Culture The Disruptor Labour of Love

Brood’s progressive pre- and post-partum care delivers a bundle of joy to B.C. families.

by Stacey McLachlan

Lizzy Karp may be one-third of the team behind Vancouver family-care agency Brood. But, two years ago, she only knew one thing about doulas. “I was aware that Erykah Badu was a doula, and that was about it,” she laughs.

But—as we all well know by now—a pandemic can change things. Today, Karp and partners Emma Devin and Gillian Damborg are spreading the doula gospel via their modern, inclusive, community-driven doula and education services.

Devin brings the handson experience and educator skillset: they’re a full-spectrum doula with a decade-plus of experience, one who supported friends Damborg and Karp during their respective 2020 births. “It was an... intimate moment,” says Devin, thoughtfully. “We got to know each other really well.”

If you, like Karp once was, are new to the idea of doula-ing: it’s the act of caretaking before, during and after a birth, in whatever unique form that might take for a birther and their family. “I saw Emma support Gill through her pregnancy and postpartum mental health and feeding stuff, and I just thought it was so wonderful to see someone I loved be so supported,” says Karp. She saw something special in that level of personal, thoughtful care, particularly in the thick of a lonely lockdown, when friends and family weren’t able to be part of the experience.

And so, in midst of the pandemic, a big idea was born (alongside Damborg’s and Karp’s happy, healthy babies). “It’s like, ‘A doula and two new moms walk into a bar... oh wait, we can’t walk in, it’s the pandemic, so instead we walk into a park and we dream the future that we want,’” says Karp. That future was one where birthers and families feel cared for and supported and respected, every step of the way; one where they can find reliable, accessible care that isn’t rooted in fear.

Karp and Damborg applied their marketing, strategy and branding expertise to Devin’s experience and talents as a care lead and educator, and then there was Brood: a labour of love. Today, Brood’s bold and beautiful mission statement is that “care is a radical and powerful act.” “We do this because giving and receiving care

Construction on the largest hospital redevelopment in BC’s history has begun.

The new St. Paul’s Hospital and Clinical Support and Research Centre on the Jim Pattison Medical Campus will usher in a new era in health care that will drive innovation and save lives.

Find out how at helpstpauls.com/newstpauls