 15 where Paul says but speaking the truth in love

We are to grow up in all aspects into him Who is the head even Christ and I think that all aspects encompasses all of life and so again,

I like what this this ministry that I respect they say all of Christ for all of life and It doesn't matter what your profession is

It's it's all of Christ for all of life and all aspects

Speaks to our our spiritual life our family life our secular life everywhere.

We are We're to grow up spiritually into Christ and and bring him and bring the gospel and bring our service ministry

We should not live our lives in two separate worlds a secular world and a Christian world a spiritual world

It's all of Christ for all of life and the other aspect of this this dual of ministry that Emily does that intrigued me was that was the

Greek part the Greek word doula and doulos So I want to do a little bit more research in Scripture and how the

Bible uses that word doulos in Scripture and I read a read an article from John MacArthur and in his research, he said this studying this word doulos really intrigued him because When he began to study it

He found from studying multiple And all pretty much from my understanding all of Greek scholarship that he studied saw that the word doulos in in the

New Testament Without exception the word doulos means slave and But when you see it in the

New Testament the the interpreters of the translators They translate it with with different words like a female servant to serve bond servant so you they translate it in different ways and the reasoning he said was because That there was this negative connotation with slavery in and we're talking about translators going all the way back to the the 15th century with the with the

Reformation and all Those translators even saw that negative connotation with slavery

But when you when you don't translate doulos and it's it's derivatives When you don't translate it as slave you miss the impact that the word slave yeah, we have that negative connotation in our in our culture because of slavery and that that aspect of it is negative and and Scripture does talk about that negative aspect of slavery where we are

Slaves to sin instead of righteousness. And so yes, there is that negative aspect

But we we miss the big impact of being a slave to righteousness or slave to Christ when we don't use that language

Of doulos and interpreting it correctly So when you have the word doulos, which means slave

When you have a slave you obviously have a master and and that takes us to Romans chapter 10 verse 9

Where it says if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord He is our master.

You will be saved. So Jesus has to become our our Master and then it leads us to Colossians chapter 3 verse 24

It says from the Lord you will receive the reward of your inheritance It is the Lord Christ whom you serve and they translated it serve

But it's it's that word slave you you are now a slave to Christ and Then in Matthew chapter 6 verse 24

It says no one can serve There's that word again, but to get the impact that we really need from it.

We need to think slave No one can be a slave to two masters for either He will hate the one or love the other or he will hold to one and despise the other you cannot serve or be a slave to God and mammon, it says and then

Ephesians chapter 6 verse 7. It says do not render service As to me but as to the

Lord and in that context, it's actually speaking to a slave household duties, of course in that chapter you have the chapter 5 chapter 6 you have the duties of the husband and wife you have the duties of the parent and the children and then you have the duties of the

Slave and the master and in that context it's talking about the actual slave and master role But the the

The idea is still the same do not render your service as you're doing it to please men but doing it as as you're doing it to please the

Lord and Then the last one Galatians chapter 5 verse 13 It says do not do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh but serve one another and I think

That verse kind of transition transition us into what Emily does

In her profession as a doula and the service that she provides but then also into all of the all other professions

Do not turn your freedom into an opportunity of flesh but serve one another and there's that word again serve

Which will to get the full impact we become a slave because we are a slave to Christ and We've Our lives are now his he is our master we therefore then serve one another where we become a slave to one another and and What Emily does working with mothers and and working with children and importance of children

Emily and I have already discussed this you know scripture tells us that Jesus when the children are trying to approach him disciples try to stop the children and Jesus says to the disciples suffer not the little children to come unto me

For such as the kingdom of God, and then he tells says to us in another place.

He says You know if you want to enter the kingdom of God you must become like a child and so our children are so important our children come from the

Lord and And Taking taking your profession

And and using it for God's glory using it to serve Christ It's such an important ministry and it's such a good influence to to other believers

And so I want to come in Emily for the work that she does I'm thankful for the work that she does

Not just as she is serving mothers not just as she is serving Children, but she's doing it doing that as she serves the

Lord so I Would say if you if you know anyone that's going to be or wanting to be a mother soon a mother in the future parents in the future if you're a mother now or even if you have already given birth

Emily provides services for for all areas of the the parent process even even thinking about it or During the while you're pregnant or after the pregnancy whatever stage that you're in Emily is available to serve you and she'd love to do that and she's going to do it from a

Christian perspective Absolutely, and I can I have a Facebook page. It's called by his grace dual services.

I also have a web page It's called www .emilykaiserdua .com And you can also find me on Google and I will

Try my best to put those links where they are available to you So thank you for listening again, if we can pray for you love to be able to do that Remember that Jesus is

King go live in that victory and let's continue to go out there and whatever profession Even if it's just being friends, let's go out there together and share the gospel.