Beau Choix means Beautiful Choice. My intention is to fully support your beautiful choices. Whether that’s for your pregnancy, birth or early postpartum period or that you are looking to make a shift in your life by caring for your body’s energies using reiki and crystal therapy, there’s a service for you here.
Where else can I find information about what you do?
I have been featured in several media outlets. You can find the stories here on my Newsworthy page.
Ideally, you should hire your birth doula sometime in your 2nd trimester. It gives you plenty of time to interview potential candidates & then gives you time to get to know each other. It seems, however, that in the DC area the sooner you look, the better, especially for a baby due in the summer months or around holidays.
If I hire a doula what happens to my options for pain medication in labor?
Nothing.
Some women may assume that a doula is not for them based on the common misconception that doulas will only support a natural birth. I have learned that some women who desired my services thought they would be ineligible due to their plans for pain management and other common birthing situations.
This is your birth. I am here to support you during this birth. It’s as simple as that. Everyone has their own agenda walking into each birth, you, your partner, your families, the nurses, the doctors, the tech who comes to draw your blood, Everyone. The job of a doula is to leave personal ideas about birthing at my door when I leave, and come to you with an open mind, strong body and loving support.
A doula cannot tell you how to birth, only give you ideas and tools derived from evidence based care to use during your pregnancy, labor and immediately postpartum. It is your choice to implement these ideas.
If you choose to use narcotics or an epidural as pain relief during your birth, it is just that, your choice. It is not within my scope of practice to tell you whether or not to use these forms of pain relief. I can help you find the information necessary to make an informed decision about your pain relief choice, and support you no matter the decision you make.
Should you choose to have your labor induced or to have a surgical birth, this also does not preclude you from having doula support. In fact, you may find that you need this support even more.
While it is true that many women who seek doula support desire a more natural birth, it certainly is not a hard and fast rule. My goal is to support your birth how you see it and as the situation dictates.
If you still have questions about whether or not you want a doula to attend your birth, please do not hesitate to ask. I am more than willing to answer your questions during a free initial consultation so you can make a more informed decision.
How many clients do you take per month?
I only take two birth doula clients per month and one postpartum client. Why so few? My goal is to block out 2 weeks before and after your due date to be completely available for your birth. If I cannot clear all those dates, I will either have a backup doula in place, or refer you to a trusted colleague. Given the support a postpartum family needs I am only taking one family per month to be sure to have adequate availability.
In addition I can only take on clients as my family situation dictates so that you have 100% of the attention you deserve.
Do I really need a birth plan?
If you are planning a low intervention birth, yes. Why? Most care providers today are not as familiar with or may have never seen a physiologically normal birth. The new normal for most birth facilities is the myriad of interventions and management that often result in cascade of more interventions that the birthing family may or may not be prepared to for in the moment. Your birth plan reminds whoever is your current care provider during birth that these things are important to your family and that you’d like to discuss any deviation from it if the situation permits. A simple one page reminder of your birthing wishes will do the job. And yes, I am happy to help you create a plan.
Do you have breastfeeding support services?
Yes. Additional support above and beyond the initiating the breastfeeding relationship with your new baby is available. I am a Certified Breastfeeding Counselor-CBC(CBI) through Childbirth International. Rates are posted on my Services page.