**Please note**
I am currently closed to new doula clients to allow more time with my family. If you have chosen me to attend your birth previously and are expecting again, or have received a referral from another practitioner, please contact me directly to see if I’m available for your birthing time or to refer you to a trusted colleague. All other services remain available.** Thank you!
Women have attended birthing women for centuries spanning all cultures. It is only in modern times that we have begun to stray from this support with the medicalization of birth. Called by many names they all have the same role, to mother the mother.
A doula’s most basic skills include:
- Recognizes birth as a key life experience that the mother will remember all her life.
- Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor.
- Assists the woman and her partner in preparing for and carrying out their plans for the birth.
- Stays by the side of the laboring woman throughout the entire labor.
- Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures, and objective viewpoints and assistance to the woman in getting information she needs in order to make evidence based, informed decisions.
- Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and clinical care providers.
- Perceives her role as one who nurtures and protects the woman’s memory of her birth experience.
Standard Doula Services
- Initial consultation is always free.
- Phone, text and email contact from date of hire between 8 am & 7 pm unless it’s an emergency.
- 3 home visits – 2 prenatal and one postnatal.
- Access to my lending library. Visit my Pinterest page for a current list of book and dvd titles available.
- Assistance writing birth plan including plan for pain management/relaxation techniques (breathing, birth ball, hydrotherapy, massage, positioning).
- Suggestions to ease some of the discomforts of pregnancy & postpartum.
- One in-office reiki session.
- 24 hour availability beginning 2 weeks prior to your due date until you birth.
- Lending of and instruction for a TENS unit for labor and birth.
- Continuous physical and emotional support though your labor and birth, until breastfeeding is established.
- Breastfeeding support during the first 2 weeks postpartum.
As a Doula I do not:
- Perform clinical tasks:
I do not perform any type of clinical exams, procedures or give medical advice. A doula provides physical comfort, emotional support, and education. - Make decisions for you:
We will work together to find the information you seek in order to make an informed decision about your birth; however, the decisions you make are yours alone. - Speak to the clinical staff on your behalf:
We can discuss any concerns or questions you have and the available options, but you or your partner must speak directly to the medical staff. - Replace your existing support network:
I am a part of your birth team to directly support you through your labor and birth. I do not replace your partner, family or friends you choose to have present at your birth.
Rates start at $2000 – Combination of services available.