We had the good fortune of connecting with Anna Balagtas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anna, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind my success is truthfully my community. I would absolutely not be here if not for the collective support of my peers. Time and time again they rally behind me and support my offerings, my words, my time, my labour. They are the reason I work and they are also the reason why my work thrives.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a full spectrum birthworker who supports birthing folks and families in fertility, birth, postpartum, abortion, miscarriage, and loss. Recently, I started exploring moving away from physically supporting families through their reproductive care journeys and instead, started focusing on mentoring emerging radical birthworkers who are making their way into the reproductive care work world.

When I first became a doula – I found that many resources were gatekept from me. I had no support system, I had no idea where to find mentors and comrades, I had no community where I could confidently ask vulnerable questions without fear of being judged. There was one moment in where I asked an experienced doula in my community if they were open to me being their shadow so I could learn skills and they told me

“I learned this all by myself. I’m not about to give you a freebie.”

That was the first instance in where I realized there is very little support for birthworkers themselves who are first coming into this work – especially support for birthworkers who are honing their radical practice.

As I eventually started gaining more experience in supporting folks through their reproductive journeys, I still couldn’t stop thinking about the emerging doulas coming into birthwork. I slowly realized that as much as I loved supporting families, my passion was deeply rooted in creating a community for new and curious birthworkers coming into this space and helping nurture them as they grow within their practice. I don’t believe support and resources need to be gatekept and spend my time making sure these support systems are accessible to my community.

Because of the pandemic, much of my educating, mentoring, and community building has been online. Building this virtual community has helped me reach folks I never would have before. I’m not thankful for this pandemic, but I am grateful that it has brought me closer to folks I wouldn’t have met had it not happened.

I’d like to think that I, alongside many of my mentors, are the doula for the doulas. Coming into birthwork is a transition that deserves just as much support as the transitions of parenthood, childbirth, abortion, fertility, death, loss, and so on and so forth.

It’s a privilege to be of support to my community and one that I will never take for granted.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Just recently, I’ve relocated to a small little city called Guelph in Ontario, but my heart truly lies in Toronto – a city I spent most of my late teens and early twenties roaming.

I fully believe the best way to experience a city is through the TTC – because this people you meet on transit are worth a story on their own.

We would go from west of Toronto to east first stopping at Roncesvalles and fuel up by getting coffees at Reunion. Then we’ll stop inside Another Story Bookshop to scope out the newest books and revisit old ones. We’ll head over to Koreatown and walk the stretch between Christie to Bathurst and stopping in at the many various mum n’ pop shops who sell Korean treats. Hodo Kwaja makes the best Korean pancakes in the city so we’ll head by there and grab a couple for the road.

We’re probably starting to get a little hungry for lunch, and being in Koreatown, have a great selection of eats. We’ll go into Sunrise House and split a bulgogi on a hotplate and order extra rice to share. We might even sneak in some pan-fried dumplings in there too.

We’ll walk off our lunch, catch the TTC and head south east until we make it to the Harbourfront. If it’s during the warmer months, we’ll catch the ferry and make our way to the islands and spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out by the beaches and watching the sun set. If it’s during the colder months, we’ll go ice skating at Harbourfront Centre and marvel at the winter displays the city brings out to celebrate those oh so wonderful Canadian winters.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d love to give a shoutout to my spouse, Felix, who has been my sounding board for every wild idea – and uplifts me until I see it through. I want to thank my mentors Nickie and Juli of Cornerstone Birthwork who first introduced me to radical birthwork – you’re the reason why my practice is shaped how it is. A very loving shoutout to king yaa, another mentor, who introduced me to radical queer care. Who shows up for BIPGM (Black, Indigenous, People of the Global Majority) and continues to teach me how to do the same. To the folks who come to the Community Calls – you have seen me through every rant, every tangent, and every PJ set. I love you. I love how you show up for me and for yourselves. And lastly, a quick shoutout to every person who has ever sent me love and validated my work – you keep me going. Thank you so deeply.

Website: www.yourpocketdoula.com

Instagram: @pocketdoula

Facebook: @pocketdoula.anna

Other: Patreon: @pocketdoula

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutHTX is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.